I storm out of the castle and into the night, fighting back tears of anger. A cool breeze bites through my clothes, but I do not care.

I enter the horse stable where all the mares, stallions, and colts lay asleep except for one: Virago. As I walk by her, she angrily snorts as if she knew what had happened between me and her owner. Her keen eyes, once big and warm, gleam in anger under the moonlight, but I ignore her.

I select a grey mare, which kept itself busy with its trough. I attempt to lead it out of its stable, but it does not move. I tug on its reins once more, but it watches me instead.

"I am but a friend," I whisper gently, "I mean no harm."

The mare, whose name read 'Anchora' above its stable, continues to sip water from her trough. Anchora bats her eyelashes at me then moves to nibble on hay.

Virago whinnies loudly as if to laugh at my foolishness. I shoot a glare of annoyance at the dark mare. After many impatient moments and mocking from Virago, Anchora allows me to mount her. She trots out of the stable quietly. As we approach the gates, they swing open as if it were enchanted by magic.

I stop Anchora and look over my shoulder, staring once more at the castle. In the front balcony was Miranna, watching me with her keen, emerald eyes. Her face, which lit up the other night, now looks down upon me with a familiar expression. It was the same expression Father showed when I asked why Mother had not returned from battle.

I blink once and she disappears, like lightning in a storm. I turn my back once more and enter the woods, alone again.

Anchora trots slowly, then gallops after a few miles or so. She leaps over logs and stones with ease, even with the moonlight barely visible through the trees.

Your words anger me so much that I wish you'd have died along with your parents. My words echo in my head, growing louder with each second. I do not know which hurts more: the reality that I could not take them back or Miranna's answer. After all this time, did she not care for me? Did she not have a reason to stay by my side when she had every chance to leave? I shake my head, unable to answer my own questions.

I stop Anchora for the night, tying her reins around a tree trunk. I settle in the grass, using my cloak as a pillow. I lay on my back, facing the stars above me. They twinkle in the night sky, like the diadem on Miranna's hair.

"Miranna." I whisper to myself. The name starts to feel unfamiliar on my tongue, as if I were already forgetting her. I hated the words I said to her. I hate how I cannot steal them back. But most of all, I hate the way she looks at herself, as if she deserves less than she should.