Landfall: Eastern Coast?
Her eyes cracked open, shutting closed before she abruptly sat up and rubbed them furiously. Actual sand had gotten in her green orbs, and now caused pain that she tried to remove with her hands. This actually only got more sand in her eyes until she wiped her hands on her clothes and cleaned her eyes out properly.
With a sigh of relief, she looked around where she was, wincing as pain shot through her entire body from her feet up. She sucked in a noise, looking over herself first instead of the area. On the outside she was fine, her clothes were soaked with salty water and already had begun chafing. She'd have to wash soon to avoid a full body rash. The pain originated from dozens of deep tissue bruises that ranged in varying stages of severity. Some purple, some blue, some black. Every point of pressure or movement sent pangs of pain and discomfort through her small frame.
Now that a self diagnosis was done, she looked around... A beach. A white sand beach. She looked towards the ocean. Massive teeth like jutting rock formations, and their dangerous shale brothers slightly beneath the waters surface. The smell of salt water and hot sand reached her senses, as well as the annoying screeches of seagulls. Accompanying this, was the smell of herself in water logged leather. This was neither pleasing or disgusting. It just made the area smell of old steer.
Shards and splinters of what was her raft lined the beach, some still flowing back and forth with the waves. She tried to remember what had happened...
She left the Lady Estalia in a smaller craft, carried on as she was told between the island away from the rocks... Then a current took hold of the boat... She scowled. Everything became fuzzy from there. Yet none of that mattered, she was on the island and she was alive. She had made it out alive, and nobody would chase her any longer. A smile crept up on her face as she marveled at this fact. Even the pain in her body ebbed away. Until she tried to stand up that was.
Like an old man getting up from a warm bath, she slowly but surely crept up to her feet using every object and item at her disposal to assist her wobbling limbs. With a slight dusting of herself, she tried to gather her bearings. If what the map said was true, a city rested up to the north, and some other sort of gathering to the south. The names of either she couldn't recal. All she really needed right at this moment was a wash basin. She could survive in a wood if the town's wouldn't allow her entry. A breeze and the looming rumble of thunder prompted her to look skyward.
Indeed, it would most likely rain very soon. The clouded were heading west if the wind indicated anything. An east wind would have been shrouded by the small rock face which sectioned off the beach from main land. A single sandy path some distance away lead up onto grass. Without wasting any more time, she began to move towards said path, planning out a southern route along the coast. If she happened to get caught in a rain, it would at least wash some of the salt water off and besides, she had been boiling under the sun while passed out anyway. She could use some cooling off.
The maps those pirates made must have been wrong however. The West held large mountains which stretched around towards the north. To the direct north, was a wooded area and what she believed to be a river. She couldn't see all that far however, as the trees grew too thick. In fact, the only path was to the south. Through a thin section of land between the mountains and the sea. It was well traveled for sure. Which made sense in a way. To the north was that city, and she would have to cross a river to reach it. One much wider than that which she was close to. So south it was, walking along the coast and already beginning to feel the rain hit her cloak hood.
By the time she got near what looked like city walls, a nice general rain had started up. It was enough to soak her through after walking for so long, chilling and removing the salt clinging to her body. That latter was of great relief. Both chafing and the tightness of her akin had started irritating her to the extreme. Upon nearing the main entrance however, she was halted by a man shouting something. The scent of slightly old blood hit her nose. At one point there had been a slaughter here. How long ago was unknown. The man repeated his order, this time actually detectable.
"Halt! State your name, your business and if you have information regarding the slaughter th-" He was cut off by a large rumble of thunder. But she could fill in the blanks.
Her name, she needed a name.. Nobody knew her real name, but now wasn't a good time to start spreading it around. When one had a name, you could track them. Fake names meant harder to be tracked. Just like those pirates, she was no Lady in Waiting, nor was her name... Whatever she had told them. Regardless, she needed another one here right now. And a story to go with it.
"Alli." She shouted back. Short for Alibi, ironic. "I was out foraging for honey and I got lost. Mother always told me to follow the coast if I got lost because I'll always eventually find somewhere." She said all at once, taking a few steps closer so the guard and her could converse easier. She lightened her voice and gave it a bit more naivety than usual to make a child-like facade more believable. "Then the rain came and now I don't know what to do." She sniffled, actually having to rather than just faking. She was cold, that was a bit of truth. She had also purposely not answered the man's final question. Not only was it beyond her "characters" realm of comprehension
The guard seemed to stumble. Why he was alone may have been because of a few things. The most prominent was likely the attack he had mentioned. Had one attack crippled their forces? "W-what am I?" She asked, paling when the answer returned.
"Elsen." Such a thing couldn't be possible. That was on the western coast almost. How could she have walked past two major settlements? It was impossible. Something must be wrong. She remembered the name seeing as how it was the only legible one on the pirate's map. So how exactly did she get... When she woke up, there weren't two smaller islands out towards the horizon. Somehow, either by current or during the events while she was trying to land: she had moved to the southern part of the island. It was almost mind boggling how something like this could happen. Still, it may prove useful if she was close to the rather large coastal town.
With a slight inhale she began to start spinning a story that the guard would believe.