Meadow

OOC: Set in early winter.

There was no denying my pregnancy any longer. The small child that grew within my womb jostled at the most inopportune times, often waking me from sleep and sending me away from the warm embrace of my Husband to attend to various bodily needs. Those that spoke of the blessing of motherhood were surely delusional, for no amount of praying to Allah relieved any of these inconveniences. Still, I did not regret my time spent with my beloved Antares. The knowledge that I could deliver to him a child of his own blood that no one could keep from him warmed my heart immensely, and I knew that I could weather these small annoyances and worse, if it meant pleasing my soul sewn.

I knew that this particular venture, however, would do exactly the opposite.

He had written the Priestess Indira's part in his life off as a way to recover from his time as a fighter, and a way to find himself once more and nothing else, but I knew it bothered him that he would not know the child they shared. It was a trauma too close to that which he had gone through back in Mahgrib, and to the son that he would never know.

Antares would not like that I was here, much less without an escort, but I needed to see if I could find her. I had nothing which with to bargain, no promises that I could make, but I hoped that she might see the bare desire in my face and come back with me anyway. I knew that my brothers in law would not approve of this mission either. My delight in matching them had been met with mixed regard, and I suspected that many of them thought I was reaching too far, too fast. But how was I to know my limits if I did not try to spread my wings?

I had not anticipated the cold of this land, however. It was jarring enough as I made landfall in the south and had steadily gotten colder, and colder as I moved north toward the Meadow. By the time I spotted the tobiano mare, I was all but shivering out of my skin and beginning to doubt my determination in this quest. I had no idea what Lady Indira was supposed to look like, or even what type of person she was, apart from being a warrior, but I had to try to find her.

This was the first face I had truly seen since coming ashore, and while I doubted that the vaguely desert bred mare before me was the one I sought, I thought she might be able to steer me closer to my quarry. Or at least suggest somewhere where I could warm up.

"Pardon me, I don't mean to interrupt," I say gently as I approach, a gentle smile on my face. "I am looking for someone by the name of Lady Indira. Have you perhaps heard of her?"

Now that I was closer, I could see that this mare was covered in scars beneath her thick winter coat, and there was no denying that she, too, carried a child within her womb. In truth, this was part of why I had chosen to approach her. Somehow knowing that we had this small commonality to share made her seem less intimidating somehow.