The changes wrought over the last few weeks have left Zjeena reeling. This is the first time since Liland claimed her in the commons years ago, that she has truly been free. Zjeena is no longer being jerked around by Liland's chain. And Rougaru didn't just leave her own freedom at her feet. He presented her with Liland's entire herd. Zjeena holds all the cards now. It's her turn to call the shots.

Zjeena waits for their arrival on the beach of Paradise. The stout mare is round with both child and good nutrition. Her richly-dappled, tawny coat stands stark against a backdrop of verdant green. The jungle is alive with edible greenery and the chatter of birds. A network of streams winds through the lush territory, flowing clear and unfrozen. This is as harsh as winter gets here. There is no struggle to dig for food in snow-laden meadows, or pluck brittle weeds from dry, rocky earth. A winter breeze plays in her mane. The air is a cool comfort so unlike the bone-chilling cold of Tinuvel.

One-by-one they rise from the sea, and Zjeena welcomes them to her. They gather around. The last of them to join them is Havelle. Their eyes meet, mother and daughter, from across the sea of heads. Zjeena smiles, glad her daughter has chosen to join them, given her choice. Havelle gives her mother a curt nod to begin. Everyone who's coming is here.

Zjeena clears her throat to catch everyone's attention. "I am Zjeena, Co-Queen of Paradise, and former Queen of the Bay. Some of you may already know who I am. I'm happy to see you here today, and I am sorry to make you all take a swim like this. I hope when I am done speaking with you, you'll understand why I wanted you here. I ask only one thing of you, and that's to listen to me now. Please, just hear me out." Zjeena sucks in a sharp breath, readying herself for the long explanation she's about to give. "When I left the Bay, I made a promise to continue to protect the herd I once called my family. I thought that meant finding compromise with Liland, and leaving you all out of our conflict as much as possible, but as Liland continues to reveal to me, more of his true character, I no longer feel that leaving you in the dark is the best way to protect you. I must give you the truth."

Her eyes sweep the crowd, hoping the expectant eyes staring back at her are taking her words to heart. "Liland has not been honest and he has not been fair. The more I get to know him, the more I realize the only interests he has are his own. I will tell you my story, and I hope this helps you understand." Zjeena concludes her introduction and dives, head-first into her tale.

"I was Liland's lead mare from the start. He claimed me in the commons and promoted me almost immediately. We hardly knew each other, but I was young, and infatuated. He was a dream come true. Liland told me he loved me and that I reigned as his equal, and I loved him too. Shortly after my promotion to Queen in the Bay, Warsaw challenged for leadership of the island of Tinuvel and Liland lost. I urged Liland to accept his place under Warsaw and remain in the Bay. Warsaw is a long-established power on the island. His leadership, alliance, and protection could serve our newly-forming herd well. Liland didn't heed a word I said and moved the entire herd to the Desert." A bitter edge rises in her voice now, but she continues to address the herd with every sincerity. She is determined to tell only facts, and not let her own emotion distort the story.

"I forgave Liland for that, and I went with him to the Desert. I endured a difficult pregnancy with twins, in a heat I wasn't accustomed to, because I believed Liland needed to get away, and come to terms with his feelings and his own pride. I began training to help him win back the Bay, and bore him two beautiful children." Zjeena smiles at Havelle standing silent at the back of the crowd. Her eyes are warm with a mother's love. "Liland didn't learn to let go of his pride then. He got into an argument with another stallion over a mare on the Common isle. This other stallion was Rougaru, and he retaliated by challenging for me. Rougaru won the challenge and I went to Paradise with my newborns."

Zjeena takes a deep breath, and holds her head high. She explains her own actions without regrets, because she knows in her heart, every move she made, was done with good intentions. "I wanted to use my time in Paradise wisely, and make peace between our two herds. I didn't think I would be there long. Surely, Liland would bring me home soon. So, I talked to Rougaru, and I listened to his side of the story. I encouraged Rougaru to forgive Liland and give our herds a fresh chance at an alliance, and it worked. Rougaru and I became friends as a I waited for Liland to get me back, but Liland never came for me. He tried once and lost, then set his sights on other prizes. He kept Rougaru's lead mare for a time as paybacks, and then won back the Bay without me." Her expression goes dark and somber again. "I will admit I was upset and confused. I didn't know why he chose to leave me in Paradise after all I'd done for him. He said he loved me, and I still loved him. I had to go home, and I couldn't wait. I wanted our children to know their father, so I did what I had to do to get back to Liland without upsetting the relationship I had with Paradise and with Rougaru."

Zjeena hopes these watching eyes don't judge her for doing what she thought was right. "I let Rougaru mount me that fall, in exchange for my release. I was free to go home without any fighting or bloodshed. Liland would get his lead mare back without any effort on his part. The feud should have been over, and possibilities for new alliances were on the table. With Liland back in the Bay, I knew Warsaw would be vying for control of the island again. I urged Liland to reconsider his position, to let Warsaw rule the island he had called home for far longer than we have, and ally with Warsaw, Rougaru and their other allies. We are stronger together."

Zjeena shakes her head, her expression falling to disappointment. "But Liland was so angry. He couldn't stand that I was expecting Rougaru's foal. It didn't seem to matter that I was home, and that I was his again. It didn't matter that I came back to him of my own free will. He accused me of being untrustworthy, of not having the herd's best interest at heart. He rejected my proposals for any alliances. He left me my title but formally stripped me of every power and forbid me to leave the island. I was more a prisoner in the Bay than I ever was in Paradise." She sighs. "I hoped he would cool down if he had some time to think things through, but he didn't. Liland continued to be angry, and talk of getting back at Rougaru by stealing and force-breeding one of his mares. This didn't sit right with me. Rougaru never forced me. Our breeding was part of a mutual agreement. To drag more mares into this, that have nothing to do with this argument, wasn't right, and that was when I started to realize, the Liland I loved was just a facade."

Zjeena's ears draw back. "Liland refused to hear me out. He verbally assaulted me with every chance he got. He soon gave me the option to go back to Paradise with the stipulation that I breed him in the fall, and that Nattergal and Havelle remain behind." Zjeena shakes her head again. For the first time, a shadow of regret passes across her face. "I shouldn't have agreed to it. I see that now, but I was desperate for a way out of my new prison, and I thought the herd would fare better without our fighting. As much as it hurt me to do it, I left the Bay, and I left my children behind."

Zjeena's expression hardens once more, as she recounts the events that came to pass after her return to Paradise. "Since I left I learned more about Liland and his true nature, and none of it is good. Liland immediately promoted Ylva to lead mare. I saw myself in Ylva. They barely knew each other, but she is a Fjord. That seems to be all that matters to Liland, is that he has his Fjord Queen to sit pretty by his side. No one else stands a chance, and while he will probably tell Ylva she has all the power of a true Queen, when it comes down to it, he will do what he wants." Zjeena growls into the crowd. "Liland took my advice to ally with Warsaw and accept Warsaw's leadership on Tinuvel, but only after I left, and only after he accused me of treachery for even suggesting it. I was right all along, but he didn't want to listen to me. You see, I never had equal authority as his lead. My words never meant anything. Every advice I ever gave was ignored. I thought he stripped me of my power when I came home pregnant with Akela, but I realized I never had any power in the first place." Not to mention, Liland agreed to an alliance with Warsaw but didn't show up to support him in the war. Zjeena isn't the only one Liland has taken advantage of, but that's an issue to address another time.

Her expression bleeds sadness. "It was a sad realization, but I could come to terms with that. What I couldn't come to terms with was what I heard when my children were finally allowed to visit me here in Paradise. Liland has been telling you all, and telling even my own children, that I had a choice all along, and that I chose to leave them behind. Let's set the record straight. I never abandoned my children. Liland lied to them, and he lied to you." Zjeena's brows knit together, and her ears lace back. "I can tolerate a lot, but I will not let Liland turn my own children against me." She casts her gaze aside, her eyes shining with emotion. "I left my son a happy, well-adjusted colt, and now he is troubled and lost, sent away to the Lagoon."

She shifts her weight, taming her anger to continue her story. "I kept up my end of the bargain. I returned to the Bay this fall and let Liland mount me, a price paid for freedom that was already mine. Liland never won me back from Rougaru in the first place. I returned to him as a free mare, and I shouldn't have let him take that from me." Zjeena sucks in a breath, steeling herself for the personal moment she's about to share.

"I didn't want to breed Liland that day, but he took me anyways. It was all business for him. Not once did he ask me how I felt. He claimed to love me, but in that moment, I realized it wasn't just power I lacked as his Queen, it was his love too. Liland never loved me. Every time push came to shove, he put himself first. He will put on a compassionate front when it suits him, but if he wants something, he will take it, no matter the cost." She sighs. "He had the nerve to send Havelle to me with terms of a new bargain. He gave me two options. I could come back to the Bay, leave Akela behind, and raise his new foal in the Bay, forfeiting my freedom once more. If I wanted to leave the Bay again after that, I would have to leave yet another child behind. Or I could stay in Paradise, but Havelle remains tied to the Bay, Nattergal in the Lagoon, and Liland would get an all access pass to a territory that's not his own, to visit me and his new foal whenever he wants. By default that would expose him to Rougaru's other mares, and give him access resources not his own." Her ears lace back anew. "I won't let him continue to take advantage of me."

The mare looks each off her onlookers in the eye in turn. "And I won't let him take advantage of anyone else if I can help it. He had me fooled. I was blind, but now I see. I want to help you see before you end up like me, like Larka, or like Sabela." She hangs her head in remembrance of Sabela.

"All I want from you now is to think about what I've said here today. Please, take your time. Stay for a while. Eat, drink, and rest. If you decide Paradise isn't for you, then you are free to go. I'm giving you one thing Liland never gave me, and that is your freedom." Zjeena implores them to winter here in Paradise, where food is abundant and the weather is mild, but she does not hold hostages. If pregnant mares wish to return to the Bay before their bellies grow too heavy with child to make the return swim, she won't stand in their way.

ZJEENA

6 YEARS
MARE
FJORD
14.0 HANDS