semiautonomous kitchen

[thaumobabble]

The remaining two days of the walk are much more affectionate, and also much more free of wizards and snakes than the first two days were. Somehow, all three travelers manage to not realize that Bella has not yet produced her name, even though on at least one occasion it would have been convenient for Tony to have.

And there is the castle, and there is the -

"Skyvault," sighs Bella, diving into her hat for her specs.

Comments

[thaumobabble]

Bella goes off - carefully - to look for someone to solicit fake leather from, then goes back to her room.

Sherlock's not there to ask about timing, so Bella wanders into the castle, exploring the layout and keeping her eyes peeled for Her Majesty to ask about politics lessons and sword-looking-at permissions.

[pythbox]

There she is!

[thaumobabble]

"Your Majesty?" inquires Bella, quite ready to be sent away if the queen is busy with important queening.

[pythbox]

"Ah, Bella," says her majesty. "Have you decided which of my daughters you are going to marry?"

[thaumobabble]

"Sherlock first," Bella says. "In the event - I think it's an unlikely one, but not an impossible one - that I can't help out with producing you a royal grandchild, they think Tony will have an easier time finding a more traditional sort of spouse."

[pythbox]

"I think they're right," says her majesty. "Very sensible."

[thaumobabble]

"But since I probably can work out a spell for it - it may already have been invented, although I'd need to do a bit of a research project to find it - and since I'm going to marry Sherlock anyway, I was wondering if it would be a good idea for me to take some sort of politics lessons? The topic interests me but I haven't done a lot of investigation into it as I never expected to have a chance to apply it."

[pythbox]

"Also very sensible," she says approvingly.

[thaumobabble]

"Is there something like that available already, or that can be easily set up, or should I just investigate your library and talk to key staff members...?"

[pythbox]

"I think the most instructive method would be if I taught you myself," she says. "Although you're free to browse the library as much as you want."

[thaumobabble]

"That does sound very instructive, and I'd appreciate it," says Bella brightly. "What sort of schedule works for you?"

[pythbox]

"That depends," she says. "Will you be staying in the castle for the forseeable future?"

[thaumobabble]

"I will need to go to my house to collect my belongings and my cat, in the next week or so, and possibly again to sell the place. This will be pretty quick if I get a carpet to enchant and fly there and back instead of having to hike, though."

[pythbox]

"Good, then I can keep you plenty busy," the queen says with a smile.

[thaumobabble]

"I like to be busy!" Bella says approvingly. "Where are we going to start?"

[pythbox]

"Good question," she says musingly.

"What do you know about wizards?"

[thaumobabble]

"I know a fair amount about the magic works, considering that I'm not personally a wizard or related to one," Bella replies. "And some incidental facts about the Society and not very much about their history."

[pythbox]

"Wizards," says Queen Marianne, "are apparently very relevant all of a sudden."

[thaumobabble]

"We met some on our way here," Bella says. "I checked, and they weren't - at the time I looked - stealing any magic in active use."

[pythbox]

"Good for them," the queen says dryly. "Any interest in looking again?"

[thaumobabble]

"I can, yes, although if you want me to look more thoroughly instead of just again I'll need prep time to add a new lens to my spectacles or research some other sort of divination."

[pythbox]

"About how long would that take? I'm thinking of sending you with the delegation. Practical experience," she says.

[thaumobabble]

"Oh! Um, I'm about halfway through figuring out how to wrestle a dwarf spell into a lens, and given the gorgeous design on the armor Tony made I bet she can help me and shave a week off the time. If I just do that and don't make myself new moccasins so I can walk without tripping, or a flying carpet, I can probably have it done in a couple of days. Help from one of the princesses, or maybe you, could get me up to version two on the item-reading lens that uses fire-witch principles, but I haven't been actively looking into that recently so it'd take a little longer. And I've been meaning to add a lens or two enchanted with dragon spells but I've been putting it off in the hopes that I could get my friend Kexan to introduce me to King Kazul so I could ask for a look at the King's Crystal, which has yet to happen. Non-lens-based divinations, it depends on what exactly you want me to look for."

[pythbox]

"We can probably wait for the dwarf lens," says the queen. "I don't have a specific notion of what you should be looking for, but I like information and I like more information better."

[thaumobabble]

"I also," Bella adds, snapping her fingers in sudden memory, "now have an intact wizard staff that's not a discard to play with - did Sherlock mention this? - and I haven't started inspecting it yet, but there could be some kind of divination wrapped up in there that I can apply to myself or to a new lens, and it would probably be ideal for checking out what wizards are up to if I can make the adaptation."