"It sounds wonderful," Rose said, "my own experience with the dark kingdom has been both more brief and less pleasant."

"I recall you telling me a bit about him, now that you mention it. I feel I should apologize to him for my family's behavior earlier, they certainly did their best to make a mess of his meeting." She rolled her eyes. "If you're willing, I would be happy to get a start on the basics, while we wait."

It was so easy to act like the past few weeks had never happened when they were chatting like this. Hearing her laugh again made Rose's chest feel light, as though she could shine from the inside out just from the pure relief of knowing that she hadn't truly lost Kanaya like she thought she had. It was a pity that she couldn't quite bring herself to trust it to last.