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Amy has hot chocolate, pizza, and a pile of correspondence she brought along in the hopes of getting somewhat caught up after being away from home for nearly a month.

At least, that was the plan.

Now that she's here, though, it's hard to find any enthusiasm at all for the papers on her table, so she's largely ignoring them while she looks around the bar.

After all, there's always something interesting going on at the end of the universe.

And anyway, they'll keep.

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"Hello, X.

"I'm very well.

"We were off visiting one of the other palaces, but we're back home and getting settled in now.

"It was a very nice visit, but it's good to be home."

For one thing, her schedule is a bit less utter mad.

"How are you?

"Would you like some pizza?"

"I like being home, too."

She says it matter-of-factly, but that does not make it any less true.

"I am okay."

There is a longer pause while X sits down, and then regards the pizza.

After another few minutes --

"Yes. Please. If it is not problematic."

"It's not problematic at all. Quite the opposite, in fact, as this is far more than I can eat alone."

It's why there are extra plates and everything.

"Susan's been asking about you. And Norman. I think they both miss you."

"Thank you," X says, reaching over to take a piece of pizza and an extra plate.

Then she looks quietly pleased.

"It will be good to see them. Too. When it is okay."

Beat.

"There have been no other broken spells? Or earthquakes?"

Not that she doesn't think Amy would have mentioned it, but --

She worries.

"Oh, no, nothing like that.

"There's nothing much to report except that one of the knights managed to accidentally convince two different ladies that he was proposing to them, while actually proposing to a third, while we were away. We're still getting everyone settled back down over that."

Amy would almost rather have a broken spell to deal with.

"As for visiting, you're always welcome."

"It would be good," X says, not at all hesitantly. "To see them."

Soon, even.

Then she frowns, absorbing the facts about the knight.

"He is worse at talking than I am?"

Is that humanly possible?

"I suspect there are a great many things he's worse at than you are, X.

"That would clearly be one of them.

"Unless you've also gotten engaged as the result of a misunderstanding between yourself and a young person since last I saw you."

"No," X says.

Though now that she thinks about it . . .

Nope. Still no.

"I do not understand how that could be confusing. To people."

"How a person could think someone had proposed when they hadn't, do you mean?"

"Yes."

X still looks a little bewildered.

"If it was not deliberate."

"Perry managed to do it once," Amy says. "Just after he'd proposed to me, his cousin Persephone thought he was proposing to her.

"I think a lot of it is that the person you are talking to desperately wants to hear it. So she, or he though that would be quite unusual where I am, she just sort of forces what she wants to hear onto to what you're saying.

"And I think, too, that sometimes when we are trying to be nice or kind we soften things we should state quite clearly. Because being blunt is perceived to be unkind. So instead we create situations that truly are unkind."

"Oh."

X absorbs that for a few seconds.

Then, carefully --

"I am not good at that."

From the sound of it, that is kind of a relief.

"It's probably not a skill you need to cultivate, either, so that's just as well."

"Yes," X agrees, very firmly.

Then she takes a bite of pizza.

"But at least it gave everyone something to talk about," Amy says.

"And I think we've almost gotten all the ladies involved calmed down.

"So you shouldn't need to worry about it affecting your visit, when you come."

"It is good when people are busy," X offers.

Carefully.

Gossip is confusing.

Still.

"But it is also good that I do not have to be careful. When I visit."

"You know, if you aren't busy, you could always come back with me now.

"I think Susan is just about done with her lessons for the day."

X finishes swallowing her current bite of pizza, sets down the slice, and then nods.

Her pleased look has not gone away.

"That would be good."

For both of them, really. Timing-wise.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome.

"I think she was planning to visit Francis this afternoon.

"That's the ghost, from the world under the palace.

"He's trying to haunt one of our towers."

X's eyes widen, just for a second.

"He remembered his name? The ghost."

Beat.

"And you do not mind? That he is trying to haunt your castle."

"Susan named him," Amy says.

"And, no, I don't. He seems harmless, Susan likes him, and he's dreadful at actually haunting, anyway."

"Failure can be very loud," X offers, a little hesitantly.

"If he is using chains."

That is about all she remembers about ghosts. Blame her teammates.

"I don't think we'll suggest chains," Amy says.

"Mostly, he paces.

"And tries to remember that it's boo he's meant to yell."

"Oh."

X absorbs that, blinking once, or maybe twice.

"I do not understand why 'boo' is effective."

"It's really not, but it's traditional."