Read Online The Twelve Kingdoms: Shadow of the Moon by Fuyumi Ono - Free Book Online
Authors: Fuyumi Ono
Ads: Link
curiosity and hatred. They really did see her as a criminal getting shipped off in a paddy wagon.
In the fleeting moment in time between when she had opened her eyes until she had truly woken up, she had prayed from the heart to make it all a dream. The dream was shattered by those men dragging her out of the cell.
They hadn't given her any time to tend to her dress or appearance. Her school uniform was still drenched with the stench of the ocean from when they had plunged into the whirlpool in the sea.
Another man climbed into the wagon next to her. The driver loosened the reins. Sizing up the two of them, Youko's only thought was, God, she was dying for a bath, dying to immerse her body in the steaming water, wash herself with sweet-smelling soap, dress in fresh pajamas and go to sleep in her own bed. And wake up and eat the food her mother made, go to school, meet her friends, and talk about all the dumb stuff that didn't matter to anybody.
It occurred to her that she hadn't finished her chemistry homework. A book she'd borrowed from the library was overdue. Her favorite TV show, that she'd been watching forever, was on last night and she'd missed it. She hoped her mother remembered to tape it for her.
Dwelling on it now it was all so pointless. The tears welled up again. Youko hastily hung her head. She wanted to bury her head in her hands, but with her hands bound . . . .
Better you get used to things being the way they are.
No, she couldn't accept that. Keiki never said she couldn't go back home. It couldn't go on like this. It couldn't. Not being able to wash or put on clean clothes. Tied up like a criminal, hauled along in the back of this filthy wagon. She knew she was no saint, but she didn't deserve to be treated like this!
Glancing back at the gate receding behind them, she hunched her bound arms and wiped her cheek on her shoulder.
The man next to her--she guessed he was in his thirties--clutched a sack to his chest and gazed blankly at the passing scene. "Um . . . " Youko asked him timidly, "where are we going?"
The man looked at her suspiciously. "You talking to me?"
"Um, yes . . . where are we going?"
"Where? To the county seat. You're going to see the governor."
"And after that? Will there be, like, a trial or something?" She couldn't shake that feeling of being branded a criminal.
"Oh, they'll shut you up someplace safe until they figure whether you're a good kaikyaku or a bad kaikyaku."
The bluntness of the statement made Youko turn her head. "Good kaikyaku or bad kaikyaku?"
"Yeah. If you're a good kaikyaku, you get yourself a guardian and you get to live someplace. If you're a bad kaikyaku it's off to prison, or they just execute you."
Youko reflexively shrank into herself. Cold sweat ran down her back. "Execute . . . ?"
"When a bad kaikyaku shows up everything goes to hell. If bad things start a-coming and it's because of you, off with your head.
"When you say, bad things coming . . . . "
"I mean wars and disasters and hell following after 'em. If you don't kill 'em quick they'll wreck the whole kingdom."
"But how can anybody be sure?"
The man laughed a mean little laugh. "Oh, lock 'em up for a little while and you find out quick enough. You show up and bad stuff starts to happen at the same time, that means you're bad seed, no doubt about it." There was a threatening look in his eyes. "You brought a few disasters along with you, didn't you?"
"What do you mean . . . ?"
"That shoku that sent you here. You know how many farms got buried in the mudslides? This year's harvest in Hairou going to be a complete bust."
Youko closed her eyes. Oh, yes, that, she thought. That's why they were treating her this way. To these villagers she had become an omen of doom.
The thought of death frightened her to the core. The thought of being killed, even more so. If she were to die in a foreign place like this no one would weep for her, or miss her. Her parents could not even claim her body.
How
In the fleeting moment in time between when she had opened her eyes until she had truly woken up, she had prayed from the heart to make it all a dream. The dream was shattered by those men dragging her out of the cell.
They hadn't given her any time to tend to her dress or appearance. Her school uniform was still drenched with the stench of the ocean from when they had plunged into the whirlpool in the sea.
Another man climbed into the wagon next to her. The driver loosened the reins. Sizing up the two of them, Youko's only thought was, God, she was dying for a bath, dying to immerse her body in the steaming water, wash herself with sweet-smelling soap, dress in fresh pajamas and go to sleep in her own bed. And wake up and eat the food her mother made, go to school, meet her friends, and talk about all the dumb stuff that didn't matter to anybody.
It occurred to her that she hadn't finished her chemistry homework. A book she'd borrowed from the library was overdue. Her favorite TV show, that she'd been watching forever, was on last night and she'd missed it. She hoped her mother remembered to tape it for her.
Dwelling on it now it was all so pointless. The tears welled up again. Youko hastily hung her head. She wanted to bury her head in her hands, but with her hands bound . . . .
Better you get used to things being the way they are.
No, she couldn't accept that. Keiki never said she couldn't go back home. It couldn't go on like this. It couldn't. Not being able to wash or put on clean clothes. Tied up like a criminal, hauled along in the back of this filthy wagon. She knew she was no saint, but she didn't deserve to be treated like this!
Glancing back at the gate receding behind them, she hunched her bound arms and wiped her cheek on her shoulder.
The man next to her--she guessed he was in his thirties--clutched a sack to his chest and gazed blankly at the passing scene. "Um . . . " Youko asked him timidly, "where are we going?"
The man looked at her suspiciously. "You talking to me?"
"Um, yes . . . where are we going?"
"Where? To the county seat. You're going to see the governor."
"And after that? Will there be, like, a trial or something?" She couldn't shake that feeling of being branded a criminal.
"Oh, they'll shut you up someplace safe until they figure whether you're a good kaikyaku or a bad kaikyaku."
The bluntness of the statement made Youko turn her head. "Good kaikyaku or bad kaikyaku?"
"Yeah. If you're a good kaikyaku, you get yourself a guardian and you get to live someplace. If you're a bad kaikyaku it's off to prison, or they just execute you."
Youko reflexively shrank into herself. Cold sweat ran down her back. "Execute . . . ?"
"When a bad kaikyaku shows up everything goes to hell. If bad things start a-coming and it's because of you, off with your head.
"When you say, bad things coming . . . . "
"I mean wars and disasters and hell following after 'em. If you don't kill 'em quick they'll wreck the whole kingdom."
"But how can anybody be sure?"
The man laughed a mean little laugh. "Oh, lock 'em up for a little while and you find out quick enough. You show up and bad stuff starts to happen at the same time, that means you're bad seed, no doubt about it." There was a threatening look in his eyes. "You brought a few disasters along with you, didn't you?"
"What do you mean . . . ?"
"That shoku that sent you here. You know how many farms got buried in the mudslides? This year's harvest in Hairou going to be a complete bust."
Youko closed her eyes. Oh, yes, that, she thought. That's why they were treating her this way. To these villagers she had become an omen of doom.
The thought of death frightened her to the core. The thought of being killed, even more so. If she were to die in a foreign place like this no one would weep for her, or miss her. Her parents could not even claim her body.
How
Similar Books
