She fell into the water during King's Year. She fell...into the water...during King's Year. SHE FELL INTO THE WATER DURING KING'S YEAR? It'd be embarrassing if she wasn't terrified to her very core.
In her short four years on this earth, Carpathia never left the Cove. Despite her protests, she was trained to fight since birth; in the Cove kingdom, when a ruler was nearing time to step down, they named a King's Year. All foals born during that year were entered into the King's Year battle when they turned four--a battle that ended with one horse standing, mare or stallion, who would be declared Cove's next king. And this year, the first King's Year in a decade, Carpathia had been bested: knocked against a boulder as the battle raged in the pouring rain, she had blacked out and slipped silently into the ocean.
No King's Year foal had ever been lost. You either won, died, or were incapacitated during battle and resigned to a life of serving the new king. But Carp had been the first to ever get away--and it hadn't even been on purpose. Her best friend (lover, had they simply had more time) was sure to win, and when the clouds parted and the victory was announced, he'd find his other half missing.
Nassawadox had always known Carpathia wouldn't make it out of the King's Year battle, so he had planned to protect her and appoint her his consort upon his coronation, pledging to protect her for the rest of her life. But when the winds had kicked up all bets were off. Now the golden mare was soaking wet, shivering from the cold and the fear, and washed up on the beaches of an island she'd never seen in a world she'd never experienced.
The distant thunder got her moving. Still spooked, she started to her feet and danced sideways, her nervous energy overcoming her exhaustion. Like a fool, she turned around to stare out to the sea, hoping she might find a glimpse of her homeland, or a ship of rescuers calling her home. But all bets were off during King's Year. Her disappearance would be treated as a side effect of competition--no one was going to come looking.
But still she couldn't look away as she tried to catch her laboring breath. Gods only knew what lay behind her in this strange place, if anything. And as darkness began to fall, her survival training tugged against her mind, urging her to find fresh water and shelter. But still she couldn't move. Nas had always been there to rescue her, and now she was frozen, scared, and stuck.
"Promise me you’ll survive," Nas' voice from just hours before echoed in her mind, "That you won’t give up, no matter what happens. No matter how hopeless."