Ea
04-08-2017, 12:53 PM
now you're staring at a queen.
Throughout it all, she remains calm.
The silver girl is calm when they come, one by one, these others who claim Ischia as their own. It’s laughable, truly: Ischia is hers. It will always belong to her family, no matter who leads it.
One by one, they come to support her. She touches her nose lightly to Sabrael’s side to hold him back as he comes to her defense, releasing his dragon. Vida -- her loyal grulla friend -- makes her way to Ea’s side. She sees Wallace, Dovev, some new faces -- and by her count, Ea would remain leader. She is calm, head held high, eyes fixed on Kirin despite the others’ words. They were meaningless.
And then, Ashley’s vote: Kirin.
Her head whips around, color-changing eyes staring directly at the stallion. She did not mishear. He and his family all vote for Kirin -- a stranger -- to lead them. He wins.
Her blood boils, but she remains outwardly poised.
Kirin pulls the two of them aside. He offers them peace -- he has no interest in leading Ischia, only keeping it under his watch. She is silent, listening, even calm as Nayl finds them and defends Ischia. Her throat burns as Ashley speaks.
She cannot fault Kirin for taking advantage of Ea while she was distracted -- but this has woken her up. She is focused now.
As the others finish speaking, Ea takes a pause before she begins. “Thank you, Nayl,” she says, voice steady, nodding to the spotted queen. She is strong and cold, commanding respect. “Ashley, you are the one who has betrayed Ischia by supporting this stranger. Kirin, whatever plans you have for Ischia mean nothing to me; my family and I won’t remain in any land where he lives. So here are your options: you can all leave and I will forget you ever showed your face here, or you can lead a land of one and be reminded every day how you singlehandedly destroyed this island.”
She finishes, then, looking only at Kirin -- anything Ashley has to say is of no interest to Ea.
The silver girl is calm when they come, one by one, these others who claim Ischia as their own. It’s laughable, truly: Ischia is hers. It will always belong to her family, no matter who leads it.
One by one, they come to support her. She touches her nose lightly to Sabrael’s side to hold him back as he comes to her defense, releasing his dragon. Vida -- her loyal grulla friend -- makes her way to Ea’s side. She sees Wallace, Dovev, some new faces -- and by her count, Ea would remain leader. She is calm, head held high, eyes fixed on Kirin despite the others’ words. They were meaningless.
And then, Ashley’s vote: Kirin.
Her head whips around, color-changing eyes staring directly at the stallion. She did not mishear. He and his family all vote for Kirin -- a stranger -- to lead them. He wins.
Her blood boils, but she remains outwardly poised.
Kirin pulls the two of them aside. He offers them peace -- he has no interest in leading Ischia, only keeping it under his watch. She is silent, listening, even calm as Nayl finds them and defends Ischia. Her throat burns as Ashley speaks.
She cannot fault Kirin for taking advantage of Ea while she was distracted -- but this has woken her up. She is focused now.
As the others finish speaking, Ea takes a pause before she begins. “Thank you, Nayl,” she says, voice steady, nodding to the spotted queen. She is strong and cold, commanding respect. “Ashley, you are the one who has betrayed Ischia by supporting this stranger. Kirin, whatever plans you have for Ischia mean nothing to me; my family and I won’t remain in any land where he lives. So here are your options: you can all leave and I will forget you ever showed your face here, or you can lead a land of one and be reminded every day how you singlehandedly destroyed this island.”
She finishes, then, looking only at Kirin -- anything Ashley has to say is of no interest to Ea.