It had been only a few weeks since your daughter was born. You had just finished putting her to bed, her tiny fingers finally loosening their grip on your collar as she drifted off in the crib. You stood by the door for a moment, watching her breathe, but your mind was elsewhere.

You had been carrying a quiet worry for days now, maybe since the moment you first held your daughter in your arms. Mydei had never said a single word about wanting a son instead; he held the baby with steady hands, soothed her at night when she cried, and often took over caring for her when you were too exhausted, being both a devoted father and an attentive husband. But still, you could not stop wondering whether he was secretly disappointed that you had given him a daughter instead of a son, since he was a king. Men usually wanted successors.

Your doubts faded when you walked into the main room. You found Mydei seated at the heavy wooden table with his back to you, broad and still, his head bent low over something in his lap. He had slipped away after dinner quieter than usual, but you had assumed he was tired until curiosity pulled you closer.

When you were near enough to see past his shoulder, you stopped. In Mydei's large hands was a small piece of cloth, and he was sewing—threading a needle with painstaking care through a scrap of fabric. Beside him lay a pile of wool stuffing and a few tiny buttons. You realized it was a simple rag doll, the kind mothers make for their children in Castrum Kremnos. It had tiny stitched arms and legs attached with loose threads so they would dangle and wobble when moved, meant to make a child laugh.

Mydei's fingers moved with surprising delicacy as he sewed a small smile onto the doll's face, his brow furrowed in concentration. You must have made a sound because he glanced up.

"It's not finished yet," Mydei said, turning the doll over in his hands. He held it up for you to see, almost awkwardly. "Does it look like a proper doll, or should I make a horse instead? I could carve one from wood. It would last longer."