"I know? I must have forgotten, sorry, what is it I know?"

"Um.  Is it - political?  In Rome a queen is a type of ruler.  Which we don't have anymore.  So it would maybe - I don't think it's dangerous, especially if you didn't name yourself, but it would maybe seem a little.  Uppity.  Where I'm from."

"Oh, we don't have queens in the Fractious States, it's just a name. I don't think it's even an especially classy name, now that I think about it!"

"That's good, then."

They reach Queenie's car. Queenie drives them to her house, a somewhat ramshackle splitlevel surrounded by dandelions. "I live alone since I got divorced," she tells Ellie.

"Oh."

She parks in the driveway and hops out. "But it's only one bedroom, plus a foldout couch for you. I'll get the spare sheets."

"That's more than generous, thank you."

"More than..." Queenie's eyes sort of cross. "What else is it?"

". . . Uh.  Kind?"

"Oh! Thank you, I like being able to tell people I'm kind." Queenie lets them in and sets about readying the pullout sofa for a guest. And puts some chicken fingers and frozen fries in the oven.

"Would you like any help with that?"

"With - what, dinner? I guess it would feel really fancy if you wanted to set the table. I usually just eat off the counter when I'm by myself." The table has mail on it, and an old mug of coffee dregs, and a smear of glue.

Ellie can stack the mail neatly and put the mug by the sink and chip her thumbnail trying to scrape off the glue and set the table, sure.

And presently they sit down to chicken fingers and fries. "You can come grocery shopping with me next time, I don't know what you like."

"I'm not very picky."  Though you wouldn't know it from how slowly she's going at this meal.

Queenie, perhaps assuming that Ellie filled up on McDonald's, doesn't comment. "Okay. I eat a lot of chicken and potatoes and pasta."

"That sounds fine.  I think I might still be a little sick from teleporting but normally I like this sort of thing."

"Oh no, I didn't know teleporting could - well, actually I didn't know teleporting even existed before you showed up, but I wouldn't have guessed it would make you sick!"

"Crystals are really dangerous once you go beyond the stuff in everyday jewelry.  With something complicated and unknown enough to manage teleportation I'm lucky to be alive at all."

"Like they're poisonous?" wonders Queenie.

". . . Kind of, sure.  Except you don't have to eat them; just being near them can be enough to unheal you if the setup's wrong.  And sometimes they just explode."

"Wow! I didn't know that! That's scary. I think I'll skip the geology section of the natural history museum next time I go."

"I think people would have already noticed if the dangerous stuff was getting put in museums."

"I'd think so too but I would also think I would have noticed if crystals could explode all by themselves so I want to be more conservative than seems really necessary until I understand more!"