Freedom and Duty (Song)

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He played how it felt to sit with Cwennie in the aftermath of her quiet loss. He'd fought for her, and alongside her, protected her all the way to Rohan, only to find her home burned, her family slain. Everything she knew, gone.

She never spoke of it, never drew attention or wasted herself on self-pity. She was the most vulnerable, graceful person he'd ever seen while keeping herself completely composed. He knew she felt it keenly. He knew her dreams were dark.

Nearby, as he sat with her, wakeful, silent and fully present, grass seeds sifted out into the breeze leaving the stalk empty and barren, the original plant still green and growing.

The unknown was ahead, and it was a simple luxury to sit back and watch the dry flakes fly on for their own renewal. Some would make it, most wouldn't. Some would grow, and create bright dashes of lush colour in the most unexpected or inhospitable of places.

Others would crowd together forming one tiny part of a great meadow. Some would fall into the river and be eaten by fish. Others would simply never sprout, remaining idle and stagnant.

Some would come so close, intrepid journeys to no avail, circling in the same breeze and hitting the same obstacle over and over again from different angles.

For all the small scale trials of those simple grass seeds, there was something calm and immediate in watching them go. That was enough, maybe this was the peace she had tried to explain to him.

"You're meant to find peace, Cwennie."