He nodded to show his understanding of what she meant. It was so small a thing to read of hardships in books. To hear stories of them. It was another to experience them and to learn what it meant to endure them. Iskandar had seen many before and he knew what it was like to know them after having heard their tales. Taking in a deep breath, his look softened before he went to pick up one of the books that she'd been looking through, opening it to gaze at the contents though he read none of it.

"In our lives we all must face hardships of some kind. There are some we are better equipped to handle than others. I have seen my own fair share of them."

The large man smiled as he set the book down again. "I hope as well that you never become acclimated to it. If you do then I fear for what that will mean for your heart. One who is not acclimated to such things can recognize what you do in order to do what you can to help. Perhaps it wounds us but at least we might recognize something others might miss."