Fairspell Meadow Survived this long without a ruler

the palace was less bright without crowfeather. belen had listlessly dragged herself into the meadow to search for him. it was not the farthest she had been from akashingo; in fact she thought of all adjacent lands as belonging to the pharaoh. but her heart was not in the search. she had told herself days ago that he would not come back. had she not told him how to leave? when to leave? she had betrayed them for him. and now she would never see him again. belen would not weep. she drew on, grim-faced and silent, halting at the sight of another. a girl, though perhaps taller than the fellahin herself, with a tawny nape that caught the sunlight. but the servant hardly wanted company. out here in the open she was bound to be seen, even as she trudged onward, not moving to catch the stranger's attention.