She hadn't managed to get the stick to work since they'd left the Grove. It disheartened her a bit, for through that stick was her opportunity to not only speak through nature, but to speak to the little boy that she now knew, beyond all doubt, was her son. She felt close to him, and the little boy appeared to thrive under the newfound adoration showered on him by his mother. She even felt closer to Colin, as if she somehow knew that because they, together, had created the little boy, they, too, belonged.
She had decided to wear the wedding band, to be Colin's wife and Orn's mother, even if she couldn't remember the wedding or the birth. The decision put an absolute look of elation on Colin's face and it warmed her. All that remained was for him to visit with Arlenia and to work on the final piece of the puzzle. She busied herself with secretly gathering information, buying his passage, and packing Colin's things. That night, she slept soundly - disturbed only by a single dream where a pair of disembodied glowing green eyes peered down on her.
The next day, Colin was not pleased, but seemed to calm himself under the realization that she had redevoted herself to him and their son. The trip was no ruse or an attempt to shove him back with Arlenia. He left bogged down with more packs than he probably needed and Sanria looked down at Orn with a smile. "It's just us, now. I think we'll go outside."
She picked up the little boy and wandered out to the stream, sitting beneath a pine that leaned precariously out over the water. She watched as the little boy crawled toward the water and sat splashing happily in the stream, a contented smile on her face. Colin's interpretation of her dream came back in an echo. "Throm had green eyes..." She just didn't remember this man or whether the eyes in her dream were the same. She pushed the thought from her mind as soon as Orn toppled into the water. Chuckling, she lifted the boy into her arms, getting herself sopping wet in an attempt to make the child laugh once more.
