Viola, who had been watching, could no longer bear the weight of all the grief and pain her mother had gone through, and she jerked her hand away from the leaves that kept her mother's body, pressing it instead against her own stomach.
Natasha, who had been watching her, continued, "Your mother gave birth to the two of you while grieving your father. But despite everything she was going through, she loved you both the moment you came into the world, with those little feet covered in scales that I thought were hideous. She was willing to give everything for the two of you."
Viola looked at her aunt as Natasha continued, "She told me she believed your father still loved her and that she would bring him back someday. But before that, she wanted to take the two of you up to land and live there, cutting all ties with our parents."
Natasha's expression tightened with guilt as she looked away for a moment.
