In Which Winter Isn't Less Vague

May 30, 1193

"There. Not so much to worry about in this big new world, is there?" Winter rubbed her baby's back, the little girl's cries fading into hiccups. Giana had made for an easier birth than Tybran, Arydath had been right about that. Not even a few hours later and already Winter had been too restless to keep herself to bed.

Of course, those few hours had been dominated by a long nap, thanks to her stepdaughters willing to dote over their new sister while she slept. Arydath had left shortly after Winter had woken to shift her focus to Tybran, but Honora remained.

"You know, you don't have to stay here if you don't want to." Honora was at the age when she was always on the go, particularly where her boisterous friend Thetis was involved. Neither Winter nor Had much minded; she was old enough that she ought to go about with her friends at her own discretion. She'd certainly earned some time out with her help today.

But Honora shook her head. "I don't mind. I think I needed a quiet day in."

Winter sniffed. She hardly would have called the labor 'quiet', even if it hadn't been quite the ordeal she'd had with Tybran. "Try calling a day like this 'quiet' when you have one of your own."

Her stepdaughter shrugged. "Maybe. Just... can I ask you something?"

"I suppose." Winter raised Giana to her shoulder and rubbed at the baby's back. "What's on your mind?"

"How do you when you know what you want?"

"When you know what you want." This, Winter figured, was yet another sparkling reassurance that Honora would meet adulthood well. She hadn't asked how to know what she wanted, but how to know when she knew. She knew that only she herself could answer that other question, which was something many twice her age still hadn't figured out.

But this question, she hadn't considered, fell into that category too. "You know, I really couldn't say. I guess it just feels right."

"So it felt right when you married my father."

"Yes. And when I started to work for Lady Rona, and many times before and after that. You can want more than one thing in life."

"And what if it feels right, but other people say it's wrong?"

"Well, then they're the ones who are wrong." Winter kissed Giana's head, then sat down on the edge of the bed, facing her stepdaughter in the chair. "Other people can be an obstacle, but you're the only one who knows what's right for you. And when you know what's right for you... well, I can't tell you anything less vague than that you'll just know it."

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