The slideshow continued until she heard the slight sound of hoofsteps. Her eyes opened, blue eyes swirling with a billion different emotions. Her sides heaving with surprisingly calm breaths as little clouds of air escaped through her nose into the heavy fogged atmosphere around her. Cream ears flitted to the sounds, twitching with the movement. The sound seemed heavy but graceful. Was it Tembovu? She lifted her head, then, trying to figure out if she should turn and speak with him. What did she have to say?

What could she even say? She was drowning in her past just as he was with the reuniting with Kiuaji. And hadn’t that serpent told her to leave the Elephant King alone? Shouldn’t she listen? But it wouldn’t be wise to ignore the presence of a King, now was it? After all, she had spent much of her life serving her Kings to the best of her ability, whether it was home or here. She was always serving someone, learning over time that perhaps she wouldn’t be worth much more than that in itself. So she heaved a sigh, eyes closing again briefly as she tried to push the thoughts of the Bloody stallion away and instead think of the right words to even begin to speak with the Elephant King. Her lips moved into a frown briefly as her ears flattened. “Temb… I’m sorry.” She admitted, unsure of what events she had done that could get the most formal apology. Was it having a child with another? Or seemingly breaking his heart that she wasn’t who he wanted her to be?

But it didn’t last long as the sound seemed to stop, Tembovu’s rough voice nowhere to be found. Instead, a slight push of wind against her pelt before she felt it. The pain ripped through her shoulder and her chest, searing a pain deep within her that seemed to ricochet against the walls of her golden cream pelt. She moved with the movement as well, rolling over her legs roughly and landing on her other side in the snow. Scarlet blood began to pour from the collision with the attackers hoof, a burning pounding sensation as the ice melted with the heat. Her eyes were shut tight, her breathing heavier, and her pulse dancing wildly against her chest.  This was the last thing she expected. Tembovu would never hurt her, would he? She knew that she had done some terrible things to him, but nothing deserving of that kind of brutality. She did her best to push herself back, scrambling on her legs, trying to right herself against the pain of the blades of grass stabbing her wound as it pulsed.

Rexanna felt a heavy head lower to her side, her eyes still shut unable to bear to look at the creature that had done such a thing. Especially if it was the Elephant King. However, the voice that whispered in her ear was something she hadn’t actually expected. She froze, eyes opening wide. So it wasn’t the Elephant King that had attacked her, but he was still a King nonetheless. And she knew exactly who it was. Her blood froze, her marking bleeding freely to stain her coat in her own colors. “You should have known better, my dear, than to let another mark your body. You are mine and mine alone. No matter how far you run, how long you hide, or who you fuck you will always be mine.” The words froze in her head, his breath ruffling her forelock before he kissed her head. She furrowed her brow, shock lining her mind making her incapable of understanding what exactly was going on.

As he moved away from her, she scrambled to her feet again, head swinging in the direction she thought he had went in. He had grown since they had seen each other. Age wore on his pelt like a map, his wings were just as strong, powerful, and mesmerizing as they had once been to her. Yet instead of being awed by him, she was afraid. She moved on her feet, quickly, chasing after the shadow of the lost king. Blood pouring more strongly down her chest, covering her legs. Why she was chasing him, she couldn’t place. Perhaps it was a hope that this was all he wanted. That just a scar would be his only revenge? She knew better, but she couldn’t stop her legs from moving. She was angry and afraid, and still choosing to chase after a stallion who deemed her head as a trophy.

“WAIT.” She called after him, pausing before the line of trees. Her chest pounding with the thick blood that stuck to her flesh now and the jagged “C” that bubbled with the blood clearly visible on her chest. “You don’t understand what you’re doing Cal. Why can’t you just let go?” Her voice came out as a desperate plea. She needed a reason, not like she didn’t have any other good ones. She wanted to hear it come from his lips. To see it for herself instead of when she heard it by word of mouth from his soldiers that chased her. She wanted to hear him tell her that he wanted her dead. That way she knew her worry would be in the right place.

But then another thought struck the Thief. If he wanted her dead for so long, why didn’t he just do it then when he had the chance? He purposely missed to scar her with his name, his hooves, her blood. And then he kissed her. She shivered under the heat escaping her body from her wound, but her eyes were trained on the line of trees. Tears swimming beneath them but unable to fall, blue eyes worried and wondering all the same. “If you wanted me dead, you had your chance.” Her voice cracked to him as she shrunk away, pulling her head into her chest. Letting his chains move against her pelt with another shiver. Maybe he didn’t want her dead after all. Was it all a lie?

Still the wound couldn’t be forgotten. He wanted to hurt her, show her the pain that she had given him. If only she was strong enough to return the favor. But she knew better than to pick fights with those more experienced than her. She had learned since then. She had given birth to another child since then. And she refused to birth another one of Calstron’s spawns into this godforsaken earth. So what did the Bloody Prince want with her now? "So why didn't you?"

"Talk."

— I don’t love you,

but I always will.