Elizabeth here: part 5 is finally done! If you haven't read the rest of the series, read the first four parts first. Enjoy!
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As Alban walked the mile North to where Amete told him the ferry was, he grew comfortable with his silk outfit. The shoes were cool and perfect for walking through the forest, while his new shirt and pants felt smooth and didn't impair his movement one bit.
He regretted not asking for a new backpack as part of the deal, since his was held together with knots. But, luxury clothes, travel information, and a magic anti-fairy net were more than a fair bargain in exchange for some enjoyable sex.
Alban finally heard the gentle tides of flowing water in front of him. He rounded a little outcropping of rock and saw the glistening river, which shone in the last remaining rays of sunlight. It was eighty feet across and fairly deep.
There was a small dock on the rocky shore to his right, with a twenty foot long boat parked by it. The pier and boat were both made of the same shiny, orange-brown wood.
There was a huge red and gold blanket on top of the boat, and someone very large snored under it. It was a woman, and her snoring was loud. That was probably the captain. Alban treaded carefully over the rocky shore, and stepped foot onto the pier. It was sturdy, and didn't creak at all. He slowly stepped towards the boat.
"Hello?" he said.
The snoring stopped, and the woman replied from inside the blanket. "Yes?" she said. The blanket shifted.
As Alban came closer, he saw that the blanket was made from several smaller blankets that were stitched together.
"I heard this ferry went to Queen Titania's castle," he said. "May I please have a ride?"
"And you have manners! How well and wonderful! Most people around here aren't as polite as you. I can't even get a 'thank you' out of them..." The woman--who Alban already knew was very tall--stood up and threw the blanket off of her. She was eight feet tall and had nine massive, poofy yellow tails, which were the same shade of blonde-yellow as her hair and the two fox-like ears sticking out of it. She was wearing only a plain, red kimono and leather sandals. Even for her massive size, a full two feet taller than Alban, her breasts and hips were unusually big despite her average proportions elsewhere, and were fully covered by her silk kimono.
"This spider woman named Amete told me about you. Have you two met?"
"Absolutely! We drink tea together every Sunday. Her house is a bit small, so she just comes to my mansion a little ways West. I'm Hiroko, by the way."
"And you're a... kitsune, right?" Alban said.
"No, I'm actually just a pile of kelp wearing the skin of a kitsune." Hiroko shot a smug grin at Alban. "But really, yes. This is my boat, and I can take you to Queen Titania's castle. Hop on and have a seat on board! There aren't any chairs on this boat, but I have blankets below deck if you want to sleep on the way there."
"Great!" Alban said. He was already starting to like Hiroko. But given how his encounters with the people of this forest always went, he wondered where this would go from here.
Hiroko bent down. As Alban approached her, their size difference became even more apparent. Even when she was bent over, her nine tails stuck out in the air, and some of them pointed up, so she was still taller than him. She opened a nearly invisible hatch in the boat's deck and pulled a wide silk blanket out of it. This blanket was human sized, and made of silk while Hiroko's own patchwork blanket was cotton. But, the patterns on them were similar.
She handed the soft blanket to Alban, and he took it. "Ta-da! Amete made this one just a week ago. You'll be the first person to use it. It's soft and snug."
"I can tell," Alban said as he ran his hands across it.
"And, with that all settled, are you ready to ride North?"
"I am," Alban said as he folded the blanket in his hands. He held it by his side. "How does this boat work? I don't see any oars or sails. Does it use magic?"
"I used to use magic, but I found something even better. My trusty steed pulls this boat."
"Where is he?"
Hiroko took a few steps towards the pointed bow of the boat and pointed into the water. "Down there."
Alban peered over the bow. "I don't see anything," he said.
"No, right there. To your right." Alban looked where she was pointing, but just saw a six inch long goldfish hovering still in the running waters of the river.
"All I see is a goldfish."
"Yeah, that's him. I call him Kaede."
Alban finally saw the little harness around the fish, and the tiny string attaching him to the boat. "And he pulls the boat?" he asked.
"Very quickly and quietly."
"And what makes him different than a normal goldfish?"
"Nothing, he just works out."
"Okay..."
Alban stepped back as Hiroko opened the hatch in the boat's deck again, and pulled a small jar of yellow crystals out. "Kaede loves crystallized honey," she said. "Want to toss one to him?"
"Sure, I suppose?" Hiroko poured a chunk of solid honey into Alban's hand. Alban and Hiroko leaned over the edge of the boat again.
"Um, here you go, little guy," Alban said as he held out the honey crystal. Kaede stopped hovering in one place in the water and looked up at Alban. He energetically flapped his fins and wobbled about.
"Take us to Titania's Castle," Hiroko said as Alban threw the crystal in. Kaede did a little leap out of the water and caught the honey in his mouth. He hovered in the water, chewing it.
"Alright, just step back and get ready," Hiroko said. "You don't want to fall off."
Alban did as she asked, and went to the center of the boat with her. Moments later, the boat lurched. Alban stumbled, yet Hiroko remained upright with her arms folded. As the boat quickly accelerated, Alban went from a stumble to a fall, and his back hit the floor.
"Oh! Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," he said. His backpack and soft shirt had cushioned the fall. It didn't sound like anything was crushed when he fell. But now, the boat was moving quickly: a low, strong splashing noise came from the front, and the gentle flow of water made noise all around the rest of the boat. Hiroko held her hand out and helped Alban up. A strong breeze ran over the boat now, and Hiroko's tails fluttered in the wind. But despite their speed, the boat wasn't making as much noise as Alban thought it would.
"He's a strong steed, isn't he?" Hiroko said.
"Where do you find goldfish like this?" Alban asked.
"Anywhere, really. And, it's getting dark. How about soon, we sleep in the cool breeze?"
Alban was still curious about the goldfish, but he knew he wasn't going to get a straight answer out of Hiroko. "I'd like to," he said.
"Want me to put your backpack below deck?" Hiroko asked. "And, your shoes too, if you don't plan on sleeping in them?"
"Sure." He took off his silk shoes and handed them and his backpack to her, and she gently put them in the hatch and closed it. Alban wondered what else was down there, but decided not to probe.
Alban sat on the polished wood deck and looked up at the indigo sky and the orange-pink clouds. With the sky, the green forest on both sides of the river, a fluffy, tall kitsune standing next to him, and a smooth, steady breeze, it felt surreal to him. It wasn't his first rest, but this one carried an odd, powerful sensation.
"Hey, by the way, do you want to talk?" Hiroko said as she sat down next to him, wrapping herself in her patchwork cloth blanket. Even sitting down, she was tall, but Alban was comforted rather than intimidated by her presence.
