“What do you fear, lady?' he asked. 'A cage,' she said.”; All Kingdom

[Kreios]

kreios don't you tame your demons, but always keep them on a leash Though I have done my best to keep busy, there is no denying that I have failed. My attempts at recruiting had fallen on deaf ears, and while I am sure Raines is happy wherever she has settled, I am disappointed that it was not the Falls. Texas had left one sunny afternoon for a jaunt t othe Meadow – or so he had said. I’ve not seen the bay stallion since, though the idea that he might have abandoned the kingdom does not sit well with me. Though we had spent many a long afternoon regaling each other with tales of the past (he had so many more than I), he had never shared anything that hinted that he might be a deserter. Perhaps I had been wrong. The sound of a summons rouses me from my single-minded trip around the border, and I stop with one front foot raised as I try to identify the caller. Ygritte, I decide, and not Texas. I respond with the same haste (prompt replies to kingdoms summons had been instilled in me even as a newborn), and I soon see the bay mare ahead of me, her salmon hair bright even against the autumn leaves. “Ygritte,” I say, stretching out my pale muzzle toward her in greeting. We have not grown as close as Texas might have intended, but I find her friendly, and am sure that given times we might be friends. I had intended to say something pleasant, a greeting or a jest, but the seriousness in her expression makes it clear that now is no time for such things. “I’ve not seen Texas in weeks,” I say instead, trying my best to keep the worry from my face. It works, I know, but there is uncertainty in my tenor voice that I cannot entirely hide. He is her father, I know, and while I have lost mine too, I at least knew where he had gone and was not left wondering. “Have you?”