In the intervening years since Nayl’s reign, many things had changed in coastal kingdom. Even Heartfire, for all her longevity, has changed. Has become something more. She had been far more youthful then, brash in a way that has since been refined. Ultimately, however, she is still Heartfire. But the faces of the kingdom have all shifted over the years, becoming new, different.
Despite everything, the new faces replacing the old, Heartfire remembers. She has always had a talent for names. For faces. A fortunate thing perhaps, especially given her chosen line of work. Though she doubts Castile remembers exactly what had made her so useful to his mother.
She isn’t surprised when he finds her, picking her out from the unfamiliar faces as the only one recognizable from a day long past and nearly forgotten. He had just been a child then, clinging to his mother’s heels as he had learned the vagaries of the world. He too, had changed. Had become something more. Despite this, there is an old familiarity. A welcome one, though she would never admit to such a thing.
Pale blue gaze shifting to settle upon the marbled stallion, Heartfire considers him impassively for several long moments. Perhaps he had thought himself insignificant then, but Heartfire has always noticed the insignificant. Sometimes, the insignificant turns out to be far more significant than one could ever have guessed.
“I remember you Castile,” she greets, her voice level as her icy gaze fixes on his. After a moment, she continues with faint curiosity, “And what brings you back to Nerine?”
i see your sins
and i want to set them free
