24th of Autumn, 515 AV "Come on kids, we're just about there, stick together so nobody gets lost now." stated Autumn. It was crowded on the boat, and there was an uproar of cheers as land could be seen after days of being out at sea with nothing to quell peoples' general uneasy demeanor, a demeanor that had plagued them with a contagious dread that spread through everyone, and finally seeing land deflated their fear and filled them with a hope Autumn had not seen throughout their entire exodus from Sunberth. People were cheering and laughing as word got around that land could be seen off in the distance. Autumn felt happy that they were finally at peace. She had tried to help the best she could to keep peoples' spirits up throughout the entire endeavor, but she was only one woman. Distributing food evenly, taking but a crust of bread or a ladelful of soup for herself. Marjorie and Grandmother Anna took care of the sick and wounded the best they could, some had been trampled on those god forsaken docks of Sunberth that god forsaken day. Autumn frequently had wondered what had become of their home, but dismissed the daydream then and there in order to better concentrate on caring for the people, her brethren of Sunberth. Autumn, Marjorie, and Grandmother Anna had offered their linens to the sick, young, and elderly, as it was all they could give to the starving, weary passengers of their savior ship. Autumn had hated the crew and, of course, the captain. They would eat heartily in front of the starving people, throwing their scraps on the floor to watch hungry folk, good people mind you, belittling themselves falling to their knees to pick up the scraps and eat. They would talk about how pitiful the passengers were right in front of them, with weapons stayed so there was no logical way to confront them. The captain, well, there was a special place in hell reserved for that man. The sick, elderly, and youth occupied the hold, whilst Autumn, Marjorie, Grandmother Anna, and the rest of the weary strong held out day and night on deck, often with stinging cold rain plaguing them. They held eachother close in groups to stay the windswept cold from their bodies. Day after day, night after night they fought the elements firsthand on that crowded ship. But now it was over, they had reached their destination through hell and beyond, and had overcome. "Cmon kids, are you ready?" Jack was the young boy, about ten years old, a smart little bugger, and rambunctious as well. He smiled at Autumn and reached up to hold her hand. He was bashful as he had a little boy crush on Autumn, whose weary smiles had kept him going throughout their journey. Lily and her sister Stephanie were next. At twelve and seven respectively, they followed hand in hand next to Marjorie. Lily had risen to the challenge to take care of her sister, sharing food and blankets with her and making sure her sister wasn't scared. She had grown strong so fast, and Autumn thought to herself that it reminded her of her own personality after all that Autumn had been through earlier in life. Stephanie was a curious, kind spirit frightened by the journey, but as the mood lifted from the passengers you could see her true self as the free, happy spirit that she was. "Everyone together?" stated Autumn. They all said yes and got in line to disembark. The vessel slowly pulled into port, a port of magnificent sailing vessels, vessels that could only be constructed by experienced carpenters, mathematicians, and organizers all working in tandem flawlessly to build such jewels of the ocean, their thick, dark colored sails proudly billowing in the wind. They disembarked the ship and continued onto the dock and tried to get their bearings. "Everyone here?" Autumn asked. They all said yes. "Great, lets go into town and see what we can find, we should set up camp on the outskirts of the city after we've been through her for a day." "I agree." said Marjorie. "I'll watch the kids hon." said Autumn to Marjorie. "Alright, bye." they kissed. "Eeew, girls kissing!" said Jack. The two smiled. "Is it really that terrible Jackie?" asked Autumn with a smile. "...No." he said. "Alright I'll go with Gramma Anna and we'll check the far side of the city, you guys stay in the near side of the city." "Agreed." They all began walking along the docks together, as Zeltiva was lain out before them. "Autumn, what about the parents?" said Marjorie slowing to a stop. "Do you want to wait for them here? We can wait in shifts." "Agreed." said Marjorie. Autumn gave Marjorie a kiss. "I'll be here for sundown babe." "Alright. Be careful in there, we're not in Sunberth anymore." said Marjorie with a care in her voice. "We will." And with that, Autumn, Grandmother Anna, and the kids made their way towards the city of Zeltiva, wondering what lay in store for them as they went. |