i am a leaf on the wind

If she’s being honest, it makes her sort of glad to find out she’s not the only one who doesn’t know all the history of this place. Sometimes she feels like the only new horse around (despite knowing that’s untrue). Sometimes, it’s hard to remember that new horses flood this place daily, and that she’s probably not the only one who doesn’t know what happened to the wall, or when it was built in the first place. Why anyone wanted a wall out of glass in the first place, for that matter. How strong could a glass wall really be?

Clearly not that strong, as evidenced by the ruins that were left behind.

But after another moment, Glasglow is talking again, answering Lyanna’s first question about her past. Lyanna flicks both ears in the Glazier’s direction, listening with rapt attention. Their stories are not the same – Lyanna’s and Glassglow’s – but there is a shared sorrow there. Lyanna doesn’t turn a pitying gaze on the gray mare, but when the story is done, she says “I’m sorry to hear that. But I am glad you got it off your chest, and rather flattered it was me you told.” There’s no pity, just understanding, in her voice. Because she does understand. She knows what it is like to lose everything.

“My sister was rather vain as well,” she offers, a story for a story. Passing understanding between the two mares, not comparisons. “though she did not have a job so important as spreading the message of gods. Morham had no gods, but my family was the ruling dynasty. Pegasi have always ruled Morham, and though other species have lived and held high ranks in that kingdom for centuries, they have never ruled.” And of course, that is the crux of the problem. Everyone wants power. As much as they can have. It is never enough to be close. It isn’t enough that the current rulers are fair and just. In the end, none of those things matter. Everyone just wants a crown on their heads.

“My sister was the youngest of three, and simply spoiled. Corbin, my brother, the older and heir to the throne. As is custom in Morham, he was sent into the army and marched off to a neighboring land due to an impending war. Rebels slit his throat while he was sleeping, and when my parents went to investigate, they were murdered in a coup. My sister and I, in truth, were lucky. A few servants heard and helped us escape. No scars, no beatings, just the loss of our powers. But we couldn’t hide nearby, the teal on our coats marks us as royalty in Morham. My sister disappeared when we arrived in Helovia, and didn’t tell me where she was going, and I wouldn’t know where to even look if I tried to find her.”

Perhaps she should have gone after her sister, but she doesn’t know where to begin. Adelene had been behind her in the Threshold one minute, and then gone the next. Maybe she should spend her life chasing after her sister, keeping the one piece of her family that she has left. But maybe, on some level, she is not that kind or good. She shakes her head slightly, “I haven’t really talked about that either.” Her smile is a bit crooked, something shared between souls that can begin to understand one another.

watch how i soar.

lyanna