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𝒮𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓎:
Eros's story begins here, at a tall, aged oak tree, growing in the lonely spot in the center of a windswept meadow.
This oak tree was special you see, for it had the ancient records of those who had come before him;
his ancestors. Each member of his family, on the day of their coronation into true royalty,
bowed before this sacred tree and placed a shining pebble from the chattering stream nearby.
The pebbles chosen were only of the highest quality; and they were placed within
the divots and cracks in the ancient tree's aged, cracked bark.
Eros's coronation day was one bright, sunny day, the meadow grasses waving gently in the breeze,
the sunlight smiling down upon his gleaming white coat.
All horses in the royal family had their coronation at four years of age, and today
was Eros's day. His fuzzy foal fur had shed out and replaced with his adult coat. His
mane had grown immensely in length and now reached his knees. His tail was
brushing the grass beneath his hooves.
"Come forth, Eros." The deep, ringing neigh
of the royal herd's priest, Sir Merelo, beckoned him forward.
The stallion's broad head dipped forward to welcome him.
"It is time for you to leave your foalhood behind and join the ranks of the herd
as a Royal."
Sir Merelo raised his head again, and jerked it in the direction of the Great Oak. The wind whistled
high above the tree's ancient branches, sending them rustling.
Eros took the glossy stone before him in his jaws, delicately
keeping it aloft with his teeth. Carefully he placed it inside the designated
crack in the tree, watching as it sunk into the hole.
Cheers rose up around him as the priest turned to face him.
"Welcome, Sir Eros!"
Sir Eros's head rose high as his herdmates cheered his name. His mother and father,
the King and Queen of the herd, approached with a pair of delicately crafted, golden wings. They
placed the wings on his back and latched them tight.
He turned to look at them, glittering in the setting sun, as his herdmates
carried him away to the coronation party. Into the freshest part of the meadow,
where the grass was rich and green, they dined in joy, filling their bellies.
Sister Moon shone over their heads, giving her light to light their way.
"Look! It's the Serenfals!" One horse whinnied, its head turned to gaze at the arrivals.
These horses were lighter built than he, more graceful and lean than his
bulkier herd. They moved with such elegance, silently encircling the herd,
eyes sparkling as they met with old friends. One mare, her green eyes deep with
wisdom, sought out another familiar face and the Queen disappeared into conversation
with the Serenfal leader. Eros stood in the center of his herd. Every
coronation, the neighboring Serenfals joined them in the festivities.
Eros's eyes flicked across the mass of horses. The young Royal's
new status made him popular, especially among the mares of the Serenfals, but
an angry snort from the Serenfal Queen sent them skittering away. Horses
of opposing herds were not allowed to court - it was a law
followed by all the herds in the meadows. Eros stood by himself
most of the night, painfully aware that he had not met his Special
unlike most of the other Royals who had their
coronation in the same moon as he.
"Come now Eros, and meet the Serenfal Queen!"
His mother's elegant voice flickered in the background and
Eros obeyed, plodding along after the Queen.
"Ah, so you are the new Royal, are you not?
So pleased to meet you, Sir Eros." The Queen
dropped her head, an ever so slight sign of respect.
"Sir Eros, I'd like you to meet my daughter, Miss Riya."
Sir Eros's eyes flicked to the young mare standing beside the Queen. Her coat
was a shimmering golden, and her eyes reflected the moon's light
with a hint of nervousness. "H-hello, Miss Riya.." He stammered,
his heart pounding.
"Hello, Sir Eros." She said, her voice soft and sweet.
"Riya is the newest Royal in my herd." The
Serenfal Queen said, gesturing towards her
daughter.
"I must speak with your Queen now." The Serenfal mare replied, turning away.
"So.. hi?"
Eros said again, blushing slightly.
"Hi." Riya replied simply. "How are you feeling, being a Royal?"
"It's great! I love how my herd actually looks up to
me now, and not just think I'm some useless foal. Is that how you felt?"
Riya's eyes brightened. "Exactly how I felt!" She giggled.
"How about a race? Royal versus Royal?" She challenged him, digging her hooves into the ground.
"I'm ready!" Eros replied, dropping his head.
"Ready..... set... go!" Riya's mane flew backwards as she pounded away,
her legs eating up the ground. Her tail slapped Eros in
the face more than once and he laughed each time.
Both pulled up, panting, at the Great Oak.
"I won!" Eros claimed, prancing around the mare. Riya rolled her eyes
and butted him in the shoulder, knocking him
off balance and placing a hoof over his shoulder, as if to hold him
down. "You sure about that?" She giggled, turning and racing towards the tree. She touched it delicately
with her nose. "I win!"
Eros sighed, shaking out his dirty mane. "All right, you win."
The two spent the rest of the night together; zigzagging through the trees or
hiding in the tall grasses.
"This has been the most perfect night." Eros whispered, lying on his side next to the mare.
"Agreed." She whispered as the wind rose to a dull roar, flapping her long mane over and
landing it over his neck.
Eros sighed contentedly; closing his eyes as the night stars blinked into view.
"No one followed you, right?" An urgent whisper echoed from the waving grasses. Eros
glanced around, his ears warily pricked, before jumping into them and disappearing
among their waving fronds.
"No." He replied, pulling his tail from the tangled knot of prairie grass.
"Good. You know how watchful my mother can be.. it was nearly impossible to get away tonight."
The soft breath of Riya's voice sounded close to his ear. "The guards were
on close watch this night."
"The foals were up late playing." Eros replied. "They took moons to fall asleep."
Riya giggled, turning tail and disappearing deeper into the fronds. Eros followed,
his head raised in a joyous nicker.
The two young Royals stood side by side, their tails mixing as the wind blew them
together. They stood by the ancient oak on Eros's herd's territory.
"This is perfect.. I could do this every night." Eros said as his head
drooped with exhaustion. "I'm going to miss you.. tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow." Riya replied, letting her head lean on the stallion's
shoulder.
"Not tomorrow!" An angry voice, quiet and full of malice, shook the
two young horses. "Not anytime! You've been breaking our herds' agreements! Both of you!"
The two whirled around to see the Serenfal Queen standing there, her eyes
burning with rage. "I cannot believe what I'm seeing - my own daughter,
courting the son of the Terenfals!" Her entire body was shaking.
"You have broken the laws of the herds - you are not worthy
of being a Royal!" She spat, roughly shoving Riya away from the stallion. He reached for her,
only to be pushed back by the angry queen. "Never again shall I see this from you.. I
shall see to it that both of you are stripped of your Royal ranks!"
Eros and Riya paused, dread spinning down their spines.
"No..." they whispered, shock and confusion and fear clouding their minds.
"No, mother.. you wouldn't!" Riya begged, turning and facing her mother.
"But I can. And I will!" The queen spat, her ears pinned. "Go! To the herd. Never again will you
come to our celebrations.. and never again will you be a Royal!" Eros's heart smashed into two.
"Riya... we'll see each other again.. I.. I love you!"
Riya's reply was drowned out as the queen nipped her daughter's flank and sent her
galloping across the plains. They tried to look back,
but there was no way to see past the queen's bulky body.
"Eros?" His mother's sharp voice brought him out from depression. "Your father's here to see you."
Shock and unease welled up in his mind and he could sense it in his mother's too, and
disappointment. He hated disappointing his parents.
"I am ashamed of you, son." His father's deep voice reached his ears. "Never before had I
had such a Royal - my own son - betray the herd like this."
"I am sorry, father."
"As you should be. You will no longer remain a Royal - you have shown you are not worthy
of such a title. You will be confined to camp for the next three coronations."
Eros sighed and hid himself in the outskirts of the camp as his father trotted away.
He sat a while, thinking about Riya, his broken heart aching.
"Psst.. Eros!"
An achingly familiar voice pricked his ears. It came again.
"Eros!"
"What? Riya?" He whispered warily, dipping closer into the ferns. He came face to face with
the Serenfal princess; her eyes melting with love for him, and something shiny upon her back.
"I haven't much time - the guards will be after me soon. But I want you to have this.
To remember me by - they're my father's. And the pink cloak - that was mine." She whispered.
Stretching, she reached up and touched noses with him, and their eyes connected for the last time. Then she was gone.
Eros glanced down upon the shiny objects. They were golden, like his wings.
They fit upon his neck and chest with ease. He slipped the pink cloth over his back and muzzle.
Riya's scent wreathed around him, calming his troubled spirit.
"Thank you, my love."
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