"Unless things go so badly that worsening the situation would be meaningless."

Liselen snorts. "Yeah, that."

"I hope it does not come to that, but I do not feel easy about it, when the last occasion on which I spoke to him nearly went so awry."

Swish. "I think it'll be better this time."

"Perhaps I could share your confidence if I knew why you thought so."

"No demons," he says succinctly.

"I suppose that would be a mitigating factor, yes. It is fortunate that it was only I who found my beloved in the lake, and not someone else."

"Yeah," says Liselen. "It really was."

"I wonder what Glass would have to say about that. I wish I had found out when she was accessible. Perhaps Jane will return soon," sighs Isibel.

"What Glass would have said about what? The Wild Magic did it," says Liselen. "I mean, I don't know that completely for sure, it didn't tell me or anything, but - the Wild Magic did it."

"...Glass has the ability to see templates, like that which I have in common with other Bells, and things related to them. She might have been able to explain why or how the connection between Bell and Joker templates ensured that I and not another would find my beloved. I do not understand what you mean about the Wild Magic having done it."

"Well, the Wild Magic knew you were going to have to save the world together, right, that's why it sent for me to tell you so," he says. "So the Wild Magic probably made sure you'd meet each other, too."

"Not only that I found him, but also that no one else found him for ten thousand years, is necessary for what you describe."

He tosses his head. "It doesn't sound like it would've been that hard, weren't they on an island all by themselves for most of that?"

"Yes. It is not clear why it was never previously colonized."

"The Wild Magic did it," Liselen reiterates.

"Perhaps. Yet in other worlds, too, Bells and Jokers manage to find each other through - not identical but significant odds against it."

"I wouldn't know about those," says Liselen.

"That is why I wished to speak to Glass. She has seen them all and might know."

He tosses his head again. "I guess you'll see her someday, right?"

"Someday, yes. Even if Jane is irrecoverable we will eventually find Milliways again, I think."

"Probably," says Liselen.

"You are welcome to explore the village as long as you like," Isibel adds. "I believe I will go to the borders of the Elven Lands and begin flying, to see what there is to see where our neighbors live."

"Have fun!" says Liselen.