From The Ashes
She has been through hell. She has been through starvation and wounds, rape and torment, isolation and despair. Alas, Argent?s soul has not been diminished. She hurts; she cannot erase the memories, the chill that fills her bones, but it is worth it. Her children are alive; they are alive and they will remain that way. She has gone to hell and back for them, and she would not have it any other way. Now, however, she walks into Glaciem alone. Her littlest ones have been told to stay in a chosen den, until the silver queen can gauge the tension of the situation. Of course, little ones do not always do as they are told, but she hopes they will. It is a meeting she is to arrive to. Perhaps in her younger days, Argent would have flinched. Boldly she is to return, in front of the masses who will see her rugged fur and poorly-healing broken leg. Alas, she strides on with confidence, power. Any who question her will fall silent upon seeing her posture; she does not need a crown to be queen, she needs only for her pack to be safe and well. And it is hers. Isardis may own it, but Argents heart has laid claim to it, and regardless of rank she will bleed for it. She will bleed for him, and she knows he must know that, she knows he must know that one mistake cannot forever erase a lifetime of loyalties. She does not need to make an announcement for her presence to be known. She walks as smoothly as she can, heading for Eris first of all. ?Eris, can you do me a favor?? she asks quietly. Oh, how she yearns to embrace her friend, but she restrains herself for now. She cannot guarantee she will be so reserved at the sight of her children. She cannot guarantee that she will not start a gigantic pile of cuddles in the middle of the meeting Isardis is about to hold. Alas, she is home, and soon the torment will be worth it. She dares any of them to call her weak of will; she will rip out the tongue who attempts such a foolish act. She has done what any mother ought to do for her children, and she regrets only the distance it has brought her with her first brood, and the inability Isardis has to understand what has driven her. |