Umatalia: Stella

Chapter 2 – A Familiar Face

Three years later...

Stella's eyes flew open and her head shot up as she was abruptly awoken. By a haunting dream. One that felt eerily familiar. As if desperate to physically shake it off, she shook her mane and used her knee to scratch above her eye. But then, as she looked around at the rolling green hills, the mountains that seemed to stretch endlessly across the horizon, and the blue sky above sporting dozens of white, puffy clouds, Stella knew. It had been a dream. One of a bad time she would always remember.

She was only six months old when she escaped those rustlers. Where they'd planned to take her, she hadn't known where. All she'd known was that she wanted to be free. And she eventually found refuge here, for the last three years. Years that seemed intensely long one moment, and strikingly short the next. Had it really been that long? But that wasn't the question that haunted her most ever since. Why couldn't she remember much from before she was captured?

She didn't know. And didn't think she'd ever know. All that seemed to matter was that she'd found a place to sustain her, rearing her from filly to mare. Feeling thirsty, Stella walked over to a familiar watering hole, and stared down at her reflection. Same cherry red coat, same midnight black mane, same amber eyes, same hair curl, and the same white diamond marking. But that was where all the familiarity seemed to end. Beyond that frightening time of captivity, she barely remembered a thing.

After taking a refreshing drink, Stella suddenly smelled ominous. She slowly turned her head, and found herself staring down a gray wolf. Monstrous things. Though they never tried to approach her, which was wise of them to do so, she never let her guard down, even while she slept. She hadn't survived this long to become some wild dog's food. Then again, she hadn't done it by courage, exactly, either. She never ventured far from the hills, knowing she'd probably gotten trapped after getting a little too curious.

Still, as the wolf left, Stella found herself almost envying him. He knew where he belonged. She hardly had a clue. But where could she go? And what would she do if she did find a place? The only humans she really remembered were those who'd caught her. And she steered clear of them as much as she did wolves. But as each day began and ended with her being alone, she found herself getting to a point where she couldn't take it. Not anymore.

Stella shook her mane again. She was a mare now, no longer a gangly foal. She couldn't stay here forever, however safe it had been. Even though she couldn't really remember everything about her past, she had the faintest recollection that she'd been loved dearly by someone. Another horse? Perhaps, most possibly her own mother. A human? Certainly not. But the nagging feeling remained. And if she didn't know it any more before, Stella knew for certain she had to do something about it now.

Taking the chance, but one with the least amount of risk, Stella turned her nose to the sky, and decided she would follow it wherever it led her.

Italy hugged his knees to his chest as he looked out at the pasture from his room in Austria's house. As the sun almost finished its daily descent, he grimly recalled one of the most awful days of his life. He couldn't believe it'd been nearly three years since Stella had gone missing. The day after he gave her that flag, he found Aurora in the pasture without her beloved filly, going so crazy she had to be stabled in order to calm down. And just like her, Italy had no idea where Stella had gone.

All he saw was the white flag he'd given her, near a gaping hole in the fence, one he didn't remember seeing the day before. Had she made the hole? Had she gone of her own free will? Nonsense, she couldn't have. She wouldn't leave her mother. Nor would she leave him... Would she?

"Vould you stop sulking about like you're going to a funeral for pasta?" he suddenly heard Austria ask. Italy made a small jump in surprise.

"Why?" he asked, when a frightening thought struck his mind. "What are you talking about?! Is there a shortage of pasta?!"

"I'm not as stupid as I look," Austria said as he entered the room. "I've seen Aurora sulk about all day, too."

Italy, in a rare and sudden move, came back down to Earth as he remembered what upset him in the first place. "I just...I just wish I knew where she was. I wish I knew she was okay." He turned around in his seat and continued to stare out of the window, a depressed look on his face.

"I'm sure she is," Austria tried to assure him. "She vould be a mare by now. And likely a very beautiful one at that. Being a domestic horse she probably didn't go out on her own. More zan likely she vas probably stolen."

Italy spun around again to face him. Austria hissed and bit his lip, biting at his failed attempt. "What do you mean?!" Italy asked, his voice as desperate as before. "Why would someone want to steal her from me?!"

"I'm simply speculating," Austria once again tried to calm him, while trying to stay calm himself. "Like I said, she was, and still is, a very pretty horse. She vould have paid a hefty price for any potential rustlers, either for the black market or for ransom. Like I said, it's all just a guess."

His guess only seemed to make it worse. To think of Stella, his beloved Stella, in the hands of black market rustlers... Italy didn't want to think of it. And he didn't want to remain here. As soon as Austria left, Italy hastened through the house and walked outside toward the pasture where Aurora was. Just like he was moments earlier, the mare was staring out into the forest, where her beloved filly had gone missing. Italy wished the horse could tell her what'd happened, but, all he could do was gently stroke her neck.

"I know, mia bella, I know," he said softly as Aurora leaned into his comforting touch. "I miss her, too." And just then, as though she didn't want to think of it any longer, Aurora turned and walked away from him. Italy knew how she felt. He suddenly wanted to be alone to. And there was always one place where he could do just that.

After making his way through about a dozen patches of trees and shadows, Italy soon found the small field he discovered when he first came here. It was a great place to come and relax all by himself. Watch the clouds roll by. Greeting the woodland animals. And... Italy allowed himself a small smile. After finding a comfortable seat on the great big rock in the center of the field, he hugged his knees to his chest again, and started singing his favorite song.

Stella shook her mane as she finally came to a halt after a full day of galloping and hardly stopping. She needed some water. Fortunately, just nearby, she found a small watering hole and quickly quenched her thirst. She hadn't had such a satisfying drink, or day, in her life. She hadn't found what she believed was her home yet, but she had to believe she was making some sort of progress. She'd followed her instincts, though there was also simple guessing. After spending half the day headed a certain direction, she'd finally come upon a familiar scent.

And she went for it. It smelled of nostalgia, happiness, contentment, days of playful running, jumping, and kicking. The unknown days of her foal-hood. But Stella still remained on guard. She had never gone in this particular direction before, and any number of dangers could have awaited her. But she'd be ready for them. And she'd come this far in the day without a single incident. She was almost ready to lower her head and sleep for the coming night. Until a new sound, one she hadn't heard in a long, long time, but nonetheless spoke to her memory, reached her ears.

She immediately raised her head, and her ears twitched. Stella knew she'd heard this sound before. What did humans call it? Music? Yes, that was probably it. But this music seemed more familiar than anything she'd ever heard in the last three years. Not that she'd heard much anyway. Perhaps she did come in the right direction after all. But there was only one way to know for sure.

Her guard still up, Stella slowly made her way through the evergreen trees, the shadows stretching over her in an ominous way. It was like she'd been in this sort of situation before. But, would it end badly for her now as it did before? Still, following the sound of music that got a little louder with every move, Stella kept moving forward. She now believed she was hearing what the humans called singing. She could even hear the words.

"Draw a circle, that's the Earth. Draw a circle, that's the Earth. Draw a circle, that's the Earth. I am Hetalia." That voice. She... Did she know it? She thought she did. She couldn't be imagining it. Stella moved closer toward the sound of the high-pitched male voice. She still listened as he continued to sing. "All the world around us can be seen through the stroke of a single brush. And now we give a toast with our boots. Hetalia!"

She did know that song. Yet it was as if she couldn't pinpoint where and when. She continued to follow in the direction. And she froze right behind a tree as she saw a human she immediately recognized. He looked young, about the age of a stallion in horse years. He wore a blue military-style suit. He sat on a rock in the middle of a field with his knees close to his chest, his amber eyes looking toward the sky. And he also had a long single curling strand of hair. Just like her.

But what was his name? That was the one thing she couldn't remember about him. She wanted to approach him, yet still didn't know if she could. She'd avoided humans for as long as she could. And that was a habit she wasn't sure she wanted to break. It'd kept her safe. But, now that she saw a human she seemed to automatically know just by looking... Stella stopped dead in her tracks as she hit a rock with her hoof. She quickly hid behind the tree again. But the human male had noticed.

"Hello, who's out there?" he asked. "Come on out. Don't be shy. I'm an expert at hide and seek!" Knowing she'd be found sooner or later, Stella mustered up her courage to face the inevitable. Reluctantly, she forced herself to walk out from behind the tree. And though she thought the shadows might protect her, the human's eyes went wide with disbelief as he beheld her. For the longest, yet shortest time, all they did was stare at each other. It was as if the world stopped spinning.

"No," the human said, breaking the silence. "It cannot be." Stella couldn't move. It was as if her hooves were glued to the ground.

"Stella?" the human spoke again. "Is...is that really you?" The mare felt a strange sensation move through her when he said her name, which she had almost forgotten as well. But just then, the male began to move toward her. Stella took a couple steps back, letting out a nervous snort. But the human's tone and body language remained gentle.

"Stella, mia cara, it's me," he said, trying to smile while the mare thought about what he'd just called her. "Don't you remember me? Don't you remember your Italy?"

Stella involuntarily snorted again. She did remember that name! She remembered the human who it belonged to! But still, that didn't make all the harsh memories about the humans she'd dealt with go away. The human, Italy, continued to slowly move toward her, while she stood where she was, trying to decide whether to move at all or not.

"You do remember me!" Italy exclaimed, the grin now wide on his face. It wavered for a moment, but it quickly returned as he spoke. "I wish you could tell me where you've been all this time... But, that's okay! You're back now! You're back with me!" He still walked toward her, his hand now outstretched. But Stella nonetheless felt startled. Those memories were returning with a vengeance. She began making small anxious noises.

"It's alright, Stella," Italy said, his voice softer now and his hand closer. "You know I would not hurt you. That's it. Just let me touch you."

It was too close. And Stella's protective instincts kicked in. Right before Italy could touch her, she spun around and neighed as she fled the scene. Would Italy follow her? He didn't seem to be, since she couldn't hear his footsteps on the forest floor above her hoofbeats. But she didn't care. No. She didn't want to care. She'd survived this long on her own. Without the help of humans. Who was to say she couldn't do it any longer? Who was to say...?

Italy couldn't move for a minute or two. Had he really seen Stella? Or had he just been dreaming? No. He couldn't be. Though he hadn't touched her, he had felt her breath on his fingers. And that was enough to tell him this wasn't an illusion. Yet just as quickly, he'd let her slip through his fingers. He simply stood there as he continued to wonder. Why did she flee him? What had happened to her throughout the years she was gone?

Suddenly, Austria's theory about her being stolen by rustlers didn't sound that far-fetched. They must have treated her really rough, more than rough, for her to react like that. Still, it hurt his feelings to know that she didn't trust him anymore like she used to. What had happened to the carefree, perky little ball of starlight that used to be his favorite filly?

Well, even if she was three years old now, and an independent mare, Italy still didn't want to let her go. After all, she'd found her way back here, probably without any sense of direction other than her instincts, after being who-knew-where. That alone was enough to give him a sense of hope. Hope that he could reach into the old part of her he still knew was there. Even as he turned around to head back to Austria's house for the night, there was one thought in Italy's mind more important that all the rest.

Please don't leave, Stella. I'll be here waiting for you. To anyone else, you may be a wild horse. But you're my wild horse. You're still mia cara.

Reviews would be appreciated.