Rivaini

Rougaru tried to conceal it, but the red woman could see the moment of her victory.

A smile broke through the overcast sky of his expression, and she knew that he was hers. Or perhaps, more accurately, that she was his. No, the stern voice of Rivaini’s courage spoke. He could claim her body for the course of their tryst, could claim her womb for the seasons to come. But beyond that, she would not allow the chocolate stallion to own any significant piece of herself. Not her heart, not her thoughts, and certainly not her fear. She would face this as bravely as she had once left her family and home behind her, save for the brother who would always hold a place at her side. And after it was done, she would return to the new family she had built, to the new home where she belonged.

Still, she couldn't help but to feel the bitter irony of the fact that this was exactly the sort of fate that she had sought to avoid in starting over.

Rivaini had been certain that he would take her right away, but her now-suitor showed a surprising amount of consideration given his lack of regard for others’ free will. It was enough to make her step back mentally, to look closer where she’d previously only glanced. And while the silver bay mare still couldn’t find him attractive in any sense of the word, Rougaru became less repellant to her as she released the tethers of her resentment. Perhaps he was not honorable or kind, but Paradise’s king was charismatic, and cunning, and clearly dedicated to those who shared his blood. That the last quality was the best way - no, the only way - to turn his strengths in her favor. Instead of being a tense neight, or even an enemy, Rougaru could become an ally… if she allowed him.

So she did. The brush of her lips on his was different than the first time; less formal, less restrained. For lack of emotional desire, Rivaini could only surrender to the powerful forces of her own hormones, letting them overwhelm all conscious thought. Feeling like a passenger in her own body, she stepped closer to the stallion too, flared nostrils fluttering as she drank in his scent, dragging her lips slowly down the curve of his neck. Here and there, they encountered the subtle pucker of a scar, and her breath would bathe it momentarily in warmth before she moved on. Only once she had reached the stallion’s shoulder did the copper tobiano pause and draw back to look at the chocolate stallion again. The black of her pupils had expanded, all but erasing the pale ring of her irises, and her sides shuddered with a single, deep intake of breath.

No, it was too hard.

Looking at him, awareness threatened to resurface. Guilt and grief filled her, threatening everything inch of ground that she had won. That Faolain or even Çiçek could not have been the first to incite such fire within her. That she must yield this precious piece of herself for their sakes. Flitting away like the birds who haunted the canopy of her home, the silver woman’s eyes found a blossom again. Her chest hitched, and then the rhythm steadied. Deepened.

She stepped forward again, trailing the blunt edge of her teeth down Rougaru’s spine. Imagining that it was the black ‘Teke, or the slender golden woman. She had groomed the two often enough that she could even close her eyes and feel them beside her. It helped her to continue where she wanted nothing more than to stop - or to run, and pray that the talons of thrice-damned Fate would find another. Anyone but those she treasured, whose pain she now understood she was not preventing in her sacrifice. If anything, they would only feel worse when they learned of her bargain. When they knew what she had given, and why.

But Rivaini, lifting the silver stream of her tail and succumbing wholly to the cruel destiny that awaited - she would feel better for knowing that it was her choice. Her burden to bear.

For Faolain, Çiçek, and Iscariot.

mare / six / silver bay tobiano / andalusian mix / 15.3hh