Rain

The clouds hung low and heavy.  Dull grey and oppressive.  Ciara could smell the rain not far off. 

She had always loved mornings like this.  Well, before she had always loved mornings like this.  As she tightened Rollie’s saddle, she realized that now mornings like this meant a wet, cold day of riding.  She pulled her cloak tighter around her neck and swung into the saddle.  If she was lucky, it would only be a light drizzle that wouldn’t soak through the wool. 

Her hopes had changed so much in just a few weeks; from praying she didn’t show up to the feast in the same colors as Princess Josephine to worries about finding enough food to keep her belly from growling.  How had she fallen so far so fast?