I appeared as called, a shadow detaching from the clinging darkness, shimmering with the emerald light of the pool, my normally pale, golden coat gleaming with flecks of an unattractive yellow-green. Honestly, I wasn't entirely sure why we kept meeting here of all places- I suppose it was the heart of our home, but honestly? The lighting made even Mesec look not-so-handsome, not to mention the ghastly loud roar of the crashing water-fall drowning out all the words exchanged between members of the herd. And it seemed every time we gathered here there was only bad news to come, as if the oblique darkness was slowly rotting the heart of our family, weeding us out one by one.

What worries me most is that I see only Apollo, our newly-appointed Chief, and he stands alone.

I might be sick, and that was before he even began to speak.

Ktulu had abandoned us without a word of good-bye, fleeing into the shadows like a fox-hearted coward, a slimy vixen who slithered her way out of the first sign of trouble. How dare she leave us, when her sister had disappeared but a few weeks ago? Perhaps it ran in the bloodlines. My eyes slipped over to Phaedra, standing silently, and suddenly I was glad I had her as a mother. She made no efforts to teach me, not really, and let me be; though she had subtly taught me when I was younger, allowing me to see her primp and groom for the day. However, that was beside the point- she was loyal; the most long-standing member of our herd by far, and that had to count for something. Would she stay, despite us falling apart? Should I stay, follow by her choices?

Maybe it was time for me to leave and get out on my own, find my prince charming and live my own life, not one determined for me by the herd of my birth.

"I'm sorry Apollo," I sighed, looking up at him with wide, innocent eyes. "I'm not sure about this. My mother's herd, your herd, seems to be falling apart at the seams. Everyone has deserted us- from Archibald to Ktulu and Apo- Ophelia, I mean. Shame on me for saying it, but what's the point in me staying if I'm not being the most loyal I can possibly be?" I grimace, lips curling petulantly into a scowl. "It's time for me to get out on my own, time for me to find my twin." I don't say anything more. There's no point, and with that I slip away, becoming a shadow in the night, wondering with a heavy heart if I was making the right choice.

Then I shake it off. I'm too hot to be weighed down by heavy hearts. It's time for me to go hunting for princes!