Nature's Nuances

As her tears calmed, I asked her more questions, and her answers were not what I expected.

"What lead you to do what you do?" It was a dangerous job.

"Finding treasures and things like eternals help the family to improve its standing. I wanted to help her..." One more tear fell from her eye.

"And your last name. As far as I'm aware, the count had no children?"

"Biological ones, we were all her children, she took us in and made something of us. If she hadn't, we'd all be dead..." She was recalling something, something that made her squeeze her arm for comfort.

"Why?" I wanted to know what it was.

"We were orphaned by the last war... our parents were drafted... and they didn't come back..." She didn't look at me.

"How long ago was this?" It seemed recent.

"About... two hundred years ago... or something like that... I try not to remember it, so my memory is fuzzy." I had misheard.

"How old are you?" I would listen carefully.