"Some of us have wings. Like insects, mostly."

"My eldest can fly, but without wings. Are wings common among your people?"

"Yeah. Not as much among the nobility, but they're pretty common."

"Interesting? Is there a magical reason or... it's just an inherited physical trait?"

"Among fairies, you can't really separate the two!"

"Your world must be endlessly fascinating."

"Both more and less so in the Deep South."

"Fair. What is the Deep South like? In relation to the rest of Fairyland?"

"We live in domed habitats. It's really cold outside."

"Oh my spirits, that is certainly a way to keep oneself warm. How big are the domed habitats?"

"They vary. Miles across, most of them."

Stephen is very impressed.

"I don't think that we could do something like that even we had all nobleborn in the world working together. Even if witches worked with us."

"There was a lot of math involved."

"Any good engineering projects does. Have you ever participated in the construction of one of the domes?"

She shakes her head. "I'm way too young, and none of my powers are especially suited."

"Oh, of course. I forgot that your magic works different from mine and that you don't mature as fast. Which, as a parent, makes me jealous of your mother."

"How old are you, anyway?"

"I am forty-four, and you?"

"...You're younger than me. I'm sixty."

"Yes, I'm definitely jealous of your mother right now. Is there any chance your agelessness can be shared?"

"If there is I don't know it, and Mother doesn't either or she wouldn't be in Fairyland, she'd be in the Mortal Realms saving people."

"The Deep South is lucky to have her."

"Damn straight. The Deep South as a political entity wouldn't exist without Mama. She's the one who got the domes built in the first place."

"Remarkable! Nobleborn are limited to do this sort of thing, but it's appealing."

"She wanted power and didn't want her father to die; rendering a previously unlivable area inhabitable and petitioning for a new Lordship was the obvious answer."