mercy
a heart's a heavy burden
While most would be disappointed to wake up surrounded by the cold bearing of snow, Mercy was actually relieved. Her sleep that night had been wrought with nightmares, visions of her mother chasing her through all of Novus and shoving her back inside that tiny prison she once called home. The bright white embrace of the snow on the plains was just enough to snap her out of it and remind her that she was, really and truly, free.
Mercy could still feel her heard beating rapidly in her chest. If anyone looked at her, they would probably be able to see the panic in her eyes. But she sat motionless on the cool ground and took deep, centering breaths. The layer of snow on the ground was thin, but still brilliant in the morning sun. It was pretty cold, but mercifully her thickset body wasn't irked by it very much. She felt perfectly acclimated after spending the entire night here. The only reason she wasn't covered in the snow surrounding her was because of the short, singular tree she had decided to sleep under last night. She looked up through it's branches, squinting in the bright light of daytime and thanked the tree silently for keeping her from the elements.
"I wonder how long I'll be safe from her," Mercy mused to herself aloud. Her life had been lonely since before she could remember, and over time one of the only ways to keep her entertained was to talk to herself. It was affirming, in a way. She had never had the pleasure of friends while she was growing up, only empty walls and her mother's demanding whinnies. Sometimes her voice would be the only sane thing she would hear in a day.
A pit of fear was opening in her heart, and Mercy didn't quite have the willpower this early in the morning to push it back. Maybe her nightmares were a prophecy of what was to come. Her mother was surely searching for her, furious to have lost her daughter and servant (probably more so the latter than anything). How long could Mercy keep running away from her? Stay out of her sight? How far would her mother go to get her back?
Mercy sighed woefully to herself, propping her head on one of her feathered hooves. She tried desperately to admire the beauty of the plains covered in snow. She didn't know how much longer she'd be able to appreciate sights like these.
But maybe, hope whispered in her chest to fill that pit in her heart, maybe her mother was just as soulless as she had guessed. Maybe her mother didn't care about her wellbeing or her servitude enough to worry about finding her. Maybe, somewhere, her mother was relieved to be without her. Mercy tried to view this as a positive, but it had a hollowness to it, too, that didn't quite fill the void. She hoped desperately that after a snack or two she would feel much better, because so far this day wasn't living up to any good expectations.
sad gorl ;( - @Vercingtorix - 517 words
