BACHUÉ:
Porto Razza was a horrendous place. It was disgusting, it smelled of beer, urine, and shit, but… I loved it! I had never met any town or city beyond the southern border.
The people on the west coast of the Green Wall wore beautiful clothes. The women wore long-colored tunics, with embroidery in the shape of birds, flowers, palm trees, or suns. It was as if the tropic was embodied in the fabrics.
Men usually wore sleeveless shirts or were simply naked from the waist up. Only with necklaces of sea crusts on their necks.
Porto Razza could be very hot, so I could understand that they preferred to be a little free of clothes.
Before arriving at that port, I had lost track of time. After losing our horse, I had no idea how long we were walking, but it must have been a lot.
We had arrived at night and despite being close to midnight, the port was full of movement, laughter, hustle, music, and dancing.
"Believe it or not, nights can be livelier than day," said Delilah.
"Why?" I asked.
"The sailors are free from work and free for alcohol, parties, and prostitutes."
"Prostitutes?" I said looking around, hoping to see one. I had never met a prostitute.
"Yes. Sailors spend a LOT of time alone with other men on the high seas. I can understand that they need to… um… unload their saved passions. "
I nodded.
Despite being at night, the port was very hot. I felt dirty and sticky. I just wanted a hot bath and food, lots of food.
While we were looking for an inn that was not so crowded with customers, Delilah warned me not to trust anyone in Porto Razza. That was a place of pirates and swindlers. And if they listened to my southern accent, they would surely want to take advantage of me, an outsider.
We finally entered an inn that seemed moderately decent and was not that crowded. The woman at the counter looked us up and down in disgust.
"We don't cater to your kind here," she said.
"What does that mean?" Delilah asked offended.
"If you want an inn tonight, you must go to one that does accept dark-skins."
My blood ran to my head. I wanted to kick that woman and from what I saw in Delilah's eyes, lit up like mine, I could tell that she also felt the same as me.
"Let's go, Delilah, we sure find a better inn," I said.
The woman at the counter burst into uproarious laughter.
"¡HA, ¡HA, ¡HA, ¡HA, ¡HA, good luck with that!"
When we left the inn, Delilah was outraged.
"How is it possible that they allow themselves not to serve certain types of people?" She complained, "This disgusting town is supposed to receive people from all over the world. Of all races and beliefs. "
"I know ... I don't understand either."
We kept searching.
Suddenly, I heard a melody that made my heart jump. I felt a strong nostalgia.
Where have I heard it before?
I looked around to see if I could find the source of such a beautiful melody. I looked between sweaty bodies and dancing feet, but couldn't find it.
Delilah and I continued walking, we passed near the house of the mayor of the port and I saw a sign hanging at the entrance, which read: "Long live Queen Antonete."
"Is there a new Queen?" I asked myself. "Not possible ... so soon?"
A middle-aged woman in shabby clothes passed me and I decided to ask her.
"Excuse me, ma'am, since when is there a new Queen?"
"She married the king four days ago," answered the woman.
"Four days?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
The king did not even mourn for a year.
The lady resumed her walking and I was left with my mouth open, speechless and processing what I had just heard.
"For sure all of this happened while we were traveling along the Green Wall," said Delilah. "That's why we didn't find out until now."
I glanced to my side and found the spirit of Queen Catherine. She was on her knees, wailing, her eyes wet and red like she was about to cry.
"Antonete ... She ... she took everything from me ...," murmured the late queen.
It was not difficult to think that Antonete had somehow assassinated Queen Catalina to seize power. How was it possible that Queen Catherine passed away and in a few days the king will marry again? Did they already have it all planned?
"We have to keep looking for an inn," Delilah warned me.
I nodded.
We kept searching, but we didn't find an inn. Prejudices prevented it in four more.
"We're going to have to sleep on the street," Delilah warned.
"I don't mind sleeping outside, but I'm hungry…," I said sheepishly.
"The money we were going to spend at the inn we can use for food," she proposed, "what do you say?"
I nodded with a smile.
We went to a street food stall and bought the cheapest thing we could find: bread stuffed with blackberry jam and cheese. That was a very popular west coast meal. AND IT WAS DELICIOUS!
The bread was soft and the jam was the sweetest she had ever tasted.
The sweets in the South are not very good and the bread is often stale. I do not recommend it.
After eating, we went to an alley and I sat on the hot, humid floor to finally rest.
"Stay here, Bachué," Delilah told me, "I'll go find a ship."
I nodded.
Delilah's idea was to take a ship on the west coast to circle the continent and reach the port of Moderna in the north. According to her, that was the safest thing to do, as it would be difficult to pursue us on the high seas.
I asked Delilah how we would go about paying a quota on a ship since we barely had enough to eat bread, but she told me not to worry about that, that she was going to solve it.
I didn't ask anything more. I preferred not to know.
"Remember: trust no one," Delilah told me before leaving.
I was left alone, with the cool breeze and my heavy thoughts. Well, I was alone until Queen Catherine appeared next to me.
"What was that?" She asked.
"What was what, Your Majesty?"
"Hello? The giant hairy monster that dismembered dozens of soldiers. What the hell was that? "
Oh… right… the sacred beast that supposed to be death.
"Your Majesty, I know the same about those circumstances as anyone else."
"Didn't you feel anything strange?"
"Strange?"
"Forget it, dark-skin ..."
"The truth is that it was a strange situation, Your Majesty, but I was as confused as you."
"Yes, it was strange," said the queen, looking at me suspiciously.
Silence.
"And ... Since when are you an abomination?" Asked the queen.
"Please ... don't use that word."
"Have you always been like this?"
I did not answer.
"I just want to understand," the queen assured.
"Understand what?"
"How a woman can ... you know ..."
"Love another woman?"
"That can't be love."
"With all due respect, Your Majesty, but what do you know?"
I never thought to respond like that to a queen. And I think she wasn't expecting it either.
Silence.
Suddenly, I heard the same nostalgic melody again. I got up from the ground and walked out of the alley to track the source of the music with my ears.
"Help!" I heard someone yell. "Help!"
I stopped listening to the melody and only the cries for help remained in the air.
"Help! HELP!"
I ran to a small square, with a fountain without water surrounded by old and dilapidated houses that seemed abandoned.
Beside the fountain, an old woman lay on the ground, rubbing her right leg. Had she hurt herself?
I approached her and asked her:
"Are you okay?"
The woman pulled out a long knife from who knows where and with the speed of the wind she pressed it against my throat.
"I'm great," the old woman said with a toothless smile.
I gulped.
«What an idiot… I fell SO easy.»
Suddenly I found myself surrounded by at least five burly men, each with a machete in their hands.
"Didn't they tell you not to trust anyone?" The old woman asked me.
«Actually, yes, but that's how dumb I am»