Sinope. Sailing Yacht Sayarfur, at the Main Wharf.
The large harbour city had long since woken up - it was shortly after nine, after all! In but an hour, the Sinope 2018 Harbour Festival would be opened!
And what a magnificent harbour festivals it would be!
Dozens of ships were there, from Kyrenaia, from the Free Lands, from Lutetii, from Markaz and from all over the world. And one of them was the Sayarfur, the personal yacht of Crown Prince Ilia ibn-Razia, a 315 tons heavy, 36 metre long Bagala-Type Sailing Ship, which had the sword-like bow and profile, which could cut through the waves at astonishing speeds.
She was built of wood and quite a sight, not only due to the ornate carvings on her stern and quarter galleries, but also due to her crew. A year before, the Sailing Club of the Haram Girls' Academy in Utica had gotten introduced to sailing by the Crown-Prince and Lord-Commander of the Navy, the Sultana's eldest son teaching them and some interested the ropes of his subject, which they soaked up like a bunch of sponges.
And now, they were here! On the other side of the country, having sailed the Sayarfur along the coasts, with only a few experienced crew members capable of taking over in cases of emergencies. Still, the 23 girls and young women had managed it.
One of them was a purple-eyes and black-haired young woman, sixteen years of age - Laila Mithal, was her name, and she was a student of the HGA and an enthusiastic sea-girl. She even loved scrubbing the deck, which they had just finished.
She and her friends looked from the deck to the many, many masts in the Great Basin, the centre of the celebrations here in Sinope, along the Main Wharf.
Many of the foreign vessels visiting were here, while those of dignitaries were in the Small Basin, amongst them the Aurelia. The yacht of Prince Damir almost came late, which was a fact, which the crew of the Sayarfur enjoyed, mainly because it meant, that they had been faster.
In any case, they had docked in the early morning hours. Laila hoped for her fellow student, Princess Aurelia.
"A magnificent sight, eh?", a voice behind them asked, belonging to a silver-haired man with shining blue eyes, tall and quite good looking for a Naval Aviator in his early forties. "So many good vessels from so many good places."
"Sinope doesn't ever shut down as well.", one of her classmates answered the Lord-Commander of the Navy, and the Sayarfur's Captain, with a nod to the stern, where, a few hundred metres astern of the vessels, freighters entered and left Sinope, the busiest harbour of the Sultanate.
Crown Prince Ilia nodded. "Indeed. But still... we're open for visitors, ladies, so stay tuned." The crew nodded. "And if you want to have a peak at the festival later... after the Parade, we're in shifts."
There were cheers at that, which made the Lord-Commander smile.
Small Basin.
They had stayed in contact ever since she returned from the UIS, where she had been for the Festival of Holy Light. She had met her love again, the love of her life, she had brought her the message...
...and contrary to her Grandmother's wish, she had not broken up with her.
They stayed together and Princess Aurelia bint-Damir had resolved to fight for her love.
And fought, still did.
Funnily enough, the Sultana, at some point, stopped - and so did she. No one mentioned the issue and the 'war' got cold.
Aurelia, overjoyed as she had heard, that Marcella would come with her own boat, the Hoshi, had been floating on Cloud Nine - and still did, despite her Grandmother asking her to meet with Marcella, for important business was afoot. Marcella knew of this as well, by the way of letters.
But for now, the Princess, dressed in a light white blouse and jeans, a sun hat on her head, she would change later for the Parade, approached the quay, where her beloved's boat was supposed to be.
They had arrived in the early morning hours today, delayed due to circumstances, but she simply didn't have enough power anymore to go to her, although her mind and soul had yearned for it...
In any case, with Aldhiyb by her side, the Kyrenaian Princess began to get nervous.
Months had passed... and politics had passed, too.
It promised to be a beautiful day, and an important one, too!