Despite the counsel of those still dwelling within the borders of the Shore, Ofelia had plunged into the ocean. As much as she had intended to be strong – to present a confident front so that Angel and the others wouldn’t worry as much as she believed they would, Ofelia found herself dithering in the surf, turning back to take one last look at them. It was not that they did not matter to her, that she did not care for those she was leaving behind. In fact, truth was, she loved them, if the aching of her heart was anything to go by. They had become her Family. But in the end, it didn’t matter how much she loved them.
She loved Xiomara more.
It was terrible being without her, perhaps worse even than when the tiny red mare had been injured, unable to make her way back home. At least then, Ofelia had been comforted by the knowledge that Xiomara was with the rest of the herd. But her ocean-eyed Queen had left the Shore alone, and she had not returned. Myriad scenarios played through the paso fino’s mind, so that her tiger eyes grew dark and dull with worry. What if Xiomara was injured and alone somewhere, as she had been on the shores of Luthien, when Ofelia had gone searching for her once before? Or what if –
The red dun mare snorted and shook her head, ridding herself of the possibilities that plagued her. Turned her attention to the wide open meadow, whose borders she’d been lingering upon for some time. There were a few horses out enjoying the fresh spring grasses, but none of them were anything like her pale faced, blue roan Queen. “Ayuadame Xiomara,” Ofelia murmured to the breeze, and her frame seemed to sag in disappointment and frustration, heaving a sigh. “I don’t know where to go.” Lost, Ofelia felt lost. And she had no idea where to resume her search.
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