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Cress has never liked Eight.
You could say that he is one of the reasons that Cress left the Valley in the first place. She had spent the first months of her life there, healing from a life-threatening injury—it nearly killed her—and had grown to despise him. Mother vanished just before the earthquakes began and Oxytocin was dethroned just days later—by Eight. He claimed that Oxy was not around enough; that he was not a good enough King; that Eight would be so much better. The few that had shown up had agreed to overthrow her father and Cress had left—at less than six months old—with no intention of ever returning. Not, at least, while Eight was still on the throne.
She has heard whispers—haven’t they all?—of unrest in the Valley. Eight is not around much, the whispers tell her, and he has left the kingdom worse than dead. There is almost nobody residing within the borders and those that are there are hardly around. Frankly, Cress is not surprised. She has remembered his empty promises for all of these years. Did he deliver on any of them? Probably not. Of all the horses for her to not trust, she chose him. Why should she has any reason to like him or trust his words?
Sheer curiosity has turned her hooves back towards her childhood home. She makes no rush of it but the sun is still high in the sky when she scents the border of the mythical kingdom. A few moments later she crosses over it, sighing a little as the familiar scents roll over her. The Valley does not look exactly the same to her, only familiar—trees have grown, others have fallen. The undergrowth is an ever-shifting landscape and she feels a bit nervous that she cannot hear the distant howls of wolves. Have they vanished in the years since she left? Did they die out?
A few minutes pass before she hears the murmur of voices, and cannot help her surprise. The rumors had said that the Valley was mostly deserted—she is surprised that there are enough members to call together a meeting. Maybe some of them are like her; maybe they, too, have heard the murmurs on the breeze about the failure of the evil kingdom. Maybe they are here to see the inevitable changes take place. Cress isn’t sure why she returned, but perhaps that is one of the reasons. She wants to see her home thrive, not die.
She emerges into a clearing—again, so familiar—where there are several horses gathered. Four, she thinks, is not many. So the rumors were true; the absent king has killed the Valley. And he tried to say her father was the downfall of the kingdom?
The small gathering is silent when she emerges, and she is certain that all eyes are turning to her. Who is the quiet golden girl who looks like she belongs anywhere but the Valley? Where the hell did she come from? “I’m Cress,” she says, loudly enough for them all to hear her, but she only has eyes on the brightly spotted winged stallion who seems to be at the head of this entire thing. “If you’re gathering today to dethrone Eight, let it be known that I stand by you completely.”
Once upon a time, she would arrive and announce her title as the Princess of the Valley, daughter of the fire King and Queen, Oxytocin and Kindling. She would be respected and one day expected to become the mate of another royal child from a different kingdom to ensure the royal line. Her older brother, Davorin, would probably become King after their father’s abdication, and she would have countless younger brothers and sisters. She would have children of her own and they, too, would be royalty. Her firstborn son would end up ruler of whichever kingdom she ended up living in and she would learn to love her significant other. They would grow old together and their family would spread to all corners of Beqanna. She would be happy—she’d have the happy ending she’s always dreamt of.
But this is reality, where Cress is just the daughter of two fallen rulers who have disappeared. Her brother vanished before she was born and she has never even met him. She has two other older siblings—only half—that she has never met, either. One of them ruled the Valley with her father after Kindling left. She doesn’t know her family; she isn’t royalty. She is just a nobody, just a homeless wanderer, just Cress. They don’t have to know who she is.
do you remember
when we learned how to fly?
infected.