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Tanwen did not recognize her surroundings.

But she hardly cared.

As she collapsed into the cool dirt, she understood only that she was outside of the palace, alone.

Trees shaded where she gripped her stomach, bent over sobbing into the ground.

Snot rolled from her nose into her mouth, her vision gone as her tears endlessly overflowed down her cheeks.

In the far recesses of her mind, she understood her dress was now dirty, smudged from where she knelt, but they were scuffs that could be cleaned, removed.

Unlike the stain of blood forever pressed into her memory.

Eli’s blood.

Tanwen screamed into the empty woods, the sound hoarse and broken. She pounded her fists into the ground, sharp rocks breaking apart skin as she tried to release the pain that was poisoning her veins.

Dead.

He was dead.

Eli.

Murdered.

Taken.

Her friend.

She had failed him.

Left him alone.

Brought him into danger.

Tanwen’s renewed surge of despair robbed her of breath, her weeping unceasing as her heart continued to be cut and pulled and shredded.

It wasn’t until she was on the verge of slipping into an inescapable darkness that they appeared.

The animals emerged from above and below, diverse shadows moving in Tanwen’s blurry periphery.

Soft fur burrowed beneath her hands, covered her arms; cold scales wrapped around her torso; wings pressed supportively along her shoulders; beaks nuzzled into her neck; bugs hummed soothingly beside her ear.

We have you, the creatures told her. We have you.

Her magic had called them, brought them. Her only companions that had ever consistently carried her through the dark. Their loyalty remained, even here within palace grounds.

Tanwen’s skin hummed as her magic surged through her veins, a pulse of recognition, of gratitude for their offered support.

We have you, their chorus repeated. We will always have you, friend.

Tanwen’s cries intensified then, but the arrival of animals did not cease.

They continued to gather until she did not know where she started and they began.

They encircled Tanwen, their feathers, fur, and scales intertwining to cover her like armor, as if to contain her shattering soul.