She dreamt of him, just as she knew she would. The glowing boy with a pointed ensemble and dreams as wide as oceans and as deep as the core of the earth. Boy, hardly he was, he was a man, but Astana had not dared to allow herself such thoughts to cross her. She liked to imagine he was young like her, but still with that same strength, that same wisdom. Aegean. She still thought his name, daring to only say it aloud when she found herself alone upon the beach, with the crashing waves to drown out her voice. Aegean. She would say, and look around to see if anyone heard her, like he was some secret that only she knew, or she may get herself in trouble for saying his name at all. And, in truth, maybe little girls shouldn't be having those like these for an older man at all. And, in truth, Astana knows this. So, she thinks, it is all innocent for now. Just love for his soothing presence and for that magical power. For an imagination as wide and as beautiful as her own. An innocent friendship with a man who cries at beautiful things.
Never would have the diamond eyed filly imagined she would be here. Standing out to that endless blue as opposed to those millions, billions, grains of sand she had become so accustomed to. Nostrils quiver with excitement. She is entirely unaware of the mare that had taken her in is now watching her. Taken her in, of course, being a stretch. She had drawn Astana in with mystery and awe, the little girl had followed, eager to see what it would hold for her. There had never been strangers in the desert, and her father had only told her to watch for dragons. Heartfire was no dragon. She was a different matter entirely. One Astana has yet to figure out.
Heartfire, to Astana, was fascinating, beautiful, enchanting. She captivated all of Astana’s attention the minute she entered the area. She was so different from her own mother, and, that alone, made Heartfire some sort of mystical creature that Astana watched with diamond eyes wide. She cannot read minds, cannot read the past, and Astana has not thought about the future (though she wonders how the stars may change in the sky, if one day the ocean will swell and take the world back beneath its depths.) Heartfire appeared when Astana needed her, and that is enough for the filly made of gold with diamonds for eyes.
She is taken aback by the sudden presence beside her. The woman’s footsteps having been muffled in the sand and her attention solely focused on the horizon, imagining, if she just had long enough limbs, could she reach out and touch it? Maybe, if she saw Aegean again, he could take her on a journey, to the horizon. Eyes look quickly to Heartfire to note her presence, but she quickly settles into silence between the two, content with how it feels to not be alone any longer.
It is only when her head turns that Astana quickly follows suit, a reckless grin on her face, bright and childish. “Oh, I love it,” she says hopelessly in love, with cliffs, ocean, novelty. “You are in charge of all of this?” She asks with that foolish sense of wonder that she will never outgrow. “Did you always want to be a queen? Did you ever want to be anything else?” Like, what? Astana doesn't know what she will be when she grows up, a politician, a scholar, a love, a mother. It is endless possibilities, but for now she has been content to call herself no more than a dreamer.
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