"Nelyo tried to stop him. Don't think it damaged their relationship, exactly."

"That's something."

"I told Irisse you were innocent by virtue of unconsciousness. Not sure if she believed me."

"I wish she hadn't, maybe she wouldn't have tried to visit."

"Tried to visit?"

"Yeah. I was out, she wandered around the neighboring principalities waiting for me to get back. Ran into this enchanted forest governed by this enormous asshole who has it strung up so if he doesn't want you to find a way out, you won't. Met her. 'Terrible how we're both trapped in this enchanted forest, aren't we'. I next saw her sixty years later when she fled him with their son in tow. He followed them and murdered her."

"Fuck."

"Yeah. Curvo still beats himself up over it - he met her husband, told him that she obviously wanted nothing to do with him and he should just go home, considered killing him on the spot but didn't feel like he had enough provocation - if he'd known the whole story -"

"Lotsa things lotsa people'd've done differently if they'd known more."

"Love you."

"Is that your way of saying that's enough bad stuff and we should space it out with more kissing?"

"It's my way of saying I'm sad and I don't really know what to do and this would be so much harder if I didn't have you holding me."

"I think I can take at least one more sad thing. What...what happened to Huan?"

"Maybe I should have let that be its own thing instead of putting it with any other sad things at all."

"Maybe you should ask someone else I don't know if I'll ever be able to say."

"Okay. I can do that. I know you said I should just ask you whatever I was curious about but that doesn't mean--it's okay, we don't have to talk about it." She snuggles in closer.

"I love you."

"I love you."

"Huan left. The boyfriend on a Silmaril quest I mentioned? His wife-to-be was part Maia and she liked Huan and she was mad I was trying to stop them from going off Silmaril-questing and she left and he went with her and helped them get a Silmaril and give it to the crazy King and then Huan died in a fight defending them - she didn't even take good care of him -"

She curls up a little and cries into his chest.

Yeah.

'M sorry I brought it up, she says eventually.

Not your fault.

Hugs. Hugs hugs hugs. There is literally nothing else she can do to improve the situation but she can hug him.

Good thing that helps a lot.

Good. She hates being helpless in the face of someone she loves suffering.

Eventually he relaxes and stops crying.