[Intro — Elara watching through Illuminate, the room comes into focus] She is still in the field But the sight takes her somewhere else
A room Lit red by torchlight Full of people leaning forward
And one leaning back
[Verse 1 — the room, everyone speaking at once] The Seven are already standing Before the Red Woman has sat down The Riders have their maps unrolled Before the meeting has been called
The priest is at the altar corner Murmuring the blessing early The council has its list of grievances Already in the proper order
And every voice agrees
Now
Now is the moment
The purple woman is distracted The south is overextended The light is on our side And now
Now
They are all so certain In the particular way that people are certain when they want what certainty allows
[Pre-Chorus] And then
One person in the room Is not speaking
One person in the room Is watching every person who is speaking
Her eyes move like a compass Finding north in each of them
And north in each of them is not Leara
[Chorus] The Red Woman at the table Does not know what I know Does not know what Adina knows Does not know what her room is
The Red Woman believes in something Every person there has used
The Seven want the glory The Riders want the field The priests want the purple woman Removed from what they’ve built The council wants the trade routes That the south has always held
And the Red Woman Believes it is justice
And Adina Keeps the count
[Verse 2 — Adina, cataloguing, saying nothing] She watches Pride stand up She notes the way he phrases it Not: we protect our people But: we claim what we are owed
She watches the head priest She notes the exact moment he mentions the will of the light and his eyes go to the map of the southern trade roads instead of the sky
She watches the council elder argue for the people in the voice he uses when he argues for himself
She has a very good memory
She never writes it down
She does not tell Leara
Because Leara is already going And Leara needs someone who will go with her without conditions
[Pre-Chorus 2] So Adina watches
And she keeps it in the same quiet place she keeps everything
The count The names The exact phrasing That will matter later
When Leara needs to know who stayed because they chose her
And who stayed because the choosing served them
[Chorus] The Red Woman at the table Does not know what I know Does not know what Adina knows Does not know what her room is
The Red Woman believes in something Every person there has used
The Seven want the glory The Riders want the field The priests want the purple woman Removed from what they’ve built The council wants the trade routes That the south has always held
And the Red Woman Believes it is justice
And Adina Keeps the count
[Bridge — the vote, everyone unanimous, and what Adina does] Now is the time Now is the time Now is the time
They say it until it becomes the room
And the Red Woman stands
And she does not need convincing She was already going She has always been going The south is wrong The light must hold The people need the one who will ride
She is not wrong about all of it
That is the worst part
She is not wrong about all of it
And every person in that room who wants something for themselves knows it
That is why they chose her
And Adina stands last
After all of them
Not because she agrees with the vote
Because she agrees with Leara
[Final Chorus] The Red Woman at the table Will ride because she loves Will fight because she believes Will fall in the battle Because the people in that room Needed someone willing to fall and not be them
And the Red Woman will never know What Adina knew In every meeting Every hour Every room
That of all the voices Saying: now is the time
Only one of them Meant it for her
[Outro — Elara watching, the connection landing] She watches Adina Stand
And she thinks: I know a woman like this
I know what it costs to be the one who stays without needing the war to stay for
She thinks: Diana
She thinks: I understand now where you come from