Tales of Queens and Storms

Chapter 1

The first odd thing that could be noticed about the streets of Merrowhaven was the stench of blood mixed with rotting meat. More than rotten meat, to be precise, the stench of a corpse slowly rotting in the sun and being torn apart by seagulls as they feasted on it, lingered in the dry morning air. Indeed, a corpse had been found nearby the docks, but the bland citizens of Merrowhaven couldn't be bothered to report it to the Crystal Guard, let alone move it away from its current location at the backyards of the fishermen.

The fish market itself had seen better days, for now the market stalls' colours had worn off and the planks were slowly coming apart. Even the fish itself seemed to notice as the quality and taste of it faded from day to day. The entire city slowly came apart. Merchants moved their business elsewhere, scholars and confidants of the crown avoided the city completely, because they didn't wish to fall from grace and poverty grew among the common people. After the rebellion the once blossoming city was left abandoned by any force that could help it in any way on the order of the crown. Prominent reminders of the rebellion were the bones of revolutionists who were nailed to the city gates and town hall. The Crystal Guard who once acted as a guard for the coast and docks solely, now were under the order to strike down any citizen who acted strangely or wished to defy the crown.

In the first years after the rebellion the High Guard, the King's guard, would come by Merrowhaven once every sun high, but other things became a high ranking problem of the crown. The King of Chacosia had died and his two children should soon compete against each other in order to establish the new monarch. Since his death a lot of former consultants had mysteriously disappeared, quit their job or passed away. Now the Kingdom saw itself in need of a guiding hand for the future monarch, but almost all of the people who knew how to lead a country were gone. Of course the High Guard and all the other Guards had to be placed in cities of importance, which Merrowhaven was not anymore. The remaining government hoped for no new uprisings and gladly shared the fate of a defeated rebellion stronghold, which is Merrowhaven, in order to keep revolutionists quiet.

This day however was different. Calelia Dewspinner was making her way down to the docks, a few coins in the pocket of her dress, which like the rest of the town had seen better days. Her straw basket that she held on tightly had a hole in it, big enough to fit a fist through it. She was making her way to the fish market like most people to sell her goods that she had yet to get a hold of. As usual she passed the temple and made a quick thank you to the gods that she had survived another day only at their grace. By now she was used to sleeping out on the streets at night behind barrels with a scarf as her only protection from the unforgiving cold, but every day she lived was a miracle to her. The nights were as unbearable as the days, even though they contrasted in every way. The hot and dry weather would change into a biting cold one in the night, so that some homeless children would die every now and then.

The silver coins in her pocket made cheerful noises as she passed hurried down the stairs heading for the market and the nearby docks. It sounded to her like the coins awaited being spend, but she was certainly not going to buy the fish she would later sell. Calelia was going to steal them or take the fish, the fishermen or the other fishmongers hadn't deemed worthy of selling. She had to be quick to go unnoticed and avoid losing a hand while going through her morning routine. As she came closer to the docks, she pulled down her scarf that had earlier been her blanket, but now served as a shield from the already burning sun. She hid her dark brown hair that she kept in two braids in her scarf and blouse that had originally been white, but had too many unidentified stains.

She passed the usual sailors that still reeked of alcohol from the previous night. At the sixth street corner she turned left and arrived at the warehouse that didn't guard their fish. Quickly she placed the silver fish in her basket, when she saw two pairs of legs lying at the end of one container. Calelia had always been curious so it was no surprise that she went over to them. They belonged to a rather plump man with grey hair. She went closer to him. She needed to know, whether he passed out or whether he had died, or she would think about him all day. Working while distracted was not an option for her.