It did hurt. Even knowing that her feelings for Bert had grown into what they were now, and even knowing how tightly those emotions could bind a woman to a man (after all, Nariko was living that herself, wasn't she?), it still worried her. But for as much as it remained a dull ache in the back of her mind Roland was right about this, too. And he was certainly doing his best to soften the weight of it and the gravity of such a thing wasn't at all beyond her.

"If it'll be, it'll be." Which was only another variant of what Roland was so fond of saying. "Besides, it's impractical to want to protect her the whole time. Everyone has to learn how to stand on their own two feet." Even if that idea terrified Nariko to her bones. "You're actually very good at this, Roland."

Probably only when the conditions were right and the sun(s) was in the right position, of course, but that wasn't the aspect to focus on!