Lettie Bankvole slumped into a chair and sighed wearily. It was only midmorning and already her paws were sore from chasing her rip of a son. She had been woken up far too early by Rollo and Lettie was so tired. All day long, Rollo was after her or she was after him. He wanted to watch the sun come up from the east wall and he wanted oatmeal for breakfast with honey and candied chestnuts and he wanted to take a swim in the pond and Mama, are you listening, Mama, come here, Mama, look what I found, Mama, listen to this, Mama, help, Mama Mama Mama!

Lettie wondered sometimes why she had let herself in for this kind of stress. She did nothing these days but cater to, hover over, and worry about her little son. And without his father by her side, it was just that much harder to bear. Lettie knew of other mothers who could let their children go without mile a minute worry, but unfortunately Lettie Bankvole was not one of these. She couldn't help fretting about him when he was gone from her sight.

Sometimes she missed the days when it was just her, when she was the only one she had to worry about feeding and dressing. Then she had nothing to do except care for her own little corner of the world and nothing to fuss over except the occasional tracks of dirt her husband brought onto her clean floors. Lettie sighed and rubbed her eyes to banish the thoughts. It would never be that way again, that time was over. Now her life was all about one noisy little vole. Her days were filled with his chatter.

This moment was a paradise for that reason alone. The Great Hall was blessedly empty and totally quiet. A weary vole mother could sit back and prop up her paws for a few precious minutes. Lettie closed her eyes briefly. Peace was a wonderful thing. But she knew it was only a matter of time before...

"Mama?"

A tiny paw tugged on the sleeve of her habit and Lettie bit back a groan. She opened her eyes to find Rollo standing beside her holding a pawful of speedwells. The mother vole looked down quizzically at her offspring. "What have we here?" she asked gently.

Rollo crawled into her lap and pushed the nosegay at her. "F' you," he said proudly. She took the flowers from him and smiled her thanks. Lettie sniffed them deeply and appreciatively.

"They're beautiful, Rollo, thank you very much."

He cuddled up into her embrace and murmured, "I wuv you, Mama."

And as they sat there together, Lettie reflected that this was the reason. This was why she put up with the exhaustion, the endless demands, the constant chasing after him, and the squabbles that tended to flare up every other second. It was because she loved him. She loved her son with all her heart and would at any moment give up anything she had for his welfare. Even if he did get on her nerves sometimes, it was totally worth it to have him safe in her arms.