🌾

⚠️⚠️

The city of Birds is quite odd.

Everything is built out of yellow sandstone, from the houses to the roads. There is nothing but the beige yellow color, looking quite monotonous as the wind passes through the dusty desert city. Cattle walk on the streets next to them, heading for the next field in the mountains far away or their little yard behind some rough cube house. Even the cows are covered in beige dust from the sand that surrounds the city, huge dunes casting long shadows in the tireless heat of the slithering desert. There is not a drop of water in sight, nor any farmable land, and yet this remote city is populated by a group of ten thousand starving men and women.

Maud, who has lived all of her life in the north, is unfamiliar with the hot desert climate that exists in central Red Lion. It's too much, too hot and too dusty and too bright. It's dangerous too. Where they to stop for even a moment, they'd be at risk of starving to death or dying of thirst. Water is retreated from the wells far far away, and food from the farmlands behind the three stone mountains seen in the distance. Here in the city there is nothing but cattle, sandstone and the cruel wind. Why people have chosen to live here and not in some more agreeable place is not something Maud has understood quite yet. She would have begged her husband or father to have them move out of here since the moment she would've opened her eyes. Alas, ten thousand men and women still roam these useless streets, eyes wide open as they stare at the royal caravan passing through.

Maud is hidden away in her carriage, covered by the four walls of it, as the entire thing moves up and down with the bumps of the road. People chatter outside her carriage louder than ever before. This is their first time seeing royalty, or perhaps seeing anyone from outside this desert at all. Maud wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. Here there is no education whatsoever, no jobs aside from cattle farming and mining in the far-away desert mines. Clearly none of these people will leave this awful place any time soon, and nobody ever has. Adelio rides ahead with his men in toe, spreading some sort of fear among the public, as they seem to quiet down a notch. Perhaps because they have heard of the cruel crown prince before, or because he is carrying a heavy sword in his belt, riding on a horse dressed in metal armor. A prince like him could easily slaughter all of these people without any repercussions, and that's the most terrifying thing of them all.

"That's the new princess, right?"

Maud is surprised that news has traveled to this remote corner of the world so quickly. Here she sits, the veiled and hidden royal inside a dark carriage, as they stare at her with wonder from the hot outside. As if she were some sort of beautiful, untouchable goddess and they were but mere rats beneath her feet. What would they say if they knew she had once been one of them? Would they believe that? No royal has ever touched poverty as they have, apart from her, and that's increasingly something Maud wants to utilize in their favor. She is the new princess, hidden away from the public and yet showcased to the world of Red Lion in a ridiculous parade like this one. While the people outside her window seem hollow to the bone, starving and tired, manipulated to the wills of those who rule above them. Maud is probably the first princess to pass through this city who feels such horror for the people that she sees. Mainly because she is the first one to see them as actual people.

Or maybe she is wrong. Adelio's mother must've been dragged through this city at one point in her life, after marrying the king. Maud doesn't know much about her, but considering Adelio's personality, she must've been a kind person. His radical and kind thoughts can not have come from his father, after all, who is an absolute maniac just like every other king on this ghastly continent that they live on. Maybe Adelio's mother felt the same way as she did when seeing these people, who surely didn't look any different twenty years ago. What happened to her? She had a son, and three daughters, and eventually died of what Maud would like to call "suspicious causes". Her whole story scares Maud, for she is now in the exact same place as she was. What if she ends up the same way? Unimportant, forgotten and worst of all, dead.

Whatever happens to her is up to Adelio. Just like the old queen's fate was up to her husband. Maud is convinced that it's true.

The carriage comes to a very sudden halt, several minutes after they have entered the city. There weren't many streets to parade through with pride, considering the terrible state of this poor place. But it still took them longer than ever before, just because of the horrid state of these bumpy dirt roads, soiled by the cattle that move about every day, and the ever moving sand underneath it all. The small city center stands between six slightly bigger sandstone houses, completed by the city church in the middle. For a city with ten thousand people, this small church fitting barely one hundred is laughable. The church has one tower and one main part, and it is the only building built out of wood. A graying kind of brown wood that is found far beyond the mountains and deserts of this disintegrating area. Inside the church there is both an orphanage and some kind of hospital, considering the sick people and poor children that run in and out of the sand yard around it, coming towards the royal carriage to catch a glimpse of the new princess. Maud watches it all with newfound disgust for the authorities, once again.

To be honest, she doesn't want to label herself as some sort of hero. In this world she is still just a woman and can't do anything about the horrors that she is seeing. But imagine. Imagine the things she could do if she had the power. The things she would advocate for, the people she would have on her side. That would be amazing. If women had the power, the world would change at a much faster pace. Slowly, her thoughts have turned from being a scared new princess to an outright radical royal with no position to be having such extreme ideas. Maud would like to thank Adelio, but it was the people and her own past experiences that helped her down this path too.

"We've arrived, your highness"

And as always, the guard announces their arrival to her through the carriage door, as if she were stupid and didn't have eyes. Maud sighs and pats down her dress with the help of her maid, who then rushes out of the other door of the carriage like she is supposed to. Maud waits patiently inside until Penny comes to open the door for her, just like she is supposed to. All of these things are unnecessary formalities but Maud doesn't mind it. These people deserve more than just formalities when it comes to her visiting them, probably for the first and last time. The sun shines right in her face once she leaves the carriage and stops onto the sandstone path below her feet, leading up to the church. Whilst Penny leads her down the steps of the carriage, Adelio is there to grab her hand once she is completely down.

The people of the village have gathered around the church to see her, eyes wide open with sparkling awe. Maud smiles, although it can't be seen through her pink veil, matching her pink long dress with white decorated pearls around it. Maybe a bit too fancy for a place like this one. Maud is embarrassed to be showing off such wealth in front of those who have nothing, but she is certain that it's all part of the propaganda that the government issues every day of every year.

Adelio smiles at her, since it's been nearly a day and night since they last met. Maud can't bring herself to smile back honestly, but she tries her best so that the people around them won't find her rude. When looking at her husband more properly, she sees the same amount of forced happiness within him as is within her. Maybe it's hard to understand from an outside perspective, but the terrors inside this city and every other city in this poor area are unimaginable. The absolute state of these people and this place is not something that is worth talking about at all.

"Welcome to bird city, your highnesses, I am the city chief"

Maud lets Adelio greet the old man, whilst she stands next to him without saying a word. The city chief is old and gray, but he still bends down and bows deeply to the future king. The sick state of the current king surely deepens his respect, for Adelio stands tall and scary as the next heir of this huge empire. Maud, who is shorter and dressed in much lighter colors, perhaps doesn't spark the same kind of fear. That's good. She would much rather spread a more kind and approachable image of herself, to the people who want someone to look up to and talk about.

"I hear your have been doing a great job as city chief, it deserves the honor of the king, and such an honor will be given at tonight's planned feast"

Adelio says it all through gritted teeth, Maud practically shivers at the amount of anger he holds back behind his words. Why is he so angry? She quickly glances up at the old man before he can notice. He might be old and graying, but his clothes are surely much more fancy than the clothes the citizens wear. Why should a city chief of such a terrible and poor place wear such fancy clothes? Maud knows why. The same reason why the king wears velvet while the people satisfy themselves with dragged linen. The man laughs loudly, but it sounds ridiculous as he is the only one making such a scene. The rest simply whisper and mumble amongst each other, Maud can feel hundreds of eyes on her at the same time. She keeps her cool, staring forwards without anything specific to look at.

"You are too kind to bestow such an honor onto a simple man such as myself. Tonight's feast will surely be a grand one. Please, let me take you on a tour of our prided church. It is all what our humble town has to offer you, your highness, after such a long journey"

Maud follows Adelio and the village chief through the wooden church doors, as the rest of the people around them continue to stare curiously. They enter the inside of the church the same way one would enter a dark cellar room. It's colder and more dim behind the wooden walls, miraculously so, and it gives Maud a chance to take a deep breath of air. Their shoes cling against the gray stone floor as they walk through the simple building, two rows of wooden benches, six on each side, and a stone altar in front with a wooden cross above it. A candle is the only form of light other than the light coming from the holes in the roof, and the flame moves softly with the wind. The chief moves quickly across the hallway, as if embarrassed by the small size of it all. Maud won't deny that it's small. She was married in the huge royal cathedral of the Blue Knight capital just months before. Still, the size of a church should have nothing to do with the pride that you take in it, only the community and the belief should matter.

They continue walking in silence until they reach the altar. Only then does he speak, with a voice much more quiet than before, because of their lack of audience. There is only Adelio and Maud in the room with him, aside from the six armed guards positioned around the room for the royal couple's safety.

"There is not much to show here. We use the space as a school for the children, and as a hospital when epidemics break out in the city. We do not have a lot of money, so when our orphanage is overfilled some of the kids sleep on the benches as well. I am ashamed to admit this, your highness. However these are hard times of famine and poverty that we live in''

Maud is surprised at how bravely he admits the reality of the situation to the crown prince. This is the crown's fault after all. Not the famine, but the poverty. If Adelio had been just a bit more angry and entitled than the usual human, he could've killed the chief on the spot for saying such things. Simply for threatening the crown. And yet, the chief says it as it is. Maud doesn't like him, as it clearly seems as if he pockets most of the money this dreadful town earns, but she does appreciate and respect his bravery. Once the chief has stopped talking, Maud realizes that it's her turn to speak. Now that they are in private it is her duty to comment on their church or their village. That is what Penny told her in the carriage on the way here.

"Although you have it hard now, god will reward your efforts and good hearts in heaven"

The village chief smiles. Adelio doesn't react. That means that she did well. Maud holds back a smile that would be too big to be appropriate. There is no way she is doing such a good job at being princess despite only having a few months experience.

"Thank you, your highness. May god be kind to us"

They take a sharp turn to the left after that, walking away from the altar towards a side door. The chief opens it and lets the royal couple walk through first. The smell of old wood and hay hits their noses like a thick, warm blanket, uncomfortable to the senses. Maud shuts her eyes for a moment, only to open them and face a view of the sick-house standing right in front of them.

"We've moved all the infectious patients away from here, your highnesses. But please be careful. We will only pass through to visit the orphanage next door"

There are people everywhere, laying on the beds and the floors. None of them are really sick. They seem to have diseases of malnourishment, the signs familiar to the princess who has seen the same in the villages around her past home. They are either starving or simply not getting enough nutrition from their food. Some of them have bruises and injuries too, probably from the absolute dangers that exist in their places of work, the mines and the long walks. There is dried blood on the floor and on their skin, matching with the smell of sick and the tired people laying everywhere. Maud can't help her stare of horror and pity, even as Adelio tries to walk on the other side of her to cover her view. He is a gentleman, truly, but Maud doesn't want to be hidden away from the truth. This is terrible and it needs to be acknowledged.

"Your highness!"

"Princess!"

They call out to her like dying men on a battlefield, completely drained and practically stuck to their places on the floor or to their beds. Maud doesn't look away. She answers their yells, although not capable of doing it physically, but by looking at them as they want her to. With understanding. This is what they want a princess to do. To understand. But Maud can't help but feel inadequate. She doesn't just want to understand, she has already understood for so long. Maud wants to change, not understand. Change everything.

"Are you what they call a prince?"

Out of nowhere, an old lady practically throws herself at the prince. Her eyes are shining with something that Maud can't understand. She clings onto Adelio, and even as the prince is shocked, he doesn't have the heart to push her away. She is hungry and suffering. But the chief is horrified, rushing past Maud to get to the prince. He's probably already fearing the consequences, wondering why in the world a peasant would dare to touch a royal. Maud doesn't say anything, she just stares. The chief can't reach the woman in time. Not before she blurts out the most odd line one could ever think of.

"You're not a man! You're a woman, aren't you?"

🌾