Author's Note: Finally, another prize. This is for DNFanatic, who also won honorable mention. I've been working on some chapter stories; hopefully I'll be able to get those up and running very soon.
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wind over water
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She doesn't feel like herself when she draws near to him. He is a star, whereas she is just a satellite.
She told him, once, how she felt. The way her mind couldn't decide whether to love him or to hate him. The way he could push her over with a single breath. A slipping sensation, and she is falling, falling from the sky in a spirograph, hands outstretched to feel the wind before she hits the water.
Perhaps it's simply imagination, but sometimes she wonders if he wants her to fall for him.
But she - Winona of Fortree, the noble matriarch of her city - she is of the wind. She craves freedom, would do anything to avoid being pinned to the ground. The ocean's depths will smother her, if she lets them overtake her.
She runs through the words again and again, the words she must say to him. He's too kind to her. This will break both of their hearts. And yet, it is necessary.
Why? she asks herself. Why do you do this to yourself?
The seasons change too quickly, and Wallace changes with the seasons. He is too slippery for her; the moment she finally is comfortable with his dodging nature, he will transform and she will be left to the bitter chill of winter.
What else can she do? He is destined to hurt her.
And this is why she hurts herself like this - because with him, she doesn't exist.