Mira opens the door. "Hi."

"You're the prince's friend?"

"The one and only!" Pause. "It's actually a bit depressing, he needs to get out more, meet more people. But! Super introvert. Also, princehood. Kind of cuts back on who he can make genuine friends with."

"Introversion, I'm familiar with. Royalty, less so."

"Well. I suppose I can't claim any special virtue there, can I."

"I literally danced with him, and, yes, I have a genuine problem."

"Well, okay, you're similar in that you literally danced with him, but the genuine problem thing is kiiiiind of extenuating circumstances. Also, wow, I am making a huge hash of this, this is the worst first impression of all time, I am so sorry."

"I'm Nadi. I've got a last name, I swear, it's just kind of stupid sounding. Actually, Nadi kind of sounds silly, too, like it's short for something long and eloquent. But it's not. Curses."

"I think it's pretty."

"Aww! Thanks, Mirabella's really pretty too. It's flowy and has a nice rhythm to it. My compliments to your parents."

"I'm not hungry, but thank you." She sighs. "My mother's dead and my father's being brainwashed by my stepmother's fairy."

"I hope so."

"He's not the lying type. Also really not the type to say, 'Oh, well, that is a terrible thing that I will do nothing about.'"

"That's good to hear."

"Yeah. Um. Do you want a hug, I will definitely hug you if you need it."

"No thanks."

"Okay, offer's open if you change your mind. I also do nail-painting and hair braiding, if those ever turn up to be things that you would like done. Also explosives, but I'm really pretty sure that will not help in this situation at all."

"The prince seemed to think he might be able to solve the problem without Kelsey dying. I'm not so sure. So maybe hold explosives in reserve, although if you don't have your own fairy it's probably not very safe to deploy them."

"I don't have a fairy. But I can gift-wrap you some explosives for your terrible stepmother if there's like - no other option and Adanir's banging his head against the morality wall in vain."

"I don't really know how to safely handle explosives myself, although I guess my fairy might protect me - I'd just be worried about catching someone besides Kelsey."

"Yeah, thus the 'if there is no other option.' I'm pretty sure there are other options. But hey, if there aren't - surgically placed explosions."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome!" says Nadi, brightly. "Fair warning, though, no touchie my explosives until I know you better, they are dangerous things. That go boom. And catch things on fire."

"I'm not going to go rooting around in unfamiliar explosives."

"Thank you, you are the beacon of intelligence among the - actually, usually people leave them alone, it's just the ones that don't that stick in my mind for the rest of eternity."

"Have there been many accidents?"

"Nope. Just me getting really upset with some people and then Adanir actually sitting me down and asking me to calm down. I take my explosive safety seriously, I know it doesn't seem like it, but I do."

"I have yet to see you actually interacting with any explosives, so I hadn't formed a strong impression of how seriously you take it."

"Very seriously," says Nadi, with a serious expression. "For reference."

"Noted."

"Anyway," she says, brightening immediately, "How are you liking the palace?"

"I haven't seen very much of it. It seems pretty, and - palatial."

"It is both of those things. Also the pillows are super fluffy, that is my favorite thing about the palace."

"I haven't tried mine yet."

"Super fluffy. If you want to act like children and make a pillow fort, I am so up for it."

"I'm not really in the mood, but thanks."

"I know. I'm sort of trying to cheer you up, and it's not really working. Uh. I can shoo, totally fine with shooing, too."

"It's usually pretty hard to cheer me up while I'm upset about something that hasn't been fixed yet. Sorry."

Nadi nods. "Totally fine, I am not going to be upset with you for not being cheerful for very appropriate reasons. Let me know if there's a thing that I can do to help." Pause. "Oooo, poisons, I bet poisons would be better than explosives, I really suck at them but it's not really that difficult to make something that kills people when imbibed."

"I'm pretty sure she's onto me knowing what's going on, so I don't know if I can get her to taste anything before she'd get her fairy to look it over. I think I have to wait for the prince."

"I tried," sighs Nadi. "I don't really have it in me to plot murder for someone I don't know, sorry."

"I don't advise getting to know her. I think her fairy brainwashes everyone she meets," shudders Mira. "Mine is probably the only reason I don't love her and call her Mom."

".... Ew. Super ew. That's creepy."

"I know. Believe me, I know."

"If Adanir slacks on that I will make faces at him. And also research ways to kill people that are brainwashing things with fairies."

"Thanks."

"Yup. You're welcome."

What's this? A knock? At the door? How completely original and not at all like what's happened before in the past. Surely, this is a new benchmark in history.

Mira goes to open it.

"Hi. Nadi has been explaining to me that she takes explosive safety very seriously."

"Explosive safety, totally different. Well, not really, but shhh. Let me believe. Also, drop the accent, it's weirding me out."

"Sorry," sighs Adanir, in a vastly different accent. This one does not sound like it belongs to someone who is the crown prince. Probably why he doesn't use it. "Habit. Regardless - Mira, I've found someone with a fairy who's willing to investigate, and they're pretty sure that the fairy will protect them."

"That's good," says Mira, after a moment of nonplussedness at the accent shift.

"It seemed like something I thought you would like to know."

"It is. I just - I want her gone, I want it over, I want my dad."

He winces. "I'm working on it, believe me."

"I'll hold him to it, I'll make faces."

"How long can I stay here? When should I expect a ride to the place you want me to ask my fairy about wire-lacing?"

"I am not going to shuttle you off to a place for wire-lacing until all of the - this is handled, unless you genuinely want me to and need a distraction. Or something."

"I guess whether I need a distraction that involves leaving the palace depends on whether your library's any good. But I want to be doing something. I don't want to just - loiter around determining whether I agree with Nadi about the pillows' softness, worrying."

"The library's actually excellent, say what you will about the king, but the man knows his literature."

Adanir makes a complicated face.

"...I'm supposed to be avoiding the king, right? So if he hangs out in the library a lot maybe I'd better go try the wire-lace sooner rather than later after all."

"He's usually not there often, usually in the evenings, if you're there in the mornings I doubt you'll catch him."

"Okay. That should fill time."