The stallionâ€™s gallop slowed to a lull as the entered the widened gates of the graveyard.<span style="font-style: italic">Northpeakâ€¦it feels as though it has been an eternity, since I have returned home. Itâ€™s strange how I can still consider this place home when my heart belongs elsewhereâ€¦</span>. She shifted her cloak about her shoulders as she came to a stop. The quiet of the graveyard was unnerving to most but was blissful serenity to Helena. She walked silently to her fatherâ€™s grave and knelt down towards the moistened earth to set the roses in offering to the dead. She could feel the chilling grip of detachment start to take a hold of her, and it was well prepared from strengthening itself each year that passed by.<br/><br/>She sat beside her fatherâ€™s grave in contemplation for lack of direction. She could have returned to Danielâ€™s haven, but it would have most likely been a while for him to return and the one-sided affection could only be tolerated for so long before it started to sting. With her future position in the balance, she figured that she would have less and less time to travel and that her interactions with the outside world apart from strategic planning that had begun to be reinforced in their skirmishes against the merfolk would quickly come to an end.<br/><br/>â€œCan you believe that I am to be Regent? I scarcely believe it myself,â€ she spoke to the shadows and to the decomposing corpse beneath her feet. â€œItâ€™s a very prestigious position. I know that Daniel must have had a lot of convincing to do with the other members of the council. Iâ€™m not sure if he did it because he wishes the best for me as a sire or because it gains him renown for having a prestigious childe, or simply because he has such faith in me. Do you think that I would be capable of squelching these emotions when I grow older? With this bitter cold chip away at my heart until there is nothing left but a soulless void? Danielâ€™s old but I swear some times I see that glimmer in his eyes that makes me second guess whether there is something still living within. Maybe I let my emotions blind me, but Iâ€™m thankful to still have them. He canâ€™t be so bad when he is so kind, can he father?â€ she half expected an answer, and it was only silence that greeted her. â€œYou know I thought by this point in time I would have all the answers, but I only have an endless expanse of questions swirling in this vortex of chaos within my mind.â€ She shook her head only to fall silent once more as she struggled at what to talk to her father about. The morbid thought struck her that she was speaking to a pile of bones rather than her actual father.<br/><br/>â€œDaniel said that my silver tongue could win over a lot of favor in the courts. Did you ever think I had a silver tongue when I was younger? I have always wondered if it was inherited or something I merely gained with a black heartâ€¦â€ she trailed off. Every year her thoughts had become darker. â€œI can only hope that there is something more for me then planning covens and war for the rest of my existence. Maybe there will be a brief reprieve of peace before the next issue flares up and hell breaks loose from its rocky prison.â€ Her sighs quickly diminished into silence once more as she pondered her fatherâ€™s image. How it had faded over the years to become something entirely different.<br/><br/>Her black eyes drift to the face of the tombstone. â€œI am sorry that I have very little to interest you these days. I thinkâ€¦that this will by my last return to this place. It does you no good to hear of the life that I live, as you probably arenâ€™t even there to hear it. You are crumbling to dust as we speak and the soul has long since fled. That young girl loved you dearly, but you know by now that she no longer walks as she once was.â€ She stood up. She didnâ€™t know what had spawned her acceptance of his death after all these years. Perhaps it was because now she had an excuse not to come back and pay her respects as every good daughter should do. She had a council and covens to consider, and a winding path to take in figuring out just where it was she fit in this world; where she fit in Danielâ€™s world.<br/><br/>She brushed off her dress and cloak and began to prepare the horse for departure once more. She noticed how unremarkable the horseâ€™s fur was beneath the lace of her gloves. It was just warmth and a solid object with a rhythmic drum beating quietly in the night.