Sailing for the blessed
Months after Sakura's crowning, in the port that the dragon-blooded cousins brought their retinue to, Shirou was boarding the boat.
The ship itself was a single-masted yacht, it was made of wood and had designs on it's hull of flying dragons that were painted a deep black.
Shirou was wearing his new "Retainer" clothes, They reminded him of a man's kimono but in more diverse colours. His undershirt was coloured a rich blue and his jacket had the symbol that Nereth had called "The Tepet crest" was placed over his left breast.
Largely the clothes were comfortable but there was something about them that told him "While you where this, people will see you as only a servant". It wasn't too bad, he didn't enjoy being noticed most of the time anyway.
Once on the ship, he was directed to his room. He was not staying on the lower deck with the rest of the servants (he would have been fine with that) as the dragon-bloods had seen fit to give him use of one of the better rooms opposite of theirs.
Shirou was reminded of Rin's room when looking at the room he would be using during the journey, it was the same level of richness in the furniture. Less that the dragon-bloods themselves had (He had taken a peak into Nereth's room and she had a level of extravagance in her room that made Shirou think that if this was her normal standard of living, the last few months must have been hell for her.
Nevertheless he lay down on his bed, it was still early afternoon but he felt tired regardless.
They had eaten lunch before boarding the ship so supper was the first meal on the ship.
Most of the retainers and servants got bisects, salted meat and something Shirou was sure was some sort of alcohol with lemon in it.
The dragon-bloods got fresh rice and meat with side dishes, Shirou himself got similar but with much fewer side dishes.
As he ate, Shirou glanced around at the others. The dragon-bloods seemed to pay him little mind as they ate but some of the other retainers were looking at him with a hint of jealousy.
Shirou thought it likely that they were jealous of his higher position compared to them, Shirou didn't think he deserved it much himself and he doubted they did either.
He was one of the last to finish as the others had finished up already, the servants who didn't know about sailing went to bed while those that did helped out with the ship's chores.
Walking up to the railing of the ship, Shirou looked at the vastness of the sea. Before now he had never been on a sailing ship and the feeling was strange to him, he wasn't seasick which was a blessing but the feeling was odd regardless.
As he stood there, thinking about his life and wondering what his girlfriends were doing as another retainer walked beside him. It was an old man who wore clothing similar to him but the undershirt was a rich red instead.
The man looked to him and stated "The lord and lady have done much for you", Shirou looked to him as the man continued "The only other mortals who would be treated as you are nobles that failed to receive the blessing of the dragon"
After saying that the man looked over the water in the same direction as Shirou. Shirou muttered "I don't see why I'm treated this highly, I could easily have been treated the same as the rest of you".
To that the old man laughed "The dragons are fickle and yet they are true, they have claimed you as their own so it seems that they value you above most of the rest of us." The man smiled as he continued "We, the retainers, are not their friends. We are the tools of the dragons so they might ease their burden." The man turned to Shirou again "If they place your value so high, you would do well to live up to it, you are a friend of the dragons after all"
The man turned away chuckling before heading below decks. Shirou was left to think on his words, He knew that Nereth and Rai needed his help for the political struggle coming up but he didn't really want to fight in a war.
Fighting in a war leads to the hill of swords, "He will die alone and without allies upon the hill of swords", didn't Rin tell him Archer's death was similar to that?
Fighting in a war without his allies being in the same world could definitely cause that.
In the ship's meeting room Rai and Nereth were talking, the civil war could begin at any time and Shirou was the greatest weapon that Nereth had found out there in the east. Nereth was fond of the boy but he was their best chance, she didn't want to have to manipulate him into fighting for them but they might have to if he places finding a way home above them.
The thing to do would be having him meet some of the elder members of house Tepet, they were skilled in getting people to follow them.
The conversation turned from these darker subjects to more optimistic subjects, they had received messengers at the port that told them that the main opposition for the throne had recently made a mistake and alienated some of the dragon-bloods from other houses that went to follow her. Most of those who left were now coming to support the Tepet houses own candidate; Tepet Ejava also known as Roseblack.
This news was enough to calm the dragon-bloods and their conversation topic changed a few more times before they both decided to talk more tomorrow.
End of chapter
Shirou is on a boat!
Not much else happened!
Next chapter will be when they arrive on the blessed isle
In other news I have started another story, It won't be updated as regularly (as I am working on this story first and foremost) but I hope it will still be good
