The ridge is thick with unrequited love. As the once-mighty Vodnik trails pathetically after Macabre, Rowena can't chase the visions of a handsome stranger from her mind. She never learned his name, but names are only labels. He was so romantic, full of dreams not unlike her own. He fed her fantasies with his spoken prose. His own countenance soon brought life and identity to vague details of once anonymous knights conquering her dreams.

If Vodnik notices his daughter's wandering heart, he hasn't shown it. He leaves her gratefully unattended, free to explore the islands. At first she stuck to the safest of public lands, but now there is an unknown force that draws her to the borders of her mountain home. The land of Paradise calls her, and at first she doesn't know why.

The black mare follows a well-traveled path that traces the border of her home. Vodnik has trampled a wide thoroughfare in restless pacing before he acquired Macabre. Rowena uses the shaded path now, glancing with uncertainty over the border into the warm light of paradise beyond. It is some time before it hits her, but when it does, the realization throws her into such a state of shock. She is frozen in disbelief as all the pieces of the puzzle fall horrifically into place.

Rowena recognizes a distant scent upon the wind, the unforgettable scent of the handsome stallion she met at the falls. He lives in Paradise. She recalls all of her father's rage-fueled mutterings. Though spoken with negativity, Rowena can see the insults come together to form the beautiful face that captured her heart the other day.

Without first thinking of the consequences, Rowena suddenly throws herself through the trees, into Paradise, and into the path of Ailill.

Rowena stops several yards before two horses. Her mane and tail are tousled, caught with twigs and ensnared with tendrils of multiflora rose. Her nostrils are flared and quivering, betraying her quick breath and rapidly-beating heart. The presence of a mare she knows belongs to her father only adds more questions to a mind already spinning out of control. She is wide-eyed. Too many words are caught in her throat. She has so much to say, but nothing comes out.