One Heart

15. Adjustment

Sorah catalogued the memories flicking through her mind. There were the painful ones she had already begun to lock away, covering them like dirt over a grave. There were the pragmatic ones that taught her how to properly run her monarchy. And then there were the mundane, everyday events that gave her hope. Memories of the queen and her Ahein Rah enjoying their time together.

They were the memories that made a life, rather than a role. They were the memories of people—all different, with different stories to tell. Those memories, above all others, were appreciated.

Everything had changed. She was sure she wasn't the same person as she had been the day before. She felt older, weighed down by thousands of years' worth of experience. A new world had opened up to her, rendering the first eighteen years of her life insignificant in comparison.

From beside her, Kensie's breathing grew shallow as she began to wake. They had eaten lunch in silence, both connected in their grief. They needed words even less now, and so relished the quiet.

The afternoon had provided them with the comforts needed for sleep: warm, golden sunlight streaming in from the window, a fresh sea breeze, and the quiet crashing of waves on the sand. Such sounds, smells and sights were vibrant to her now. It was early days, but already her senses were enhanced.

Flexing her muscles, Sorah could feel the power in them. She wouldn't be at full strength for a week or so, but for now she felt powerful, her body far stronger than before.

"How are you feeling?" Kensie asked, stretching her hand out across the sheet to Sorah.

"Tired." Sorah smiled, despite the torment within her mind—the sight of Kensie was enough. "Things are getting quieter, but the memories are still there."

"Do you need more sleep?"

"No, I don't think I can." Sorah stretched out her muscles, sore from laying in one position for over fourteen hours.

Kensie ran her hand over Sorah's arm until it rested on her cheek. "Why don't I run you a bath?"

Even the smallest of luxuries seemed selfish to Sorah with the knowledge she now had. Their people needed her. Who was she to take her time with luxurious baths when she should be making every effort to ready herself for her role?

Shuffling closer, Kensie wrapped an arm around Sorah's waist. "And this is precisely why a queen has an Ahein Rah. You can't lead our people if you're worn out and always working." She kissed Sorah's cheek. "So let me take care of you." Warm air kissed Sorah's neck and ear as Kensie spoke, her tone promising far more than her words.

Searching back through her memory, Sorah realised every queen relied on balance within their life to fulfil their role to the best of their ability. "You're right." She smirked, her eyes running up and down Kensie's body. "I should let you take care of me."

What she tried to ignore, however was how quickly their connection was growing. In a matter of hours, it had strengthened. They were already at a level that took weeks to attain for the average queen and Ahein Rah. But she wasn't average. Couldn't ever hope to be. When Sorah the First had been awoken, it had taken her and her Ahein Rah only a week to be able to communicate from across the room. In time their connection grew stronger, and though not many knew it, their joined consciousness stretched throughout the entirety of the castle and its grounds.

It was no coincidence that Sorah was named after the strongest queen to have come before her. The name, as with many aspects of a queen's life, was pre-determined, entering the mind of the mother during pregnancy, so strong and demanding there was no doubt what the princess would be named. Sorah was a strong name, for a strong queen.