DAWN
it must be about as hard as forgetting your best friend
Dawn had once thought that queendom would look good on her; she had believed that wearing the crown would shape her into a better woman and that she would be able to leave the East better than she had found it. She will never fault Solace and Kagerus for their ruling – they were lovely, mostly peaceful women and had brought Hyaline and the East to greatness, and she has them to thank for everything she has now – but their fractured relationships with Kensa and Litotes had left a sour taste in everyone’s mouths and when Dawn had finally stepped to the crown, she had truly believed she had what it took to make the kingdom flourish.
Now? Now she’s not so sure of herself; she questions every move she makes, every person she speaks to. Her recent encounters have left her confused and bitter and she isn’t sure whether she wants to flee back to the Cove or if she wants to find shelter in the arms of yet another man. She’s never been the type to need protection – she prides herself on her independence – and yet the nights she spends alone in Pangea are some of the loneliest of her entire life.
The winter winds are harsh, especially in Pangea, and blankets of snow cover the barren landscape like a fluffy blanket as she patrols the kingdom. Her thick winter coat is fluffed against the cold and she braces herself as she walks, trying to thaw the ice in her veins when she hears a terrified, pained screaming.
At once she is off, but by the time she arrives there is nothing left she can do but stare. The mare is ripped apart as though by some huge beast, and there is so much blood coating her that Dawn cannot tell what her original coloring is supposed to be. She is gurgling her last breaths, suffocating in her own blood, as the golden queen approaches, eyes wide with horror. What could have done this?
It takes her a moment to notice the tiny hoofprints leading away from the woman, and Dawn swallows hard as she turns to follow them, bracing herself for what she is about to see. The beast had probably torn the woman open to get to the growing foal inside, and then... she closes her eyes tight against the mental image and shakes her head, forcing herself to stand up tall as she follows the tracks.
She finds the child with ease, bloody and shivering and all alone. He is alive, but how long will he last in this cold? She pauses as she grows closer, wanting to tuck him into her side – but something makes her draw back a step as she examines him, from his bloody hooves to the horns beginning to curl from where eyes should be. “Little one?” she calls to him gently, swallowing back her unease as she moves closer again, pressing her nose to the blood on his rump that is beginning to freeze with the cold. “Are you okay, little one?”
@[ghaul]