Mariael stilled her breath as a small break of silence fell between her request and the Bay stallion’s decision. She wasn’t certain what her choice of action was going to be if he denied her, or indicated Maziel wasn’t here. Mariael would have no choice; she would have to bully her way into Fell’s territory. After spending her years living on Tinuvel and avoiding drawing too near to the Bay, she would have to walk right back into the heart of it to make sure Maziel was not kept from her.
Mariael was spared the choice as, after a snort of frustration and a stomp of his hoof (Mariael’s ears flicked back, her chin lifting a few inches as she eyed him), Fell seemed to accept. Mariael did not miss the glance to Suleiman, but her mind was tripping over itself, thoughts racing at the truth that her sister had been here in the Bay this entire time. If she had been brave enough to draw closer to its border, she might’ve had a chance to cross her path sooner.
After only a brief second’s hesitation, Mariael looked at Suleiman, then started forward, trailing in Fell’s wake as he led them into the trees. It was hard to walk through the Bay again, knowing she had failed it, this home that was her birthright. Any time a thought of her leading tried to resurface, or of her father, Mariael refocused on Fell and on the present and the fact that she was just moments away from finally seeing Maziel again.
Then it happened.
Ahead, where the trees thinned in a moderate clearing, Mariael saw her. She didn’t have time to realize the clearing had been her’s and Maziel’s favorite when they were young fillies. Unable to help herself, a rumbling nicker vibrated in her flared nostrils and, stomping a pale hoof onto the ground, she found herself picking up her pace and pulling ahead of Fell. Whether he let her by or even nipped her for disregarding his lead, Mariael didn’t and wouldn’t stall in her step. All she could see, pay any attention to, or acknowledge existing was her sister.
Maziel’s thin face shot upright at Mariael’s low call and the subsequent crunching of hooves overground as she drew near. Her brown tail flagged off her hind and excited noises of her own came tumbling out of her mouth, ears trained on her sister as she started in the direction she could hear her. They came together almost too-quickly, snorting and running their lips down one another’s necks, over their chests, playfully biting and tugging one another’s hair as though they were playful fillies again. Laughter spilled out of their lips, and relief lay underneath the cheerful sound.
“You’re here, you’re really here,” Mariael breathed into Maziel’s dark mane, and Maziel didn’t have a chance to say anything before Mariael’s voice dipped with shame and regret. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry for everything.”
Maziel pulled her face away so she could poke gingerly up Mariael’s neck, finding her cheek and softly running her whispered lips over her sister’s skin. “I know,” she said in that way she had, that way of knowing her sister like she had known their father and like she knew their brother. That surprising way she could forgive their shortcomings and give them her love, even when they didn’t think they deserved it.
Mariael trembled and swallowed back against the knot of emotion that rose thickly in her throat. “You’re okay?” She asked, instead of saying all the other things she wanted to say. Mariael drew a steadying breath as she tucked her chin back, breaking Maziel’s soft contact against her cheek, and opened her eyes to look her sister over. Immediately she could see that Maziel looked well and unharmed.
“Yes, I’m alright,” Maziel assured her. “Fell has looked after Charmeine and I very well while we’ve been here.”
“Charmeine?”
“My daughter.” Maziel said softly, and Mariael’s eyes widened as she pulled her neck away, looking at the happiness bright across her sister’s face. Maziel had always wanted to be a mother, but she had never had a foal, despite any attempts she and her mate Paradiso had made. Mariael’s heart had always broken a bit more for her sister each year when her womb had remained empty.
“Oh Maziel, I’m so happy for you.” There was a pause. Mariael’s dark eyes grew troubled. “I heard about Paradiso, I’m sorry…”
Maziel’s soft face tightened, and the warm glow that’d brightened her evaporated in an instant. She dropped her head, ears flicking briefly outward. “It’s been over three years since he was last with me. I used to hope he’d show up on the shoreline sometime after I did, but…” Her soft voice trailed off and Mariael’s heart sank. She’d never known Maziel to lose faith in her loved ones. Even when their father had first disappeared Maziel had sworn he was alive somewhere, even when Mariael was certain all evidence pointed to his death.
“At least I’ve had Charmeine,” Maziel said when she spoke again, then slightly lifted her head, focusing her attention outside the bubble she and her sister had tucked themselves into almost immediately upon seeing one another. The sound of the other two horses in the clearing with them wasn’t difficult to pick up on, nor were their smells. One was a stranger (though his smell was interwoven quite intimately across her sister’s coat) and the other was the stallion she was looking for. Maziel’s lips curled into a soft, grateful smile. “And I’ve had Fell and his family, they’ve been good to me. Fell has kept us safe.”
Mariael frowned, looking from her sister and then to the black stallion who had led her here.
“I want you to come live with me and Suleiman in the Arch.” Mariael said abruptly, before even once having outlined those were her intentions to Fell, and her gaze lingered briefly on him when she started to speak before finally snapping back to Maziel’s face. She wasn’t sure why she said it so quickly and why she felt uncomfortable with how gentle and familiar Maziel seemed to be acting toward Fell. But she did, and it made her want to pull Maziel even further away from him.
Maziel blew a sharp breath from her nostrils, drawing her head up and turning it somewhat in Mariael’s direction.
“Mariael,” the pause before Maziel spoke again was very brief, but somehow Mariael knew exactly what she was going to say. “I don’t want to leave the Bay.”
“You… what?” Mariael asked with breathless incredulity, taking a step back as her head rose and she eyed her sister. “Why?”
“The Bay is my home,” Maziel said, “It reminds me of Father, of you, of Zevulun. It even reminds me of Paradiso. I know every inch of it I walk, and Fell and Fell’s herd have become my family while I’ve lived here.”
“I’m your family,” Mariael said, and heard how sad her voice sounded. It came out almost like a whine and her cheeks were immediately hot with embarrassment, ears flicking briefly outward. “Maziel, it isn’t like before, I’m not like I was. I’m better now. Things will be good again.”
“I know,” Maziel reassured her, reaching out to brush her muzzle against her shoulder. Mariael knew she could feel how tense the muscles were there. She suddenly wasn’t sure what to do. Mariael had been fearful of Maziel outright rejecting her entirely, but she hadn’t anticipated finding Maziel happy to see her and so content in the Bay she’d choose it over being with Mariael. Maziel never actively chose to live separated from Mariael. Even the few years that separated them had been Mariael and then fate’s decision.
“We’ll be right next to one another, sister,” Maziel reassured gently, “We can see one another all the time.”
But dread was cold in Mariael’s heart. Zevulun had told her to get Maziel out of the Bay to ensure her safety and keep her from getting caught in the crosshairs of Fell’s enemies. For some reason her sister seemed to think the world of Fell, and something about the soft, warm, affectionate way she said his name was setting off warning sirens in Mariael’s head. Her sister wasn’t thinking straight. She wasn’t safe. Mariael had to keep her safe. What would Zevulun think of her if he came back to the Arch to visit her only to find she hadn’t done like she said she would? What if something happened to Maziel?
“Introduce me properly to this Suleiman,” Maziel said with curiosity in her voice, clearly wanting both to lighten the tense mood that had settled between them, change the subject and finally include the two bystanders. She pointed her face toward them, trying to concentrate on the one who was least familiar to her. Mariael pulled a back hoof up and stomped it somewhat mutely down, then turned her head to look at Suleiman. She still felt somewhat lost, but looking at him warmed her through and helped her pull her head above the choppy waters and take a breath.
“Suleiman, this is Maziel. Maziel, Suleiman.” Mariael said, gently touching her sister’s cheek to guide her a little more to the direction Suleiman was. “He leads the Arch; his father is Tinuvel’s king.” She said it proudly, her voice softened as she added, “He saved my life.”
Maziel took a few steps closer so she could stretch out her neck, brown hair falling in a shimmering curtain down it, extending her white-snipped muzzle toward where he stood. “It's good to meet you, Suleiman.” Maziel spoke once they’d exchanged a few careful breaths and tucked their chins back. “I owe you my thanks,” she said, pale eyes shimmering as she looked somewhat off to the side of his face and smiled. “It means more to me than I can say to know my sister is alright.”
Mariael, still hovering somewhat behind her, dipped her chin, troubled eyes dropping down her sister’s hooves as she still struggled with how she was going to get her to come back to the Arch with them.
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