Pregnant. She was pregnant.
At her age it really shouldn’t be as much of a surprise as it was, but given the difficulty it took to conceive Charmeine, the blessing of being promised another child so soon was a whirlwind. Maziel was cautious, the same way she’d been when she grew heavy with Charmeine. She did not extend her travels very far from the herd (not that she did so normally) and kept to the more open areas of easier terrain and level ground, not wanting to misplace her step and fall down. This was an easy thing for her to achieve in the Bay, despite the arrival of winter and the heavy snowfall that drastically changed the land overnight. Maziel knew the Bay so well, she knew it even when the seasons brought change. She didn’t need sight to travel, even if she was further away from the herd and not following their lead.
It was one of the many reasons she had chosen to remain here as a member of Fell’s family when Mariael showed up and wanted her to come to the Arch. When she realized she was pregnant, Maziel was even more grateful she’d put her hoof down like she had and followed the feeling in her gut that was telling her she needed to stay.
As Maziel moseyed idly over the gentle crunch of the snow, she thought briefly of Fell. A flurry of emotions rose through her (even more now, given that he had sired her already beloved unborn) and Maziel’s brown lips curved into a small, private smile, awash in a tingle of sensations as she thought of the quiet, masculine presence of the Bay’s lead. Though she had tried many times to feel guilty about finding affection for another stallion without knowing Paradiso’s fate for certain, Maziel was unable to. It had always been her way to not deny the truth in her heart when it was wholly her truth, and Maziel knew that’s what this was.
Despite never saying it in plainly spoken terms, Maziel had come to care for Fell in a way she’d never foreseen happening. His presence was a comfort to her. When he was near, she felt safe. It had been so long since Maziel had been allowed feelings like this. Comfort like this. The same could be said for much of his herd, too. They had taken in Charmeine as one of their own, just as they had Maziel. They were her family and now - she bent her roan neck back to gently touch her lips to her swollen belly - they would be welcoming another among them come spring. Her lips melted back into their smile and her lids closed over her milky eyes, long dark lashes resting on her high cheeks. She tried to dream of what the foal might be like, but knew no matter who they were she would love them with all of her heart.
It was the only way she knew how.
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