Beqanna is a seasoned phoenix, with several reincarnations in several forms. Pevensie herself has lived through the shifting of the kingdoms, the realignment of the ground beneath her feet and the quaking of the earth. She knows, perhaps better than most, how powerful Beqanna can be when she is called to do so. What summons her, well, Pev is yet to figure that out. She has come to terms to accept she probably never will know.
There is a shaking of the earth again. Not just a normal earthquake, because Pev has known this shift before. It happened when she was only three, when the Falls and Dale separated again. Yet the feeling floods straight back. When such a monumental moment happens, it is difficult to forget. She doesn't know what is happening, but she knows it is big. Bigger than anything even Yael or Cam could conjure with their magic. The ground itself is churning.
Through the dark night she slips, a shadow against the dunes, making her way to where the powerful women of the Deserts will have gathered. She can feel the dull drums beating in her chest, the intake of her breath sharpen. If only she could fly at night, she would have. Now more than ever she needs her wings to soar. It is during this thought that she realises, atop her dune-towers, that she knows not which direction to turn. Her eyes frantically scan the horizon, glancing back and forth until she see's the eerie blue light, so starkly unnatural against the rolling desert hills.
She breaks to a canter, precariously sliding down the dunes, straining limb and lung to summit the next one. In this fashion she makes her way towards Cam and Yael, streamed black with sweat by the time she arrives. She takes her place as Queen, watching the light flicker and change, stepping closer to her magical daughter in awe and comfort.
When the spirit has spoken, Pevensie watches aghast as the blue light splashes down into the floor, the oasis waters lapping at their hooves as the misty turquoises fades to leave a plain puddle. Cam remains calm, composed, but the little buckskin pony is shaking. She knows that the forces that have moved here tonight are more powerful than she can ever be, more wrathful than her wildest dreams. And now she has been placed at the helm of the ship set on a course to navigate treacherous seas.
She looks to Cam, who tells her what only seven trips could have done in a heartbeat. A moment is needed, for her to digest. "Freedom. Equality. Beqanna was tired of the old world, and she is ready to embrace both the dark and the light," she whispers back.
The little mare turns to see Yael next, emerging in the darkness. She offers the mare a kind smile, though it is now muted with fear and apprehension. She knows the spirit is gone, it has had it's say and will feel no need to come back tonight. However, that gives her little comfort. The air is electric, the whites of her eyes shimmer with the thoughts of her youth flashing back, waking to find her world changed in an instant.
"My home needs me," she starts, looking down at the waters, turbulent from the harsh winter breeze stroking the glassy surface. As she looks, she can see the stars distorted. Much like her life, twisted and turned through fate and love, loss and resurgence. She closes her eyes for a moment, steadies herself. Her eyes flicker, her rib cage expands. A decision must be made, and it was not the one she expected to make. She doesn't understand, but she knows. She just knows. It is etched in her bones. If asked even an hour ago, she would not have known the answer. However, the gods wrote this fate deep within the fibres of her bones long before this night. This part in her tale, though she could not have told you, was written in stone from the very first moment she drew breathe.
"This is my home now. The Deserts needs me." And with that, her resolve is steeled. She raises her head now, mane blown wild in the night sky. Between both mares her attention shifts, not sure quite where to turn now or what to do. As Queen, she was crowned years ago, but it wasn't until tonight she felt like that Queen. Tonight is her true coronation, her rebirth.
"There is much to discuss. Let's gather everyone at first light, decide in unison how best to move forward from here," she suggests, regaining the authority in her shaking vocal chords, her eyes mostly set on Yael at this moment. In her heart, she wonders if this is what Cam wanted to hear or not. Whether she wanted to rule alone.
