At some point I dozed. Kouros, the capital and the most substantial island group in the chain, was just visible on the horizon, and the rest of Gracia was like flecks of pepper floating in a soup. Keyrin's nose had dipped as we pressed through a cirrostratus haze. Soon, we would be descending to the water whether I liked it or not. Exhausted, I stood behind the cabin and stretched, touching my toes and swinging my arms to loosen my muscles from a night spent in a chair.

Koi were known to defend themselves, but they were never aggressive when unprovoked. What happened to the sailors who came after me hadn't made sense. Had the stray harpoon been what started the incident, or had they already goaded it while I was in the funnel?

There would be more ships, more hunters, but my lead was sufficient to ensure that I would reach Gracia. Descending to Kouros in a sky-ship was more conspicuous than I'd have liked, so I decided to land somewhere in the outskirts.

Examining Castor's map, I picked out the areas most likely to be deserted. There were islands without names, and reef banks surrounding bare specks of sand. As morning strengthened into day, Keyrin was only meters above the undulant surf, and I picked a stretch of land no larger than a house to debark on. Keyrin settled onto the wet sand like a faithful hound. I collected all my supplies in the pillowcase and stood for a moment with my heel on her prow. This would be my first step on solid ground outside Euphoria, not a more signifigant choice than the ones I'd already made, but momentous nonetheless. Keyrin could still take me home if I asked. For some reason, I thought of Thomas. While I didn't like him, he'd had a point. There were things you didn't do, regardless of the consequences. Life felt neater that way, easier to stomach.

The first step didn't feel like much of anything, nor the second. I touched Keyrin on her nose and said, "You can go home now."

The boat shifted uncertainly. "I already pointed the compass for you, " I said, "but you know the way. You've been as good a friend as I could ask for. Now you've got to help me one last time."

I could hear the compass spinning in the shed, the daemon trying to talk to me. If I got back in I worried it would take off. A few steps back, and Keyrin nudged her way forward, digging a deep furrow in the sand.

"Stop it! You're going to scratch your finish." I kicked her nose and nearly lost my balance, flailing on one leg because of the pillowcase. "Just go home! They're going to find me if you're here." I tried pushing her, and she didn't budge, so I rested my forehead against the wood.

"I'm sorry, Key. You've got to go. You've been the best ship a princess could ask for, but where I'm going, I can't be a princess anymore. They'll find me if you stay. Dad was going to make me do something, and I just can't. You understand, don't you? At least you understand that I still need you, but what I need from you is to stay away."

Keyrin was as still as boats were supposed to be, as if the magic had gone out of her, but after a few long breaths from me she rasped backward across the sand and hovered inches over the water. She didn't have eyes, of course, but I felt we shared a look, and the little ship floated to one side and angled back the way we'd come.

"Bye, Key," I said.

Now what? Kouros was miles away, rising above the islands and atolls like a mother goose over her goslings. There were ships out already, countless more docked, but no one coming for me. The speck I occupied was too unimportant to warrant a bridge, but as I searched the shore I saw there was a sandy shallow connecting me to the next island about fifty paces away. The smell was so different here, all the salt, and the constant rush and lap of the waves was nothing like the endless quiet of the clouds. I'd seen the ocean almost every day of my life, but that was from the air. It was quite another thing to be close enough to go wading. At its deepest, the shallow sunk to my knees, soaking my trousers and causing me to sway with the water. The current tugged at my clothes and I could feel the individual granules shifting underfoot.

My next landing was bigger, three quarters surrounded by coral, the sides dropping off steeply in the water. I'd seen dried coral fragments many times, and never guessed at the attraction. It was another thing to witness a living colony. A thousand fish flitted and flocked amid an opulence of color, and among the writhing limbs of creatures that seemed neither plant nor animal.

"You're lovely." I told the coral. Now how was I going to get past all this? I'll admit I hadn't planned exactly how I'd reach Kouros, or what I'd do once I arrived. As a princess, things had always had a way of working out for me, and to my embarrassment, I'd approached this new venture with the attitude that things always would. The intervention of the koi might have been the last of my royal luck, and in itself was more than I could have asked for. There weren't any servants here, no king who was also my father to complain to. My expectations needed tempering, at least until I found Castor.

I spent several hours on that second island, watching the sea and the ships go by. Within sight, there were two dozen scraps of land like the one I occupied ahead of any actual habitation. I was sitting with my back against a boulder, the warmth of the morning sun on my face and the sound of the surf in my ears, so it wasn't too surprising that I fell asleep.

My arms were hot and tingling with an incipient burn. A boat was anchored ten meters out from the shore, rocking gently. It was a real boat, with a sail and riggings and all, with a couple of real sailors waving at me. I started to wave back, then felt a presence beside me. A man had pulled my pillowcase away and was elbow deep in its contents. He was swarthy and overweight, sweating and pierced with gaudy copper rings.

"That's mine!" I reached for the sack.

"Is it?" He hoisted the whole bundle over his shoulder and straightened up. "Looks like a bunch of stolen goods to me." The man was very short, but sturdy. I got to my feet so I could look down on him.

"My father..." I trailed off.

"You stole these from your daddy? That's not a way to live, kid." He grinned, one of his incisors was tarnished silver.

"No. I'm saying it's mine, it isn't stolen."

"Poor stranded girl with a bag of jewels, you must be a princess." He waved at the sailors. "Hey, Porus, we got us a princess!"

They cheered, and I flushed. "I'm not a princess," I said.

"Then how do you explain the jewelry?"

I hung my head.

"Thought so." He hitched up his belt. "Tell me, princess, can you swim?" I noticed his tunic was soaked.

"Not well." I admitted.

"Course you can't, otherwise you wouldn't be stuck on this here speck." He waved to the men again. "RAFT!"

They launched a flat board with a rope drilled into one end that splashed overtop the corals.

"Take the line, kid, we'll have you off in a jiff."

With one last look at my possessions, I picked my way to the board. The water wasn't deep, but the coral scraped at my feet and I had to tread over to it. As soon as I had a hold of the raft, the sailors pulled me in to their skiff. It had a mast and a small sail, but they maneuvered with a double set of oars. I clambered in, wet and discouraged. Porus helped me. Though he was thin and tall, he could have been the other man's son. His nose was spiked with copper.

The man with my bag was a moment behind. "Take a seat," he said. "We'll have you on land again before you'very had time to cry about it."

"But you won't give me back my things."

"Silks and jewelry? Doesn't sound like it would be safe in your hands. Why don't you let me keep it for you, until you find out who it really belongs to, aye princess?"

"What about the rest?"

"Soggy bread?"

"My charcoal sticks, and the papers."

"Let it not be said that Sponga isn't fair." The others laughed as he handed over my charcoal.

"The letter," I said.

"You won't be needing that."

They pulled anchor and headed out to wider waters. There was a fishing net, and a water crate with a small catch in it, but they seemed like decorations. Porus and Sponga were exclaiming over my earrings, my hair pins, necklaces and bracelets. The two men at the oars were following along and laughing like they couldn't believe their luck.

"Silver?"

"That's not silver, kid, that's platinum!"

"Is this an emerald?"

"Jade! We've got a ring set with jade!"

After a few minutes of declamations and wild gestures, Sponga squatted in front of me and patted my knee. I flinched.

"I don't know who you robbed, kid, but it was quite a haul. I'll take you anywhere you want, but were headed to Kouros to see what we can sell."

"That's where I want to go."

"Alright." Silver glinted among his teeth. "Now I need to know. Is there anybody we got to worry about when we look for buyers? You care to tell me who's hurting for this stuff?"

"No one in Gracia."

"You're dressed odd enough, I can believe it. You from Kanto?"

"Yes." The lie came easily.

"Long way around the mountain with all this loot. How'd you make it alone?"

"I wasn't alone. I sailed with a friend, but we couldn't stay together. I didn't want to be caught."

"Smart, except for the part where you ended stranded on a nowhere island with a bag of jewels."

"I didn't think it through."

"Happens," he touched my leg again, "you're young and you make mistakes. You got someone to look after you in Kouros?"

"I've got a friend."

"A friend like the one left you middle of nowhere? You can do better than that. Let Sponga look after you, it's the least I could do."

"Just get me to Kouros. I don't need you looking after me."

He seemed to chew on something, then thought better of it. "Suit yourself, princess." He went back to his performance with my jewelry.

I'd landed in a tiny cluster of islets, and the fishermen sailed out of their shallow roots into the dark blue wrinkles. Though Kouros was within sight, the distance was deceptive. We spent several hours approaching the great island, passing by a few smaller settlements whose rocky backs looked like the shells of hermit crabs, the towns at their bases being the crabs themselves. Other ships plied the water, representing every shape and size. Most were fishing vessels dragging nets, but merchant ships, floating markets plackered with exuberant colors and tasteless painted figures, floated in bloated self-satisfaction between the landmasses. Around Kouros, the islands were within an easy swim of one another, and connected by massive stone arches so people could walk from one section to the next.

Chapter 8 section 3 ??? MISSING ???