She let herself be pulled closer, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and leaning her head on his. “Oh, Isaac … ” Her voice broke on a sob, and she hid her face in his hair. “I have to go,” she whispered. “For at least a little while. I need to know my family. But I’ll come back, I swear.”
He simply nodded in acceptance and pressed his face to her chest, screwing his eyes tightly shut as tears slowly rolled down his face. “I thought you might…” he whispered, voice somewhat muffled as he refused to move his face from her bodice, holding her against him. “I…you shouldn’t promise that…what if something keeps you there? What if you like it better there?”
“Nothing can keep us apart,” she whispered fervently. “Not forever, only for a while. I will come back. Or you will come find me. It doesn’t matter.” She held him even more closely, one hand sliding up and down his tense back. “I need to be the best person I can be for you, and this is the only way I know how to do it. Think of it … ” she faltered. “Think of it as me going off to be a squire for a while.”