She had no concept of distance. The walk from the Meadow to the Field had felt like seconds and decades simultaneously. For all she knew he had walked her to the other side of the world. She wasn't tired but her skin hurt. She'd been careful to stick to the shade as they traveled but at times it had been impossible. SHe felt cooked, her skin tight around her body.
However, most of that discomfort disappeared the moment they crested the small hillock to look down at the Gates.
In some ways it reminded her of 'home' in the Meadow, wide areas of nothing but green dotted by inhabitants making their way from one task to another or simply chatting. The sun caught the bright reds and light purples of flowers dotting the lush grass. But the most welcoming thing of all was the myriad patches of trees interspersed all throughout what she could see of the Kingdom. For a moment...she allowed herself to think she just belong here.
"It's beautiful," she responded earnestly, though she paused when she really looked at the massive tree roping from the center of it all. "What happened to that poor tree?"
The light sound of laughter carried over on a breeze dusted past her, a smile tugging at her scarred lips at such a warm expression. Had she been prone to paranoia she might have thought the whole thing orchestrated. It was close to perfect.
"I don't have much to offer but my voice," she said, admitting her fears. She could not protect this place with her body. Quick movement, even at night, tore her fragile skin apart. But she was strong in other ways, she thought.
Anhedonia
i've grown familiar with villains that live in my head
they beg me to write them so they'll never die when i'm dead