Beautifully painted flowers stretched toward the sky with curious faces that resembled the sun itself, so wide and welcoming. Deep reds, pale yellows, and boisterous blues were scattered along the fields that grew unkempt throughout the Edge; a perfect symphony of color that could delight the eye if looked upon with an open mind. Birdsong was in full swing in Helovia and though it was considered not only the season of new life, it was considered the season of love as well. Was it not in spring that weary hearts found solace in the comfort of another’s arms? I’d always thought it to be such a time for healing and acceptance. After all, the cool breeze tinged with the slightest brush of summer warmth always seemed to encourage a certain desire for company, at least in my own opinion. It was caused by the need for happiness, a sense of belonging that overwhelmed those like me to want for more… more than what this lonely life had given us.

My family, my life, my world- they had endured Invasion and dealt with the ramifications with flying colors. I, on the other hand, seem to have lost myself in the resulting blur of its memory. I could not recall any certain event that passed during that time nor could I recount how it happened or how it ended, only that it had certainly occurred. At times it felt as though that significant part of my story had been wiped clean, meant to be erased from my definition… even if I couldn’t explain why or how. My life had been placed in a frozen part of my conscious that seemed only to surface when conflict was absent. But, I felt no guilt for such a defense mechanism. My heart had seen so much hurt and so much pain that I had forgotten any real coping mechanism- or at least any beneficial ones. Now, I only floated through the present like a walking corpse, still forcing movement into these forsaken bones.

I had lost to the Assassin- another piece of my story still unexplained. Where the answers had gone was lost to me and perhaps it was just as well. I couldn’t face knowing that I was too weak in mind, body, and spirit that I could not even seek victory in my first battle when my herd was about to face their second war. Yet still, time resumed and I was still here thriving, albeit comatose.

The sound of the waves grew closer as I approached the cliff overlooking the sea. For the first time in a long while I felt as though I could truly see all the lay before me. The harsh rolling of the waves rushing toward an unseen shore, the soft morning sunlight falling over the horizon and lighting up the shadows night had left upon its departure and even the pale green grasses that were so fresh and new they appeared to be quite surreal beneath my heavy footfall- it was all there before me like some sick reminder that I had been asleep for the better part of my existence. I didn’t cry out for the company I so longed for, for fear that whoever replied would only find one very broken King with a desolate gaze that stretched far beyond reality into the scene beyond. I wasn’t sure if they would see the immaculate picture now painted before my soulless eyes or if they would merely see the home they’d always known to come to when times got rough. I considered walking away, just merely walking away from it all. But what would they say? What whispers and rumors would follow in my wake should I seek an answer to end all ends? I couldn’t be sure that such a rash decision would benefit anyone, including myself, but it was a thought all the same.

At times, faces would appear in my mind, faces of loved ones, of friends, of enemies. But over the course of the past few months, they had all begun to meld together into one endless query of images that made no sense at all. I was falling quickly and I wasn’t sure if I could find the strength to save myself even with so much riding on all that I’d done and promised. A king is a king are they not? How I decided to take this next leap, this next chapter in my book was entirely up to me. But what kind of King would I be if I didn’t at least have some kind of plan in mind? You’re no King, never were kid. But at least you’ve had fun pretending.

At one time my vigor for life had been admirable and now, I felt it was certainly less than such. What had I truly acquired since coming into my skin- the skin fit for a warrior and had only been used to heal? Yet, who or what had I healed; nothing of importance that I could ever come to recall. I wear the coat a lion and yet I bark like a lamb. Sometimes I wondered what adjacent universe I currently occupied, because the rest of my companions seemed to reside here on earth while I danced around imaginary lights made for fools in some distant fairytale.

My reveries are interrupted, and rightfully so considering I knew that I could not resume life without accompaniment after hiding so long in relative silence. However, Lace is not the creature I had expected to see after so many days in the dark and quite a creature he is. It is strange to find the light in his eyes when all I had been accustomed to were shadows, but it is enlightening all the same. For a moment, I allow myself to revel in his appearance and admire the way the sunlight falls over his shoulders and enhances the deep charcoal lines that embrace his hardened curves. That’s not to say I admired him for any good reason at all other than taking delight in being able to see him apart from the darkness that formerly plagued Helovia. Only days prior I would have dealt with the crude outline of his body alone without even the moon’s light to guide my mind’s eye.

However, the mood shifts dramatically as his eyes fall loosely across my face. I can read not only the way his lips draw tight and the way his eyes seem to narrow that he is immediately weighed down by my depressive state of being and though it’s hard not to smile at his concern, I realize that it is only out of friendly obligation that he is forced to care about the nature of my pessimistic attitude. I do not intend to keep him from his celebration and instead nod lightly to encourage his presence at my solitary expense. “It would appear that it is as great a day as any to be alive.”

As I ponder what to say next, Lace is more than apt to fill our silence with quiet apprehension and though I do not want to impart him with every gory detail about how I have fallen from myself, I do intend to be truthful when the face of a lie would have been easier to kiss. “I suppose I’ve just lost my way… or perhaps I’m still trying to figure out where I stand in the grand scheme of things. Though I must say that I’m proud to hear of how well the everyone has done in the recent Invasion.” My tone is light and perhaps a little sickly optimistic, but when faced with two sides of the spectrum, I’d have rather comforted my friend in arms than enchant him with such negativity that it would make even a child run wild with tears.

For some time, we stand side by side before I am aware that we seem to be short one member of an otherwise reliable threesome. Had I not met Lace before, I wouldn’t have known that he was absent one precious item- an ivory dragoness that for all intents and purposes completed such a wise creature as Lace himself. As if to ask him silently, I glanced atop his shoulders hoping and yet knowing that I wouldn’t find the little winged sorceress there. Questioningly, I gazed back to my newfound acquaintance, knowing that my curiosity would turn the conversation away from such seriousness to simple, mindless small talk.

Kahlua awoke from her slumber in the Deep Forest suddenly. She had not meant to fall asleep, the darkness of the forest far from something she considered friendly. She had been gathering rubies from the pool in the center of the forest, pleased with herself for finding them at all. She had planned to find the best she could, then carry them back to the Edge. She did not know to what use they would be put, if any, but she had to try something. Her first meeting with Aaron had not gone entirely well and she needed to prove her use to him. She hoped that she had already gained some of Lace's trust, but proving continuously useful would not hurt matters on that front either.

As she awoke from her slumber, Kahlua could hardly believe what she saw. Shadows danced among the trees, but they were not caused by the pale moonlight. The sun was back. She couldn't help but scream to the heavens in reverie. Gathering up the pile of rubies she had made into her mouth, Kahlua whinnied for joy again then broke into a canter. She had not run so hard or with such intention in some time. The sun filled her with joy she could not subdue as she ran, the fear of monsters and darkness and evil completely lifted from her heart. If there was a word to describe the sheer delight of the moment, she could not think of it. All she knew was that she wanted to share this moment with her herd mates, those she had come to think of as both friend and family.

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Though she had wanted to run the whole way, Kahlua was no marathoner and had been forced to stop her running at some point along her travels. As she came across the borders of the Edge, her coat was damp but most of the frothy sweat had dried itself away. She still carried the rubies in her mouth as she entered the mists. For now, she could not think of where to store them safely and had no time to think about it. She moved with purpose across the edge, knowing exactly where she wanted to go. Her favorite place in the Edge, where the cliffs overlooked the sea. The grandeur of them, though something she would never stop to ponder on her own, drew her to them like moths to a flame. There was something about them that needed to explanation, no thinking, no wonder. She liked that- it was easy joy that even she could appreciate.

As she finally made it to the far north of the Edge, she closed her eyes and broke through the tree line. The sun on her mottled coat infiltrated every artery and vein of her body with warmth it had not felt in months upon months. She wanted to lay in the grass and never move again, never letting the sun leave her body. Kahlua loved Lady Moon for gifting her with the plum colored amulet she wore around her neck, but in this moment she loved Lord Sun and was infinitely grateful for his return. As she opened her blue eyes to the sight, she sighed in wonder before catching sight of two familiar faces. She had not seen them since the darkness had first started and she could not have been happier to see them now.

Trotting over to the pair, she came upon them in a moment of silence. Thor was looking at something unseen atop Lace's shoulders, Lace standing quietly nearby. Perhaps she was too boisterous for a meeting of two gentle, introspective souls; if she was, she did not notice. Kahlua was not meant for the land of Helovia. She was a child that would never outgrow her youth in a land of wearied souls and hardened warriors. She had ambitions, but no intelligence to prove her worth. If she had a place on this earth, perhaps it was not here, but she didn't know the difference. As she halted near them, she lowered her head to rid her mouth of her ruby collection, a pile of peppermint sized stones falling to the ground before she lifted her head again. “My king, my lord, my friends,” she said with a bow of her head, her voice dancing and gay as the sun continued to warm her. “How grand we can enjoy the sun in our homelands, still.” Her innocence was evident in her words and demeanor. She had no troubles on this earth. How could she ever understand the weight of the meeting she had stumbled in to.