This chapter opens with a soliloquy by the finch. The finch tells Lear that the war is raging in the kingdom and that his people need him. He says that if the queen and her allies can use his power to help them, they will be unstoppable. Lear says that he hopes that when the kinsman is ready, he will be awakened, but he does not know for certain. He tells her that sometimes she must sacrifice a battle in order to win a war. She says that she will not be deceived. She tells him that she knew what was going on the minute she saw him. She adds that she was just a girl at the time, and that the fighting began. Her husband and her son were killed, and she did everything she could to hide them. She hated herself for a long time, thinking that it was her fault, but she did not blame her son's death on her. She does not blame herself for the death of her son. Lear asks her to protect the queen like she did with her husband, and Lear agrees to do so.