Book 19: Chapter 24
The golden medallion in the sky reflected off the ocean surface. The four sisters watched their ship approach the docks. The North only had two docks, one in the East and one in the West. Furthermore, the Eastern dock belonged to the military. As such, the sisters were excited to see countless boats of varying sizes in addition to people coming and going. It was their first time seeing such a lively dock. The sun had just come up, but the docks had been busy for what seemed to be hours beforehand.
Owing to it being too large, their ship wasn’t allowed to be completely moored; therefore, they had to switch to smaller boats to head over. Two small boats were lowered down from the ship. Ying and Tanya extended forth their hands to stop the eager sisters: “Be careful. We will teach you how to get down into the boats in a bit. For now, let us go over and speak to them first. Young man, come with us. It’s your nation, so it’ll be easier if we have you.”
The youngster nodded: “Understood.”
The youngster nimbly grabbed onto a side of the ship. He climbed down the soft ladder and onto the small boat rocking on the water surface.
Daisy told Tanya and Ying: “We can climb a ladder!”
The four sisters’ eagerness brimmed in their eyes. Ying sighed: “All right, then. Come on down. You must be careful, though. These soft ladders are very wobbly, and so is the boat down below. Don’t fall into the water.”
“All right.” Daisy nodded and then looked at the soft ladder.
Daisy was first to grab the rope. Though it was somewhat foreign to her, she took her time climbing down and then hopped onto the boat. She let out a breath of relief. The youngster nervously looked at her. Daisy excitedly looked up at her sisters and shouted, “Jump, jump! It’s safe. You must be careful!”
The three sisters exchanged eye contact. They were incredibly curious about the city on shore. Nevertheless, the dangerously rocking boat on the water down below, the tall black walls of the ship as well as the ladder that was swaying in the wind, evoked fear. Daisy had always been training; she was relatively more physically conditioned than they were. Climbing the ladder, therefore, looked dangerous to them. It was scary to see Daisy swinging back and forth on the ladder. Although they wouldn’t be in trouble if they fell, their clothes would be ruined.