Luvena
There had been many times where she had returned with bad news for the commoners. Sometimes it was as simple as "We can't give you an extra acre before the woods, it's simply too much for the guards to patrol" other times it was harder. They couldn't provide them with a healer for their ill loved ones. Those ones had hit close to home. And she hadn't been confident enough at the time to help them herself. "I did" she replied finally. "It was never pleasant but I knew that we-" she stopped for a moment realizing her mistake "They always worked hard to do what they could, it just wasn't always possible."
She couldn't tell if the mare's words held any sorrow or not. She was hard to read. "I hope so" she replied. "It's been a long time, since I've stopped anywhere for more than a month since Elysium - Where I was before - everywhere has felt..." she hesitated, not sure what she wanted to say, or even what she meant. "Empty... like theres nothing to them, but Novus feels different, or maybe I'm just tired. Both could be true. Besides, even if it did feel empty, I don't think I have it in me to go much further, I was supposed to..." she cut herself off mid sentence, fearing her words would be far to dark. die, she thought. She was supposed to die, but a twist of fate had saved her, and another had left her ill once more. "I was supposed to rest more than I had been" she finally corrected herself.
She looked at the mare with sad eyes. Sad for both of them. "The learning never stops" she comforted "We are born to live, and make mistakes. Fail and begin again, until we finally carve out something that works. And eventually, that carving will grow weathered and crumble. But you make a new one, and this time, you know how to make it stronger. Believe me, I've had a great many fall. Rather spectacularly I might add" But I'm still here, She smiled softly at the girl. "I never thought I would have one" she replied. "But I do. I have two actually" she paused, thinking of Eremurus, of her anger with Cavalier for taking him from her without a word. He was both of their sons equally, and she had at least deserved a goodbye. "Twins. I birthed one and Cavalier the other. I..." her face fell, as her words caught in her throat. "I don't know where either of them are. Cavalier and Eremurus they left one day, without a word. and Liatris well..." She could feel tears welling up in her eyes and she fought to keep them back "I left the red waste, his home, to go back to the woods as a judge under the new king. He was old enough to stay, and he wanted to, so I let him, knowing I had friends there who would look out for him, and send for me should anything go wrong. But Elysium fell shortly after and I don't if he made it out or not." A tear rolled down her cheek "I was close with them both. Eremurus, he was always the bold one. Always running around, begging the knights to take him with them, and tirelessly trying to learn how to fly before he had the muscle for it. Liatris was far less brave, but still had so much energy. When he was little, he used to throw the biggest fits because I couldn't play with him, which was hard, but after, him and his brother, they would huddle up close, and listen to stories under the stars, about my homeland, and Cavaliers, and about the gods that lived among the stars."
Sometimes she wished they could go back to that, but at the same time those days oo had been filled with an unspoken sorrow as her health had rapidly declined. She often wondered if that was why Cavalier had left. But she supposed she would never know. "I'll probably never see either of them again, but I like to think their both out there living their seperate lives." She looked to the mare "Having children is both a blessing and a curse. They are the most beautiful things you will ever have in your life, but they will break your heart into a million pieces. But still, I would never trade it for anything. Not in a million years. I would go back a million times over and do it again"
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Table © Camy
