PERSEPHONE

Spring had come to Luthien, and with it the land was slowly becoming flushed with vibrant green once again. The winter frosts had melted away, and gentle showers left the ground lush and fertile, springy with promise underfoot. In the clearings, where there was enough sunlight to nourish them, wildflowers even raised their delicate little heads in clusters of scattered colour.

It was to one of these clearings that Persephone was draw that day, lured in by the scent of what she mistook at first to be a stranger. She had been away from the Forest a short while, visiting neighbours, hence she missed the cries of pain that would have surely driven her into a frenzy. It was only as she made her way deeper into the shade of the Forest that she caught the unfamiliar scent, and then, confusingly, the familiar tang of blood and afterbirth that no mother could forget.

Nobody in the Forest was expecting a foal this season, as far as Persephone knew, and so she followed the scent cautiously – both out of apprehension for the safety of herself and her home, and out of caution at the idea of approaching an unknown mare in such a vulnerable position who might well react volatilely.

Many possibilities flashed through Persephone’s mind as she neared the clearing and pushed her way through the undergrowth, into the sunlight. Not one of these, however, included finding this familiar face back in the Forest.

“Talya?”

The name fell from Persephone’s lips numbly, surprise blowing the dust clumsily away from the syllables. She looked entirely different, grown and older as she was, and yet so much the same. She felt transported years back in time, looking at her. The memories of her time spent with the young, quirky little girl who once lived here were ones Persephone had treasured in dark times. The memories of the way her father had lied to her and betrayed her were ones that tortured her and kept her up at night on bad days.

When the pair had left, she had worried after Talya for months. Eventually, she had given up hope of ever seeing the youngster again.

Now, Persephone couldn’t help but glance into the shadows of the trees around them, looking for signs of her father’s company. But it seemed that they were alone. She focused her dark eyes back on Talya and realised, at last, that there was a new-born by her side.

Time had made a fool of her, indeed. Even those children were having children now.

But now was not the time to wonder at these things. She collected herself, and pushed the distractions to the back of her mind. She took a small step towards the pair, stepping fully out of the trees, but allowed the space between them to remain, since she was not sure how Talya would react to someone around her new foal – hell, it had been so long she wasn’t even sure how well Talya might remember her.

Best to start with something simple and go from there.

“Talya,” she repeated, replacing the surprise on her face with a small, warm smile. “What are you doing here?”

all of your demons will wither away

mixed, bay varnish roan, 14.3hh