Adelheid’s ears tipped back when the other mare asked her how her adventures had so often ended. She was loathe to share something so deep to her, things she had never spoken or addressed with anyone, which was surprising considering her otherwise vocal nature. Her voice had always been hushed by her mother, her questions not answered, and her convictions invalidated.Even when she had tried to do something right, she had turned around and done it wrong. Her body quivered with memories she had long attempted to suppress, bringing forth what had usually been saved to be nightmares. Dead eyes staring up at her, and the smell of blood.
She closed her eyes and looked away for a moment. It was the first time her attention to their surrounding had faltered, and the first time her guard was at ease. One of the adventures ended when two stallions surprised my friend and I on the Peak. Stallions aren’t allowed on the Peak except by invitation or capture. Since Rhadra was new, Adelheid felt the need to break her story to explain, We were young and I tried to protect my friend, who had been injured and almost fell off a cliff. When our mothers found us mine scolded me for trying to ‘claim’ the stallions. Her hoof stomped hard against the ground and her eyes flashed away. She still remembered her anger she had felt. Fueled more by the memory of years later when a stallion tried to force her to his land when she could not protect her own. The memory left a bitter acid on her tongue that could not be aired out when she spoke. There were other times, when my friends or my sister would wander away in search of fairies, treasures and spirits. Her throat tightened with a breathless wishfulness she had once dreamed of. They told me so many stories of so many things they had seen. ...I never saw them. The ripples on the water were just that… Ripples. Or bugs. Or a rock I had kicked. She left her voice trail off, the memories of dreams dying with the words.
Adelheid blinked in surprise at Rhadra’s admission that she did not have a dam. ’You look pretty damn alive…’ Once more guilt ripped through her. Her heart broke at the loss of her mother, the loss she would never admit through all the anger. She struggled with the words Rhadra said to her. Reasons mares had children… That’s very noble. I am…. Sorry… about your dam. The words were distant and hollow, though sincerity rang in them like a soft bell. Adelheid closed her eyes and tried to breath off the strange feelings that were washing over her. You are new here, though I don’t think a herd would turn you away, a home is harder to find. Here on the islands, mares of the Peak are considered safe in the common lands unless or until they find a home. I am sure the mares of the Peak would welcome you. The corner of her lips twitched. There are foals a plenty… AdelheidIt’s Your Illusion - A Fatal Contradiction |