I couldn’t help but to watch the little filly with curiosity as she spoke about her father. He seemed nice, he seemed to care. I’m sure him freaking out at her not being home on time was probably due to good parenting and the terrifying thought of losing a child. I just smiled and nodded to her, wishing deep down that my own father had worried that much. Well, the King at least. I never got to meet my true father. After all, he was killed right after I was born. Being the product of an affair was a treacherous event and I couldn’t fathom the thought of what my mother felt when she found out she was pregnant. I often wondered what my father had looked like in comparison to the dark markings and stripes the King had. It was no wonder he knew I wasn’t his.

As Erthe began to speak of what happened to cause the boils upon her skin, I couldn’t help but let worry furrow on my brow. I nodded gently to her. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.” I said softly, lifting my head lower toward her softly and offering her a bright smile to lift her spirits. The smile began to fade as I felt the worry make its way through the filly. The next set of words she said made my gut drop a little bit. If it was just like the forest, I really didn’t want anything to do with it. I hadn’t endured any true physical pain since arriving in Helovia and there was good reason for that. However, the thought of this filly getting hurt made my skin crawl.

That’s when I realized I did indeed carry those motherly instincts that I wasn’t ever so sure if I had. Back when I had been pregnant with Calstron’s child, he never seemed to care about anything related to me. I figured I’d have to care for the little one myself before he tortured me and I lost it. I often placed the blame on myself for that situation even happening to me, but as I grew older I realized I had no control over anything. I was in unfamiliar territory, his family and guards all were blessed with wings whereas I was not. There wasn’t going to be a chance of me escaping that place, and as much as I wished I carried it deep within me, I wasn’t brave enough to attempt anything like that.

Perhaps today would prove me wrong. Instead, I just nodded to her slowly and gazed across the crowd that was pulsating with hatred and curiosity in a muddled mess. I lowered my head back to her and decided to change the conversation before the winds blew everything into chaos with what I was sure was going to happen. Shifting my weight onto my other few hooves, I offered her a small smile. “Perhaps it’s a coincidence? You sound quite brave, Ere. Much braver than I am.” I smiled to her, a bigger one this time. Hoping that perhaps it would make her happy to see that I acknowledged the fact of her bravery in comparison to my own; which deep down I knew that this three week old filly had more courage and bravery in every strand of her hair than I did in my whole being.




Rexanna