"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
How had she ever been arrogant enough to think she could rule?
As her feet cross over the Chamber’s border, it’s all she can do to keep herself from crumbling.
She’d been so foolish, to think that she could rule a kingdom. So stupid to think that she could keep them happy, keep them safe. She should have been more proactive, more defensive. She should have made more allies, recruited more warriors and built their army. But she hadn’t.
And she had failed them.
The images fill her mind as she trudges on, her painted head hanging low. The Mother Tree going up in flames, Tioga yelling, a tobiano stallon lashing out at a spotted mare, Sidra charging into the fray …
She had thought that, by going with him, she would stop the fighting. She had thought that once they had her, they would turn around and leave. But as the pale stallion had urged her away from the kingdom, she had quickly realized how foolish that notion was. How naive it was. They didn’t care about her - she was a bonus. What they wanted was blood and destruction.
It had only become all the more evident when they’d gotten out of sight of the Gates. Without warning, the stallion had turned on her, forced himself on her …
She can still feel his touch on her coat. She feels sick, dirty. Soiled. She wants to block it out, but she can’t forget. Will never forget.
When they finally stop, her eye catches sight of Caitlyn and her heart somehow sinks further. She should never have adopted the poor girl. Because of her, Caitlyn has been exposed to so much pain and madness.
She reaches out to the girl and draws her close, hoping to give the child some small comfort. A single tear sneaks out and travels down her cheek as she glances up at the stallion, waiting. What horror will he force upon her next? She knows enough now to know that it’s far from over.
She always had a pretty face, I wondered why she hung around this place
We can drive home
with one headlight
I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t save my mom or our home. The only thing I could do was go with her to wherever the pale winged man was taking us. The pale man had glowing red eyes and every time he looked at me I thought I would die with fright. The smoke from the burning kingdom still stung my nostrils, made my eyes water. The screaming and the yelling and fighting. It had all been too overwhelming. I cried for most of the journey to this dark place. I cried even more when the pale man started touching Mother. He had even told me to watch, that I might learn something. Instead I closed my eyes and cowered in the shadows, sick to my stomach. Filled with guilt that I couldn’t do anything to help her, help us. But what could I do against the tall pale man with angel wings? Even now I stare at his wings, unable to hide my fascination with them. It’s the only thing that doesn’t frighten me about him. They are so beautiful and look so soft. He can’t be an angel. Everything I’ve ever heard about angels was nice things. Angels weren’t suppose to harm people.
The place we have arrived at is dark and weird. Something is making the dirt beneath my hooves move and it makes me feel so uncomfortable. I press harder against my Mother’s side, fearfully taking in this place. The tears are still fresh on my cheeks as I finally look up to her. I can see the pain in her eyes, I can see she’s scared and this frightens me more than anything. As she pulls me to her, I burrow my face into her chest and cling to her embrace. ”Where are we Mama?”
A Queen and a Princess. Wouldn’t Straia be pleased. The tree was burned and dying, the remainder of the group still causing chaos with reckless abandon back where he had left them. The Queen who stood behind him, broken and fearful. The unexpected little girl who he had taken simply because he can. When he had stopped halfway towards the Chamber, he thought about killing her. It would have been easy too for she was such a small fragile looking thing. Like a baby bird who had fallen from the nest. He thought about crushing her skull and finally seeing what her brain held, examining her small eyeballs in the hopes of figuring out what they saw that the rest of the adult world didn’t. Perhaps Fiasko had seen the danger lurking in his eyes and had instinctively stepped closer to her daughter. Redirecting his attention to her, making him wonder if it was a child by someone else… A child sired by someone she feared… Would she still love and protect it? Autumn made him more violent than any other time of the year and with a wolfish smile he advanced on the one eyed mare. Come Spring, his question would be answered. He was sure of it.
He is pleased to be back in the dark shadows of the Chamber, keeping to their cool coverage than exposing himself to the heat of the kingdom. Besides it’s in the pine forest that he’s most likely to find the Raven Queen. His own raven had flown ahead to inform her of their arrival. Now it seeks him out and settles into it’s familiar spot on his shoulder, unperturbed by his own downy wings that settle against his sides. The little girl is questioning her mother and it is he that gives her the answer. ”The Chamber of course little Starling.” He responds with a husky growl, crimson eyes searching through the mist and shadows of thin trees. He leads them quietly and then suddenly stops. As far as it looks, they are alone. He turns to the shaken Queen and sees the tears in her eyes. ”Oh do man up. What kind of example are you setting for the child?” He chides her, malicious amusement dancing in the depths of red. ”As much as I wish to shower you with my attention… First to find my Queen.” He stresses the word “my” on purpose, his gaze locked on hers. ”Perhaps she can give you some pointers on how to rule a kingdom.” A soft laugh but it is as cold as the mist that swirls around them.
Angels fall from heaven. That is what the Chamber ghost has become, with his white wings now. Straia has empowered a monster, she knows. It gives her the ability to be the voice of reason. Well, “reason”. The Chamber’s definition of reason might not be the same as the Gates. Gryffen, really, is very useful all around. He will go one step too far, and it leaves her with the delicious option of deciding just how benevolent the Chamber should be that day.
Though usually, she already knows long in advance just exactly what she plans to do. What she wants to do. What really, the Chamber wants. They are one in the same, Straia and the land. Gryffen’s raven comes to find her, to tell her of all that has been happening. Not that she doesn’t know, because she has been in constant contact with the ravens circling the Gates. But Gryffen’s raven is still hers, really, and it does as it should.
She weaves through the pine forests toward her new Master of Whisperers. It still wasn’t the perfect title for him, but she wasn’t sure what exactly fit Gryffen. But he deserved something for all the work he has done here, and so she had settled on that. The mare who apparently called herself a Queen is rather pathetic, huddling with an equally pathetic girl. No wonder the Gates was suffering so.
“Well done, Gryffen,” she says simply, coming to join the group. As usual, she wears the crown of raven feathers on her head, though she is otherwise unadorned today. In the pine forests, she looks so much like she belongs that she needs nothing else to give away just exactly who she is. She turns her attention to Fiasko. “I hear you came willingly. Martyred yourself for your kingdom. So, welcome to your new home.”
She gives no date of when that might end. On this, she hasn’t decided. Fiasko will be free if and when it benefits Straia to free her. Simple enough. Straia is often waiting for the opportune moment. “If you agree to that without fight, I will make sure your kingdom isn’t left in complete ruin and your stay here isn’t terribly unpleasant.”
She knows what Gryffen has already done, but she could forbid him from doing it again. And she could call the Chamberlings home; give the Gates just a glimmer of hope. It’s always fun to leave them with that glimmer. Why? Because she likes for them to remember just how quickly the Chamber can snuff that out. But if the once Gates Queen wants to make this difficult, then Straia won’t ruin her kingdom’s fun.
09-23-2015, 06:43 PM (This post was last modified: 09-25-2015, 03:25 PM by Minette.)
minette
For a few glorious moments after she escaped Minette thought she might try to reclaim her life. When her tears abated, she let herself imagine what true freedom would taste like. But her daughter is still living, and as long as she is, the flea-bitten gray mare will stay with Gryffen to ensure that Sette is free. With a sinking heart, Min cautiously makes her way home to the mountains, passing first through the Chamber.
She does not expect to see Gryffen for some time. In her flight from the dark god's lair she saw the smoke and heard the screams, and knew that it was the white wolf at work. She is surprised she can be afraid of him at all. It's a dim fear, swallowed up in weariness from her time below the earth.
The pine trees rise far above her head. There is a sulfuric breeze that chills more than cools. An unsettling tha-thump tha-thump disturbs the ground beneath her hooves, and Minette wonders how anyone can love this place. Her hazy thoughts are interrupted by a small gathering of horses, one of whom she recognizes. Dread slips through her body but she forces herself to keep moving. There is no avoiding her fate.
As she gets closer, about ten feet away, she sees who she believes is the raven queen (having only Gryffen's description to go off of), and a mare and her foal. It is evident from the way they are standing that something is wrong. Gryffen is gloating and triumphant, energy barely contained beneath his white coat and Straia is collected and cruel. The unknown mare cowers, and Minette hears the last of the raven queen's words to her. Enough to know that this other mare is also a queen, albeit a captured one.
Minette's brown eyes widen, and despite the horrors she has endured, she finds she is still able to be shocked by the depravity of the world. She casts a long look at Gryffen.
“What have you done?” Minette whispers, before she can think.
Futile anger and fear wrestle across her features. She is wiser, perhaps, although no less vulnerable after her time in Carnage's lair. Her rebellion is quelled but not lost, and she has found a steadiness amongst her tribulation. She is delicate, tiny compared to most horses, a brand crusted with blood visible on her left haunch. With every step she takes, the joints in her legs ache like they are being slowly turned to ash. Minette is still not used to this curse from the dark god, and it shows in the stiff way she moves. In time she will manage to disguise her infirmity, although she will never be rid of it.
She does not mind. Each ache she feels is punishment for the part she played in Not-Minette's death, for her unspoken desires for the dark god's touch. She deserves no less.
“Hello.” Minette says softly, her gentle greeting aimed at the disfigured mare and her starry child. She knows there is little she can do to alter the course of their future, but she is willing to do what she can.
For the queen and the wolf, she has no more words.
Caitlyn presses in to her side and Fiasko presses back, tucking the tiny filly in as close as possible. God, what has she done? Because of her, Caitlyn has been exposed to more than most adults will experience in their lives, let alone children. And for all she knows, she could be exposed to more, here in the Chamber. She should have left her back in the Chamber, should have called out to Wichita or Sidra to take her. But it’s too late now.
The girl asks where they are, and Fiasko is about to answer when the foul beast finally opens his mouth again to answer. He drops in a few insults too for good measure, and mentions that they will be waiting for his queen.
The thought of meeting Straia makes her wilt even more. What kind of creature is this queen? She’s the one that called for the raid, the one that set beasts like the red eyed stallion on the Gates.
And then, there she is, appearing out of trees with a word of praise to Gryffen (that’s his name, the foul thing). She’s beautiful, tall and proud - everything a queen should be. Nothing like Fiasko.
The mare speaks to her then, commenting on the fact that she’d given herself up, and then offering a deal. Stay here, possibly indefinitely (she does not miss the lack of end date), and bring some small amount of peace to what’s left of the Gates. “I’ll do it.” Her voice is barely above a whisper. What other option does she have at this point? She is physically weak, there’s no way for her to fight back. The Gates has never been strong either - they will not survive without some respite. There’s nothing else she can do. She just hopes that Straia’s offer to make her stay less ‘terribly unpleasant’ means keeping her as far from Gryffen as possible.
She’s about to ask where they might be able to rest (they can’t deny her that, right?), when a quiet voice reaches her ears. She glances up at the tone (so different from Gryffen’s and Straia’s) and is surprised to see the expression on the new stranger’s face. There is shock there, and fear. And just a hint of anger.
The grey mare begins to walk towards them, her gait odd and stiff. Fiasko watches, eye blinking stupidly, as the mare stops and offers a quiet greeting. “Hello.” Is this mare imprisoned too? Or is she simply another of the Chamber’s monsters, hiding beneath an innocent exterior?
She always had a pretty face, I wondered why she hung around this place
We can drive home
with one headlight
I know that where we are is dark and filled with bad things. I know that the Chamber is unsafe. I also know that as along as I’m with Mother, we are safer together than apart. I do not regret being with her even though the bad things that have happened give me nightmares. There is a steel backbone somewhere inside of me and although I am scared and want to go home, I refuse to run away and hide. I have to be strong for my Mother no matter how frightened I am.
The Chamber Queen has approached and she promises to make the bad things stop as long as we behave. I really don’t understand what that means or what martyr means but apparently that is what my mother has done for our burning home. And apparently this is our home now too. My hazel eyes have slowly turned to lavender and they now take in the pine trees and the darkness with nervous apprehension. I look back at the Chamber Queen. She is quite beautiful and I like her crown of feathers. Maybe Momma should have a feather crown too, maybe I’ll make her one when we go back home.
Another mare approaches, this one looks worn and tired. She doesn’t seem as confident as the pale winged man or the Chamber Queen. Instead she looks upset. I see the marking on her backside and press my face into Fiasko’s side once more. Out of everyone, the nice looking mare scares me most of all. Why is she here? Were we going to be cut up too? ”I want to go home..” I murmur in a whisper, ashamed of exposing my fear but unable to not voice what I was thinking.
The wait isn’t long since Straia was expecting them. The painted mare is there and she is pleased. As mysterious as Straia usually is, he can read the disdain on her face as she looks at Fiasko. Looking at her much as he had done, a weak and pitiful thing the Gates Queen was. His crimson gaze glances behind the captives towards another whose making it’s way towards them. At first he stares past her before settling on her and a slow smile creeps along his pale lips. He steps away from the others, making his way towards the flea-bitten mare. ”Little minnow!” He exclaims in a mockery of delight. ”Has he finished with you already?” Of course he is displeased that she has come here instead of back to the Mountains. Hadn’t this woman learned anything? Maybe she was just a sucker for punishment. I mean really… He had never dealt with anyone that sought out abuse as much as she did.
Even now she whispers in horror to him and his red eyes narrow. ”Kingdom business. Nothing to concern you.” He growls, the wings at his back slowly unfurling from their dormant position. ”Quite a lot has changed since you went away. “ Ruffling the feathers with a luxurious stretch, one grazes lightly against her side as he moves closer to her. He can smell her sweat and fear, his muzzle finds it’s way to her neck. She is warm, quite warm in fact. Had she always been like that? He has never been one for heat and so he pulls his muzzle away and continues his inspection of her. ”What has he done to you little minnow…” He whispers mostly to himself, eyeing the brand on her backside. His lip curls slightly in distaste. While he had handed the mare over to Carnage, she was still his and he didn’t like his toys colored on. His lips press against the mutilated flesh with a kiss before he looks back to her, pressing himself against her gently as she talks to the captives.
”Now now, can’t have you consorting with prisoners.” He laughs gently but his eyes are cold and filled with warnings. ”I think it’s best I take you back home, we have much to catch up on.”
The fear rushes back into her heart as Gryffen turns the full force of his red eyed stare on her. She trembles, her eyes downcast. It feels like too much. She feels tender and sore after her days, weeks, years? below ground. Reality sinks into her stomach like a stone.
Minette almost laughs in disbelief when she sees the spread of Gryffen's wings. Gods, she thinks, who put the guise of an angel upon the devil? Tears prick her eyes and she tolerates his caress with her body like stone, and her eyes like fire. The brand aches. She casts a dark look on Straia without looking to see if Gryffen is watching, wondering at the mare's indifference to the suffering of others.
Despite the trembling in her body as he herds her away from the gathering, Minette calls to the mare and her filly, her eyes full of sympathy, "Have hope, little one. And take care of each other."
She is as trapped as they. All they can do is hope that someday freedom will come to them.
