"Hello."

Ragna blinks curiously from her spot in Catherine's arms and makes a little gurgling sound. Ingolfr stands at her side and fidgets just a little bit.

"Hello!"

"It's good to properly meet you!" He glances at Ingolfr. " - should we say hello to him as well or would it be better if we didn't, I'm sure he's been told to be very afraid of strangers -"

Ingolfr hides behind her a little bit. 

"It's all right. He doesn't talk much, though. To anyone." Honestly she would probably not have brought any of her other children to something like this, when they were three, but probably it's fine for him.

"Hello," he says very quietly. And to Catherine, "it's too bad - if you'd gone for your hike a month earlier, as humans count it, he'd have had playmates, and now they are all grown up."

"I don't think I'd want to tempt fate by wishing for even better circumstances. But hopefully in time he'll at least have his siblings again."

"How many children do you have?"

"Five still living."

"Counting the baby?"

Nod. "We don't count infants differently."

"What's the plan to get the older ones?"

"I think we're planning to leave my niece a note, though we haven't had a chance to find any fairy rings in Norway yet to direct her to. Probably also leave someone else a note and a bribe in an attempt to get the one still in Sweden. But even if it works, it'll be a long time on this end."

Nod. "I hope it goes well."

Nod.

"How did you end up in a different country from them? That's not typical for fairies but I don't really know much about humans."

"We were usually in the same settlement. The Emperor was - is, I suppose - visiting Sweden, and decided to take me with him. The oldest two are no longer in my care and were told to stay in Norway to continue their studies."

"What do children study?"

"Their guardian decides. My niece studies directly under the Emperor, mostly politics and warfare. My oldest son is in the care of a military commander, and my oldest daughter in the care of the wife of our steward. I expect that their courses of study vary accordingly."

"I'm curious why you decided to leave."

" - did she?"

"Y- mostly."

"I didn't like it very much."

"Are the children all right?"

"I think that depends very much on who you ask."

"Well, as much as I'd like to get my hands on your emperor, at the moment I've no one to ask but you."