DAWN
i just killed off what was left of the optimist in me
She had known this was coming, but it still stings.
Her first thought is to give in – she has fought this mental battle for far too long already, and the thoughts of a physical battle at this moment in time exhausts her in ways that she cannot put into words. He would make an excellent king, of that she is sure, but the thought still gives her pause. She has not even had a full season yet herself to make herself into a queen; does he not want to even give her a chance to prove herself to the east first? If she had learned anything at all from her dam, it was that giving up and giving in is never an option.
So she stands a little taller, looking him over with a growing intensity. They are not so different in stature, though she is heavier and more draft-like, and perhaps a few inches taller. He has his abilities – she has hers. She is not terribly confident in her own abilities – her only attempt at fighting had been injuring poor Kensa in Tephra – but she knows that she would be a poor queen indeed if she were to give in so quickly to his demands. She is a lot of things – young, naïve, painfully optimistic – but she is no fool.
“I understand,” she says quietly, brown eyes meeting his yellow-gold. “However, I do not plan to give up my hard work so easily.” With a sigh – their conversation seems full of them – she turns towards the ocean, taking several steps into the shallow waves before coming to a halt. Wistfully, she looks back to her old friend, chuckling humorlessly before continuing. “What a pair we’ve become. We would both lay down our lives for the East, but for completely different reasons. And to think we met right here, on this beach, not so long ago.”
She returns her gaze to the setting sun, knowing that he’ll still be able to hear her. “Shall we negotiate the terms of our battle, then? If I am to win, I have no desire to remove you from your position in Pangea. But” – and she turns to him now, her hooves splashing in the cold water – “could we turn this into a fair fight? If I am to lose, I want to do so honorably – as a horse. I’m afraid we both know that with your new magic, you would terribly outclass me on the battlefield. If it is your wish to battle with it I will not deny you, but I want this to be a fair, honest fight between to noble warriors who only want the best for the East.”
She doesn’t have much hope that he will agree, but the least she can do is try. It seems her days of pacifism are long done, whether she wants them to be or not.
@[litotes]