DAWN
it must be about as hard as forgetting your best friend
She knew that she would not be alone for long, and in the meantime she wonders how she will break the news to her eldest daughter. She had requested nothing from Pangea’s new queen aside from peace for the Cove, and she cannot help but wonder if she should have fought harder, but the truth is she is just so tired. She does not regret leaving Pangea behind; she craves the familiarity of the Cove and it will be a treasure to be able to raise her next child here. There have been so many over the years – two not even born to her as well as the five from her own womb – and mayhaps this is the best place to take care of her family.
Hooves crunch on the sand behind her, and she turns her head to see Isilme approaching. A warm smile breaks over the mare’s face and she presses herself close to her golden daughter, letting out a small sigh as the younger woman asks if she is okay. “Truthfully, no,” she discloses.
Knowing that her answer will not settle well with Isilme, she continues on, trying not to ramble as she explains the events of the past day. “Your father... he left Pangea this morning. He didn’t tell me where he was going, but... he left. It only took several hours for another to come in and claim the crown from me,” she tells her, eyes fixed on the sea. She doesn’t look to Isilme for fear that she may break. “I gave it up willingly, my dear. I am so tired, and my soul has been calling me back home since the day I left. But I do not believe this new queen has the same peaceful mentality we’ve been trying to instill upon the East.”
She breaks off with a tremble, trying not to show her how weak her dam has become in the recent months. Dawn is not weak, she doesn’t break – not anymore. She has to keep going. With a rueful smile, she glances towards Isilme and her companion. “I hope you don’t think me weak, Isilme,” she murmurs, the sound of the waves threatening to tear her voice away from them. “I have fought all of my life, and I need to learn to accept what I cannot change.”
