"Then I won't waste time saying it, and instead will take the opportunity to gloat." She clears her throat. "I believe you said that you'd be very surprised if I managed to guess what embarrassed you so, and I have yet to see even a flicker of surprise on your face. I'm quite disappointed."

"Yes, after I spent ten minutes practically leading you there by the hand. Very impressive," he says dryly.

"Forgive me for not immediately deciding that your embarrassment was sexual in nature, and instead of trying to get to my answer by the most efficient method possible, focusing on distracting you while you were upset," she sniffs. "If you'd rather I treat you like a puzzle to amuse me instead of a person, you have but to ask."

He laughs and shakes his head.

"Good."

Smile.

"Now. There is a question I desperately must know the answer to, and I ask that you treat it with the utmost gravity and attention." She gives him a very austere, serious look. This is Very Serious, Serik. So serious.

"May I help design guest bedrooms?"

He grins.

"Yes, absolutely."

"Excellent!"

She is very good at making pretty things.

Then they are going to have a lot of fun together!

Yes! So many pretty guest bedrooms will be made.

And eventually:

"Serik?"

"I hear my name," he says to Tysathra, and he dissolves into the wind and goes looking for Rivethira.

"Have fun," says Tysathra, dryly, and then she resumes exploring.

Rivethira has found herself a lovely little sitting room with a gorgeous view of the gardens. Her bedroom felt presumptuous, and the library felt like... demonstrably a bad idea.

"Hi," she says, smiling at Serik with a trace of shyness.

"Hello. I built a new section of the palace," he says cheerfully.

She snorts.

"Oh? I wasn't aware the castle needed expansion. What's the ratio of rooms to people, now, a hundred each?"

"I haven't counted!"

"It would probably take a while," she says, seriously. "Even with a map of the place, which - do you have one?"

... Can she hold his hand, she kind of wants to hold his hand.

Yes she can.

"I do, but it's out of date by a few renovations."

"Mhmm. Not something you can just update with magic, then?"

"Well, not completely trivially."

"Ah. And here I thought your magic just made everything trivial."

"Unfortunately not."

She smiles up at him.

"So," she says, ambushed by another attack of shyness and looking down, "I believe we planned to have a conversation, didn't we."