Surely, thought Nephilim, Mariael would come to her senses. His daughter could not have become so hardheaded she intended to destroy the alliance which was most necessary, could she? He thought of all the times he’d told both she and Maziel the importance of their close relationship with the ruler of the Inlet. Time and time again Nephilim could remember telling his daughters of how Tinuvel would stand strongest when united.
Mariael’s idea of uniting was to force a stranger to come beneath her rule? To fight? There had been no true threat here before they came to the border of the Inlet. Should Nephilim have still ruled he was certain he would have walked away with similar terms he’d shared with Pagan. Why was Mariael so hardheaded? Why was she so desperate to maintain the entirety of control for the island? What happened if she was seriously injured during the fight, or worse? Would he be able to stand aside should things go wrong for his daughter?
Nerves bound the muscles beneath his speckled hide taut.
Mariael pinned her ears back, losing them amidst a wild fray of cream hair. The ice color of her eyes appeared to be heated, flashing as if they held a flame within them. “You may disagree all you like, but the truth remains. Tinuvel has been in my blood since I was conceived. You are just a visitor.” The words spat from her mouth with a venomous tone, her blood boiling beneath her coat.
Maziel was distressed and confused. Though Mariael had always been the bolder of the two, she’d never acted as she was now. Never had any event spiraled so far out of control she couldn’t be talked out of it or at least maintain her temper long enough to breathe and realize she was acting foolish. She lifted her head, pointing her ears at her sister. Before she could speak, before she could try and talk her out of it and perhaps help steer the conversation to a more helpful medium, Mariael took a small step forward and spoke.
“I accept your terms to battle.”
Nephilim felt disappointment weigh down his heart as he looked at his daughter. He drew himself a step back and knew while he could interject and argue, it would mean demeaning his daughter. He’d given her the Bay’s rule and promised she could rule it while he merely helped in whatever way she’d allow. To step in and take it from her now… he looked at the thicker-built mare and hoped the lesson Mariael was about to learn wasn’t going to cause any permanent harm… and hopefully he wouldn’t need to step in.
“Maziel, come with me.” He said the words softly, seeing the distress written across his blind daughter’s face. Reaching out he tapped her with his muzzle, breaking her anguished concentration of her sister and began to walk away, planning to move a decent distance before the actual fight broke out.
Mariael could only stare down Jasiri. Nothing else mattered but the heavy, hard beating of her heart and the clench of her jaw. She wanted to become the anger filling her full. Everything she had felt guilty of when she’d left Tinuvel behind and returned to find her mother gone; every worry she’d had when she feared Maziel was dead and it was her fault; every time she blamed her father because he was an easier target than herself… she let it fill her whole until she was bursting at the seams with absolute rage. This would not be a fight by a calculated battle veteran. This was a fight purely spawned by anger and the pride of a foolish girl who had always taken too much on her shoulders.
A bellow ripped from her lungs as she reared up.
The battle of Tinuvel’s queen’s had begun.
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