Autumn shivered in her spot on the cliff, the sun shining through the thick fog over the sea, not yet high enough to warm her body. The sea was calm- as it usually was in the mornings- but this morning felt different. It was as if the sea knew she was leaving. The waves were low and gentle, and the air was still and cold. The sky was gray, and the sun painted the sea a shade of very pale pink. The grass surrounding Autumn was damp and dark in the low light, and some of the flowers had not yet opened their petals.
Autumn pulled her knees to her chest and took a breath full of that seaside smell- the damp rocks, the salt, the fish, the grass. She closed her eyes and listened to the waves and the birds, calling out to their young as they went morning hunting. She heard the bark of the sea lions, climbing up onto the rocks to take breaks from swimming and huddle up together in the cold.
Autumn laid back into the grass to stare up at the sky, to admire the seabirds as they circled above her, and to feel the heavy droplets from the foggy sky settle around her. The lighthouse towered from the corner of her vision, its red and white stripes shining against the colorless sky. She plucked blades of grass from around her head, admiring them in her hands and blowing off the droplets. She plucked blade after blade until she had a whole bouquet of grass in her hands, the green glowing brighter in her pale hands. When the wind started to pick up, she loosened her grip and watched them float away.
Autumn liked to think of herself as a blade of grass. Her and her mother and sister, swaying in the wind, hoping to be unbothered when suddenly they are plucked from the roots and stripped of their shining beauty, and then let go to blow away in the wind where they will be picked up by someone else.
All she’d ever done was go with the flow, but that had never seemed good enough for anybody. Autumn do this, Autumn do that. Scrub the docks. Cut the boards. Toss the barrels. All for money. She worked and worked for herself, for the happiness of her family, but the money never made her happy. It just gave her the hope to be. Money didn’t solve problems or happiness, it just made people shut up. If she had money she’d be bored. Without it she wasn’t bored but instead tired. There was no in between. Life had no meaning, and now the best part of it was being taken away from her- her family and the ocean.
But then there was the rest of the world. Just waiting to be explored. Sure, Queen Reina and Rey could be manipulating her, but there were still other things to enjoy. There was an entire kingdom she hadn’t been able to see. It just hurt her that she couldn’t see it with the people she loved.
She closed her eyes and rubbed her fingers around one of her two front braids, tracing the small beads and metal flowers her mother had crafted for her. She twisted the tip of her braid in front of her eyes, watching her orange hair turn gold in the rising sunlight.
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“Autumn!” Skylynn called from the lighthouse.
Autumn sighed and took one last look at the sunrise, hoping she’d be back soon to see it again.
* * *
After one day of travel, the mountains turned from rocky and gray to lush and green. Autumn chose a seat at the back of her wagon so she could stare out at the changing scenery, her trunk wedged between her feet and a notebook open in her lap. She drew pictures of every new creature she spotted, and described every one that she couldn’t name.
Deer and rabbits bounded back and forth along the trail behind their wagon, and sometimes came right up when it was stopped, begging for food. Birds of many colors chirped from the tall evergreen trees, and flowers bloomed on either side of the rocky path, and bees buzzed from petal to petal.
Autumn was so in awe of her new surroundings, she hadn’t quite gotten to meet any of the other passengers. Only one of four had any interest in her, and she was on her way to the castle with similar goals as Autumn.
Her name was Raibyn, and she held herself with strength and courage, and her deep blue eyes were bold and bright. She wore the uniform of a soldier, and she had her hair braided in what looked like bubbles down her back. The ends of her hair were bright green, a green more bright than any Autumn had ever seen.
“I’m on my way back to the castle for my fourth year of service,” She’d told Autumn. “I’m hoping to become a travelling knight, so I can explore Alondra while on duty.”
Autumn frowned. “What’s that?”
“Travelling knights are just knights who don’t stay in one place for long periods of time,” Raibyn explained. “They're given orders from the queen or Prince Rey to work in a specific place for a little while, and then are sent to report back. Sometimes they even get really important missions.”
Autumn leaned her head back and stared at the brown cloth ceiling that hid the wagon from the sun. “What kind of missions?”
“Well,” Raibyn pursed her lips. “Most are searching cities for any clues of where those raiders might be hiding.”
Autumn whipped around to look at her. “Raiders? Like the ones who attacked that city a few years ago?”
Raibyn frowned. “Yeah, but they’ve led more than just that one attack. They’ve been all over for the past three years.” Raibyn studied Autumn closely. “Have you been living under a rock? They’ve also raided Rhea and Austin, and damn has it been bad.”
“I heard about the burned buildings,” Autumn murmured. “And the people they murdered. I knew about all the destruction, but I didn’t know they did it again.”
She shook her head. She couldn’t believe that the ones who had killed her brother were still out there. No wonder she hadn’t heard, this wasn’t the sort of thing Skylynn would like to let her hear.
“I want to get rid of those raiders,” Raibyn said firmly. “They’re terrorists, and we don’t even know what they want.” She clasped her hands together and smiled at Autumn brightly. “As soon as I become a knight, I’m getting rid of all those assholes.”
Autumn returned her smile. “I guess I’ll have to beat you to it.”
