A Woman on a Mission

Elaine hiked up her skirts as she descended from the ship. It has been a long journey, and she had run out of reading material halfway through week two. After organizing a book-borrowing club with as many of the other passengers as she could bully into participating and then exhausting that supply of material, she had taken to learning what she could about how the ship functioned and the roles of the various crews. Although the crew had been indulgent of her interloping (no doubt due to the exorbitant amount her father had paid to ensure her travel was as comfortable as possible) they probably weren’t mad to see the back of her.

Most of her luggage was being sent directly to the apartments her father had arranged for her, but she had had her identification and other necessary items kept in a smaller carpet bag that she carried herself. Instead of heading to her accommodations, as was expected, she asked a passing attendant for directions to the registry offices and set off to have her paper worked sorted as quickly as possible.

She paused for only a moment to admire the view and calm her excitement before heading off at a brisk pace.

Elaine had done her research before arriving in Itona. The expectation maintained by her family was that she would stay in Ynnis as a visitor for a few short weeks, and then return home. With the beautiful views and melting pot of languages and practices, her father thought it was exactly the kind of place a young woman like herself would be able to become more cultured in relative comfort and safety. Of course… Elaine’s objectives and her father’s were not entirely in line. 

The representatives of the two cities clearly weren’t expecting anyone from the recently docked boat so soon, but they rallied themselves quickly and Elaine sat patiently through their presentations. Everything they were saying matched what she already understood about the two main cities, and thus her choice remained unchanged. She moved on to one of the processing counters and began to methodically lay her documents out on the surface.

The woman behind the counter smiled at her with more genuine warmth than Elaine was used to receiving from bureaucratic day-laborers. It seemed that she was genuinely excited to see people starting their new lives on the island and Elaine found her enthusiasm infectious (although her expression probably changed very little; it was unbecoming, after all, for a young woman to have anything more expressive than a demure smile).

“I see you’ve listed an address in Ynnis already! I assume that is where you plan on registering?” The woman asked, as she looked over the first of the sheets.

“Although I will be staying in this city for the next few weeks, my plan is to head inland as soon as I have my affairs in order. I will be registering with Azzaru.” Elaine corrected, moving the relevant paperwork forward. 

The woman grinned, somehow, even broader. “Well then, welcome to Itona.”