Falls

A sharp look crossed her normally soft features as her sister tiptoed around the elephant in the room – or the foal in the belly, rather. Of course, if she had expected Iris to spill her secrets, it was only natural that her sister would want to know how this baby had come about. Eve owed it to her to divulge, though her story would pale in comparison to Lily and Iris’s. She heaved a sigh and tried not to roll her eyes at the other mare’s tone. A smirk played upon her lips as she scrutinized the dark face opposite. “You sound like Mom,” she murmured before waiting tensely for her older sister to continue.

It was very understandable why Iris would be so worried about her, given what she and Lilika had been through. When she realized that she wasn’t being judged for her condition so to speak, she allowed herself to relax. She leaned most of her weight onto her right hind leg before she spoke again. “No, he didn’t hurt me. I thought I was in love, but…well, I guess I wasn’t. He was never unkind, and we probably could’ve been happy together, but it just didn’t feel right. Not after seeing how much Dad loved Mom. Maybe it’s naïve of me to think everyone can have or should have that kind of love.” She paused and shifted her shoulders in a sort of shrug. “Then when I realized how I felt, I got scared about not having Dad there, so I came to find him. And I found you instead. So, yeah, I’m happy.”

She looked sheepishly at Iris, hoping that she wouldn’t be laughed at for being a grown mare who had come looking for her father. But, she reasoned, he was the only family she had really grown up with, being so young when Iris and Lily had been taken. “I’m so glad Roheryn bumped into you,” she chuckled. “You’re going to be a great auntie, Iris. And gosh, what are mom and dad going to say?” She laughed at the thought of Gnome, who would probably be without words and have something to say about how he was too young to be a grandfather yet. And Lily – well, she didn’t quite remember Lily enough to know how she’d react.

With the air metaphorically cleared, Eve felt rather giddy again. She let out a giggle – almost like those she’d let out as a weanling filly – and lurched forward to bury her face in her sister’s dark mane before wheeling around to sprint away over the slushy earth. As she ran, she felt as though all was nearly right in her world. She only needed to reunite with their mother, and Iris with their father. Then, with the arrival of her child, the five of them could finally be a family again.