Ann and Nim rested a few minutes before approaching the guards at the gate. Ann handed them the message from her father giving them permission to use the gate. Nimitinas drew in as much power as he could before entering. Ann wondered how long he could hold it. They stepped through the gate. It was more like a tunnel. It was several paces before they reached Andy’s world. They emerged into the gloomy basement room of the country club. Nim mumbled something about going blind. What?” Ann asked thinking he couldn’t see. “I said I feel like I’ve gone blind. My mage sight doesn’t work,” he said a little louder. Ann nodded. They went to the door. Ann listened. She didn’t hear anything. She opened it a crack and looked outside. There was no one in the hall. They slipped out and hurried upstairs. Once there, they almost blended in with the members. Ann wore one of Andy’s T-shirts, and Nim was entirely dressed in Andy’s clothes although the pants were too short. Nim was almost as tall as Remtani. Andy didn’t know this of course. He had been called away early for dancing lessons that morning so Ann and Nim could raid his wardrobe. They walked out of the country club as if they belonged there. Getting in tomorrow may prove difficult. It was only a few miles to the boarding house. Normally, not far for them, however, after having flown all day, both were tired and were grateful to arrive. Ann pulled the key from her pocket and let them in. She was surprised at first that no one was home. Usually, someone was there. Then she remembered most of the tenants went home over the summer. It was possible they wouldn’t see anyone. They ate the food they had brought in silence. Nim seemed to pick at it more than eat. His eyes never stopped moving. “Are you okay?” She asked. She knew the copper on this world could affect him. He nodded. “This lack of magic, the strange sights, the noises, and smells, you walk past all of it like it was nothing. When you spoke to Andy’s parents, words you used and expressions, they were things Andy would say. “You did the same thing when you first came to Baj-tisk to study. The parents had a hard time believing you were human. From what I can tell, it’s like that everywhere you go. You adapt quickly and without much effort.” “It’s the way I was raised. I don’t know if it was my parents or someone else, but someone decided that since I’d never be able to wear the crown, the focus of my education should be as an ambassador instead. When you go to a different land, especially if you want something, you need to follow their ways. If there is something you absolutely can’t do, you politely decline rather than making a big deal about it.” “But you do it so naturally.” “I had a lot of training. I was taught a lot about the kingdoms and their languages.” “You speak all the languages?” Nim asked. He spoke quite a few himself, but his extremely good memory helped with that. “I can’t say all of them. I only speak seven languages. I’m sure there’s more than that.” “Seven?” “Menthan, Elvish, Gnome, Troll, Dwarvish and two dialects of Dragon,” Ann listed them. “Two? You speak Tricot?” Ann shrugged. “Most spells are in Tricot. I was learning it from that, and then Mirimar was helping me learn too.” “That’s pretty impressive.” “Thank you.” “Hello?” A voice called from the front of the house. “Is someone home?” “Jo?” Ann called back. “Ann? Is that you?” Joanne hurried to the kitchen. “I can’t believe it. What are you doing here? Where’s Andy?” “Andy’s still in Menthanla. He doesn’t know I’m here. We’re getting married next week. Nim and I are here picking up his parents as a surprise.” “Congratulations.” Jo hugged her “You must be Nim.” She said turning to the man sitting at the table. “I am.” He rose and bowed slightly. “This is Nimitinas, he was my mentor for learning magic. Nim, this is Joanne.” “Welcome, Nimitinas.” Joanne smiled. “You can call me Nim. Everyone does.” He smiled back. They spoke for a while, catching up. Then, after having a few shots of whiskey from a bottle she kept in her bedroom to help ward off nightmares, Ann went to sleep. She and Nim decided they would sleep in shifts in the living room. That way, if Ann had a nightmare and started to cast a spell, Nim could wake her up. That’s exactly what happened.