It wasn’t long before Ava’s arrival was noticed, and another horse appeared on the horizon, peering down at her from the top of a gentle slope. She would have slowed to look at him properly anyway, but his sudden squeal made her jump and startled her into stillness as he charged towards her. Her green eyes widened, panicked for a moment that he was about to attack her – memories of her encounter with the giant stallion who had chased her across the Harbor flashed across her mind, and she felt her heart flutter in her chest. But, much to her relief, the stallion’s hooves came down onto the sand in front of her, and as she looked down she caught a glimpse of a scaly tail disappearing beneath a rock as the stranger swore in a foreign tongue. She snorted and released the breath she had not realised she had been holding, composing herself once again. Having established that he was not trying to kill her, Ava relaxed and allowed the corners of her lips to curl upwards into a small smile – half polite and half amused by the stranger’s exuberance in his pursuit of the snake. She shook her golden head lightly at his apology, indicating that he had not offended her. She watched as his eyes slipped briefly over her, and she allowed herself to do the same. He was so young. Ava had aged gracefully – far more gracefully than she could ever have asked for, having born so many children and grieved for so many tragedies – but she was not the energetic three year old that had bounded up the shore of the Crossing all those years ago. Yet there was something familiar in this stranger’s features, although she could not quite place him. She smiled widely at his somewhat awkward welcome. His unusual first impression was oddly endearing. “I’m sorry to intrude,” she began, her tone bright and playful. “I hadn’t realised it was snake-hunting season.” She glanced around the sandy territory they stood in, aware of the heat that pricked at her gold and white body. “I’m Ava,” she continued. “I suppose you could say I was just exploring. I’ve never been to Salem before, and I thought it was time for a change, you know?” |