10-22-2019, 02:56 PM
There is a crowd gathering, more horses than she had ever seen in one place. It is a collective of split loyalties, and she knows what side she stands on. Despite the grim atmosphere, her heart still leaps to see her sister join the fray. Adria, as beautiful as ever and with more poise than Aquaria can believe is possible. It's with glowing pride that she listens to the coral mare's retort. How small Larke looked beside her. How ineffective.
Little Larke's sire, on the other hoof, is anything but small. His words cut like glass against them, and any hope she had of fair treatment is quickly dashed. Others say their pieces, and she is proud of Eva for her solidarity. Of all of them, this was perhaps the hardest on the violet mare. Her heart was tender and bright still, and it was horrifying to see it discarded so carelessly.
Larke herself had proven disappointing. She was in a very literal sense, a child. Who had been dropped here with little to no guidance as far as the nereid could tell. She seemed only to hear what her father wanted her to.
This was to be the new queen some day? Aquaria could hardly imagine it. Her entire body shook with the coiled energy this meeting held. If Vulgaris had wanted his kingdom behind him in whatever trouble he foresaw, this was likely the exact wrong way to get it. Who here aside his own cronies would lift a hair to help him now. Who here would answer any call or command given?
But she had to laugh. Just a little. All they wanted was peace and basic rights. Denied. And yet Larke wanted her family painted the villans. Pure irony, and it wasn't lost on the pearl mare. Smiling weakly at her sisters, she shook her head again in wonder.
"Vulgaris, your own daughter is the only one who made mention of our land becoming a territory. We have been content as a herdland, because that is what we are. Family with no interest in your wars. And Larke," she turned to the dapple girl, who's heart seemed to have hardened remarkably fast. "We did not come here seeking blood. We came here seeking the right to choose. You and your father deny us this simple thing, so don't feel surprised that we might look for another way. This is not leadership, it is tyranny, and I pity whatever's left of the kingdom by the time you reach the throne."
It was acidic, that last bit, but she has yet to learn her sister's skill with tact. And the anger that bubbled beneath her skin demanded an outlet. However this ended, it was clear her kin would not take it laying down.
Little Larke's sire, on the other hoof, is anything but small. His words cut like glass against them, and any hope she had of fair treatment is quickly dashed. Others say their pieces, and she is proud of Eva for her solidarity. Of all of them, this was perhaps the hardest on the violet mare. Her heart was tender and bright still, and it was horrifying to see it discarded so carelessly.
Larke herself had proven disappointing. She was in a very literal sense, a child. Who had been dropped here with little to no guidance as far as the nereid could tell. She seemed only to hear what her father wanted her to.
This was to be the new queen some day? Aquaria could hardly imagine it. Her entire body shook with the coiled energy this meeting held. If Vulgaris had wanted his kingdom behind him in whatever trouble he foresaw, this was likely the exact wrong way to get it. Who here aside his own cronies would lift a hair to help him now. Who here would answer any call or command given?
But she had to laugh. Just a little. All they wanted was peace and basic rights. Denied. And yet Larke wanted her family painted the villans. Pure irony, and it wasn't lost on the pearl mare. Smiling weakly at her sisters, she shook her head again in wonder.
"Vulgaris, your own daughter is the only one who made mention of our land becoming a territory. We have been content as a herdland, because that is what we are. Family with no interest in your wars. And Larke," she turned to the dapple girl, who's heart seemed to have hardened remarkably fast. "We did not come here seeking blood. We came here seeking the right to choose. You and your father deny us this simple thing, so don't feel surprised that we might look for another way. This is not leadership, it is tyranny, and I pity whatever's left of the kingdom by the time you reach the throne."
It was acidic, that last bit, but she has yet to learn her sister's skill with tact. And the anger that bubbled beneath her skin demanded an outlet. However this ended, it was clear her kin would not take it laying down.