"I'm not sure."

"If you would like to do it the long way I can help you, but of course your parents are the ones with the magic."

She considers for a moment, then says, "The long way."

Alleluia looks at the books available, then shakes her head at them and starts poking around on the computers until she finds an e-book of reasonable starting grade. The alphabet, at least, is roughly the same, even if the precise ways the letters are shaped has degraded over centuries of handwriting and no typing. She begins to go over the simpler words with Ariel.

Ariel is attentive! Attentive and quiet.

Alleluia is a pretty good teacher. She walks Ariel through the book, and then loads up another one and invites Ariel to sound out words.

"Okay," says Ariel. "Thank you for showing me things."

"You're welcome," says Alleluia, and she closes the file on the computer and teleports them back to Ariel's room.

There is a wee winged figure peering into Ariel's closet.

"That's my stuff!" exclaims Ariel.

Peninnah jumps. "Where'd you came from?" she squeaks. "I close the door." (She has a little problem with inept grammar.)

"Where'd you come from?" scowls Ariel.

"But, you were not," says Pen reasonably.

"I don't want you in my room when I'm not here!" she repeats. "I don't want you in my room right now either! Shoo!"

"You are here!" complains Peninnah. "You are here and I are here."

"You don't make any sense and this is my room and you should go away," says Ariel unhappily.

Peninnah considers this, then wraps her wings around herself and sits on the floor and starts sniffling.

Ariel goes into her water room and shuts the door.

Isabella appears a minute later. "Pen, treasure, what are you doing in Ariel's room?"

"Looking," says Peninnah. "And I close the door! And she come from some place! And she mad!"

Isabella sighs, and rustling consistent with her picking up Peninnah and taking her out of the room can be heard.