Blue Skies

It was safe to say that Kamala was still far from her usual self. She had avoided as much lupine company as possible, keeping to herself and avoiding even her dear brother. The quiet female had never been this withdrawn, but her thoughts were not something that she would dream of burdening another wolf. That meant that she would keep to herself until she had gotten them under control and driven them away. She knew that they were ridiculous, but they were there and that was undeniable. One part of her rebelled against them, but the rest of her, well, she knew they were true. That was undeniable too. She had not been good enough for her mother, who had lost every grip on reality. She had not been good enough to keep Adette grounded and together, and her mother was dead, at least in part because she was not good enough.

And she had not even been good enough for her polygamist uncle. He had broken off their engagement and even left Seracia, going to Valhalla. At least he would be happy there. She had never been excited about marrying Gideon. It had been a matter of duty, nothing else. But there was Valkis too, vanished and presumably dead by now. Had she failed him too? She had not been good enough for him either, it seemed. Perhaps he had simply up and left her. But it was foolish to think that, she knew. He was probably dead. Probably. But she could have helped him more, offered him more.

Logically, Kamala knew it didn't make sense to dwell in the past. She knew that, but it was hard to feel it. Her mind was a chaotic, jumbled mess, and in this state, she almost walked right into the black figure of a female known as - oh, it started with an A. And yet Kamala didn't know her name. That was inexcusable. Maverick never should have named her Princess. Having the rank empty would have been better.

Ears twitching irritably, Kamala tried vainly to focus on something else by speaking, her voice slightly rusty with disuse. "Greetings, lady." She inclined her head a little in the direction of the other female, "Lovely day, is it not?" No use, the female thought irritably to herself. She would have to be careful in this conversation. No hint of the Princess' . . . unhappiness could infiltrate her words, or even her body language or tone. Seracia must see a proper Princess. She would have to make her brother proud, right? She had to prove to him that she wasn't expendable, that she wasn't useless, as the rest of the world seemed to believe. Maybe he thought so too. And maybe her father agreed

The thought chilled Kamala to the bone. And she tried desperately to think about something else, focusing her gaze on the river and letting it burbling wash over her ears. There. Look. Fish. Distracting, right? Well, it was something, anyways.