Though she complied, his words seeming to do more to unroot her than his actions, Ruger had not missed the change in her eyes. She had been prepared to argue with him, to stand her ground and be brave than rush into flight. Should they not have been in their current situation, Ruger would have been proud of the mare Evanescence was growing into, but now was not the time.
The run seemed to last forever, the territory stretching out much farther than he could recall it ever having been before. But finally, as they rushed over the invisible line that marked the lagoon from the falls, the blue roan mare pulled up to a sudden halt. Ruger had full intentions of them to continue running, to make it all the way to the surf and to Luthien where they would be far enough away from the brotherhood’s clutches. But the mare had other ideas.
When she turned to face him, Ruger expected a look of disgust to cross her face. To see him for the hideous monster he was on the inside, that was currently laid bare on the outside. The blood he wore, the muck and mire of the lagoon, and the rank scent of stallion upon his flesh that was not just his own. But the fire he had seen earlier continued to burn in her eyes as he approached, pressing against him and brushing her nose through his mane. He had never heard something so pure as when she said his name.
“Evanescence….I …..” Ruger knew he should pull away, to tell her of the crime he had committed. But no matter the strength he faced against everything else, he could not find the strength to pull away. Instead, he leaned into her embrace, daring to let his own muzzle brush against her strong shoulder. It was only as his gold eyes saw the blood and mud he smeared there, that the painted stallion finally managed to draw away.
“I killed him.” Ruger finally choked out, his gold eyes only looking to her’s briefly before he looked away. He wouldn’t be able to stand to see the horror upon her face. “He was old, feeble….. my sire, my… father….. and I killed him anyways.” The blood had not yet even dried upon his face, and he could still see it in his mind’s eye the look up the stallion’s skull beneath his hoof where he had delivered the final blow.