The Sentinels moving in reverse with no way out

she was afraid-- afraid of where her feet would take her. she knew where they would go, she didn't want to follow, and yet-- she could not stop moving forward.

the pads of her feet had been cracked for months now, the cruel mountain terrain unkind to her poor, soft paws. but it did not hinder her travel, she continued forward. it was not until she was there that she stopped moving, and it was not a gentle stop, mind you. her feet froze abruptly, and all in one moment she felt the wind sucked from her breast. donnelaith was no longer donnelaith-- but a pile of ashes. she'd managed to make it into the once sentential forest before the realization hit her, but when it did it hit her all too hard. her vision blurred, mind whirled, heart stopped. it was too much.

eventually, her senses returned, but with it came something else. it was not a good thing, but perhaps not all that bad. she buckled to the ground and buried her nose beneath her feet. she took in a shaky breath, released one loud sob, before she broke beneath the weight of it all. the once queen remained-- harboring a tearless weep-- in the remains of her former kingdom, her former throne.