"If I had had the power even to free you just now," Lily replied, "I would have done so."
They withdrew to a place of relative privacy; Julina's quarters. Dorain made the girl bathe and change, and tended to her darkened bruises. As the harwynglaive made the girl sit with her back to her on the bed and braided her hair, the swordmain's mien was touched with an uncharacteristic softness. "Regardless how things must appear to you," she told the girl, "we are all better off for seeing Vale unmasked."
Julina sighed and said ironically, "Oh dear, Rhia, what you must think of us."
When Dorain had finished with her hair, Rhia sat in a chair by the fireplace, watching Lily, consumed with undisguised dread, or interest. Lily endured the girl's scrutiny as long as she could bear, but said eventually, "Perhaps it is time I told you my tale. Then, you may like to tell us yours."
When Rhia didn't answer, Lily began telling her all that had happened, coming at last to the present. When she had finished, Rhia's expression had changed, and she shook her head in wonder.
"But this is so like the legend," she said, "except that in the legend you are a powerful servant of evil, with a great and powerful weapon of destruction."