Falls

“But if they’re real…” her voice died quietly on her, the despair of the truth too great to put into words momentarily. She watched Björn for a moment and then looked away, up to the starry night sky above them. It was beautiful, but it only reminded her of the stallion she’d called father, with his coat of a shimmering night. A sigh fell from her mouth as she dipped her long, thin face and looked to the bald-faced colt again. Her eyes searched him, watching his earnest expression, and wondering if it was worth it to push away the fear of confession and simply dive into all she wanted to say. What could it hurt? She did not know this colt, she did not have to see him again if she didn’t want to… right? If she told him everything and he thought… if he thought she was crazy…

Avangeline swallowed, still tasting grief. “When I was born, my goddess, Tsura, who raised the sun each morning and put it to bed each night, gifted me with powers. I could glow with her light, no matter the time of day, and I could summon little wisps of it accompany if I ever felt particularly lonely. My mother and father were Tsura’s mortal right and left hand, so to speak. They had wings and could fly, like birds. My mother was the purest gold and my father was colored like the night sky. They never let me leave the valley because their opponents, horses who followed other gods and goddesses of other worldly elements, would take me hostage.”

She hurried on before he could say anything, hurried to spill every truth from her lips that she’d been hiding thus far, needing to cut the wound and bleed it completely dry. “I have no powers. I have no light. Every morning I watch the sun rise without Tsura’s guidance and each night I watch it fall, alone. Horses do not have wings here; there are no gods to worship… I feel far from home and from the family I love. I fear I somehow upset Tsura, and my punishment is to live here. I fear this is a trick of some cruel god. I fear I’ve gone insane, because as far as I’ve seen, none of what I believe to be true is actually possible.”

The tears had come back to her eyes, making them glisten, but she only exhaled in frustration and closed her eyelids against them, willing no more tears to fall from her eyes. “I miss a family I’m not even sure exists.”