saudade

[Avdotya]

You're a survivor,

it's written in blood across your lips

---

There is a momentary look of confusion that crosses her face when Orestes questions her. It wrinkles the corners of her eyes and pulls her lips into something of frown. Did he not hear her? Was she unclear when she said she did not care for the citizens of Day Court? ”Let me ask you then, Orestes: what sort of leader do you think I would be to a nation I hold no love for?” Her tone counters his, challenging him to tell her that she would be a fair and just ruler of the court; to tell her that she would not simply burn down what remained of the citadel and leave it for ash and dust. Tell me how much better this world would be with a viper at its helm.

It is not morality that guides Avdotya as it does most others. There is no empathy that resides within her bones, nor does she feel her heart shatter and break at the thought of others facing hardship. She was not raised to feel, she was raised simply to fight and survive. She is selfish, she cares only for what will improve her own interests. What those of the capitol are forced to endure does not and never will concern her.

Yet here stood the new king, trying to make a case.

Her scowl deepens. He does not know Solterra in the intimate ways the viper has come to learn throughout her life - indeed, it is not what it once was, but the desert winds are as wicked and voracious as they ever were. The people, her people, those who have refused to bow to the rule of kings and queens still remain... Orestes may not know it, he may not see it, but there is still a feral spark in their land that thrives within Avdotya and her Davke. She shakes her head just slightly. Let the man think it is all but extinct.

”I know exactly who is guilty of those crimes, Orestes, and while it may not have been you, they all sat upon the very same throne you now occupy. I have made the mistake of trusting a king and his word and I will not make it again.” Her ears fall flat and her eyes become alight with growing ire. She recalls the deal she made with Raum, that the Davke would not face the same torment inflicted upon those under the crow’s reign. They would have their desert, and in that regard he was honest and true - they roamed the Mors without question, but peril still found them. It wound its unending reach around them and tightened like a constrictor, choking the life out of them. She saw as they all grew gaunt and weary, she watched as numbers became thinner and thinner and she resented every moment of it because nothing could be done to save them.

So she laughs, she laughs when the king speaks of freedom. ”You say there is no wild left in the world. I say there is no freedom.” As long as there is a head to bear the crown, freedom is lost regardless of what promises he makes. Whether some strange burning lion sat him there or not, Avdotya sees no reason to change her outlook on the throne. Her hatred is too deeply rooted.

She looks at him, cocks her head, and says:

”Then expect it to take your life.”

@orestes

THE DESERT VIPER

I | C