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Having minions comes in handy surprisingly often. They aren't very effective at tasks, but they're very good at acting miniony, and in some contexts it is exactly what she needs for added diplomatic consequence to have three or four of them following her around, addressing her as "Your Majesty", carrying stuff for her. They wanted detailed feedback; they get it. She learns all their names and supplies reports whenever anything out of the ordinary happens and once every other month. They're even doing pretty neat things with the garden. There is now a dense red-flowered shrub that is sort of the same shape as her. Soph has taken it upon herself to teach them board games and hangs out in the palace playing Parcheesi with available minions plus Tony on a routine basis.
Val's interview with James goes well; Bella starts calling her Ambassador, but only when she feels like getting laughed at. Other ambassadors accumulate. There's always work to do, and when it becomes wearying there's always people to love. Bella doesn't sleep. Sleep is boring.
She has a crown now, which pleases the minions to no end, though she doesn't usually wear it when she's not on Mercury. It's simple, just a ring that comes to a peak over her forehead, made of glossy indigo metal that matches her Jane-necklace. It attracts flames when she auras.
Here she is, not-sleeping with two minions, Soph, and Monopoly. When it's not her turn she is reading up on the cultural practices of the Kknrr demons.
cross_and_bow
she_sells_seashells
Shell Bell kisses Sherlock goodbye, and then she pops to where Juliet has doored in, and follows her out, and she flares aura - nearby humidity arranges itself rainbowlike - and opens the door again, thinking of Yggdrasil.
cross_and_bow
"Let me," Juliet says, blocking Shell Bell, "all the Jarvised worlds are sorta infected with some magic you don't want, I'm safe but you don't have opacity." She steps through first, spends the star. "Okay, contagiousness averted. We should hit the others as long as we're together, but first things first." [Iron Man?]
she_sells_seashells
"You're gonna have to tell me what kinda magic," says Shell Bell, stepping through too. They're on Asgard, not the Malibu house. She hopes the Malibu house is just devoid of doors and not, like, server racks.
cross_and_bow
[We came in on Asgard. Sunshine Jarvises said you lost connectivity and something about a missile? Are you guys okay?]
she_sells_seashells
[Yeah, I expected the door to get me your house,] says Shell Bell, [are there not currently doors in your house?]
[There is... not currently my house,] Iron Man admits. [Not that house, anyway. We're fine, though, I'm fine, Jarvis is fine, Pepper is fine, all other people and things are fine. Lucky shot took out the ansible or we would've said something sooner.]
[I would love a new ansible,] says Tony. [You know what else I would love? I would love to be a mint. That would've saved me a lot of trouble a few weeks ago.]
she_sells_seashells
[And we should definitely replace the house while we're here, if only because then I can open a door in it and your Jarvis will know how to make more doors,] says Shell Bell.
[No, do not replace the house,] laughs Tony, [come here, I'm in Stark Tower, there are plenty of doors and plenty of Jarvis.]
Tony snaps his fingers. "Right, and while you're here, could you do the funky immortality thing for Pep?"
cross_and_bow
"Torching for Pepper, check," says Juliet, waving a hand, while Shell Bell seeks an appropriate door. "Anyone else?"
cross_and_bow
"Are you sure? It's much more inconvenient and expensive to retrieve people who get as far as Downside with Jane out. I had to make a trip a couple months ago."
she_sells_seashells
Shell Bell, meanwhile, flares aura - magicmagicmagic! - and doors to Milliways. "Got it, Jarvis?" she asks.
poeticterms
"Fascinating," Jarvis remarks. The door closes. The door opens. The door closes again. "Everything seems to be in order."