On most mornings the queen could be found bouncing along the wall, dancing her way through life and generally being cheerful. Today found her pacing along the wall instead. She could not frown, since she carried her basket of toys and tools in her mouth, but the furrowed lines in her brow betrayed her emotions nevertheless. She had thought the maggots (she shuddered at the thought) had just been some trick of the island- terrifying when it had happened but nothing to worry about. However, the herd meeting had erased that idea from her head quickly enough. There were others that had seen evil, even here on the peaceful borders of the Edge. And though she hated the wall with a seething passion, these troubled times almost made her wonder if she should talk to Kaj about building it up instead of tearing it down. Hadn’t the Lady Moon said to trust no one? Kahlua sighed.

At least a call at the border could distract her. Though the song was a young voice, perhaps one of Brisa’s colts, Kahlua thought that today even a child might be a better distraction than all of the evil there was to think about. Bouncing her way towards where she heard the call, the glass basket she carried swung to and fro. The music box within was silent for now, having ended its song and not having been restarted, but the metal scorpion was far from silent. It clicked and whirred incessantly, almost as if agitated by all the movement. The feathers also remained there, a constant reminder of her glazier that she still needed to deliver them to.

As she finally bounded her way into view of the pair that has crossed the glass wall, Kahlua nickered kindly down to them, Khan swooping down from the skies to settle on her back in interest of two faces that he had not seen before. Settling her basket into the snow that covered the ground, Kahlua couldn’t really help but press the button on her music box in order to provide some mood music. As the tinkling started to fill the air, she smiled happily and greeted the two. “Hello friend, who have you brought to our home?” she offered to the colt whose name (for once!) she could not remember. Turning then to the unknown face, her bright soprano melded with the tune that played. “Welcome to the Edge. I’m Kahlua, queen.”

As she nodded her head to him, the little blue jumped off of her back and began to rough and tumble his way through the snow to entice the colt into a game, as he seemed a much better target for play than the stallion.

@[Aeolus]

As the colt came to inspect the basket she had laid on the ground, Kahlua stepped aside awkwardly to let him have closer inspection. A few years in the past she might have looked down on the colt with disdain or disgust. Back then, the very notion of foals had scared her to death. They reeked of responsibility, of chains, of locks and prisons. Children meant giving of yourself for the life of another, stealing freedom and holding it captive in their clutches. Even today, those ideas were still present when she looked at Aeolus, but the fear that accompanied them was so much less. After all, she had come to learn that the leadership she had so desired was just as bad as what she had imagined having children to be. Was herding adults the same as herding children? In so many ways, it was. She devoted her life to them, ensuring that they were safe and cared for, and trying to help them with problems blocked their path to happiness. She had faced that fear every day, honestly she still did, and the terror it held for her had lessoned somewhat.

Nevertheless, each morning when she woke there were questions that she had to answer- Was being queen what she really wanted? Was this power she had acquired everything she had dreamed it would be? Did leading this herd make her happy, or was she ever spiraling further into a hole that she could not escape?

Thus far, she continued to test herself. Perhaps someday she would actually know the answers to those questions.

Bobbing her head in response to the child’s words, she chimed in contentedly enough, “Thank you, you’ve done well for your herd.” She really did hope he would continue to stay with them. Though he was a child now, he would grow to be a stallion; also, she thought it might pain Brisa if the child was to leave as her other twin seemed to have done. Returning her cerulean gaze to the newcomer, she couldn’t help but smile at his respectful show. A more modest individual might have told him to rise, that he need not address her as ‘your majesty’, but Kahlua was not modest and rather loved the attention that was thus doted upon her.

“Shelter we can provide, and friends and family if you want them,” she responded to his request. “I assume you were told about our goals- to spread peace and promote happiness in Helovia?” The question hung in the air as she waited, a short glance given to Khan as he tried to swat at Aeolus’ tail then bounded away, gurgling his draconian call at the growing boy, hoping the child would soon fall victim to the draw of fun. Looking back to Yuuta, she tilted her head in happy invitation to allow him to chat if he wished. “Your journey must have made you tired, how are you feeling after finally making your way to Helovia?”

@[Aeolus]

If only she could remember her time as a foal again- remember the days when she had been young and living in the shadow of the Cathedral. She could remember on some days, but those memories were not memories she wanted to recall. They were memories of shadows and darkness, of a father and mother that claimed all the evil of the land to be their own, of two brothers destined to follow in their footsteps, of loneliness and trying to find her own way when all she needed was a guide. She had been young once… of course, maybe she had never really grown up. “Go,” she said to the colt at last, managing a smile. Her words were overlaid by dragon song that seemed to say, you don’t need her permission. Khan practically insisted the child come play with him. Oh to be carefree again…

Attentions returned to Yuuta, for there was no time to be carefree now, the queen watched him consider her words. His assessment of her- Idiot Queen- was rather apt despite his just meeting her. Though she watched him, she could read little of what his face told and she did not try to dig further. His words that followed were enough for her anyways. Her smile widened, blue eyes sparkling, rather pleased that he was happy with their goal. Not that she would have expected any other answer- who didn’t want peace? Well… there was Tyradon, and Illynx had never really convinced her that she was entirely nice. But still, that was two out of how many. Surely Yuuta did not join align with that crowd.

As he considered her other question, she stepped back, tossing her head inwards, seeing if he wished to walk with her to inspect the interior of what would now be his home. Surely he didn’t want to stand among shards of shattered glass for the rest of eternity. Resettling her basket closer to a tree where it would not be kicked on accident, the queen prepared to walk if the stallion wanted to walk. Of course, she was just as happy to stand. “That’s just how I felt!” she interjected after he had answered. “It’s been wonderful, and there’s always so much to do.” With hardly a breath between sentences, she rambled on. “This floating island appeared recently. It’s great. Well… actually, it’s kind of weird. When you get close clouds gather around your feet and drag you up into the sky. But I guess the gods are up there- did you know there are gods? I didn’t. But they’re just wonderful! The Lady Moon is the goddess of the Edge. You’ll love her, I just know it!”

But by that time Kahlua realized she might have been talking just a moment too long. Bursting into laughter, she shook her head. “Forgive me, I always talk too much.” Her happy soprano chortled on for a moment. Hopefully he wouldn’t mind. After all, she was just as happy to let him talk to his heart’s content, if he wanted to.

@[Aeolus]