"Your baby?"

Nod.

"Fairy's?"

Headshake. "From before."

"Were you married, then, or - "

Headshake. "Concubine. Didn't - didn't want to be. I was given to - I don't know where you're from, whether you've heard of Scandinavia there, but - it's the most powerful nation on the continent, they've taken over everything - their emperor has at least a dozen women at any given time, and he - so when I met the fairy I thought - I didn't know if it'd be worse but I had to - had to try something, right, for her sake if for no one else - "

Nodnod. Hug.

"Is it? Worse?"

She looks down and shakes her head.

"Well, that's something."

Nodnod. "Shouldn't be sad about it. It's better, really, it is, it's just - I'm an idiot, is all - "

"Why's that?"

"I thought he loved me. The fairy. I thought - he was so kind, sometimes, and I thought - but he doesn't. I'm a slave, really, and of course he wouldn't, I just - I thought - "

"Oh, poor thing, lots of people are nice for a while. I guess maybe you wouldn't know, locked in some king's harem. It doesn't mean much."

She sobs and nods.

"Did he leave, or did he get mean?"

"No, not that, no. I - he moved on. But I can't, I - belong to him."

"Well. Only if you expect him to find you here. - do we expect anyone to find us here?"

"Yes," he says quickly, and then a little quieter. "Yeah. Mahdi'll scry and if that doesn't work he'll ask some other people because he'll figure it was the cultists - I don't really think so, though -"

Nod. "No reason they'd want just the two of us. And this one."

"If we get rescued and you want to come back with us you can."

"I - 

" - some of my children are still with their father, I couldn't leave. The fairy's going to help me get them back. - I think. He said he meant to. And there's a little one studying languages with the fairy's father, he wouldn't have anyone."

Nod. 

"'m sorry. Just - don't let the cruelties of this life take your sights off the next one, right, someday it'll be okay -"

Fervent nodding. Sniffle. "I hope so. 'm not sure I've been a very good Christian lately."

"Going back, for your kids, that's Good."

Nodnod. She snuggles her baby.