"Might have been. But she's really set on staying with him, so it's better that however they are is bearable for her."

"Yeah, that's what I figured.

I'm sorry I offended you earlier."

"I'm not mad about it. Hit a sore spot or something, I guess, is all."

"I don't think foreigners who don't kill any kids are doing anything wrong. I guess I think a lot of them will be sort of unhappy but lots of people are sort of unhappy anyway."

"I cannot actually claim not to be sort of unhappy."

"And I can't make anyone happy, so, that's that I guess. But I do think Fazil and Mahdi will have happy lives with happy girls, a sort of happy lives they couldn't have other places, and - I'm glad for them, I guess."

"Maybe they will."

"Hey," Fazil calls to them, "do we want one house or a men's house and a women's house?"

"...well I don't wanna be alone, but I'd take one to share with my sister and Valentine if you want to arrange two."

He nods. "That's what I thought." And he heads off to ask Elizabeth about this.

"...what."

"Noth -" he looks around for any fairies. Sighs.

" - you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"I was once told that talking about things is always a good idea but I suspect I was lied to."

"Pff. Well, you were. But I'm actually not mad at you, if this is your concern."

"More figured I was insensitive about something personal. But it's not - you've got all these friends here, I don't know why you're talking to me -"

"Um? I don't have any friends here. I have my sister, that's very cool. I have a bunch of alternate universe versions of myself who I feel some continuing compulsion to try to babysit. I have occasionally spoken to Fazil and Mahdi, but I am reliably informed that Fazil doesn't know how to make friends with women, so I assume I have not yet become his friend. And I have you."

"Oh."

"We... haven't been here that long."

"Yeah. Sorry."

"I mean, it's fine. I just - don't think it's very mysterious that I spend more time talking to you than to other people."

"The reason I was kind of moping was because, before I offended you, I was arguing with Fazil that we should get one house, so we could look out for you and your sister and Valentine. It's kind of stupid."

" - I mean, I don't mind it either way. I figured you guys would."