[piosenniel]

Brinniel's post

The sun hung low on the eastern sky, revealing that the day was still young. The air was damp and cool, and delicate white clouds were scattered throughout the sky. On the shores of Umbar, sailors and fishermen could be seen preparing for the new day. And as all this was happening, a young woman stood on the southern beach, a solitary figure gazing out at the vast sea. Adeline Montrés was her name, and it was often that she came to stand on these beaches to watch the sun rise.

Adeline closed her eyes, allowing a slight breeze to blow across her face and tousle the ringlets that descended to her jaw line. She licked her lips ever so briefly, and could taste salt. Adeline had lived in Umbar her entire life, but it wasn’t until recently that she was able to appreciate the beauty of the city. The beach was a peaceful place and often Adeline came here not only to stare at the sunrise, but also to daydream and read her favorite stories.
“You waste too much time of your life dreaming,” her mother once commented, “much like your father did when he was a young man. I swear, you get to be more and more like him everyday.” Adeline had simply smiled at this.

Adeline was brought back to attention by the sound of a child’s laughter. She turned around to find two young boys chasing each other with sand, both with large grins planted on their faces. Adeline gave a slight smile, remembering the days of her childhood as she absentmindedly fingered the silver locket that hung around her neck. Then, lifting up the hem of her long, pale blue dress, she turned away and left the beach, before she could get hit by any flying sand herself.

As Adeline strolled past the docks, she could see out of the corner of her eye Captain Jythralo Doran speaking privately with another man. Adeline had never met Captain Doran, nor did she care to for she always had feelings of hatred towards him, for Doran had once been a corsair. When she was just a toddler, her father had managed to capture him, though that was not enough to stop him. Once Adeline’s father heard the news that Doran had agreed to give up his corsair ways, he only chuckled grimly.
“A pirate will never surrender his ways,” he had once told Adeline. “Especially not Jythralo Doran. I do not know what he is up to, but I don’t like the look of it. I honestly believe Ambassador Thrann is making a mistake, allowing Doran to live a free life. Doran is not a man to trust.”

Adeline remembered those words and made sure to pay heed to them. At all costs, she had avoided Captain Doran and his men, which had not been difficult. She often stated her opinion of Doran to her best friend, Devon, though he had never said much in response, perhaps because he was the son of the ambassador.

Adeline saw Captain Doran’s eyes shift towards her direction when she realized she had been staring at him. She quickly averted her eyes, then glanced back at him, giving the captain one last dirty look before continuing on.

When she left the beach, Adeline had intended to head straight for home, for she had many chores to attend to. She hated to neglect her duties, especially now that her mother was so busy working as a seamstress. But as she passed the stables, her ears picked up the sound of voices coming from inside. Though, she could not make out what they were saying, Adeline could easily recognize the voice, one of them belonging to Devon. Strange, she thought to herself. Why would Devon be out at this hour? Curious on what Devon was up to, Adeline forgot about her original plan of going home and stepped inside the stables.