The swamp had been a place that Rhone had only passed through once. It had been daylight and he had been able to easily navigate the boggy conditions with relative ease. The sun was able to penetrate through the canopy, leaving him with a lit path. While he had never spent much time here, he had found it fascinating and had told himself he would have to visit another time when he could really appreciate the beauty of the land. Unfortunately, that time was not tonight.
Tonight, Rhone had been wandering and had lost track of the time. Before he knew it, he was passing through the swamps with what he thought would be enough hours of daylight to make it back to Dusk Court proper. He had hoped to be home by the time the sun set so he might be able to finish off his day in silent reflection. Again, that was not going to happen tonight.
As the sun began to set, Rhone noticed the last rays of daylight were no longer able to penetrate through the tree line. The swamp, which he was trying to navigate through, was blanketed in darkness. His eyes struggles to see, his feet struggled to keep him on solid ground, and his mind struggled to maintain hope that he might make it home.
But through the darkness, the stallion walked. He walked slowly and carefully, putting one foot in front of the other. But at some point, he realized that just up ahead something was beginning to shine brightly in the night. Rhone followed the soft glow, hoping that it meant he was coming up on the edge of the swamp.
But when he got close enough, Rhone saw that it was not the edge of the swamp that had been glowing in the night, leading him. It had been a mare. The closer he got, the more he began to see that it was her that was glowing. And as he came upon her, he was able to see each of her features with a clarity he didn’t think was possible in this dense swamp.
She was beautiful, unique, and captivated his attention completely. She looked as though she should live in the swamp, that she was made to live within the water. He had known similar creatures before, but none looked quite as unique as she. And as he came up next to her, he was able to see the fins along her spine, the webbing of her face, the two sets of eyes. Even still, she was beautiful. "My apologies, I thought you were the edge of the swamp." His words were soft, his tone genuine. He did not mean to bother the mare, but only see if she knew the way out of the swamp. He needed to know how to return to his home. After all, he had a duty to perform.
