It is another day. Always, another day. One after another, over and over until a year passed and the pale seamare found herself anticipating the birth of another child. A replacement, the cruel voice in the back of her mind jabbed. The guilt twisted her gut when she slowed down, and so she kept moving. All day and into the night until exhaustion granted her mostly dreamless sleep.
Today she paced the edges of the mainland, a task she had grown hypervigilant about. Obsessive, maybe, but she had to keep her home and its occupants safe. That was her only goal.
The magic the ocean granted her had restored her beauty from the ragged state those first months had worn her to. Funny. Magic made it so that you couldn't let yourself go, even if you wanted to. It could erase the dullness from her scales, it could keep her fins smooth and her hooves glossy and unchipped. It couldn't, however, remove the broken edges in her eyes.
The well worn smile was easily hitched on when she trotted up the shoreline. A stranger, something she'd once been so excited about and now could only muster a general pleasantry when one arrived. Still, this was part of the job. "Hello, and welcome to Ischia," she greeted in her saltwater roughened music when she drew near enough. "My name is Aquaria, I'm the Dame here. Anything I can help you with?"
It was the same way she greeted everyone. Almost everyone. Words meant to set new faces at ease, because that was why they were here. To offer peace and relaxation to those tired of mainland ruckus. Sand and sun and crystal water, enough to set just about any heart at ease.
@[Svedka]