Själ

Over the time that Själ had spent with her mother, she had spent many a lingering afternoon comparing features. She was the same color as her mother, a rare, true black that almost shone blue, and they shared the same ivory socks, the same thick mane and tail. Her eyes, like her mother's, shone a brilliant shade of amber, almost enough to glow in the dark. But there were differences, too - she had a lovelier face than Psyche, even as a foal: it was straighter, slightly dished, a more refined version of the older mare. Her face was completely white, where the Empress wore only a blaze, and Själ was doubly crowned with glass where only a single, broken knob stood from her mother's forehead. As she grew, she would begin to notice differences in their build. In this way, at least, Själ would one day favor Snö over their mother.

So it was no surprise to the girl with her sister chose her eyes to compare to the DarkEmpress. She nodded slightly, affirmation as much as gratitude. Still she did not move. Snö had told her to leave, told her there was nothing for her... but how could she say that? The only family that she had was here, in Helovia. Only the gods knew where her father was, if even they were privy to that information. Where else was she to go when Mother had left her on her own to fend for herself?

"She is dead."

A sharp intake of breath surprised the filly. She didn't realize it was hers until she felt the rush of warm, damp air that tried, suddenly, to suffocate her. It was too hot, though her blood had run cold at the finality of it all, the flatness in her sister's voice as she advised the younger girl. It was too humid, too sunny, to bright and brilliant and warm for her mother, Psyche, the DarkEmpress to be cold and alone and dead. There had to be some mistake. Maybe Snö wanted Mother all to herself after all. Maybe the mare was only trying to get rid of the younger sister before their mother found her again.

But something in her eyes told Själ that her sister wasn't lying.

"But... she can't be dead. She told me I could find her here, she told me to find you, she told me you could take me to her..." Her mind was whirling, swirling in a sudden rush of emotions that the girl could not begin to comprehend. "Why?" Had those who had cast Psyche out finally found her and finished her off? Had they grown tired of her games, decided they no longer needed a Queen? Had they fallen into chaos and ruin, as they well should have for denouncing their Empress?

"I don't have anywhere to go back to," she insisted suddenly, stubbornly. She would not turn back, especially not now, not with murder on her lips and her mother the victim. "Who was it? Who killed her? We have to make them pay," she added, a hiss to rival her mother's famously poisonous vocals. "They think they can beat us? We're the blood of the DarkEmpress, and we should take our vengeance."

She shook her head, clearing any hint of tears that may have appeared, shoving her emotions to the back of her mind. Mother had taught her to stay strong, to never show weakness. She may not have been as good as Snö yet at concealing her emotions, hiding behind a mask, but she hadn't spent six months under the DarkEmpress's eye for nothing. "I'm not leaving," she informed her sister loftily. "With or without you, Helovia will bleed for this."

"Talk."