The feel of the horse's damp muzzle reminded Serena that she was still at the Keep. She exhaled softly, patting the creature's nose. It had gone quiet, save for the odd shuffle of boots or the caw of distant crows. Her hands itched with the absence of motion, but she stayed beside the post. Livia had gone back inside with a vague "I won't be long," and Serena was still waiting, unable or perhaps unwilling to head off alone. It would be rude, she told herself, to leave her companion without a word.
The silence gave her time to think, though. Unfortunately, more time than she wanted.
She leaned against the hitching post, eyes half-focused on the slowly reddening sky. The Keep, with all its stone walls and stale air, still clung to her mind like a petulant child. The council meeting had left a strange taste in her mouth. She could not place it, it was not bitter, neither was it sweet but a strange third thing.
