"Well, yes, but I assume looking for work becomes slightly awkward when you've got the imperial sun on your wrist, so I might need some help with that."

"You might be surprised. Somebody asks you what you're think you're doing, you say 'oh, the Emperor says I can do whatever I want', what are they going to do, ask me? I bet I won't have to confirm it very many times before word gets around."

She considers this, then she smiles. It looks - noticeably different than her previous smiles.

"... How far," she says carefully, "does 'whatever I want' go? Like if I, say, had a personal grudge against certain bullshit fees, can I - wander up to the officials associated with it, and ask questions so I understand what's going on, and. Politely make suggestions?"

He laughs.

"Sure, if you want. Try not to fuck up my empire, but I bet you're not going to fuck up my empire."

"I will try very hard not to fuck up your empire," she promises with absolute sincerity. "But I rescind my earlier complicated ambivalence towards keeping me, in favor of childlike glee."

He giggles and hugs her.

Hugs!!! Giggling! Yes those things, those things sound good.

Awwwwww.

"Do I have - I don't know, specific governmental things you'd rather I not ever touch?" she asks, after there are been sufficient giggling.

Shrug. "I mostly don't touch governmental things unless somebody is so corrupt I notice. I suppose I might have opinions if you start turning everything upside down, but I don't have a list of those opinions worked out in advance."

"Okay. Let me know if I incite any opinions, then."

"I will!" Snuggle.

Snuggle!!!!!

"Okay," she decides, after a little while. "I feel very wrapped up, now, bow and everything, can I have my brother back?"

"Sure." He kisses her forehead. "It'll take me a while to put it together; do you have an opinion about where he should wake up, and do you want me to build you a bedroom first?"

"Somewhere out of the way but recognizable, so he'll know where he is. I'd say our house, but uh. I don't exactly own that anymore." She makes a face. "So not that. We could abuse that poor park some more, he'd recognize it, if we do it at a time no one will be around. Uh, yes to the bedroom, and how long's 'a while,' is it long enough that I'll need to, say, feed myself?"

"Ten or twelve hours, maybe?"

"Oh, well. Uh. I am probably going to need to be shown around, then. At least to the point where I can successfully feed myself."

"By 'feed yourself' do you just mean 'not starve for the next twelve hours' or do you specifically want to be able to make your own food?"

"First thing, but I'd also appreciate not starving in the future if you're not around to feed me. Though I could probably successfully not starve even if you abandoned me, I bet there is at least one place that will feed me if I show up and loudly declare that I belong to the Emperor and would like to not starve to death."

Snicker.

"It's moderately inconvenient to get in and out of this section of the palace without my personal intervention but I bet you could do it—anyway, as long as the important thing is 'having food' not 'making food'—I'll show you."

He climbs out of bed and stretches and leads her back to the sitting room and through one of its other doors to a beautiful, exquisitely decorated corridor, and along that to a round half-open room. Half the circle of floor is surrounded by walls and shaded by a half-dome of ceiling; the other half is a semicircular balcony. There are flowering vines climbing the walls and winding through the railings, and a wide round table in the center of the circle. The table is even more treelike than the tree-table he conjured earlier. It is all very pretty.

"If you sit at the table it makes food. It's pretty good at guessing what people will like."

She follows, taking the chance to actually look at the scenery now. Everything is lovely, and she's - well, pretty okay with spending time here.

"Simple enough. And pretty, too. All right, thanks."

"I'll go build you a bedroom."

Back to the sitting room, and out onto its adjoining balcony, which is less impressive than the flowery one but still pretty nice. The view is stunning, of course. And a few minutes of stoneshaping later, there is a fully furnished bedroom there, with a stunning view and a balcony of its very own.

She watches, fascinated.

"Do you just - change the rooms as you feel like, or stick with a usual layout and only change when necessary?"

"Hmm, bit of both? I change things whenever I feel like it but that doesn't tend to work out to 'new bedroom every week'."

"Huh. All right. Sounds interesting. Am I likely to encounter anyone while I'm here?"