"You're only sayin' that because you're in island-jumping range of someone you fancy," he said, teasing.

"Of course I am," Goneril answered, "How would you feel, if you knew you and Elaine couldn't live in the same place? If it would kill you if you did?"

"We don't have any guarantee that's not going to happen anyway," he said soberly, "but I know what you mean. I'd miss her."

"And in my case, I..." Goneril bit her lip. "I've never felt this way about anyone before, and now I've met someone I think I could love, and I already know it won't work. It's sort of disheartening."

"Does he feel the same way about you?" he asked. "That's kind of an important factor about whether it'll work or not."

"I don't know," Goneril replied. "I think that...still needs to be decided. On both our parts. But it's hard to..." She shrugged. "It's hard to decide how to feel about it when you don't know."

"Me mother says that one person falling in love with another is usually entirely separate from two people who fall in love together," he said, with sympathy. "The first happens every day and the second is mostly luck and happenstance."

"And it would be my luck if it happened with someone I couldn't actually stay with," Goneril replied, sighing. "At least I know I'll see him again? As long as I know that's going to happen, I have hope. I'm still terrified of it, but there's hope."

"Are you really terrified, or just nervous-excited-stomach-is-fluttering?" He grinned at her.

Goneril smiled shyly. "Mostly the latter," she replied. "But a little terrified, too. Not of him. Of the North. Of people not accepting me. Of them making it difficult for me. Of his sister."