Posted on December 22, 2019 at 01:52:55 PM by ylva
Ylva’s heart and head are in conflict. Zjeena says one thing, Liland says another, and Ylva has seen no evidence of either of their claims - other than their arguments - that would sway her toward one over the other. In a way, she supposes it almost no longer matters who is right, now that Zjeena is gone. Ylva had been sad to see her go, for she had felt something like the beginnings of a friendship budding between them, but there is nothing to be done about it now. Ylva is so used to horses coming and going in her life now that she almost feels numb to Zjeena’s departure, and though she only knows snippets and suggestions of what had transpired between her and Liland, Ylva almost doesn’t want to know what had really happened. Perhaps with Zjeena gone now, the herd can have something like a fresh start.
As Ylva stands and listens to Liland’s long announcement, she finds herself growing distracted and looking around at her fellow herd members. Her eyes land briefly on Nattergal and Havelle, and not for the first time she feels a pang of sympathy for them. The twins had not left the bay with their mother, and though they have grown enough to no longer be dependent on her, seeing them standing there without Zjeena hits her hard, for it reminds her of the day she had stumbled across her own freshly-orphaned twins. But they are not the only ones, of course. Bran has been motherless since the day Ylva had arrived in the bay, which she still does not know the full story behind. Now that she is Queen, she intends to keep an especially close eye on the three youngsters, and to let them know that she is here for them as a stand-in maternal figure. She knows what it is like to feel alone, and she doesn’t want them to grow up feeling that way. When her name leaves Liland’s lips and he explains that he has made her Queen, Ylva feels eyes on her and dips her head with a sheepish smile, avoiding everyone’s stares. Her gut still roils with confusion over why Liland had made her Queen, but it is such a deep honor that she could not have rejected it even if she had wanted to, especially after Liland had kept his promise in protecting her from Warsaw. Her cheeks burn as Liland explains his reasons for choosing her, and she wonders what the rest of the herd are thinking. It’s only when Liland changes the topic and wraps up his monologue that Ylva steals a few quick glances at the rest of the herd to gauge what they are thinking. She makes a mental note to approach each of them individually. Now that she is Queen, she can no longer constantly fade into the background and watch everything from a distance. Her ears prick and her stomach drops when Sabela stiffly leaves the gathering. As little as she knows the mare, she can only assume that she is unhappy with Liland’s decision to make her Queen. Her throat tight with shame and hurt, Ylva tears her gaze away and does her best to meet Liland’s eyes. “Thank you, Liland,” she says in a small voice, but her mind is elsewhere. Sabela has just jumped to the top of her list of herd members to speak to. 3; norwegian fjord; red dun pangare; 14hh mother of harley quinn, joker, & torsten  |
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- where the wind blows - By wren December 22, 2019 at 09:14:11 PM
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