ervain nearly crumbled when he spoke again. The rasp of his voice, raw with emotion, tore at the black mare's core where she'd hidden everything away. Her hope, her spirit, and her love for him and the family that lay waiting for her: it all had been shoved in the deepest parts of herself to be forgotten. It shook the foundations of the new life she'd been forced to carve out for herself. It was feat to remain standing rather than collapse to the ground below.

She could hear so much in his voice: the relief and disbelief, the promise and the imagined accusation. What must he think of her by finding her here in the open with a child that was decidedly not his? Vervain had to look away in order to breathe. She had to close her eyes and struggle as her throat clenched, strangling her words into a hushed voice. Any pressure to speak louder would push her too far.

T-there's a swamp, she began, Several miles southwest of here. She had to hurry, had to get these words out before she couldn't That's where he kept me. Neph- I... Her voice quavered, threatening the tears she had to keep at bay. What could she possibly say? She'd never allowed herself to think of this moment; Vervain had truly thought she would never see him, see any of them again.

Her dark face turned back to the golden stallion then. The unshed tears shone in her honey-brown eyes: tears of shame and grief. I-I-I didn't think anyone was ever going to find me. It's been a year, she croaked. A year... So much had been taken from her in such a short amount of time. So much had been lost because she had gone to the beach alone that night to wait... for him. How much more would she lose because of the choices she made trying to survive?

vervain

mare ∙ mutt ∙ black brindle ∙ 16.3 hands
daire's daughter ∙ peyote's prize