The Centaur and Me

~ 8 ~

---8---

--- Third Person POV ---

He'd hoped that he'd never have to wake up to bad news ever again. The first time he'd woken up to bad news, he thought was the worst pain he'd ever experience.

--

He had fallen for her, despite them being two different species. He'd fallen for her despite what everyone else had said or thought. He'd fallen for her, despite what he used to believe. She was human, but she was his, and he was hers.

Humans and centaurs had never really gotten along. There was bitter rivalries and bloodshed on both sides and they would often clash in conflict.

But she had been different. He remembered when they had first met. She was the daughter of a rich king, and he the son of a well respected chief. His status equal to hers, but in two very separate worlds.

He had been asked by his father to represent their heard during the peace treaty with the humans. He had never seen their world before, so was unsure what to expect. But he remembered entering the castle grounds where she lived and saw her drawing in the gardens.

Her beauty caused him to stop dead in his tracks and stare. She had not noticed him but was aware that eyes were upon her. Turning her head to where she felt the eyes were, they locked gazes for a brief moment, and the connection was instantly made.

From that moment on, they began to meet in secret, and they found themselves falling in love. Knowing that in the current situation, they could never be together, they ran away and began their own life and heard together.

When she told him that he was to be a father, he was overjoyed. The pregnancy was smooth, and he was expecting a healthy young foal. It was a known fact that on the rare occasion that centaurs and humans did have children, the offspring would take on the centaur form.

But when the time came that she went into labour, things took a turn for the worst. The labour was long and painful. He remembered holding her hand as she squeezed it in agony. He didn't remember falling asleep. But he remembered waking up to the sound of a baby crying; looking over and to his surprise seeing a fully human baby girl. And he remembered the midwife telling him that she was so sorry, but his wife did not make it.

--

This morning he found that the news he woke up to would be just as painful as the day he woke up to find his wife dead.

Today he had woken up to find that he had failed as a father. His daughter had run away, and she didn't want finding...