She’s still trembling. Of all the things Aurora would have thought Bob capable of, this would not have made the top ten. The violation itself had been awful – her hips are still sore – but it’s the breach of trust that is even more excruciating. It’s not as if she’d run into some random stallion on the Crossing; she’s known Bob for a while now, has lived with him and thought very highly of him. But now…now she doesn’t know what to think.

She wonders if it’s the universe testing her, if it had decided that since she seems to be coping well enough with her disability that she needed something harder to deal with. And, of course, the wrench of her faulty eyes had to be thrown into the mix as well. Yesterday had been one of the best days she’d ever had, so she’d gone through the ordeal with crystal clear vision. Today, it’s like a switch has been flipped and she can’t see at all. She’s been wandering aimlessly since she woke up, not that she’d gotten much sleep, wondering if Bob is still nearby and if he would come after her again.

She sighs shakily as she meanders, trying to focus only on not straying from the path, not wanting to keep reliving the previous night’s events. She’s been hoping to run into Talya; hearing Bob yelling at his daughter had been the reason Aurora had crossed his path in the first place last night. She’d asked him what was wrong, but he hadn’t answered her. She doubts she’ll ever forget the glint in his eyes that she could only describe as evil.

Since her ears are stronger on days that her eyes have failed, she can pick up the murmuring voices from a good distance away. She adjusts her direction slightly, hoping it won’t take her too far into tricky terrain. Her cloudy eyes wander pointlessly, as if they will suddenly start working again today. She shudders as the voices get louder; she can only hope that whoever it is won’t notice how out of sorts she feels.

When she can finally separate the voices, she is relieved to hear Talya. Whatever the blowup had been last night, Bob hadn’t hurt his daughter too. She doesn’t recognize the other voice, but she has heard enough to be able to guess that it’s another mare that Bob and Talya had met. Had Bob lured her here like it now seems he had with Aurora? Has he been planning this the whole time?

Filled with dread, the white-flecked gold mare gets as close as is comfortable without her eyesight, just in time for the newcomer to introduce herself. Aurora wonders if Bob chose this mare deliberately once he’d learned her name. What would be the odds that a mare named Luthien would end up on the island called Luthien?

Aurora feels a little awkward just standing here, but she can’t bring herself to speak. Talya doesn’t know what her father has done, and Aurora isn’t going to fill her in, but she doesn’t trust her voice to betray her. She’s suddenly glad that she has the excuse of being blind for the day.