Božena views Nattergal as childish, and perhaps he is, but the colt doesn't see it this way. In his own mind, his anger in more than justified, and it is this older mare that fails to see the error in her ways. If she isn't bright enough to see the reasons for his unrest, written clear across his face, then she won't be bright enough to comprehend a verbal explanation.

She remains frustratingly stoic in the face of Nattergal's unhappiness, just like Liland once did. Her indifference is the ultimate display of uncaring. Rage bubbles and froths inside him, intensifying with each passing moment, and with each dismissive gesture.

"You hold us here to teach someone who is not me, a lesson in respect. Your conflicts with Cullen and the older bachelors have nothing to do with me. Holding me, and especially Bran, here on the Peak, only makes you look the fool." Nattergal shakes his head. If these mares hope to glean any good from with prolonged imprisonment, or forge better relationships with the stallions of the Lost Islands, they are going about it entirely the wrong way.

Nattergal joined the bachelors, not for sexist motivations, and not to rape, pilage and plunder. He joined to escape his father and to learn to hold his own in a world where he will need certain skills to defend what is his. He planned to gain what experience he could, and then strike out on his own. The politics of the Peak and the Lagoon were never his concern. His loyalty was never to the Lagoon. He was with them for mere months before he was won in this mare's unjust challenge. He is being held accountable for crimes he didn't commit, in a prison cell, he doesn't deserve to rot in.

For someone much older than Nattergal, it might seem he hasn't been here long and that he has his whole life ahead of him to reach for the stars and accomplish all he hopes to accomplish, but to Nattergal, each passing moon seems an eternity wasted standing idle on the peak. He has places to be, things to do, and much to learn. His youth is wasted on this godforsaken rock.