The word tears through her, making her feel weak on her feet. She stops and leans against a tree, letting it support the strength she seems to seep away from her. Mother. It was a word that she had desperately wanted to hear, but never expected him to call her. Not since arriving in the village.

She wanted to argue, to point out how foolish she'd been not to write to her family, but there was little fight left in her. She didn't want her son to hate her. She gave her life for him and would willingly do it again. "It was Ned who shielded you. I gave you into his keeping."