you could break my heart in two, but when it heals, it beats for you
A summons to the capital does not strike her the way it once would have. As a girl she might have gone hurriedly towards that call from her leader, racing in to see what benefit she might be to them. She recalls her fear and fury in that first day of the plague, the desire to make sure that the people of their Kingdom did not lose the place in which their nation was born. What a child she had been, full of grand ideals, ready to hold the line without knowing the weight of it.
As she turns toward the Cove another memory leers at her, but she simply acknowledges it and moves on with her duty to attend to the meeting with grace and serenity.
She is a woman who is primly ignored in matters of politics, which has suited her during the last year. She has had the freedom to do as she pleases while observing the behavior of the others with what might have been taken for apathy. Upon crossing into the Cove the mare takes her place at the meeting without hurry or anxiety, silent as she watches the people gather. Her placid face all the more beautiful in its stillness.
Ilma climbs up onto a ledge to peer down at all of them as she speaks her piece, and Kensa’s topaz eyes pass over the faces of those in attendance, many of them friends and loved ones. Hyaline, the Cove, Pangea… how quiet they have been these last 2 or 3 years...Her eyes land on Litotes and her expression remains unreadable. General. Archon of Pangea. Lover. They have tried to rip free of one another, but they are always meeting eyes among a crowd, clutching each other’s hearts across any distance. She looks away from him to track Clayton and Dawn as they are invited to stand on what Kensa has internally dubbed ‘the balcony’.
These are her dear friends, and though she would rather see them in Hyaline every day she is pleased for them to find happiness wherever they will. Even as Ilma hands over power she dictates the way the Kingdom will proceed and Kensa says nothing as her sectors assignment is laid out, there will be time to share her thoughts on this. It makes little sense to her to discuss such things in public forum with all their members gathered round, looking for strength from their leaders rather than quibbling over details.
As the speech turns to war, a single small line mars her brow. There have been no emissaries that she is aware of, no declarations among the peoples beyond Tephra as Leliana turns her face toward war or Castile prepares to return fire. For the first time her look sharpens slightly though she again offers nothing as to her feelings, only lets her gaze flick briefly between the trio standing atop their balcony. Once again this is not the time and place for a wider discussion. “The council and our new King and Queen must convene separately to discuss this.” She says firmly, with a characteristic boldness she has not often turned towards matters of politics. “Everyone will benefit from an organized approach to such a decision, I believe my counterparts would agree. For now let me be the first to congratulate you, Dawn and Clayton, I wish you well always. Ilma, you will of course be welcome to make your home in Hyaline, as is anyone who would like to return.” Kensa would never turn away or treat with suspicion anyone who wished to make her mountains their home. She remembers how that feels, but luckily her emotions do not reside so readily upon her sleeve anymore. Let this be a new beginning.
Kensa
