She was abandoned while she was still a child. The first night she slept under the moon, near the harbor, listening to the gentle cry of soft waves crashing under the pier below her. For the first few days some of the folk would give her some food and shelter. Soon though, they all wanted things from her. So she would rather sleep on the streets than with those people. She felt loneliness for the first time when she learned that every relationship is a trade.

Soon, however, she felt hungry. She didn’t remember feeling hungry before. But with it, also came her first friends, for shared pain is the best icebreaker. Allyna and Talon first stole a few pieces of fruit right in front of everyone, they weren’t thinking. They were just… hungry. They were beaten down by the merchant that, after making sure they had learned their lesson, fed them for the day. He even offered them work in exchange of food but that didn’t last long. The merchant had a drinking habit and would beat the kids after nightfall whenever he felt like it. So they left. And decided they would make it on their own.

From that day on, they began learning how to steal. They observed some of the local thieves, the small ones and then they would try the techniques. Allyna was skilfull but Talon was the quick one to learn. She was great at picking targets and spotting trouble, while he could distract people with his charm and sweet talking like few grown ups could.

A few years went by like that. Their childhood had its fair share of beatings. Every now and then, while they were too comfortable or trying new tricks, the merchants from the harbor would get them stealing food. But still, Allyna always thought that hunger was worse than the beating. Most of the time, though, stealing was like child’s play for her. She would giggle when successful and try different ways of getting what she wanted. Most days were good and the kids would share the day’s pickings with each other. She was happy. And they were no longer children, though.

She thought the first night had been the worst night in her life since she was kicked out of her home with the news that her parents had died. However, one day she became of age. She was no longer a child, and the pirates and sailors started looking at her differently, with grins in their lips and fire in their eyes. At first she didn’t understand. One night, however, she was following a band of drunken men out of the Siren’s Call. They were bragging about the money they made gambling and could barely walk straight. Easy targets she thought. She wouldn’t need Talon for these guys. It was a trap.

The men had spotted her during the day, desired her young body throughout the day’s work. They spent the evening at the tavern coming up with a plan, asking questions about her. None of this she heard from outside the tavern. They faked all that talk, the tumbling walk. It was all a lie. They tore her clothes in an alley, muffled her screams, and ripped whatever naivety she had kept from her childhood. She was sure she would die that night.

The next day, she woke up lying down in the alley. Alone. Blood had stained her brown leather pants between her thighs. She felt weak, empty, humiliated and ashamed. She called softly for her friend. “Ta…lon…?”. Allyna slowly stood up and, as she was walking out of that cursed place, she heard laughter, a familiar one, loud. Her eyes met terror. It must have been weeks while she stood there, looking at Talon, smiling and laughing and talking happily with the band of demons that had assaulted her. “How could he…?”.

Hope was now gone. She was alone again. Completely. Deeply. Profoundly… alone. She dragged her body into the first ship she saw in the harbor. One that was one big enough to make a long trip, one that would carry cargo to trade somewhere far away from everyone she knew. If there was anything worth living for, it sure wasn’t in that town. So she hid in the lower parts of the ship, behind boxes and under pieces of cloth lying here and there. She muffled her crying, her sobbing, her breathing. Silence was her new best friend. The sound of voices now terrified her. But it wouldn’t be for long.

The ship didn’t last more than two days at sea. A gigantic storm destroyed the ship as soon as it left harbor. Allyna held to the boat for as long as she could and for as long as it could still be called a boat. The powerful storm waves crashed and destroyed the structured, washing people overboard screaming. For a long time she was strong. However, one thought crossed her mind as soon as the waves calmed down and her new best friend arrived: “what are you holding on so tight for?”. At that moment, she felt her arms tired and aching. Her legs went numb and her back collapsed in pain. She died, and it was a relief.

_

Allyna opened her eyes in a cave. She looked for an entrance, or perhaps an exit, but couldn’t find one. The sea caressed her stone bed gently, bringing in the daylight from its depths. She sat down, what took all her strength. Every muscle in her body screamed in pain. Breathing felt heavy and overwhelming. Her head could explode at any second. It didn’t feel like death. The stories the clerics and priests told at the harbor spoke of liberation and joy in the arms of the gods. Even the evil looking ones promised honor or some reward in the afterlife for those who followed their paths. None of this felt like a reward.

“Hihihi!”

Out of the darkness, or maybe it was out of the sea, came this gentle giggle, filled with joy. It wasn’t loud but it sounded like a thunder breaking the silence in her head.

“You are awake, hun? Good, good. I thought that you were another dead mermaid that washed up my cave. Are you hungry?”

“HUNGRY!? WHO THE HELL ARE YOU AND WHERE THE FUCK AM I?!” Allyna jumped up, still dressed in the stained leather rags that she wore that night. She tried to cover her body as well as she could while standing and moving away from every shadow that moved. “WHERE ARE YOU!?”, she shouted in panic.

And so Allyna laid eyes on a beautiful woman. She had long and bright red hair, perfectly brushed. Her skin seemed smooth from the distance and was clean and tanned, not quite black as the southern people, not quite white as most people had around the harbor. Her eyes gleamed in the dark, like two polished emeralds in the sun. She was the definition of beauty that Allyna had always imagined. The woman stood up and came walking slowly, gently, smiling and calming Allyna’s heart with every step towards her.

“I am Aleuryn. You are safe now. It was luck who brought you here. And, when you are ready, I would love to hear your story, Allyna.”

The voice was soft, calming. So much that the drowned girl did not notice that she was called by her own name, even though she never mentioned it in the three desperate questions she had shouted just a moment ago. All of a sudden, the cave seemed to be filled with the stuff of dreams, and it felt like she was inside a comforting, warm embrace of familiar arms. She lied down with a smile, and fell asleep, dreaming about luck.

[ Art by NYMRE: https://www.deviantart.com/nymre/art/Miss-Fortune-555576360 ]