Her humming was the first thing that he noticed to affect him; within a minute, his shoulders were slowly uncoiling from their endless tension. Aulfr found himself feeling vulnerable, weak, and very much unlike himself- but he was comfortable, and there was something about Aleksandra's presence and sudden maternal attitude that softened him. 

He held back his thoughts, comments, ideas, memories, pushing them back and savoring the sudden, profound peace that had pervaded his mind and his presence, using her humming of vague songs of Noxan adventure as his sword and shield against the tension-calling attitude of his. He would have loathed to admit it, if someone asked, about whether or not he was enjoying having his hair cut, having Aleksandra mess with it and run her fingers through his hair.

He immediately stiffened, however, when she asked about his mother. And for a moment, he stayed stiff, but that finally gave way to a sudden fall of his shoulders, a slump uncommon to the proud, self-assured Noxan prince. 

"My mother is gone. I... suspect that the only person that knows where she is, or if she's even alive, is my father. And he refuses to tell me anything. She first disappeared when I was six; since then, my father, the servants, or the warriors have raised me." 

He shrugged, suddenly, continuing, "My father refuses to tell me anything about the one that cared. And I will move mountains to find her."