"You'll think me foolish-" Ready to brush aside the idea, but brought up short because... who would Hythlodaeus tell? If all went as it should then no one outside this moment would hear what he said.

"I'd... hoped to earn my parent's love. It sounds positively trite said like that, but..." He trailed off a moment, considering the issue, what to explain, what to leave off. "They'd had and lost a son before. I suppose I was an attempt to fill that void. When I was... shy and nervous rather than brave and adventurous they... well they didn't hate me. I think that would be preferable in some ways. But they were simply indifferent to my existence. I hoped that by setting out perhaps they'd see something in me that was worth their affection."

He smiled, a small apologetic thing. "Fool's errand I know now. I should just go back home to my gardens. But I can... even if it's not some grand thing, if I can help just one person. If I can make one person's life better, even the smallest bit, surely it's worth it to continue on."