"So you did! Is anybody likely to live in it?"

"Oh, eventually I'm sure I'll make permanent portals and people can come up here whenever they like, but I'm not in a rush."

"And the atmosphere doesn't need maintenance?"

"Nope! I did the magic and it's done."

"Cool. How far does it go?"

"Not as high as the air on the planet, but everywhere."

"All over the surface of the moon, you mean? Wow, that didn't take you long at all."

"I wouldn't know how long this sort of thing is normally supposed to take!"

"The Valar are pretty temperamentally slow on anything that isn't desperately urgent, and their sense of urgency needed some calibrating. They could give a moon air, but it would take years, probably."

"If it took years I'd get bored long before it was finished!"

"Then it's good you're so fast."

"Guess so!"

"It's gorgeous. I wonder what it would be like living on a tidally locked body. At least it's not locked to the sun or it'd be difficult to keep it comfortable."

"Would you like a permanent portal to the moon palace in your house?"

"Oh goodness. I'm not sure about in it, maybe in the back garden."

"Okay."

"Thank you!"

"Welcome! Where d'you want this end?"

"Oh, let's see, how about against that wall?"

A temporary portal into her back garden! "That look right?"

"Yes!"

Pale vines of white marble sprout from the ground to encircle the portal, concealing its blurry edge; its surface shimmers, then stabilizes. "There you go."

"Thank you!"

"I suppose you'll have some explaining to do if you show anyone your back garden..."

"I suppose I will. Maybe I will hide it behind a secret door if I'm expecting guests I wouldn't care to explain to."