"Why are they upset with you?" asks Sinkali.

"Last week a wizard took a liking to a purple here, slipped her a magic drug that would make her fall in love with him, and went home with her. We arrested him; he turned into a rabbit and escaped through a window. Their government showed up to suggest that this sort of thing could be avoided if I just covered for wizards who do that kind of thing and made sure they weren't arrested. I said no."

"Eugh," says Sinkali.

"You should have told us before," says Nanha.

"The problem is that telling people makes them vulnerable to the memory-erasure, they don't bother people who aren't in the know. I'm sorry you found out like this."

"Then, if we didn't remember it later, you'd know how closely they were supervising you and how much they had it in for us," Nanha continues.

" - sure. Sorry. What do you want to do now?"

"Who's staying with the friendly wizards?" asks Sinkali.

"Two of my nieces, doing anthropology research and occasionally learning things for me, and their bodyguard. My father and one of my brothers have also been there frequently, aiding in research into the applications of magic for terraforming."

"If it's safe there," says Nanha, "why do they have a bodyguard?"

"I wanted another person there and had to make it in-caste income somehow."

"How long would we be stuck there?"

"They wouldn't stop you from leaving. I'm guessing within a season we will have a lot more information."

"You'll - visit? Or miss the babies -" says Sinkali.

"I'll visit as often as I can." He looks tempted to grab Malo right now.

Malo sleeps peacefully over his forthcoming brother's encampment. "And that's safe?" says Nanha. "Why would we find it intolerable, apart from how we just moved in -"

"Well, it's a single house, they have staff but you can't bring yours, they're human - not dirty, but still different kinds of people, and prone to complaining about how we conquered their country and casually threatening things they don't mean and doing each other mild violence to express things that we might express with a raised eyebrow. - they won't do that to you or the kids."

"Our cook," moans Nanha.

"I am sure it will be a significant hardship."

"You're due in less than a week, precious," says Sinkali.

"He could be late, Notelle was!"

Sinkali pets her.

Aitim looks sadly at his newborn baby.

Malo is drooling on Nanha's shirt.

"We can try it," says Sinkali, "and if it's desperately awful go home to Anitam? Or fall back to Mars, maybe?"

"I think that makes sense."

"I will tell them to try not to be desperately awful."

"When I go into labor are they equipped or will I have to get to a hospital from - wherever they are -" says Nanha.

"They have magic healers including one who has experience with assisting in childbirth or they could take you to a hospital. They are in Britain, the little island west of Europe."