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They were only half way across the bridge when she saw it: the great capradon of Surikhand, waving in the night breeze. Isla stumbled at its sight. The basket in her hand swung, souvenirs scattered onto the stone sidewalk. Tam Mai clamped her rolled canvas under her arm and kneeled to collect the gifts they had purchased for Yui.

What's a royal Surikh vessel doing in Momuji? It was berthed on the Tanmoji side, evenly paced with armed soldiers from deck to dock. Her heart chilled. Could it be Tempestorm?

No—the ambassadorial vessel had a monumental figurehead this ship was noticeably without.

Isla approached the railing for better view, but it was too dark to catch its name. Most visible were two flags, hoisted one across the other on the highest mast, catching enough light from the bridge to reveal their designs. One bore the Tsun spider hibiscus, the other a silver and blue lotus mandala that Isla vaguely recognised.

Reijyr smite me, I should have paid more attention to Master Chendra's lessons! She beat her head with a fist, forcing herself to remember ...

'What are you doing, Eldest?' Tam Mai grabbed her arm, eyes narrowed in anger.

'Nothing. Come, we should hurry before it gets too dark.' Isla tore her eyes away from the ship and hurried past her sister, who remained rooted by the parapet. 'Tamma?'

She did not respond.

Isla reached for her shoulder, feeling a slight tremor. Tam Mai still watched the ship, face paling under the low moon. 'Tam Mai!'

Boots clopped on the roadway. A man peered out of his palanquin.

Isla lowered her voice. 'Listen to me. You remember what Eshe taught you. You can handle this.'

Tam Mai closed her eyes, opened them slowly. She turned, took in the sight of the bridge. That's a good girl. Stay here. Stay grounded.

She waited, Tam Mai's hand in hers, as her sister saw and felt and listened to the world around them.

People passed, more stared out their litter at them. Perhaps they looked like fools, standing in silence in the middle of a bridge, but Isla could not care less. The wind was cold and full of salt, the smell of the sea rose from the harbours below.

Tam Mai's hands unclenched. Isla hugged her. 'Feeling better?'

She felt the shake of her sister's head. 'I don't think so.'

'That's all right. You're still here. I'm proud of you. Here, let me carry those for you.' Isla took the canvas and souvenirs from Tam Mai. Her hands free, Tam Mai tapped the parapet as they walked. Her fingers brushed the cracks in the stone, played over ridges and sharp edges.

Noi would have a fit. Their handmaid would be all over her with a bowl of soap and boiling water. 'Don't even think of touching dinner with those hands,' she would say.

But her sister had forgotten about the ship and the vaguely familiar crest hoisted on its mast, and to Isla, that was all that mattered.

  
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It helped to play with Tam Mai's hair; kept the nightmares at bay. So Isla sat by her side and gently massaged coconut oil into her scalp until she fell asleep. Hours passed before Tam Mai's heavy breaths turned into a peaceful, quiet snore.

The room was musky with the scent of coconut. Isla wiped her hands, flexed her numbed fingers, and carefully lifted herself off the floor. She opened the window a crack, breathed in the fresh, night air. Cold wind brushed against the paintings Tam Mai had left to dry—the bamboo forest in matcha green, Momuji Castle behind a coat of mist, a half-drawn portrait of Eshe with butterflies in her hair ...

Isla smiled, imagining the thrill in Eshe's face upon receiving it.

Another wind blew, pushing Tam Mai's rolled canvas off the table. That would be the one she drew with Eshe in the bamboo forest just that afternoon. Something about exposing her to her own fears, the empath had explained.

Isla had let them work in peace. Eshe had spread out a cloth for her and she napped under the calming rustle of leaves. Now she wondered what her sister had drawn.

Tam Mai was still sound asleep across the room. Isla picked the canvas off the floor and with one final glance at her sister rolled it open.

She slumped against the wall.

Tam Mai had splattered black across the background; a clash of sharp and straight angles as though she had simply ran the brush blindfolded over the paper. But on its foreground was a pattern they saw only moments ago, painted in a faint turquoise that blended into the shadows, as though flames sprouting from the dark.

The lotus mandala.

Rajini Amarin's family crest.

Yes, that must be it. She had seen it in the rajini's estate, so long ago.

Isla had thought it was the Surikh capradon that earlier near prompted Tam Mai's episode—but it must have been the rajini's seal. She must have seen it over and over again, those days in the dungeons ... emblazoned on a robe, a ring, the hilt of a sword ...

What's a ship doing, carrying the rajini's crest?

Rajini Amarin had died. Isla witnessed Rajini Dhvani slaughter her with her very own eyes. Only one person would be travelling and bearing her crest.

Tam Mai stirred in her sleep. Isla was pacing too much, her feet pattering against the rice straw mats. She rolled the canvas and returned it to its place before creeping out of the room.

Yui was cleaning the last tables when she came down. All the windows were shuttered, the door barred. Isla had lost track of time.

'It is almost two-bells past midnight.' Yui folded her wiping cloth. 'Is our bed not comfortable enough?'

'I made the mistake of taking an afternoon nap.' Isla clambered onto a seat by the bar. 'You don't have to mind me, I'll go up in a bit.'

'Rice wine might help.' Yui did not wait for Isla to agree. She popped open a bottle, slid a glass down the counter, and poured. 'Thank you for the charms, by the way. I sense many visitors will come tomorrow.'

They hung now by the door, yellow paper talismans with strings tied into double coin knots dangling from their ends. 'Did you have any Surikh guests today?'

'Ah, the vessel in the harbour. There was a lot of talk about it. They say a handsome hanjeon has come to visit Momuji.'

'A hanjeon?'

'I forget the Common Kapuluan term for it ... it is what we call a son of an emperor.'

'No—I know what it means, it's just—' Isla clenched the small cup in her hand, too unsettled to drink. A maharaj. The gossips were speaking of Kiet, she knew it. He was a hanjeon by their standards, and not bad looking. And—more damning—was his mother's crest on the ship. What is he doing in Momuji?

Yui shrugged. Apparently Isla had voiced the question aloud. 'I don't know, though the fishwives talk of an engagement between him and our Hanjou Fukuse.'

'Strange way to mourn his mother.' Word on the streets of Surikhand was that he was after Rajini Dhvani—not a spouse. The only thing romanticised was his heroic efforts of avenging his mother.

Isla rolled her eyes. Apparently he finally got over his denial and accepted the fact Rajini Dhvani was as dead as the dilapidated dungeon that had collapsed around her.

But that presented another problem to her. Isla quickly swigged down her rice wine. Momuji Castle was large enough that they might never cross paths, but she still had to take precautions so as not to be seen. 'Do you think he'd be staying at the second enclosure?'

'Well, the first enclosure is for the Emperor's wives and children—at least, most of them—and the second enclosure is where he hosts his most important guests and family members, so I would assume so.'

'I thought he only has one wife.'

'For now.' Yui's playful smile was quickly erased. The cups and wine bottle had suddenly started to shake, skipping along the counter until Isla secured them.

Then the entire building was shaking.

Yui yelped. Furniture groaned and thudded against the floor, pots clattered against the wall. Isla leapt off her stool, all of them rattling like scattered coins. She stumbled, struggling to keep on her feet—

'Get under the counter!' Yui was screaming, 'Quick!'

'Tam Mai—'

'I'll wake the guests!'

No one could stay asleep through this! Their cries were audible through the ceiling. Isla was more concerned Tam Mai would freeze where she lay. She staggered toward the open hallway, the floor clapping beneath her feet.

'Lilja-dae! It's too dangerous!'

A man crashed down the stairs, half-dressed and as white as his undergarments. He hit the wall as he landed, yelled for Isla to get outside before rushing past them.

And then, as quickly as it came, everything stopped.

But Isla's heart still raced. For a moment, she stayed where she was, still as a statue; as though the slightest twitch could trigger another quake.

'Tennu's blessings upon the Emperor!' gasped Yui, hands clapped together against her nose in prayer. 'He may have stopped the earth tremor for now, but we should go outside in case another hits.'

Isla fought to calm the racing in her heart. 'He ... stopped that?'

'Of course.'

'I ... I need to get Tam Mai. We'll meet you outside.'

Though the quakes had ceased, the floor still seemed to oscillate beneath her. Isla lurched up the stairs and into her room. Tam Mai was rocking under her blankets when she entered, paint pots rolled all about.

Isla tried to hold her, but her sister screamed and thrashed. A fingernail scraped the side of Isla's neck, drawing blood.

Was she seeing the dungeons again? Reliving the night of their escape, when her once-prison was brought down to its very foundation?

She pulled the blanket off Tam Mai and pushed through her scratches. It isn't real! Tamma, come back!

She knew Tam Mai had returned when her screams turned to pitiful sobs. Tam Mai squeezed back, tears drenching Isla's shoulder.

'It was just an earthquake, Tamma,' whispered Isla, her fingers brushing through Tam Mai's coconut-kissed hair. 'Just a small tremor. That's all.'

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↝ END CHAPTER TWELVE ↜

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☆ this chapter is dedicated to KeChelley ☆

Video: 낮잠 NZ Ambience
Image: Photomanipulation by yours truly

So Isla knows Kiet's in town ... the question is how, when, and where are they going to meet again? Leave your theories and predictions in the comments ... anyone who guesses correctly gets a prize 😆!
As usual: thanks for reading, and don't forget to vote if you liked this chapter (ꈍᴗꈍ)