-WHEN THE STARS THREW DOWN THEIR SPEARS,
-AND WATERED HEAVEN WITH THEIR TEARS,

It wasn’t long before Daedra’s solitude was disturbed.

The harsh clicking of hooves against stone announced the arrival of another horse as they passed over the rocky ground that she had chosen to pause upon. The volume of the noise suggested that her company was heavily built. She turned her narrow, angular head away from the view of the islands that cascaded down the hills below her.

The stranger’s appearance did not disappoint. She towered effortlessly over Daedra’s petite, slender frame. When she looked at her, Daedra thought for a moment that the stallion from weeks ago had driven her straight back into his path – those spots and that thickness, even their faces were similar.

But she pushed those foolish thoughts aside instantly: this was a mare, dark instead of gold, and one of her eyes – kind, not hard – held the milky sheen of sightlessness. There was much confusion of identity all round today, it seemed.

The mare did not appear to wish her any harm, however, and her expression soon creased into a wide smile as she spoke. Daedra could not quite bring herself to smile back – friendly cheer did not come to her easily, and forcing one was a foreign concept to her – but she did not reject the stranger’s kindness. It had been too long without socialisation for her to be rude to this mare.

“So I noticed,” she replied, her voice a silky drawl.

She paused, turning her body to face the mare properly, and tossing a pale silver forelock out of her eyes.

“I’m Daedra,” she said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Her pleasantries had a way of sounding insincere, even though she was not being so for a change. This was the first horse she had spoken to since the incident; it would do her good.

DID HE SMILE HIS WORK TO SEE?
DID HE WHO MADE THE LAMB MAKE THEE?