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Theolain
Theolain quickly finished off the food and milk that Mother gave him, scattering crumbs on the floor. Mother did not seem to hurry, and Theolain was becoming impatient. When will she finish her food? And they already ate this morning, so why is she eating again?
And that other woman, the fat one. Who is she? Why is she talking to Mother, when Mother could be doing something? She touched his head. She is not allowed to touch his head. There are only three people who are allowed – Mother, Uncle, and Aunt. No, Aunt is not allowed. She always wants to do something with his hair. Only Mother and Uncle. Not some fat woman. Why does she never stop talking? Leave Mother alone!
Theolain looked around in search for a muddy stick to play with, like the one Mother took away from him before they came to this strange place. He saw no puddles. But he saw a stick lying near the fireplace. He knew that fire is warm, but it hurts when you touch it. It doesn’t like to be touched, just like Theolain. The boy wished he could bite everyone who touched him just like fire. But the stick wasn’t in the fire. It was on the ground. Does that mean it won’t bite? It was red and glowing on one end. Strange. Sticks are brown, not red. And they only shine when they are wet from a puddle, they don’t glow. Theolain went to investigate.
Ledwyn
The names Lady Saeryn called flew right by Ledwyn. She could not remember so many at once. Only one caught her mind – Lady Wynflaed, Lord Athanar’s wife. How could that be? If Saeryn was not his wife, could she be his sister?
"You're coming will be more welcome than you know!" Saeryn continued. "We are overwhelmed with the work that must be done to keep so many men from going hungry! You have exactly the skills we need, so do not worry that you will be a burden to us. You cannot be, truly. You will not be. Here, as soon as you are finished, I will take you to meet the other women in the kitchen. We will get you settled in directly and find a place for you and your son. It may be rough at first, we don't have very good quarters yet, being still in the process of building, but we'll make do."
“I thank you, my Lady,” Ledwyn said. She took the last bits of egg from the platter and put it aside. “Is the kitchen -” she begun, and then noticed her son reaching to a hot coal that somehow fell out of the hearth. “Theolain!” He looked up innocently. Ledwyn took him by the hand and led him away from the danger. “I thought you knew that fire is hot.” Theolain looked back longingly.
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