Little time passed between Mariael taking deep, needed drinks of the stale, strange tasting water and an arrival of another horse. For that, Mariael was thankful – standing idly within the desert’s warmth was doing little for a mind she wanted to keep impassive and calm. The last thing she needed was to cave to her irritation and say something rude, escalating an issue that needn’t exist in the first place.
Mariael studied the mare – sleek, black, and glistening beneath the slowly darkening sky – and fought to keep from smiling at how much they reflected their homes and how different they were from another. Though Mariael’s father had come from desert blood, Mariael had taken more of her mother’s thick, gypsy cob influenced build, making for a creature capable of withstanding Tinuvel’s chill and the hard conditions one must live through to survive. Everything about her screamed that she was nothing more than a northerner – a horse of Tinuvel – and likewise, everything about the mare in front of her boldly stated she was meant for Salem and Salem alone.
Without needing to ask, Mariael knew this must be Valve. Who else here would be so commanding not only by voice, but presence, too? Mariael wasted little time in responding coolly. “I am Mariael, Queen of the Bay on Tinuvel. It may be rude to assume, but I believe you must be Valve, the leader here?” She paused, but just briefly. She might as well get out of the way why exactly she’d come here today. “Tinuvel and Salem could not be further apart, but that doesn’t mean we need to remain strangers to one another for good. I thought it would be beneficial for me to visit, as I’ve led the Bay for some time but have never come to Salem or met anyone from this island.” Another pause, for the reason she visited was not that alone.
“Also, I have a son of a mare who is in this herd – Evaline, her name is? Paradiso, her son, lives with me in my herd, and I have news of her daughter, Vita Nova, which Paradiso assured me she would want to know.”
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