muffled groans and grunts of satisfaction echoed down the corridor , so much so that a group of statues covered their ears . i stood up and walked into the kitchen with nothing left to say . she just looked at him for a long minute and then said he was too strong not to be properly trained in the craft . hot tears poured from my eyes . i was just going to talk to someone else . her family seemed like a long-ago dream , her home was something she had seen once in a storybook . 