in the depths

 How long could this go on? The horse practically flew through the canopy of cherry blossoms. For a moment ChaCha thought it might be snowing as the petals fell into her hair. It was lovely, and yet she felt she was headed for the slaughter. The palace could not be a safe place. Especially, with Corine.

After a while, as they passed into the rough terrain, ChaCha fell into the lull. Even in her dreams, she imagined Milo crying. Yet, he never stobbed. It must have been a hell of a life being with Corrine. She wondered how he got away. Could they get away this time too?

Oh, it was a prickly feeling. Counting the minutes until it actually happened. When Corine would make her move and silence them. But it soothed her that Milo felt that Corine needed them. Otherwise, she was doomed, too.

Just as she was about to wake, she thought of how the battle would be. How omnipotent was Corine's rival? It was true. They were doomed.

When  ChaCha awoke, they were not near a palace. Instead, it was the sea. It was as if that stallion did have a mind of his own, after all.

"What are we doing here?" ChaCha wished she could face Milo, but he was holding her steady as the black stallion edged across the rocks near the choppy waters. Corine said nothing. Of course, she was still a child and not much more. 

ChaCha wondered when Corine would need to feed again. Who would be next? 

As they neared the cliff, ChaCha looked into the vast ocean. Was the palace underwater? What the hell was going on? The next thing she knew the horse plunged into the water and they went with him.

The ocean was cold and horrifying. Yet suddenly it was a delicate dance as she fought to find the top. ChaCha was certain she'd never come up for air and she went down into the darkness as if it were a vacuum. Yet someone grabbed her hand and gave her breath when she needed it. She awoke on the beach. Corine was so far away, but Milo was next to ChaCha.

She rose up on her elbows on the wet sands. Of course, she was still drenched from the ocean. But a man came from the tide. He was dark in dark clothing. As he came near, his hair hinted in gray. ChaCha blinked. Possibly, she was imagining things, but the horse was nowhere in sight.