Nighttime fell over Helovia and hushed the incessant chatter until all the remained was a tired and sullen whisper. Starlight began to glimmer above, one beacon at a time, and they watched as the spy stole away under the cover of darkness. She hadn’t any certain destination in mind, but instead a feeling of restlessness that drove her from house and home. Essetia had experienced such hesitation before, but it appeared to return more forcibly than she’d remembered, and all she could think was how similar to her mother she was becoming.

The Flats provided a welcome isolation that one could seldom find in the South with the sun bearing down upon them. Sometimes Essetia abhorred the sand and the way it crept into every crook and every cranny of her life. It lingered long after the cool northern air chilled her burning skin and even after the salt waves of the Blue seemed to wash her clean. 

The burden of responsibility felt too large and cumbersome for the new mother despite the love she inevitably bore for her children. Moments with them seemed to stretch into time that would remain eternally frozen long after she’d gone, but was just as overwhelming. As the mare picked her way across the star-kissed sands, she cast her gaze toward the wide arch above where harp strings of moonlight pushed across the sky toward the dim horizon. The waters beyond, where the ocean met the land, were molten silver and they quivered against the breeze as it blew warm along the shore. Essetia had never seen a more beautiful place.

Once, the spy turned her foggy eyes toward the diamond-flamed asters above and they glared back at her, condemning and curious. Whatever they saw in her was likely true and she nodded her agreement to the specters as if they might find some solace in the action. 

Without Romul there to keep the mare company, Essetia waded further into the silver light of what appeared to be an endless galaxy, more than content to lose parts of herself amid the moonbeams. She was quiet and rigid, a monument casting an argent glow away from the barren planes of her earthen hide. She didn’t belong in a place with so many splendors, but she remained anyhow, hoping to find some justice for giving away the rest of her pieces to someone else. 

Even as she glanced down toward her reflection, so plain and easily forgotten, she couldn't quite help but hate the creature who stared back. Whatever had become of her was once again just a shadow of what was. How many times would she succumb to the darkness of her thoughts and the doubts that so often wrecked her soul?