Delivering My Love

Chapter 17

The passage led them out to a dark alley between the palace and a building adjacent to the fishing harbor. It was a well hidden place from the general public. Shu shook out the water from her body. Meili and Yan laid Kuo's body out where someone would find him. He may have tried to betray them, but they still considered him a good friend deserving of a proper burial. He had just been corrupted by the deteriorating greed for power. Jingfei didn't know how to feel. He was one of her best friends, but she could not think about him now. Jingfei could only stay sane by focusing on something. She decided that something would be keeping Zan Yu alive.

Zan Yu was a relatively new friend, but she cherished him just as much as the others. She didn't know if it was the huge amount of time they spent together or just his fun and caring personality that made him so loveable. Especially to Tai Shi. Jingfei managed a small smile. Tai Shi finally let someone into his heart, and Jingfei was so proud. She watched him hold Zan Yu with both care and firmness. She held his bandages with as much pressure as they could muster. He was losing too much blood. Dios mio.

Qiu had taken the lead, motioning for them to follow him out onto the beach. The soil was a combination of silt and sand, crunching softly beneath their wet feet.

"We need to hurry, Qiu!" Jingfei whispered frantically. Bi nodded.

"If we don't tend to his wounds and give him blood soon, I'm afraid..." Bi trailed off.

Qiu acknowledged their pleas. "We'll have to make a run for it." Qiu pointed to a small ship near the end of the docks, just barely visible under the moonlight. It was not as large as the cargo ships so as not to draw too much attention out on the water. "That's our destination."

The group ran towards the ship. A young person was waiting at the loading plank. Meili and Nuwa had moved towards the sides of the group and Liling and Yan were in the back. Jingfei noticed that Liling was having a hard time running. Yan must have also noticed as he held her arm and helped pull her forward. Shouts rang out from behind them. They did not sound like the voices of allies.

To their luck, they made it safely to the boat. The person waiting for them had short black silky hair and a stern look on her face. She motioned with her hand. "I'm Din, your captain under Qiu's order. Please hurry." Jingfei regarded Qiu and lauded him for alerting someone at such short notice.

They clambered onto the boat. Tai Shi layed Zan Yu down on a pile of hay. His breath came out shattered and stuck. Bi went to work unraveling the bandages, cleaning out the wounds again, and applying fresh bandages. Tai Shi held his hand. Jingfei looked at Tai Shi.

"Will he be okay?" she breathed. Tai Shi turned his gaze to her with sullen eyes, his hand still holding Zan Yu's.

"He has to be."

Jingfei looked around. The ship had a higher platform with the steering wheel and a lower deck where they were standing now. A hatch in the corner led to the storage area below deck. The ship had two tall masts with sails tied up by thick ropes. Meili and Nuwa were helping Din prepare the ship to set sail. Liling was sitting in a corner clutching her bleeding leg, trying to convince Yan to go help the others. She must have gotten injured when Kuo dropped the sickle. Qiu was standing where he's been, never more than a few feet away from Tai Shi. Shu was at the loading ramp growling low. She surveyed the scene to make sure Zan Yu was well taken care of. Nervous, Jingfei grabbed the nearest sword Meili had left and walked carefully towards Shu.

"What's wrong, Shu?" Jingfei looked out. The wind ruffled her hair as she searched the ramp. Shu kept growling.

A sudden glint of moonlight against sharpened steel from under the ramp entered Jingfei's vision. Three traitors jumped onto the ramp. OKAY, calm down, Jingfei. This is just like hunting. Ducking behind the wall of the ship, Jingfei waited. She saw the feet of the first rebel and swung her legs around, knocking him to the floor. Her days of kicking a ball around with Shu and her mother had really paid off. Yan had drawn his double edged sword and stabbed it down, ending the first man's treachery for good. Jingfei saw two tiny blades fly into the next man's chest and throat, causing his end, as well. There was another guy. Where was he?

Yan pulled up the loading ramp so nobody else could climb aboard unannounced. Jingfei could have sworn there were three of them. She heard some scratching behind her. She looked up from her crouched position. The last man who was hanging on the side of the ship made a lunge over Jingfei towards Tai Shi. Out of pure instinct, Jingfei thrust her sword upwards. The slicing of human flesh filled her ears. The man fell limp on the deck, the sword sticking out of his abdomen. She had gutted the fellow. F*ck yeah!

"Take that bishhh!" Jingfei looked up at Din by the helm. "Are we ready, yet?"

Din gave a signal and Meili and Nuwa released the knots and the sails fell. The wind filled them, pushing the ship out of the harbor. There was a collective sigh of relief.

"Head southward," Qiu bellowed over the sound of the wind, "the empress is coming in for attack from the East."

"Aye aye, captain." Din called back. "Oh wait, I'm the captain. HAHAHAHA!" Jingfei finally allowed herself a giggle, releasing the pent up tension. She walked to the back of the ship, gazing at the land gradually getting smaller. The stars twinkled above and the cool wind sprayed seawater across her face. The night was beautiful. Nonetheless, Jingfei felt a strong urge to barf.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Din informed Meili and Liling that there were spare clothes below deck. They were both drenched from the fight with Kuo, and Meili was heavily stained with blood from both Zan Yu and the traitors she yeeted off the ship. Meili helped Liling down the ladder, and they both returned with warmer clothes.

Bi had been constantly hovering over Zan Yu, who was still barely clinging to life. Bi asked for a volunteer and Tai Shi immediately stepped forward to help.

Liling went and sat between Nuwa and Yan. Yan put his arm around her, and she put her head on his shoulder. Nuwa complained and pulled Liling's head onto her shoulder. Liling did not seem to mind, and Yan resorted to holding her hand. Ahhh, cute wittle babies. Jingfei enjoyed watching these little scenes from her novels unfold in real life. They're still in their fluffy stage. Jingfei looked over at Tai Shi and Zan Yu. Now THAT's some real sh*t right there. Melts my heart. She wiped away a fake tear from her eye.

She noticed Qiu was sitting by Tai Shi, looking worn out from the long day and a little uncomfortable with the hearts shooting about next to him. She saw him glance over at Meili helping Din behind him, then shook his head in what looked like disbelief. Or denial. Jingfei walked over to him. He looked up at her and smiled with his usual courtesy.

"Question," Jingfei started, "what's the plan from now on, Qiu?" He nodded, acknowledging that she came with a good question.

"I do not know when the attack is happening." He looked up at the fading stars. "The emperor fleet leaders from the city are all traitors." Not surprising at this point.

"What should we expect?" Jingfei was popping her knuckles one by one. She eyed Qiu, gauging his expression.

"Daiyou had gathered a rather sizable amount of support. I know her soldiers can easily take over Hangshai with that much power." Qiu rubbed his jaw with two fingers. He had a cool head when they needed it most. "So, we're going to dock at a neighboring allied country. We can gather more information from there."

"Sounds good to me." Jingfei laid back on the deck and closed her eyes. The sound of the crashing waves resounded in her ears as she drifted off.