Jamie’s voice came from the doorway before Iona had fully turned from the small chest where she had been folding linens. There was a quiet urgency to her daughter’s request that drew her attention at once.
Iona glanced over her shoulder. “Outside?”
“Aye,” Jamie said, stepping further into the room. “Just for a bit.”
There was something in the child’s expression that gave her pause, but Iona straightened slowly, brushing her hands together. “A walk, then?”
Jamie nodded, quick and eager, though her fingers twisted together as she waited.
Iona moved toward her, pausing only long enough to gather a light wrap before they stepped out into the corridor and down toward the courtyard. The morning air greeted them with the warmth of a hidden sun, and a pleasant breeze carrying the scent of damp earth and distant heather.
They walked in silence at first.
Jamie stayed close at her side, her steps small but steady, her gaze moving over the grounds as though seeing them with new eyes. Iona did not rush her. She let the quiet settle between them, knowing it would not last.
“Ma?”
Iona glanced down. “Aye?”
Jamie hesitated, her foot dragging slightly along the path before she spoke again. “So I daenae have to cut me hair anymore?”
There it was.
Iona felt the question settle deep within her, heavier than it should have been, though she had known it would come.
“Nay,” she said gently. “Ye do nae have to.”
Jamie looked up at her, her brow furrowing. “Ever?”
Iona considered that for a moment, choosing her words carefully. “Only if ye wish it,” she said.
Jamie’s gaze lingered on her face, searching.
“But… what if someone sees me?” she asked. “What if they find out?”
“They will, and it will be all well,” Iona said softly.
Jamie stopped walking.
Iona took another step before realizing, then turned back to her. The child stood very still, her small hands clenched at her sides.
“They will?” Jamie repeated.
“Aye,” Iona said, stepping closer. “They will.”
Jamie’s eyes widened slightly, not in fear exactly, but in something uncertain, something that had no clear name yet.
“But… we were nae supposed to,” she said. “We were supposed to hide.”
Iona crouched down in front of her, bringing herself level with her daughter so she could meet her gaze fully.
“We were,” she said. “For a time.”
“Why?”
The question came quickly, almost before Iona had finished speaking, as though it had been waiting.
Iona drew in a slow breath.