Desert

Her time with Ironclad in the Desert had been brief. Cerosi was all too familiar with the feud between the grey stallion and Cain, and didn’t want to get the young Inlet leader into trouble; however, that was where her general awareness of consequence came to an end.

Cerosi had never really considered her future. For most of her life, she had not expected to have a future outside of one of servitude and suffering, with only the escape of death to look forward to. It was such that even after her escape, she could not stand to think of what lay ahead in her life. The future was unknown, and Cerosi was too used to the monsters hiding there that even in their absence she could not bear to look into the emptiness they had left behind. She was free, yes; but there was much damage, and until now, she had been content to ignore it.

But she could not look away any longer. Cerosi’s belly was round and heavy with the foal she had foolishly let into her womb, and it would not simply go away if the steel mare chose to ignore it. She was forced to address the consequences of her impulsive actions, and the impact they had on not only her, but on Cain and Ironclad as well. Cerosi did not want to leave the Desert. It was her first real home, and Cain was the only caretaker she had ever had in her life, and in her own way she loved him. It was a childish love, innocent of the hormonal lust she had experienced with Ironclad, but it was love all the same and she did not want to abandon it.

But Ironclad would want to be with his child, surely. Cerosi knew it was unfair to deny him that, especially when she could not definitively say she wanted the child at all. Physically, Cerosi was well into adulthood, but mentally and emotionally she still felt like a child herself. She knew it was a result of her past. Had she not been stunted by the abuse, she might be more ready for motherhood now, or she might have had the sense not to indulge in the first place. But here she was, curled in the shade of the oasis, feeling stupid and hugely pregnant, and overall just miserable.