The young lass looked up at Kern with her bright blue eyes and said, "Did the Lady say why my guardian spirit needs help finding me?"

Well, it wasn’t so much that the spirits needed help finding her, but there was someone who worked hard at hiding her from the spirit. Kern couldn’t exactly tell her that, lest Caragh decide to give that someone even more reason. Siobhan would likely find the child wherever she went, but there was no reason to make Kern’s life more difficult.

“Well, ye never know about guardian spirits, me lass. Sometimes they get confused an’ canna tell the real world from the spiritual one. One day they’ll be watchin’ over ye in the trees. We dinna want to confuse ‘em an’ have them fall. Now, ye just play tha’ flute, an yer already developin‘ a mighty talent. But ye remember, it’s yer flute, an’ nobody else’s t’take away from ye. An’ don’t worry ‘bout the Lady, me lass, she’ll know how grateful ye are.”

And if Kern knew the Lady of the Brugh, she probably already knew. Probably even heard the notes as soon as the lass played them. For that was the way with Siobhan’s gifts.

“Now, let’s get ye back to the fishwives, young lass, afore yer Mam show up an’ see ol’ Kern here ‘as brought ye off. She’ll likely spill me inta the drink, an’ I dinna think I remember how to swim.”