"I will do the worrying for the both of us," he says, and although part of her feels relieved, his words only seem to add to her burden. "But I can't let you do that. You already have enough to worry about, I don't want you to stress yourself out too much." She was afraid that his stress would become detrimental to his health, eventually, and that would be bad for everyone. The herd relied on Dogun to keep them together, and without him, where would they go? What would they do? It was a big, dangerous world, and Freya did not want to even think of the possibility of facing it alone.

Dogun's words offer some reassurance for the dun mare, though worry still lingers in the back of her mind. She wonders if what he says is true. Part of her wants to believe it, wants to let go of her worries and fears and just be happy for once. But there is another part of her that can't. A part of her that has based her self-worth on her ability to have children and please her king and lover. This part of her has an iron grip that refuses to let go, that crushes her a little more each time she dwells upon it too much. Thankfully, she has learned to ignore it - for the most part.

"You are valued, irreplaceable." He says, bringing her attention back to him. Freya nearly bursts into tears right then and there. She manages to keep her composure, though, and offers Dogun a timid smile. "Thank you." His words meant so much to her. No one had ever said anything like that to her before, not even her own mother. Part of her doesn't believe him - why should it? She is just a plain jane, drifting through life and hoping to survive one more winter. But deep down, she knows he means it, and she is grateful to hear those words from his mouth. "I hope you know I feel the same way, about you. If anything ever happened to you, if you ever went away..." she trails off with a melancholy sigh. "I would be devestated."

She turns her eyes back to him as he speaks, encouraging her to tell him more of what is bothering her. There isn't a whole lot. She has expressed what weighed most heavily on her mind, and now she feels better. But something still lingers there, the same worry from before, and Freya takes several moments to figure out what it is. When she does, she frowns deeply, concern tainting her otherwise pretty face. "Have you seen K1A1 around lately?" The mare had passed her mind earlier and the mare's absence had come to Freya's attention. Though she knew K1A1 was a large, independent mare who could easily care for herself, that did nothing to quell her anxiety. She would not feel better until she knew K1A1 was safe and sound.

five. georgian grande. bay dun roan sabino
lead mare of the inlet. no children. pippa.