Bella giggles. "I try to be that, yes."

"You succeed."

Bella is inestimably pleased by this compliment. "Cricket said you thought I was a witch."

"Not for very long."

"What gave me away?"

"Everything."

Bella laughs. "Most people can go on thinking I'm a witch for a long time. Sorceress stuff isn't widely recognized, I have to adapt anything from fire-witches or elves or unicorns till it's unrecognizable, nobody expects a girl to use wizard magic in any form, and everybody uses a dragon spell or two. A witch could do most everything that's left over, and I do dress like one."

"And yet," she says, "you are not a witch."

"D'you know what I am?" Bella asks, grinning.

"You are yourself."

Bella giggles. "Of course I am. But there's a technical term for a student of all kinds of magic. I'm a magician."

"There you are, then."

"What else can you tell about me, Princess Observant?" inquires Bella brightly.

"You're very cute."

Bella laughs again. "Thank you. You are both also cute."

"We know!"

"Good! Self-knowledge. Important stuff."

Tony laughs.

"Are we going to be avoiding running into anybody on the hike to the castle, too?"

"Do you prefer not to?"

"I'm usually perfectly happy to encounter strangers, but on the other hand I don't know why you weren't."

"I find them tedious most of the time, but it's not a strong preference."

"Well, then," says Bella, "I suppose what I'd rather comes down to how well your status as interesting conversationalists holds up."

"Do let us know."

"What do the both of you do with your time apart from quest without much interest for one or more husbands?"