"Slow down... slow down a bit, please!" Lirr sighed and finally decided to stop once she saw Rosmerta clutching one hand to her chest and desperately trying to catch her breath.

The white stone steps seemed to writhe in snake-like serpentines on and on forever. Castle Ysborg was connected with the harbour in several ways, but the serving men usually used these narrow, winding steps, closed with several massive gates leading directly to the merchant stalls and the market in the port.

"You always chase after something!" complained Rosmerta, still panting with exhaustion. Her prominent breasts swayed rhythmically under her blue-grey corset sewn with small white seashells. The seashells were an almost as important symbol of Ysborg as the silver griffin - the winged lion "Where are you hurrying so?"

Lirr rolled her eyes and said nothing. Every visit to the harbour was equally exciting to her, regardless of the weather, the time or day or season, so it was small wonder she could hardly wait when she could be there yet again. She longed to smell the familiar scents of the sea, the port and the moored ships, to talk with the sailors, the shopkeepers, the merchants and the pirates, to be, even if it was for a little while - herself, to be... almost at home.

" I beg your forgiveness, I was... lost in thought..." she smiled apologetically, winking at her at the same time. She knew very well that Rosmerta could never resist that. After all, underneath her stern mask of overbearing, burnt-pots-hating kitchen authority she was simply a caring, sincere woman.

" You little rogue!" she smiled back still clutching at her chest with just a tad too much exaggeration. One unruly wisp of her silvery hair somehow managed to escape her intricate head bun and fell down to her cheek "What am I to do with you?" she exclaimed scolding "Alright then" she finally waved her off looking resigned "Just go ahead, run wherever it is you were running. I have first to meet Olmert anyways."

Lirr had to command all her willpower not to dart ahead full speed right then.

"I will help you with the clams and the squids later, I promise" she smiled at the cook remorsefully while all the while shifting from one foot to the other and glancing anxiously down the stairs, now vibrating in the sun-heated air.

"Just go. Go!" she waved her off again, slightly angry now "I will seek you out when I will have need of you" she added but Lirr rather guessed than heard her last words as she was already on her way, rushing down and taking several steps in one leap.

With every new spiral turn, the murmur of the sea became clearer while the air was more and more saturated with the smell of salt and algae drying in the sun. Lirr quickly left Rosmerta far behind and reached the last gate that could only open from the inside, from the castle side. When she slammed shut the creaking heavy door behind her, she found herself in a small alley overgrown with wild vine. For some reason, this spot was much frequented by the harbour cats. One of them, a seasoned warrior, tailless and with only a chunk of his right ear left was lounging stoically near the wall, in a pool of shade which was now slowly melting. She grinned to herself and without thinking, bent down to pet him. As her hand was right above his head, the cat suddenly narrowed his green eyes virulently, arched his back forming an impressive bow and dashed out of her sight with a wild hiss. That abrupt movement startled her so much that she lost her balance for a second and fell flat on her face into the bush of wild vines.

"Damned, verminous... !" she started cursing under her breath.

"Krrrrr......!" a smug croak over her head interrupted the flow of curses to come. That was beyond belief. She looked up and now she in turn felt the urge to clutch at her chest, like Rosmerta. A huge, ink-black raven was circling dangerously low above her head. His piercing, obsidian glance held a bizarre depth as if there was something supernatural to the bird. The leaves of the wild vine moved gently at the thrust of his massive wings. She did not doubt, not for a second, that it was the same feral bird that irritated Cael so.

"A barrel of rotten picked herrings..." she whispered exasperated and immediately, instinctively reached for the black feather braided in her hair. "Maybe it was a mistake, after all..." she winced at the thought that maybe, for once, Ros was right with all her bickering about tempting her fate.

"Krrr...!!!" the crow kept his eyes set firmly on her. It seemed he never meant to leave.

"Shoo!" she fumed. How on earth was she supposed to move around the harbour inconspicuously with something like that hovering over her head?

The crow only winked with one eye and she would swear that that there was something mean in the way he looked at her, some bird-devilish cunning, maybe even mockery. "Yes..." she admitted to herself, startled „He is mocking me!" Now she was really angry. She bent down and quickly picked up some loose stones from the marble floor. The crow made another circle in the air, and when he lurched for her she started heatedly throwing the shards of the castle steps at him.

"Arrrr....!!!" commented the crow, evidently offended. Not a single stone hit him. Lirr felt herself redden with all the shame and anger. All she could do now was to ignore the vile bird. At least for the moment.

"Leave me alone!" she cried out at him, her voice muffled. She feared that if someone saw her now, he would undoubtedly think her insane. She anxiously smoothed her tunic, smartened up her hair and dapperly slipped out from the nook onto the stone harbour promenade.

As soon as she found herself in the midst of the usual traffic and hubbub, when she was surrounded by nameless travelers, tradesmen, onlookers, passers-by and toothed cuttlefish only knows who else, she felt relief. At last she could breath, she could forget that she lived in a beautiful, grand prison where a hundred eyes watched her every step, where even words spoken softly to Cael, would surely reach the Duchess's ears, where she had guards in place of friends and where future replaced by her permanent waiting for Hego's next visit.

She took a deep breath and strolled up the promenade. The day was cloudless and extraordinarily hot, the wind was gently flapping the lowered sails of ships in the harbour while the seagulls flew up in screaming flocks circling above the fishermen's barges unloading onto the busy wharf. The air was full of distinct smells of the sea and the scents of sold spices, some sweet, some bitter, some hot and sour, they stirred the senses and clouded the mind, brought back memories of her travel on the Harpy, of hundreds of harbours she had seen and hundreds more that she heard of.

The faces she passed by, some pale as a winter morning, some black as the darkest night, some golden as honey, tattooed or covered with metal piercings, painted or hidden behind masks, looked at her with indifference or with curiosity, but none of them knew, none of them could know who she really was. All they saw was a girl dressed in hunting pants and a plain tunic, a girl with wild black hair and unusual eyes the colour of the sea, a girl who could very well be one of them, a traveller visiting yet another harbour, with a thousand homelands but homeless all the same.

Lirr quickly passed the fat trading cogs with a load of miniature red fish used for making a special kind of hot sauce that was especially liked in Ysborg. The fish and the sauce alike shared an extremely pungent aroma, so it was little wonder that the area around the dripping wet boxes was nearly empty. Even the harbour girls shamelessly advertising their pricey services all over the promenade, were clearly steering clear of this particular spot.

She held her breath persistently while going round the moored ships that were unloading the dangerous goods. She paced up and slowed down only when she found herself in the sector reserved for flowers and fruit. There was no reason for her to linger there however, even though among dozens of barrels packed with dried petals of blue roses, chests of delicate lotuses and sacks of the blood-red mountain lily of the valley she spotted extremely rare sunny-yellow jagged flowers called "nightmares" by simple healers. Apart from bringing sleep they were also a valued cure for rage attacks. She hesitated for a second but decided to move on. Rosmerta did her own shopping and had far better knowledge of herbs so if she would need those flowers she would surely get them herself.

She didn't come across anything unusual in the next part of the harbour. The slim and renowned for their speed ships of the merchant-warriors from the isles scattered around the Freezing Cape were loaded to their brims with furs of white and blue bears, seals and wolves. The wide, flat-bottomed galleys from the peaceful Nakkan, close to Daxos, brought the tacit, broad-shouldered mercenaries with empty eyes and leather straps around their foreheads.

Further on she found a whole collection of various private ships, that brought to Ysborg envoys, illustrious merchants from the farthest lands, lesser lords of forgotten fortunes and all sorts of traders who were running about their business in the port. None of them seemed suspicious; none of them inspired fear or even mere curiosity but there was something bothering her. She could not get rid of a peculiar feeling that someone was watching her or maybe even following her, unseen, hidden, tracing her every step. She halted a couple of times unexpectedly, changed the direction of her walk twice and even turned around and went in a double circle. The feeling was still there though, despite that she didn't see anyone particularly interested in her among the people she passed by.

At last she went pass the merchants, the traders and the mercenaries taking a long arc around them and glancing back a couple of times for good measure. She approached the sea bank only when she reached the other side of the harbour where slightly alienated and pushed closer to the roadstead than the city stayed the ships not quite welcomed in Ysborg. Here was the usual spot for pirates, outlaws and all sorts of dodgy vessels that were better controlled this way. On the other hand, in case of unforeseen problems on dryland they were closest to open sea.

The crowd of onlookers and traders grew thinner and thinner gradually and then vanished completely. Lirr did not mind. She used to be one of those social outcasts herself in a way and if it wasn't for Hego's stubborn stance, she would be surely still making her living off "uncompromising speculation of valuable goods in the sea trading business" to quote her adoptive father, when dead drunk with rum.

„Pearls! The most exquisite pearls from the depths of the Golden Sea. White as your teeth when you smile, pink as your fair face, black as your hair, my beauty, blue and green as your eyes" a melodic voice surprised her. Next to a seasoned, two-masted ship stood a tall, handsome man with a swarthy complexion and laughing amber eyes. He wore his slick black hair in an intricate braid that fell all the way to his shoulder blades.

"... and golden like your pouch?" she retorted with a mocking smile.

The seller brightened immediately, clearly seeing his opportunity in her openness.

"My pearls are shining like your eyes and are delicate to the touch like your skin" he murmured lowering his voice sensually "Doesn't your noble neck deserve a necklace of my rare, wonderful pearls, milady?" he cocked his head to the side and stroked the side of his own, tanned neck suggestively.

The unbuttoned white shirt showed a smooth chest with a tattoo of a two-headed mermaid. Lirr had to admit to herself that he was handsome. Not as handsome as Cael of course but there was something magnetic in his honey-gold eyes and the pawky, false tradesman smile he smiled. Or maybe it was just the feeling of danger that was so irresistible.

"I don't want your pearls, I'm looking for a certain ship," she grinned trying hard not to let herself fall for his lying amber gaze. The stranger started fiddling with the round pearls he placed on his open palm. They were shimmering in the afternoon sun white and gold. Lirr watched him move them around with deft fingers, mix them up and twirl.

"A ship? You will only find stench, drunken sailors and villains here" he smiled again, wryly "You'd better talk to me, a respectable merchant. Tomorrow I'm sailing away so maybe I could sell you my pearls cheaper." he lowered his voice as if he was telling her a big secret. Lirr signed inwardly, discouraged. She could not bear being treated like an idiot.

"I don't want to buy anything," she stated, maybe a tad too sharply than she intended. The tradesman looked into her eyes, searchingly and smiled a roguish smile.

"And I don't want to sell. The mere thought of parting with my precious pearls gives me a heartache" he added smoothing his delicate, silken shirt "But what would I do with such splendid gems? They would rather befit your noble beauty, milady." before she knew it, he grasped her hand and brushed it briefly with his lips. It seemed to her that some moving shadow obscured the sun for a second right then. The seagulls flew up from the masts screaming and flapping their wings furiously moved onto the neighbouring ship.

"Since when is your ship in harbour?" she asked while discreetly stepping aside from the intrusive trader.

"Since thirteen days and tomorrow we sail away" he murmured like a cat, not leaving his eyes off her.

"From where did you come?"

"Straight from Merkotte on the Golden Sea, of course" he grinned and extended his hand full of pearls in front of her.

"I am looking for the Green Harpy" she informed him squarely, looking into his eyes, searching for any sign of hesitation or deceit.

"Is that so?" he smiled closed-mouth "A fast ship. Extraordinary ship."

"Have you seen her?" she did her best to hide her excitement.

"And have you seen my pearls?" he was sneaky as any good tradesman in the Ysborg harbour. Again he displayed his handful of pearls suggestively.

"Alright then, I will buy one..." she gave up "Alright, several!" she added seeing the tradesman raising his eyebrows in anticipation. "How much do you want?"

"For you..." he flashed his white teeth at her looking like a hungry predator who just snared his prey "Five for four goldens."

"Four goldens? And you think this is a good price?" She could not believe his insolence.

"This is the rarest kind of pearls my beautiful noble lady." He explained as patiently as if he were talking to a child and placed the biggest pearl gently in her palm.

"The rarest?" she asked doubtfully. The pearl was almost ideally round, and its golden gleam had a faint, barely noticeable rosy undertone. She took it gingerly in two fingers and held it up against the sun while watching it carefully; one eye closed. "From the Golden Sea?" she asked to make sure, still manipulating the pearl. She squeezed it with her thumb a couple of times then brought it up to her mouth. At first the tradesman surveyed her suspiciously but when he saw that she was going to take a bite of his treasure he jumped up like a flash.

"Careful! They are extremely fragile!" he cried out with a ridiculous voice, reedy with panic.

Lirr shoved the pearls behind her back in a closed fist and glared at the tradesman with squinted eyes.

"Fragile? Do you take me for a fool?" she fumed. The tradesman raised his eyebrows so high that it seemed they would merge with the line of his glossy hair "These are simply painted laurence seeds!" she shouted right in his face while shaking the pearls closed safely in her fist.

He froze for a moment then pocketed the remaining pearls with one fast move and stood with his legs slightly apart as if getting ready for a fight. Lirr never had the chance to prepare because almost immediately a tall, tattooed, one-eyed strapper emerged from behind his back. Most probably his personal slayer or so it would seem. He shoved the braided tradesman aside with one swift thrust of his muscular arm.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Hmm.... time for a rescue, I'd say! How about you? What do you think? Should we expect a knight in shiny armour? Or maybe Lirr will do just fina on her own? ;)
Don't be shy, vote and comment if you enjoyed the story!!!! It means the world to me! ^ ^