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When she thinks she can see him without crying again, she holds her baby close and walks silently back to Rana's.
The room has been replaced with - something else. She has no idea what this means. She has nobody to ask but Rana. Everything she asks places her further in his debt, of course, but it hardly matters now.
She steps inside.
Hug.
" - trusting people is - hard, yeah. And not feeling like anyone else cares about you is hard.
"I hope I can figure out how to be as trustworthy as you were. About everything. I'm not very sure how, but - I want to be."
"I think - I think your court can't provide for the kids all night. So - for a little while. Not forever. And then someday, hopefully, I'll be immortal, and the kids will be able to take care of themselves, and we can travel wherever we want, and it won't matter what anyone else thinks of either of us, very much."
Nod. "Kids grow up in like - ten sunrises. I can be kind of frustrated and trapped for ten sunrises."
"I think human children take a little less than that, even. But I'm sorry to ask it of you. Just - seems like the best option."
"I was okay paying objectively a lot more when I felt like I was choosing it. But -" shrug. "I won't leave."
"Slightly worried that this place is - bad for us in ways I can't articulate and therefore ways I don't know what to do about. Even if it does have food and horses and games. Even if they're worth it."
Snuggle.
"Don't wanna just - accept you being sad without even thinking about what I can do about it."
"I want to support you and your family, and protect you, and I don't know what that even means, here."
Horses are in fact kind of neat! She's never been allowed to ride one before and rectifying this is pretty great.
If they could roam the prairies on horseback foraging for food he'd think Colorado was pretty okay.
Sadly, this doesn't work very well with raising five children.
No, not really.
Unfortunately Colorado Springs is... kind of difficult for her too? She doesn't really have anything important to do or anything to offer anybody. Can't even deliver poems anymore.
The kids, meanwhile, can tour the Air Force base! And ride in a plane! And visit the Air and Space museum and learn about the first Air Force planes and the World War II planes and the Vietnam planes and the modern planes.
The kids are mostly compliant on this trip. They are forced to admit that America has far superior firepower. This changes their priorities but does not really make them excited or happy? They mostly really wish their sister Vigdis was here, Vigdis would probably have some idea what to do about any of this.
Except Frey. Frey just thinks that planes are great.
Planes are pretty cool. Maybe tomorrow they can do things that will make them excited or happy.
And he can ask their parents about Vigdis when they get back from their horseback riding trip.
Hopefully not in Rána's earshot?
"She's their half-sister. My niece, her parents were the emperor and my sister. She's - my responsibility, sort of, but I didn't know whether she'd want to leave, or who you thought I had any business taking."
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