Ila felt her stomach. It was settling but she did not feel like she could hold anything down yet. "I wish I realized that I wanted to live sooner."

Millie smiled gently. "You know it now."

"I wouldn't be so weak if I decided that sooner, hadn't starved myself for so long." Pinja said.

"I know, but you still have the chance."

Nelek sadly looked towards Millie, hurt that she was staying away from him. A tear ran down his cheek.

Aislyn cupped his cheek and caught the tear with her thumb. "She'll come around in time."

"Will she?" Nelek asked. "He beat her with my face, he tried to kill her. Can she even look at me without seeing that imposter beating her?"

"She needs time to reconcile that it wasn't you. Her heart knows it, but her mind...I'm hoping she'll come around once she gets accustomed to seeing you about and acting like you."

"I wish I could just talk to her." Nelek said, feeling torn up inside.

"I know. And once she approaches and accepts you, it's still going to be a long hard road until things are how they were," Aislyn explained.

Lek threw himself into his parents' arms and sobbed. There was always a piece missing.

Aislyn barely had the tea or the spoon beside her. She wrapped her arm around Lek.

Nelek also wrapped an arm around Lek. His son had not grown up to be very masculine.

"I tied to get Millie to come but she wouldn't. Then Pinja got upset and started throwing up." Lek hiccuped. "Pinja is so weak, I don't want her to die."

"Give your sister some time, this is a lot for her to take in. Is Pinja getting any stronger?"

"Pinja looks so pale. She threw up. If she can't keep any food down she'll starve to death, won't she?" Lek was undeniably worried about her.

"Possibly. But she was badly injured and with time and the persistence of her continuing to try, I have every faith she'll start being able to keep food down."

"But it's been weeks." Lek fretted. "She should be able to keep food down by now." Lek gave his mother a desperate look, as if begging her to fix Pinja.

"Sweetheart, I'm certain Difyr and Aalyssa are doing everything they can for Pinja."

"But she's starving." Lek said, near frantic. "Can you... See her? Help her?"

"Lek, I'm not a healer. I wouldn't know where to begin to help her, as much as I would like to."

"Who is Pinja?" Nelek asked.

"Pinja is a young lady who came to the village seeking refuge from her violent, abusive husband. He found her and later became the raider who destroyed everything. Millie offered Pinja a place to stay in her flat and to help in her shop and they became friends."

"I told you about Pinja on the boat- don't you remember?" Lek was confused and upset, his eyes teary. "The raiders really hurt her, almost killed her but she survived... It's not right for her to die now."

"Sweetheart, I'm sure everything possible is being done for her," Aislyn said assuringly.