"I know that's how mortals do it but I think that's weird!"

"...I suppose it is, when you think about it. Mindspeech is partially language-independent, most people think and thus communicate mentally in words but the concepts are there, just less precise or clear when the speakers do not share a language." 

"Do I sound imprecise and unclear?"

"No! Not at all. You sound exactly as though you are speaking Valdemaran, which is the language I have been speaking with you, I know several. You also had no difficulty reading books written in particular human languages, I noticed." 

"Are they in different ones?"

"The two you read happen to both be in Rethwellani, Rethwellan is a major centre of magical scholarship and has been for many centuries. It is a different language from what I am speaking right now." 

"Huh. It's not really obvious to me, maybe I could learn to distinguish them."

"Maybe! In any case, it is a very useful capability you have, understanding any language. Especially when one accidentally ends up in an entire new world!" 

"Oh, wow, that would be really inconvenient if I landed and couldn't understand anyone!"

"It would be! We might have tried to use Mindspeech to communicate, but I imagine that would have alarmed you." 

"Yes."

Sunspring stretches. "Anyway. Want some supper? It's getting to that time." 

"Yes please."

Sunspring can take her to the dining hall and select a plate of food per her requests, mostly minimally-processed fruits and vegetables; one of the cooks was alerted to her dietary preferences and dug out a selection of nuts as well. Sunspring carries the food to a different room and uncomplainingly hand-feeds Promise. 

Promise bites things out from between her fingers with no skin contact at all.

"I am going to bed fairly soon," Sunspring says once she's done. "Do you want to be set up in one of the guest rooms now? I am not sure how much fairies sleep compared to humans." 

"I sleep for about eight hours of every twenty-four. Guest room now sounds good."

"Humans sleep about the same, perfect, we should be awake tomorrow when you are." Sunspring leads her off to a guest room. It has a bed, a wardrobe, a small desk with a jug of water and a water glass on it, and a chamberpot in the corner. "Spare blankets in the wardrobe," Sunspring says. "Do you need anything else?" 

"I don't think so. Thank you."

"You are welcome." Sunspring nods to her and heads out. 

Promise inspects her room in considerable detail. Drinks some water. Goes to sleep.

And she's woken in the middle of the night by some sort of loud magical alarm, followed seconds later by shouts and running footsteps in the hall. 

She's up, she's out in the hall. "What's going on?!"

For a few seconds everyone is too panicked to answer, and then someone manages to process the question, spins around to her. "Don't know! We're under attack!" 

     "- where's Leareth?" 

"Has anyone seen Nayoki?" 

Everyone is talking over each other at once and that's just the out-loud conversations, but the initial panic is fairly quickly turning to order; most of the staff here aren't even combat trained but they have protocols. 

Has anyone seen who? - oh. Well.

Promise backs into the doorframe of her room to stay out of the way, since she has not trained with these people in combat.