She wants to give the girl a different answer. All her heart yearns to take the girls sickness and make it her own, to take those struggles upon herself, to give Safiri the opportunity to be a child. The princess should get to run and play and frolic, get a little bit lost in the forests of the Edge, explore the cliffs from a safe distance. She should get hurt as Gawen had gotten hurt, the kind of hurts that every child gets, scrapes and bruises and fixable injuries. Not this. Not this tiny heart that cannot sustain the girl even enough to walk a distance. Not this. The world is a cruel, unfair place. Lyanna knows it well, her whole life ripped from her in the blink of an eye. But that, in comparison, seems an easier thing to live with. Because at least, she gets to live.

“Sometimes bad things happen, for no reason at all,” she says softly, wishes there were better answers. But Lyanna isn’t going to lie to the girl, to make up some pretty lie because someday Safiri will learn the truth anyway. And then it will only hurt that much more, then Lyanna won’t be a source of comfort or help but someone to steer clear of, and she doesn’t want that. She can’t fix it, but she can help make it better, if nothing else. “You are not being punished though. Don’t you ever think that.” It’s not her fault that her heart came out wrong. Sometimes, these things just happen. Sometimes, the Gods don’t care enough to intervene.

No, that’s not true. Bad things have to happen. Because if it didn’t rain, you wouldn’t appreciate the sun. If you didn’t know pain, you wouldn’t appreciate healing. These things teach you, help you grow, bring you to your path in life and closer to the Gods. But still, somedays it’s hard to remember that. Those who deserved to be punished rarely are in this life, while the good suffer and struggle. But she tries to remember it. “I imagine our Lady Moon can heal you, or any of the Gods.”

She says, calling on the magic that the Moon had given her, letting it do its work. She tries not to dwell on how unfair all this is, keeping a smile on her face for Safiri’s benefit. It wouldn’t do to have the girl see her sad as well. There’s was already enough worry and sorrow in this world, she wasn’t hardly one to add to it. When the mists recede, and the conversation shifts a bit to her birth, Lyanna can’t help but laugh at how polite the girl is. It’s not a cruel laugh, but something pleasant and pleased.

“No, I don’t expect you would remember. You were just as pretty then, albeit a little smaller.” She’d been brought into the world right as Kaos revealed himself. Hardly a good welcome to the world. Lyanna had just happened to be in the right place then, returning bones to the hidden God when Mbwene had come trumpeting for help. She’d done what she could for Safiri and Rexanna, and then rushed off to help heal those on the battlefield.

There had already been deaths, and Kaos was still here. Lyanna tried not to think about what was to come. “Can I escort you back to your mom?” she asks, figuring they can have a nice chat as they walk slow and steady, enjoying the day but making sure Safiri gets home safe and sound.