This land and this life were not what Naenia had expected when she had first breathed breath in the cool air of Tinuvel. The fear of her mother had coursed through her veins before she even stepped foot on the earth, now it seemed as though that lingering fear could still be felt through the ground that connected the islands under the sea. She looked over the crashing waves, knowing her mother was out there, and knowing she was scared. Naenia could feel the pain from miles away, but could not peel it back and differentiate it from the pain she felt here, or the pain which was her own.

Her family was torn asunder. Mother had been ripped from them, father moved as if his spirit and his life force had been ripped from him, Roisin was angry, and Akadi had come to be fueled with a rage that left Naenia breathless. Those who were older felt so strongly she needed to step away from them if only so she could have a moment to feel her own heartbeat. When she was alone though, she felt as though she were still only half. Too long alone, she would shake and seek her twin. When she was pressed against Saoirse she felt at peace. Her sister’s warmth and presence assured her she was still grounded and they were still alive.

That morning, Naenia had grazed with Akadi until the gray filly grew too restless and stormed off when Ailill had returned to caretake. The golden stallion smiled at his daughter, nuzzling her gently to try to ease the feeling of the older one’s ire. Every day he tried so hard to protect the twins from the chaos of their older sisters, and every day he knew he failed. Naenia saw his sorrow in his eyes, in every line of his body. So young, she would reach out to him and try to shift his burdens to her. So young, she knew she did not have the strength or the knowledge of how to do it.

Nuzzling her father, today was a day she could not bear the burden of her broken and hurting family. Quietly, she picked her way through the lush forest in search of her sister. Her place of peace.