The Heartwood color me in gold

Liffey could not remember her sister. They had been so young when she'd been taken. She couldn't remember missing her, or feeling any remorse for her loss that had been genuinely felt for her loss and not for Finley's. Their mother had taken it horribly and her pain had won Liffey's sympathies. But for Lucy's loss, she hadn't had the capacity to grieve. She was barely even real to her, not even when she was standing right in front of her.

The comment startled her. She hadn't expected her mother's name to pass from the stranger's lips, especially not so abruptly. Liffey gave the girl a quizzical look as her regard was unusual as well. However she knew Finley, Liffey was sensing that there were no fond memories for her. "Uh, yeah," she said, canting her head lightly, "She's my mother. Have you met her?" She wouldn't be surprised now if the other girl said she had and then told some ludicrous story about how Fin had once gotten her trapped in a cave once and then run away laughing. It would be less absurd than some of the stories she'd heard.