Sway. Shift. Creeeeeeeeeak.

She laid on the makeshift bed she had fashioned herself. Wrought with fever, and shaking as she pulled the thin, damp blanket tighter upon herself.

Sway. Moaaaaaaaaan. Creak.

She was below deck in a cargo box - practically a stowaway from the eyes of Myenlun. All to her name was now in this box with her, as she sailed to freedom and prosperity. She just had to make it there. Her tawny hair fell matted upon her face as beads of sweat trickled her brow.

In and out of consciousness she fell. Occasionally being woken up by the thumps of footsteps from the crew of the shipping boat above, or from the rocky seas protest of the boat sailing while she threw her fit.

"W...one more day... One more day..." she muttered with what little energy she could gain. In reality, not knowing how much longer it would be until she docked at the port city of Ablos in the Hearan Empire . If she was lucky, it would be hours. If she was truly cursed, they could get lost at sea, not arriving for another week.

In her small cargo box, she had minimal to make due for her long trek. A hay bale graciously provided from the captain to fashion her a cot, enough rations for a week (though could stretch for two weeks if extremely careful), two set of clothes, a small journal, a barrel of fresh water which she planned to abandon once reaching her destination, a bow with roughly 10 arrows, and luckily, a crowbar - to make her way in and out of her box when it was safe to do such.

"Ma'am... Miss... Miss get up!" The cabin boy, Enrik, shook her awake as she came in and out of consciousness. The small boy, no older than ten with matted and messy black hair attempted to get her sitting upright. "Miss the ship captain is asking about the 'cargo'."

"I will be fine... no fretting necessary." she slurred her words briefly as she attempted to prop herself up into a sitting position.

Cargo, she scoffed. The other two families began to shift in their boxes. A small baby began to softly cry being awoken by the noise. Myenlun, her previous home, had already banned the people from leaving the country due to the large swaths of people leaving for Hearan for the promise of prosperity. Within the next month, there would be no more exporting to the Empire per the King. He was determined to never truly accept the Empire as a new Nation, and was willing to use every ounce of his power to snuff them out. Due to the new ban being announced, a large influx of ships were piling as much on their last voyages to trade as possible, causing the guards who tracked shipment to become lazy, allowing small families to make they voyage if they could pay the captain to keep their secret.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Alright Miss Eliahope. Suit yourself." Enrik put down a small bowl of spud soup and a portion of salted cattle, and went to attend to the next box.

Eliahope had only met the Captain once, as she had been in the box since their last meeting. He seemed to be decent enough - prioritizing women and children for voyages to Hearan, and offering small amounts of food and water to the families on board so they don't starve - which, since it was customary for families to pay before they boarded, was not common. The only members of the crew were the captain and the cabin boy - other crewmates were told if they didn't want to have knowledge of any misdeeds, they should stay out from below deck, and so out they stayed.

She groaned as she sat up, picking up her meager meal which would be the only thing she would eat for the next 24 hours - letting her mind drift as she ate.

Suddenly, she was transported back to her mother's modest home. Warm fire in the winter, a cool breeze in the summer, but always comfortable and light.

Creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeak.

The noises of the ship in that moment reminding her of her mother's rocking chair that she used more often than not as she grew older. Eliahope remembering a conversation she had with the stubborn woman years before she had passed, as her health began to decline.

"We should make way for Hearan," Eliahope had muttered just barely enough for her mother to hear, "We could start anew - and they may have care for you that we can afford."

"Child." Her mother spoke in a way, indicating that she would have no further part of the conversation, "Myenlun is and always will be my home - whether my time comes tomorrow or a hundred years from now. I will pass in this home, and I wish to be buried at that church down the road, next to my mother. My place is here."

Eliahope had been quiet for a moment.

"Am I understood, child?"

"...Yes ma'am." Eliahope muttered, poking at the hearth.

A baby in the cargo bay whined softly, snapping her back to reality as she looked at her half servings. Peering towards the other family - she stumbled over as quietly as she could, sweat beading off her face as she put down her bowl to give the other family an extra helping.

And just as she settled back into her small bed, a large thump from the ship had knocked her over - the motions of the boat coming to a halt. The family and her listened as the ship became deathly quiet. Two options balanced in the air - whether they had finally hit land, or they were being stopped by a Myunlun ship - their fate hanged in the air with baited breath.

Quick footsteps came running down to them - the cabin boy had news either way to deliver to them.

As he appeared in the small lantern light of the dark underbelly of the ship, the families held their breath as what they could swear was a smile appeared on his face.

"We made it to land. Welcome to Hearan."

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