A smile pulled at the edges of his lips as she asked if he might freeze. He glanced around them at the topography and wondered how different it was from gold sand and hard red cliff faces. His home had been painted in warmth whereas this was painted in cold. Areo Hotah did not mind it and only turned his small smile back to Jasiri. “It seems to be a good land. I will not freeze.”
He was attentive to her when she spoke again. “Yes, my queen. It will.” Areo Hotah replied without hesitation the moment he was given his orders. Serve. Obey. Protect. The borders of the Inlet would be worn down by his wide hooves as he searched the land his queen ruled. Any who attempted to harass her would be dealt with accordingly. It felt good to have purpose again. It felt good to be looked upon as useful. The confusion that had begun to make him think different than he’d been taught was now taken from his shoulders. Areo Hotah could return to doing what it was he was trained to do and perhaps, in time, the thoughts of the queen he’d failed would be replaced.
Areo Hotah considered his queen after she answered his question. It was not for him to pry and he had no desire to. Though he had been taught to read body language and emotion, Areo Hotah was never to apply the thought personally to who ruled him. He was a servant.
His thick neck bent as he nodded his head and then assessed her again. “If my queen is happy she left, then that is all that matters to Hotah.”
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