PERSEPHONE

Persephone watched her visitors carefully as she waited for a response. The pale creamy stallion was the first to speak – Zevulun, he introduced himself as, and the quiet golden mare that clung to his side as Maziel. Persephone’s gaze flicked between them for a moment, and it was then that she noticed the milky-white cast to the mare’s eyes which betrayed her sightlessness.

She noted this in her memory, but it was not the most interesting thing about the first pair. They were siblings from the Bay. Persephone had noticed the similarity in Maziel’s name to the woman she had met on her visit to the Bay, and wondered whether they were related to Mariael as well – their colouring was certainly similar.

Knowing this, and acknowledging Zevulun’s respectful greeting, she welcomed him with a smile and a nod of her head. Before she responded, however, she turned her head to the other pair to hear their explanation also.

The smaller stallion spoke first, a pleasant smile on his lips, and introduced himself as Börn and his own female companion as Dancia. Persephone tucked all of their names and faces away into her memory as she tilted her head, curious as to who this woman could be that they were apparently in search of.

He had an apology for her too, which went a long way to a good first impression for Persephone. She accepted it with a nod of her head and offered him a smile in return.

The greetings had gone well for both of them, until Dancia’s words suddenly cut in. Persephone could not help the annoyance that flitted across her face for a moment, her dark eyes turning to give the chestnut mare a hard look as her ears flicked backwards. The mare looked nervous, as if aware she had spoken foolishly, but her tongue was clearly loose.

Unless she had some intent to challenge her, however, which did not appear to be the case, Persephone had no time for getting into an argument with her.

“I fail to see how what’s between my legs has anything to do with my land,” she replied dryly, her gaze lingering curiously on Dancia for a moment longer before she returned her attention to the rest of the group as a whole, relaxing her expression once again.

“Greetings, all of you,” she said simply, offering them a small smile. “Welcome to the Forest.”

She looked to Zevulun and Maziel first. “Mariael and I are allies – any friend of the Bay is welcome in my home. I hope Mariael is well?”

Then she turned to Bjorn and Dancia. “There is no need to apologise so long as you’re not here to cause trouble. When did you live in the Forest? And your mother, what is her name? Perhaps I’ve seen her pass by.”

all of your demons will wither away

mixed, bay varnish roan, 14.3hh