Sorrow began to rise up, reaching up to grasp the young tom, the boy that it had not been able to pull down. Avalon moved closer to her child and nuzzled him, gently. Though he did not feel at his best, because of a mother’s affection, he had not fallen to his worst. He returned the gesture of affection and managed a smile, albeit a sad, regretful one.

“…how did you know?” he whispered.

“I never forgot.” she answered. “How could I? A mother can never forget a person that hurts her child…and you were so hurt.

"You spoke of her many times when you were still just a kitten. You told me about her with such youthful passion whenever we were together. You told me you wanted to marry her and have her to become your princess. You had the brightest glow about you whenever you thought of her and of a future that you wished to have with her. …that worried me, because I did not know how to tell my precious little boy, that such a future, the future that he dreamed of, was an impossible one.”

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