Page 33 of A Yulean Sister’s Guide to Getting Kidnapped

I nodded, glad to find him agreeable for once. “So… how will we get there?” I assumed the horses needed to be ready, but I wondered if he had a carriage in tow. I was a horrible rider and always opted to sit inside the carriage.

He drew his brows, as if the question was obvious. “What do you think you’re standing on, princess?”

Now it was my turn to be confused. I assumed we were in some kind of inn, was I wrong?

At my non-answer, he said, “Why don’t you check the window.”

My stomach rolled, but I hopped up onto the desk again, careful not to get caught in my skirts, and peered out the small window.

Nothing but ocean for miles.

“Are we on a ship?” I asked, my stomach rolling.

“Sure are,” he said. “Welcome aboard the Violet Ghost.”

My brain ricochetted as I tried to pinpoint a single feeling. I wasn’t in the ocean, but I was on it.

“N-no,” I said. “We have to go by land. We have to get out of here.”

I tried to push my way past him, but he caught me easily in the tiny room, his tail coming up to wrap around me. “No can do, flower,” he said. “It would take much longer by land, and we’d have to trek too much of the forest. Ship is the best way.”

“I…” what was I supposed to say? I’m too afraid of the ocean? I wasn’t even in the ocean, technically. “We just can’t.”

“It’s not a choice,” he said clearly. “Do you get seasick or something?”

I swallowed. “Something like that.”

“We’ll just keep you below deck then,” he said. “There’s much less movement down here.”

Could I do that? If I kept the window shut and never had to look at the ocean, could I manage that?

At this point, it seemed I would have to try. “Fine. But I can’t go above deck at all. Don’t ask.”

“Deal. Any other demands?”

I huffed, now that he had what he wanted, his attitude came right back. “Yeah, go away.”

He let out his own little puff of amusement. “Fine, I can do that. Someone will bring your things shortly.”

“Okay.”

He nodded one last time, looking at me briefly before leaving, shutting the door behind him, leaving me in silence.

I was in the ocean.

On the ocean.

It was different.

I had to keep telling myself that, or else I would go mad.

With nothing to do but wait, I grabbed the sheet off the bed and went to one of the crashed drawers, where I’d seen a piece of twine earlier. Using those pieces, I got back on the desk and created a make-shift curtain, covering the window.

Out of sight, out of mind or whatever.

All there was left to do was wait.

Chapter 10