The muscles in her steely colored legs are trembling in anticipation of the next wave of pain set to wreck through her body. Her whiskered nostrils flare deeply and slowly, as she tries to steady her breathing. It was the only method she's determined to help her through the pain. But she was weary. Exhaustion hung heavily on her features. There was too much to do, both as a mother of two yearling colts and trying to manage her own failing health through this pregnancy, let alone assuming the responsibilities Xiomara and Warsaw had shared up until recently. Her mind was racing with concern.
Letavice follows his brother, obedient to his mother's orders, but his movements are reluctant. He snorts when Ironclad nips him, but trots after him anyway, giving his mother one last longing glance. He nods his head when his brother speaks, confirming that he too, could tell something was off with their family. "Mom seems sick." He says, his eyes wide and round with worry. "I just wish everything would go back to before."
Vita Nova watches as Warsaw approached apprehensively. At least the great grey stud was smart enough to move with caution. Her ashen ears flick forward as Warsaw finally opens his mouth, but he struggles to hold her hardened gaze. She stood stricken, trying to summon the burning anger she harbored for him, but it was proving to be difficult. She was just so damn tired. But her lips are held tightly shut as she listens as Warsaw stumbled his way through all the things he should have said to her months ago.
She doesn't bare her teeth at him or pin his ears as he makes his way closer to her. The Queen of the Inlet tries her best to suppress the urge to roll her eyes at his call to the gods. It was something about him she'd once admired - his strong commitment to his faith - but in this moment, in his time of weakness, it seemed like an easy cop out.
Still, Warsaw creeps closer. He is within reaching distance when his words finally stop, and the only sound that spans between them is the gentle coo of the current from the creek. Vita Nova can feel his warm exhales at her side, but she doesn't flinch. Finally, she breathes a long and low exhale.
"I have been loyal to you. I have birthed your heirs. I have managed your herd. When you declared war against my family, I stood behind you." She says solemnly. "I chose you, Warsaw, because I love you." Her blue eyes are hard-trained on the stallion now. "I love you despite your flaws... and oh, there are many." She continues with a scoff. "I looked the other way. And foolishly, I told myself you'd never treat me - your Queen - in the same despicable manner as the others. But then one day, you did. After all we'd been through, I was not your Queen any longer."
She turns her delicately dished face away from him now, her eyes welling with tears as she attempts to peer through the brush for the figures of her sons. She breathes another heavy sigh.
"But I am not like the others, you damn fool." She said, her voice evening out, despite the tears that stained her cheeks. She turned to him again, her ears now back against her poll. "If you love me, you will show me the respect I deserve, every day, from this day forward. Or I am gone. Your sons will be gone. And you will never see us again."
She flicks her tail across her rump as her eyes reel into tight slits again, the wave of pain rearing its ugly head. She takes an abrupt step to the side, toward Warsaw, as she tries to steady herself through it.
"I cannot do this any longer." She says, a sudden urgency in her voice now. "I'm afraid this foal is going to be the death of me." Her eyes flick to Warsaw now, the fear she's been keeping to herself all this time finally being revealed plainly on her features. "You have to keep us safe, because I cannot." She says, her voice trailing. And finally, she reaches out her own nose to stroke him, feeling a sudden weight lift from her shoulders as she did so. "And you will have to raise this one, if I don't make it. Promise me."
Mare | Evaline x Valentine | Smoky Back Splash | 15 hh | © Vinyl |
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