Lovely Illusions

Featuring King Drustan & Scarlet
Mid-Late Winter, Year 758 of the New Age
Glenmore, The Glenwood

Drustan

Everything seemed brighter. Everything seemed more possible now, as if his secrets had been weighing him down. He could face the hearsay and derisive comments from the herd with more dignity, let them roll over him like water off a duck’s back. He couldn’t stop thinking about her, how impossible it seemed that a low-born doe could be the foundation of the very kingdom, the roots to hold him strong against the storm.

The day had been much the same as any other; he’d stood for the petitioners to make their cases, listened to complaints and concerns and settled minor disputes until the sun started to set, but rather than feeling drained and exhausted, he felt invigorated. He felt like he’d helped, like he’d made a difference, rather than fought another day against the relentless tide of the Kingdom’s problems with no end in sight.

The snowfields were well trampled around the remains of the Oak where the majority of the herd still milled, but the charred rubble was at least softened by the dusting of snow and partially hidden from view. Out of sight, out of mind. The lack of the standing Oak made the meadow very open and bleak still, but standing in the midst of the herd, he no longer felt alone.

Some Glenmores nodded their head in respect as he past, more of them glanced away, and few of them openly scowled, but for once he could walk past them and just not care. The sun was touching the tree-top horizon now, and the herd was cropping at the last of the megre winter forage before the light faded completely. He trotted over the ice-packed ground, making a beeline for the dark forest. With a shake of his head, he denied the company of the Royal Guard that looked at him questioningly as he left. No, he wanted to be alone when he met her.

It didn’t take him long to find her, grazing distantly across in an open meadow blanketed in uneven snow. The purple light of sunset turned the field into a mauve carpet, highlighting her russet coat in violet shimmers. His heart caught in his throat and he paused mid-stride. How could any doe be so perfect, in body, spirit and soul?

It was when his chest started to burn that he realised he hadn’t even taken a breath since he set eyes on her, and he hastily inhaled. Only she could do this to him, turn him into a lovestruck yearling, but there wasn’t another doe who could compare to her.

His Scarlet.

It seemed strange, unreal, that she had come to him but he was not going to question it. He questioned too much in his life, it would ruin him to question this. She had transformed him, given him hope, reminded him of his strength. She had listened to his troubles, taken the burden of his secrets yet still forgave him for it. She was remarkable. She was perfect. She was his, and he was hers.

A thrill of joy went through him, and he tossed his head and skipped on the spot. He called to her, a lyric of euphoria and life, a song often heard in rut, but one the solemn young King rarely made since his father had died, and not at all since he had suffered the loss of his mother. He simply hadn’t felt this much like himself since then. Scarlet’d changed all that.

He came high-stepping across the snow, head held proudly, covering the ground toward her as if in another dream. The crown he wore had burdened him, it had slipped around his neck and choked him, but he could be himself with her. She knew all of him. She knew all his secrets. She knew his heart, and he gave it to her willingly.


Scarlet

Winter’s chill winds were healing Autumn’s burning scars in more ways than one. The land was slowly healing and even though the biggest gap would never be filled, it was mostly back to normal for the glenmorians. At least if you asked a certain scarlet doe if she believed so; in her opinion most had gotten over the initial shock and despite all of the despair most had moved on. The event was far from forgotten and the dead far still on their minds, but they were healing and coping in whatever ways they could. Most of them at least, including the scarlet doe.

Time hadn’t made it easier with the loss of her golden friend; it had almost only made it harder. Time had made them realized just how much Amabell had meant; funny how you never realized how much something meant before it was long gone. That… that wasn’t actually funny… it was just tragic. Yet… time had in some ways probably made it easier. They had had time to think about it. Time to remember her and time to talk about her. Talk through memories. Laughs. Talk about all the things they couldn’t quite say when she had been there. Both the good and the bad, for yes, despite all of Amabell’s good sides and near perfect nature, she had had her bad sides.

Today was no time for talking nor remembering though. This day was for doing nothing. No thinking. No talking. No nothing. Maybe that wasn’t quite true, since it was impossible to do absolutely nothing, but Scarlet had been quite specific when she had spoken with Iso and Midget. She wanted nothing to do with the world besides eating today and they had respected that completely; she might be a fine, slim hind, but even she liked to eat, no matter what others thought.

Around her hooves grass was turning a lush colour of green as she walked around and grazed. She had been lucky to find this meadow empty and she hoped it would stay that way until darkness came completely, but alas… it would not.

She hadn’t noticed him until his call filled the air. At first she thought it to be a call for another doe from a completely different stag, for it was an alien sound to her. It was not a call that, in any possible way, made sense if it was meant for her. A quick sweep of the meadow told her though that the call had very much been for her in all its euphoria and life.

And she had no idea why.

Lifting her head high she looked towards the stag and a surprised look flickered over her, until it turned disapproving within just a moment. Her brows furrowed; what was he doing? None other than King Drustan, or Boyking as she still, in her head, referred to him as, was prancing towards her as if the world could not be lighter for him. She had never seen him like this before, but not for the reasons one might think. No… he was simply looking confident, content even. Why was he looking that way?

Had Rut gotten to his head?
Had he mistaken her for another doe?
Had something, she had no idea about, happened?
‘cause she felt quite sure she had never shown any kind of real affection towards him and this was not the act from a stag to a doe who clearly did not approve of him.

The more the doe thought about it, the more confused she became and thus her disapproving gaze, scowl almost, turned into a slightly unsure version. She flicked her tail and turned, intending to meet the king head on just as any other time they had met. Unlike so many other she saw his rank, but purposely chose to ignore it. She saw him as the stag he was and thus disliked him. She didn’t dislike of him because of his light hide nor his family. She didn’t dislike him because he had taken the place of king when he had. No… she simply disliked him for his grin and feelings for her. Why…? Well… everyone could make their guesses, but she kept the answer too close for anyone to know.

When she had turned completely, ready to meet him, her ears flicked back, yet her eyes stayed confused rather than scowling.

What in Óganach’s name was going on?


Drustan

She seemed confused that he was there, but perhaps it was just that she had not expected to see him again so soon. His duties usually kept him busy, but he couldn’t bear the thought of being away from her now. He’d thought about her every heartbeat, as if she’d wormed her way into his mind and kept him from thinking about anything else. And how could he? To look at her overwhelmed him, and would trip over his own feet if he didn’t make the special effort to pay attention to where they landed on the alabaster carpet.

Her scowl hardly registered - he was used to the expression, and to be honest she seemed more herself with it - and he came to a halt just before her. He realised now, standing before her, that he hadn’t a clue what to say. What was there left, when he’d shared everything with her not a day before?

His confident smile wavered, something more innocent and humble taking its place. “Scarlet...” The name felt so familiar, comforting almost. “I couldn’t wait to see you again,” he admitted, ducking his head, more like a nervous colt than a King. Despite her expression, assuming it to be the usual bulwark that she hid behind with everyone else, he reached his trembling muzzle out to hers. He still couldn’t believe it, that she’d chosen him, that she’d seen into his darkest depths and forgiven him for all his failings.

That after so many years, he had been accepted for who he truly was.

For her, he was just Drustan.


Scarlet

His confidence seemed to drop, but not in the way she would’ve expected. It did not falter to a confused look like hers nor did he seem to, in any way, truly drop out of whatever state he was in. His smile became innocent, something she might have seen as positive in some different reality, but not in this one. And then his words came, only furthering her confused mind.

She could do nothing but stare at him in disbelief, but he seemed beyond this world for he did not see it. If he did he surely would not have made his next move.

He reached for her and she reacted.

The squeal was loud and to many it would have been a complete overreaction, even for this time of year. With a swift movement she moved her hind legs slightly back and lifted her head higher, going as far as craning her head slightly. Her nostrils flared as she looked down at him, brown eyes still filled with disbelief, but also something else. It wasn’t disgust, but there was something… something very unfamiliar even to their ‘relationship’.

“Don’t you dare touch me,” she said, her voice icy like the Glenmore grounds during the winter months. She cared for him, but right now… no… no, not even if it hadn’t been right now, would she had allowed him to reach for her like that.

“And what do you mean by ‘I couldn’t wait to see you again’? I haven’t spoken to you since… then.”


Drustan

The squeal made him flinch, and for a brief second he wondered if he’d somehow hurt her. Had his antlers caught her? He looked at her wide-eyed in concern and surprise, confused until he saw her expression at which point he was completely taken aback. That was no facade, but neither could he make any sense of it. He felt the pit of his stomach drop, coming to the realisation that something was terribly, terribly wrong.

“I... I’m sorry I thought after... after that, that we... you...” The stag was flustered, stumbling over words and thoughts as he struggled to piece together what he could. What had changed? What had he done? What had happened to her since the night before to change her reactions so completely? “I thought this was what you wanted?”

Drustan had to steel himself to meet her gaze, withering under that baleful glare. Cautiously, slowly, he reached out again, as if this was some sort of joke, a test. She couldn’t mean it... not after what she had said... not after when he had told her... Had she changed her mind? Had she decided that she couldn’t accept his secrets after all?


Scarlet

And then he was confused. Why was he confused? How could he possibly be confused? He was the one who had come prancing, not her! Yet… despite of it, despite of everything, her eyes softened slightly as always. If he was confused, then something was wrong somewhere. If neither of them understood, then…

He reached forth once more and what had softened froze solid once more. This time no squeal filled the meadow though. This time she did not back. This time she bit. It wasn’t a particularly aggressive bite. No, it was passive, a forced reaction from someone who could not find another reaction to give.

She was not caught in any way, but she felt cornered by his actions.

“What are you talking about?” The voice was almost a sneer and the doe’s tail lashed behind her, as she drew back following her outbreak. Her head tilted once more, she found herself stepping back, making a little distance between them; she did not feel comfortable with this at all. “And don’t you dare reach for me again.”


Drustan

It was the bite to his pride that stung more than the bite to the bridge of his nose, and he recoiled with a surprised grunt. His emerald eyes fixed the scarlet doe with a ludicrous expression. “What do you mean, what am I talking about? I’m talking about us. I’m talking about... about me sharing everything with you.”

The fear of what she knew about him, what she could do with those secrets, turned the pit in his stomach into an endless black hole. If everything had been just a ruse to trick him into trusting her... into sharing everything... He was torn between panic and anger. How could she do this to him? No. How could he let this happen? He should never have trusted anyone with his secrets, let alone a common doe who had admitted herself that she hated royals.

“Scarlet please,” he whispered imploringly, lowering his voice despite the fact there was nobody but them there to hear it. “Don’t do this to me. Don’t pretend that nothing happened between us.” This time he did not reach for her, but the compulsion to do so was strong. He couldn’t forget her gentle touch of the night before, the overwhelming scent of her, it was all he could do not to think about it every waking moment. It had seemed like a dream, and this was the nightmare afterward.


Scarlet

“There is no us,” she said as soon as the words had left his mouth. There was him and then there was her; her, Midget and Isobell. In no way did an us exist between them and she would be living in the Oakfern caves before something like that would ever become a… well… a thing!

But… why was he then talking so sincerely about it, as if he truly and deeply believed it to exist?

She huffed when he lowered his voice; there were no one around and last time he hadn’t had a problem with yelling, now had he? So why was he lowering his voice now? It did everything but make sense to the red doe and she thought about deliberately just ignoring him and walking away, but she couldn’t make herself do that. Much like every other time they had met, she couldn’t just walk away from him despite of her mind and memories telling her to do so. Something kept her and if she wasn’t as confused as she was, she would probably have bet on it being the strange care she held for him.

“I’m not doing anything to you and you’re right, something did happen between us; yelling. A lot of yelling, before I asked you to go back and be a king, not some lovestruck yearling coming prancing towards me moons later.”


Drustan

He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. She was seriously denying that anything had happened? He stared at her for a series of heartbeats before he collected himself. If he were still just a Prince, he might have given in to the urge to run, escape the utter hopelessness that tried to swallow him up like an avalanche in slow-motion, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t show weakness, not when she knew everything. Not when with just one word she could set the Kingdom crumbling around them.

“Fine,” he finally said, lifting his head and striking the most regal pose he could muster while his heart was galloping in his ears. He pinned them back, looking down his nose at the commoner. He had to think of her as just that. He couldn’t think of her as the brave and gentle doe who had saved him from his own troubled mind. As the clever and witty hind who could placate him with even a scowl. As the beautiful seductress who could draw his deepest darkest secrets into the open air. As the only doe he thought had ever truly loved him for more than his title.

“I see I have made a mistake. I should have seen that you were just like her, that you sought only to pull at my heartstrings for your own amusement. Why else would a doe like you encourage my advances?” A beautiful doe, a witty doe, a doe who admitted to hating royals. “I might not have the full support of the herd, but mark my words, commoner, if I hear that even a word of what I have shared with you has passed your lips to another...” His biting tone faltered, his hard glare losing eye contact for a moment. He lacked the conviction to deliver a threat he knew he could never see through.

With a snort, he turned away, looking down the neat set of footprints that had led him here, and the darkness of the forest beyond. Every fibre of him wanted to turn back to the disgusted doe, as if by some wistful chance that he had imagined the whole thing and she would be stood there smiling in the beautiful mauve sunset. No. He couldn’t look back at what he had lost. There was only the path ahead, the single line of his own hoofprints in a barren world. He had to face the reality; that there was nobody else he could rely on but himself.


Scarlet

Regal had never really been his thing, if you asked the scarlet doe. Perhaps she simply couldn’t see him as a king or maybe it was just his not-so-imposing look, but there was simply something that kept him from looking like the ruler he was in her eyes. And thus she merely huffed when he lifted his head and looked down on her, but she couldn’t deny that it touched some part of her. Some deeply buried part of her couldn’t just ignore it and huff it off. Somewhere, deep down, she found herself feeling slightly hurt by the word, as if it had been spoken more harshly than it had and by an individual she cared about.

Whatever part of her that felt hurt was drowned by the anger which rose within her by his next words. How dare he speak of her like that? How dare he even think that she, at any point, had pulled, or tried to pull, at his heart! She couldn’t remember a single time that she had done as much as to smile at him and yet he stood there talking about her as if she had entangled her tail with his!

And he dared to try and threaten her as if she was a common, gossip-carrying, royal pestilence of a doe.

She did not lash out with her anger though; no, instead she started thinking. Her mind had not caught the same as her feelings. No, it had caught the fact that he had talked about her having some sort of knowledge that the herd did not have. She didn’t have such knowledge, at least not as far as she knew. While he had poured part of his heart out to her, none of what he had said could hurt him. None if it was per say dangerous to his kingship, so why did he threaten her to keep his words to herself?

It didn’t make any sense.

He had turned his back on her while she had been thinking. He was walking away when she had finally come to the complete realization that he thought she knew something she didn’t and that something had happened, whatever it might precisely have been.

She couldn’t let him leave like that.

Before he had taken more than a few steps, she stopped him. Having bounded forward without hesitation, she blocked his path with her body all the while thin vines crawled through whatever little snow there was, binding themselves to the hair of his tail. He could rip them out if he walked and not even realize, but them being there told more than a single word she would be able to say. She wanted him to stay despite of the former minutes and she was going to use force if needed.

“First of all, don’t ever put me in the same chitchatting, gossip-spitting group as royal does-” She genuinely thought that was what he had meant “-again. Secondly, something isn’t adding up here and I need to know why.” Scarlet stepped to the side to try and keep him from going anywhere. “I’ve never as much as tried to flick my tail at you and I honestly have no idea whatever words you think I could pass on, ‘cause unless there’s something I missed, the whole herd knows you love your fawns very dearly.” It was the only information she could think of, but it surely couldn’t be that.

Things just weren’t adding up at all.


Drustan

He groaned under his breath as she bounded back into his line of vision, and he resolutely turned his face away, trying to get around her. She seemed determined to stop him, and he halted only because he hadn’t the bearing to simply push on by. She was making him dizzy, telling him to leave, stopping him when he did, acting as if she were as sweet and naive as a doe in her first heat. She knew what she did to him. She knew the effect that she had on him. He was tempted to simply turn and flee across the open snow when she pushed him too far.

The whole herd knows you love your fawns very dearly, the words turned his stomach to ice. Knowing everything that she knew, about the danger his fawns were in should he lose his crown, she dared to threaten them? Imply that the herd knew his weakness, that they would strike at his fawns?

He turned on her with true vehemence, emerald eyes livid, “Don’t you DARE, don’t you EVER, bring my fawns into this,” His tail gave a lash and he winced as the vines snared strands of the sable hair. He turned to face her, his anger roiling under the surface. “My failings are NOT theirs, and I don’t care what games you play with me, but if you bring THEM into this--” He took a deep breath, the air hissing back out between his gritted teeth. What was she trying to achieve? Goad him into acting out of turn? Throw dry tinder into the flames and give the herd more cause to act against him?

At first he thought she had been playing some mind-games for her own amusement, but when it dawned on him as he struggled to clear his mind of the night before, that the whole thing could have been a setup. Was she some sort of spy? Tricking him to get close to him to put some other ambitious royal in his place?

“You can hurt me, you can lie to me, you can trick me into loving you, but you will never speak of my fawns again. I’m done playing your games, Scarlet. Let me pass, or I will call the guards.” He fairly growled, clinging to the heat of the anger. Anything to keep the cold fact of her betrayal from consuming him. He felt numb and weak, feeling the weight of his terrible mistakes crushing him. He took a determined step forward, vines be damned, looking away from Scarlet for what he hoped was the last time. He couldn’t bear to see her again.


Scarlet

He refused to look at her, but she could deal with that. Being blind didn’t mean he was deaf, so she hoped he would hear her words and not just ignore them like they were nothing, because they weren’t. They were something, a warning of what she felt and if he wasn’t going to listen to them, then she would cut it out for him in whatever way she could.

And it would apparently be needed, for the sable stag did not catch the important things she said, but instead caught the less well-worded parts.

“I didn’t bring them in; listen to…” Her words were cut out when he started speaking again, ignoring every word she said to instead begin on his rant about her again. A rant she still couldn’t wrap her mind around, because she had never tried to trick him, least of all into loving her. Did he even understand why she disliked him so much? Did he not understand that it was that fact that she had his favour that made her so mad at him? His love was what fueled her fire to him, a fire that sadly did not burn on the place he wanted it to.

She didn’t have a chance to say anything else, before he was moving past her, for she didn’t stop him right away. Slowly she exhaled. He didn’t want to listen to her. She should just leave and let him think whatever his bloody mind wanted! She lashed her tail out after him, but didn’t come close.

She couldn’t just leave him though, not even if he would send the Guard after her. It was a slightly pathetic threat really, for when had the Guard ever stopped her from speaking her mind?

Within a mere moment she decided upon her action, knowing that there was no turning back if she first started it all. Hopefully he would listen; if not then there wasn’t much more she could do. With a swift turn of her hooves, she bounded after him, hoping to use a normal method for the last time. “Drustan, just listen,” she said, her voice stern, hoping that it would catch his attention. It did not however.

I would rather not do this Drustan… but I can’t say I’m sorry.

Inhaling, she tried to focus, tried to keep her thoughts on one, single thing; she was going to snare him. Closing her eyes for a moment, to get the calmness needed for an action of precision. “Drustan, please…” she called a last time. Even if he wouldn’t look, he would hopefully be distracted for just a moment, as her vines grew, throwing themselves at his legs.

The snow was not helping the sable stag and Scarlet almost felt sad for him as he hit the ground hard. Her vines grew strong over his legs, effectively keeping him on the ground for the moments where his mind hadn’t quite caught up with his situation.

The scarlet doe didn’t waste a moment after the stag had fallen to the ground though. She felt tired, but she needed him to stay off his legs and sadly she couldn’t think of any other way to keep him on the ground than the one she had used as a fawn. Did she feel sorry for it though? No, not really. She did feel glad that nobody else was around though, for surely it would hurt his reputation quite a bit if he was seen with a doe sitting on him.

“Now, will you bloody listen to what I say, instead of going on with your rant about something I haven’t done: something isn’t adding up here-” She pushed her weight on him as much as possible with the help of her legs, but she wasn’t the heaviest of the two, any idiot could see that, and it was only by pure luck that he had fallen in such a way that he couldn’t just get up in a whim. “-and I need to know why, ‘cause it’s clearly is all about something you think I’ve done. I don’t know what you’ve dreamt or which doe you have me confused with, but let me get bloody clear on something: I would rather mate with a ‘wood Raider than flirt around with you.” Her head was turned towards him, her voice stern (and ready to drown out anything he tried to say) and her glare harder than before. If he dared go on another rant after this, then she would…!

“And let me add one last thing; you’re really thick-skulled if you think threatening me with the Guard is going to accomplish anything.”

She meant every word of it, ‘cause no matter how much she cared about him, she was still the one having the upperhoof in this. It was Rut after all and it was known that he had, at least once, favoured her; plus she doubted he really wanted anyone to see him like this.


Drustan

Any other time, he would have been astounded at the brazen display of magic, but he was too preoccupied with the fact that Scarlet was threatening him. With a surprised grunt, he tried to stot out of the way of the grasping vine, but the snow and ice gave him little purchase and he slipped and fell heavily to his knees. Tossing his head, he tried to rise but the combined tug of the vine and the momentum of his heavy head sent him sprawling on his side.

He kicked out, scrabbling and wreathing, but despite everything he still could not harm the red doe and as she settled her weight on his ribcage he was forced to lay still so as not to kick or jab her with his antlers. Eyes rolling, he glared at the doe. How dare she, after preaching to him about not touching her? Again she denied anything has transpired the previous night, and he snorted. What good would it do her? Her conspirators probably knew how she got her information. Perhaps she should have been thinking about her reputation before she smothered herself all over him.

His ugly sneer remained until she degraded him further. She’d rather take a Blackwood over him? He might be pale and lithe for a Glenmore stag, but the insult cut deep. She’d already proved she’d never wanted him, only his secrets, so now it was just pure cruelty to insult him further. Insults of ‘Boyking’ and ‘Princess’ he could deal with - he was accustomed to the jibes against his appearance - but not from her. Not after she had built his hopes up and then brought them crashing down. He hardly heard the rest of her words as he resolutely averted his gaze and stared out silently across the frozen meadow as the heat of his anger dissipated. She’d gotten all she wanted out of him, his affection, his secrets, his pain. She would get nothing else; there was nothing more to give.

Whatever her intention, she had succeeded where all others had failed. The King was defeated. His secrets were out. His world would crumble, and so would the lives of everyone he held dear. He’d failed them. She would tell the herd about BóAnn, and confirm the illegitimacy of all the Glenmore heirs. She would tell them all of his secrets, his insecurities, tell them all just how perfectly unsuitable he was to be called King. Once his crown was revoked, every doe he’d ever courted, every fawn he’d ever sired would be tainted and cast aside. She was right; calling the guards wouldn’t solve a thing. The damage was done. He couldn’t stop her - even if he did there was no guarantee that she hadn’t already passed on the facts - this was the price of failure. He’d brought this on himself, it was nothing less than he deserved.


Scarlet

Whatever reaction she had wanted, this was not one of them. She didn’t want him to roll over and sulk. She didn’t want him to go mute and give up. She wanted him to fight. She wanted him to feel hurt on his pride and prayed that he had enough of it to fight back like the last time. Out of every possible answer, she hadn’t expected him to just do nothing.

“Drustan… I…” she started, turning her head away from him. Why did he have to be so sensitive and thick-skulled at the same time? Why couldn’t he just be the stag she so wanted him to be, for yes, believe it or not, she wanted him to show her that he was more than the buck everyone passed him for. She still wanted him to be a king, not a scared prince, yet this time it seemed to have failed on her part.

She waited, but nothing happened.
They were both defeated.
Only difference; she didn’t give up.

Getting to the point where she felt sure he wasn’t going to say a word at any point, she finally lifted her weight off him and stepped away from him.

So much for making him listen. At least he didn’t rant again.

She felt herself drained of anger and annoyance. Everything he had said seemed melted away; gone with his defeat. Energy had left the doe too; she had poured too much into the growth of the vines and had been fed by adrenaline. Now there was nothing left and she felt tired. Her eyes closed and when she opened them again, she looked at him.

She was amazing at doing the wrong things, wasn’t she?

It didn’t mean anything though. No. She didn’t give up just because he did. If she had to carry him again, she would do so; not for his sake, at least not only, but for the herd. Damnit, she cared too much about Glenmore and in a weird way about him, to simply let him lay there in a defeat that she didn’t quite understand! She couldn’t let him leave, but she couldn’t let him stay either.

She did nothing beyond look at him for a short while, before her voice filled the now-existent darkness. Night had fallen upon them and the passionate colours of sunset had left them.

“I don’t know what you think I’ve done. Nor do I know what words you think I could pass on, but you’re wrong in both cases,” she said, her voice tired and close to her own defeat. It picked up strength by her next words though. “I don’t know what’s going on in your head, but don’t you dare keep laying there all night and giving up.” It could kill him if he did so, she knew that.

“Your fawns still need you, Drustan, and Glenmore still needs its king, no matter how bad some think you are,” she added in a slightly softer tone, but it was mostly just tired as she turned her eyes away from him and started walking away from him slowly, knowing that he would not get up to stop her.

“One last thing… I’m sorry…”