Meadow

the still dreamlike quality of the morning shattered like glass as many things happened all at once. with a gasp božena lunged away from the edge of the treeline, her instincts also screaming at her to flee as the large dark figure scrambled to its feet to face her. the words that fall on her ears stop her in her tracks however and her blood ignites with something akin to hope. her hammering heart soars for a second, recognizing her native tongue, and when she turns to face the creature who had spoken she is dumbstruck.

her mind reeled, taking in every inch of his body, searching for similarities between him and her rodina, her family. though his form was familiar, she couldn’t place him from her home. the hole in her chest that she had so carefully thatched over in the past few weeks is ripped open again as she stares, blinking stupidly to try to make sense of the situation. her eyes blur with senseless tears as they follow the form of his face, longing to look into the eyes of her bratri, her otek. she steps forward timidly and her voice cracking with impossible hope when she speaks. moje rodina vás požádala, abyste mě našli? je moje rodina naživu?

her mind unhinges with possibilities, wondering if this stranger has news of her family, if he has been sent to find her and return her home. something about the brokenness of his voice however, tells her that this isn’t so. she ignores the sick feeling building in the pit of her stomach, the caustic taste of doubt on her tongue. the odds of seeing another creature like herself, with the královská krev, the royal blood of her kind, seems inconceivable after all this time on the islands. surely he had come to find her.