DAWN

i just killed off what was left of the optimist in me

By the time morning comes after her encounter with Litotes on the beaches, anxious is not the right word to cover how she is feeling. It is barely past dawn when the young queen rises, careful not to disturb her slumbering children. It seems that she is between a rock and a hard place, between Clayton’s sudden and disturbing disappearance and the troubles arising all over Beqanna. She does not want there to be a rift between the Cove and her subkingdoms, but she wonders how much apologizing she will have to do before they accept that she truly just wants peace. 

She slips quietly into Hyaline as the sun rises behind her, illuminating the path she has traveled so many times. It has been awhile since she came home to Hyaline, but her hooves fall into depressions that seem as familiar to her as the paths she follows daily in the Cove, and a small smile finds its way to her face as she rounds a corner and the mountainous lake fills up her vision. Having the ocean on three sides does not compare to the joy that this mirror-lake brings her, and she feels her pace quickening until she is on the shore. 

Unlike so long ago, she doesn’t shift before sliding into the icy waters; a polar bear would probably not be a welcome sight to Kensa right now. The bite of the cold water almost burns as she goes deeper but she doesn’t stop until even her back is submerged, leaving just her head above water. She can’t help but giggle as the chill permeates her bones and for a brief minute, she almost forgets her troubles. 

Then they come roaring back and her joy falls from her face as quickly as it had come. 

Realizing that she might be stepping on toes by coming here, she finds her way back to the shore, rivulets of water running from her body as she emerges from the lake. She lets out a soft whinny that will hopefully find Kensa’s ear, and then she settles in to wait.