Early Dawn - Land Without Love

The morning has come. The sky is clear with only a few clouds. The golden sun rises above the clouds, illuminating water of the Dry Sea, as well as the coast side. Rays of light descend on the flat meadow as it starts to wake. Birds begin to chirp, bees begin to forage for pollen and other wildlife begins to get active. The morning air is fresh; filled with dew and earthy smell.

Slowly, citizens of the Kingdom begin to wake as well. The main street quickly becomes bustling, with lots of people and activity. Sounds of horse carriages can be heard, carrying all sorts of things down the street. Children had already begun playing and having fun in the early morning. Merchants start to gather together in the Town Market, with various goods: leather products, pottery, woodworking, grains, fruits or vegetables; most made by the working class. Commoners slowly fill the stalls, looking for things to purchase while they are still available, and perchance on sale.

Blacksmiths, tailors and bakers begin to open their stores as well. The Soil District was always extremely busy, with many faces coming through on a daily basis. The blacksmith's shops were often noisy and smoky, filled with sounds of hammering and the heat of the forge. The tailors are collecting their daily fabric orders, which travel to their stores by horse carriage. And at this hour, the enticing smell of fresh baked bread fills the air of the Soil District, coming out of the ovens in bakeries. There is only one apothecary in the Soil District, which was usually closed to the working class, priding itself on its elite medicinal herbs and remedies.

The tall Carnation Palace overlooks the entire Kingdom. Silver-grey colored stone builds the tall walls that lift the Palace above the ground. The Palace is constructed from the same stone, with dark black stones used for creating the roofs of the Palace's various spires. Beyond the gate at the end of the main street, there is one long upward dirt path that leads up from the main street, all the way to the Carnation Palace's main entrance. Along this path, there are a few structures that are inside the Palace's walls, including a smithy, bakery, carpenter’s shop, and an empty building that used to be the king's personal apothecary, and a few more.

Near the top of the largest spire lies a long balcony with big brown wooden doors open. Inside this room, on the amber sheets, and on a fluffy feathered pillow, sleeps Stella Widowgast. Only daughter of the powerful King Heraclius, and his spouse Helen, Stella is the next heir of the Widowgast family as well as the throne. As she has gotten older, the royal family struggles more and more to find a consort fitting for her since Stella seems to decline anyone willing to propose to her. At this moment, a servant of the Palace proceeds towards Stella's bedroom; they slowly open the door and enter the room, approaching the bed.

"Your Highness, your presence is requested at the Great Hall, please awaken."

Stella trembles slightly, her sleep abruptly cut. The princess raises her arms above her head, to stretch. Sighing, she opens her light blue eyes to speak:

"Just five more minutes, Sam, please."

Sam, a servant and chambermaid of the Palace, crosses her hands and bows slightly towards Stella, a slight smile forming on her lips, as she tilts her head.

"Your Highness, her Majesty requested you to come down at once. She isn't very happy that this is my second time waking you up today."

"Alright...fine. I will be getting up now.. thank you Sam. What is today's breakfast?"

"Your favorite as always, Your Highness."

Chambermaid Sam straightens her head, puts her hands behind her back, and bows down. She leaves the room, and closes the door behind her. As Stella continues to lay down in her bed for a bit longer, she looks around her room. The fresh morning air coming from outside and the smell of lit candles, from when Sam visited earlier, lingers in the room. The brown walls are decorated with many flowery patterns, and even a few paintings in golden yellow frames. There is a fireplace in the center of the room, with white marble lining around it. The two lit candles are mounted on the wall above the fireplace, as well as a wooden shelf with five cobalt-blue vases on it, and above the shelf: a portrait of Stella Widowgast looking to her side.

As Stella gets up, she walks to the mirror in her room, and begins untangling her long straight blonde hair with a comb, and adjusting the fringe of her hair. In the mirror's reflection, a beautiful young princess sits calmly. Her pale skin, light blue eyes, little dot on her cheek, are all details that make her naturally gorgeous. As she finishes and walks over her squared red and blue detailed rug, she leaves her bedroom and goes into the antechamber, where she puts on a pale chemise, and over it, a crimson-red gown.

As she makes her way down the stairs, smells of freshly baked pastries hit her, and most importantly, the smell of apple pie. Along the way to the Great Hall, Stella passes by a few other servants of the Palace, greeting them as she moves inside the Great Hall. Once she enters, she sees her mother standing in front of the long wooden table that sits opposite of the door, overlooking the two vertical tables where the Palace servants or guests eat at. Her mother, a tall pale woman, wearing a long forest-green gown, was waiting for her. Stella walks up to her, as her mother Helen, notices she's finally there by hearing the sounds of her leather shoes stepping on the stone floor.

"Good morning, Mother. I see...you and Father have already eaten."

"Stella. It's noon."

Stella, with her arms to her side, bows briefly before Queen Helen, slightly nervous as to what her mother will say back to her, she spoke quietly:

"I apologize, Mother. Yesterday was a long day, and I was exhausted. Days are starting to grow longer, too."

Her Majesty walks towards her daughter with her arms crossed, and as she comes closer, Stella straightens upward, and Helen gives her a short hug. As she talks, she slowly breaks the hug, smiling:

"It is alright, my child. Eat up quick, your Father wants you to go into the Kingdom today with him. He has an important meeting at Fort Marigold this evening."

After the hug was over, Stella quickly started running towards the table and taking a seat in the middle of it, immediately picking at the apple pie. She nods and continues listening to her mother speak:

"Don't forget to greet Austin later; your brother is coming today, I believe he is to stay for a few days. Don't let him frustrate you again, you know he adores making you upset."

Stella looks back to her, looking agitated already. She begins to imagine what sort of frustrations he will put her through this time. As she finishes her breakfast, one of the servants of the Palace comes into the Great Hall, inviting Stella outside to her father.

As she steps outside, the bright sun blinding her, causing her to cover her face with her hand. The sky is a bright blue, with no clouds in sight, the smell of the late spring and early summer is in the air. It's very warm, with an occasional breeze. Stella follows the servant, and comes up to an open horse carriage. There are a few chests on the carriage, and two armored guards as well as two unarmored men; her father, in a long plum undertunic made of silk and embroidered with gold thread, and a long azure-blue coat is standing next to the carriage, waiting for her.

"Stella! Glad you made it in time. Come on, we must leave soon."

"Yes, Father."

King Heraclius was a respected man among the commoners, however despised by the working class. A very powerful figure at his age, establishing peace amongst the Kingdoms without any war. Today, he seemed to be in a good mood. Stella hopped on the cart, and they began their way down towards main street.

As they entered the main street, townsfolk gathered to praise the king and his daughter, as they traversed throughout the street. Men, women and children cheered for them. The guards remained seated while Heraclius and Stella stood, waving to everyone celebrating them. As they make their way down the main street, they pass by the Soil District and the Town Market. While everyone else was focusing on everyone near the carriage, Stella’s eyes drift into the stalls of the Town Market.

She spots a hooded figure, browsing in the market. Her eyes widen in surprise, as she seems to be the only person who spots this individual. The figure wore a long reddish-brown woolen tunic and a shaded black cape, with a hood covering their head. As they hunched their shoulders toward the stall, they looked as if they were stealing something from the bowls. The moment Stella saw them raise a bright red apple from the stand, her eyebrows raised as she lifted her hand, her finger pointing at the individual; she proclaimed:

"A thief, Father! A thief!"

The cheering from the crowd suddenly stopped as everyone gasped together, the king and the guards turning their attention towards the culprit, who at this moment, realized they were caught; and began running away with a few apples falling out of their little pouch as they began to sprint. Stella jumped out of the cart first, the four guards following right behind her, as they ran to apprehend the hooded figure.

To be continued.