"Are you getting anywhere?"

"I'm ruling out a lot of things that won't work," says Bella, brightening some. "At quite an impressive clip, if I do say so myself."

Sherlock laughs. "A fine start."

"I have some time left to work on it, after all, even if I don't manage the trick anytime soon. I'm only nineteen."

"Do let us know if you figure it out."

"Oh, I'll pretty much tell the entire world," says Bella placidly.

"How helpful of you."

"Rather," agrees Bella merrily. "But at any rate, people I do not know who are less deserving than a wizard trespassing in the Enchanted Forest die on a regular basis, so I am not troubled specially about him."

"I see. That is good to know."

"I do wonder what he was doing there. We haven't been walking long enough to get out of range of my usual haunts even considering that I don't have a magic carpet yet, and I've never seen a wizard around this close to my house. Occasionally near where my mother lives, one time where my father lives, but never here."

"Where do your mother and your father live?"

"Linderwall, both of them, but not the same town anymore."

"Why not?"

"Well, they got divorced, in large part because Charlie's very attached to his town and Ranata doesn't like it there. She moved."

"I see."

"It's a perfectly nice town, but small and sleepy and unremarkable," shrugs Bella. "I don't really want to live there either, not for any significant length of time."

"What's it called?"

"Tines. And Ranata in Phoenix. Why?"

"Just curious."

"I suppose it's only fair. I know where you grew up," laughs Bella.

Tony giggles.

"Did you enchant Sherlock's armor yourself," asks Bella, "or just forge it?"

"Forged and enchanted!" she says happily. "That's from Dad's side of the family. He was good with metal, too."

"It looks like a dwarf enchantment. I've investigated the magic but it doesn't like me as much as some kinds do."

"I am pretty sure my dad wasn't a dwarf," says Tony. "I guess it's not impossible that he could've had some dwarf in him somewhere, though."