[open] find what you love and let it kill you; gates, any

[Camelia]

I will run the streets and hostile lands, I will touch the rain with all I have
I will breathe the air, to scream it loud. My feet will never touch the ground.

Camelia recognizes the gray mare (but the memory feels like it was from years ago) and her mouth lifts into a half-hearted smile in her direction. Longear clearly looks distressed and despite the dunskin’s pain and confusion, she feels sympathy for the mare. She can’t imagine how everyone feels right now – probably how she is feeling. Magnus is already down to business and it warms the aging mare’s heart. There are those in Beqanna who dive into chaos with the purpose of retaining order and there are those in Beqanna who fall into the pit of chaos and walk around with confusion and worry on their faces for years past.

Magnus is not one of those who wander mindlessly. Neither is Camelia.

The others stir up conversation among themselves but the once-queen has her eyes fixed on the buckskin stallion. When he admits the Gates is gone (gone; what a sad, guilty, final word) she presses her lips together and resists the grief that claws at her chest once more. Everything her parents worked for, everywhere she and Mast grew to love each other, all her favorite places where she believed in a god – they were all gone. She forces her emotions and thoughts away, focusing on the present. She couldn’t dwell on the past, not when there’s danger.

So when Magnus mentions needing a home, she straightens her spine and looks him straight in the eyes. “We do.” Her heart aches, her shoulder cries, her mind mourns everything. “I will help you, Magnus.” A vow, a promise, an oath.

Camelia