uh Vegetarian Oh, around here it means people who eat only vegetables… Then Dairine heard what she was saying, and stopped short. But she hadn t stopped soon enough. Filif stood there frozen in shock, and the decency field around his roots almost went away. You… eat… vegetables Oh, great, Dairine thought, in a complete fury with herself. Why didn t I just come right out and say, Hi there, we re cannibals Except I just did. But they re not, you know, the people kind of vegetables, Dairine said, though the look Filif was turning on her made her wonder whether she was going to have any success with this approach. They don t…They re not alive, I mean, not the way you re alive…I mean, they don t think… Then Dairine stopped herself again, this time because she was getting onto conceptually shaky ground. When you were a wizard, you quickly discovered that thought and sentience didn t necessarily have anything to do with each other, and sometimes they manifested independently. Her father leaned over her shoulder and looked down at Filif with an unusually calm expression. What do you do for nourishment at home, son he said. Normally, Filif said, having recovered enough to tremble a little, we root. I ve got just the place for you, Dairine s dad said. You come on outside with me. Dairine, you take care of these two for the moment. Her dad went out the back door, closely followed by Filif. She sagged a little with relief and turned back to the others. Sker ret was looking out the front window of the living room with great interest, but Roshaun was leaning against the polished wooden breakfront, snickering. That was interesting, he said. His tone of voice suggested not that he was trying to restrain his amusement, but that he was intending to let it loose full force as soon as he had an excuse. He found Earth funny, he found Dairine s dad funny, and he found Dairine funny. Dairine just looked at him. It would be so very bad, she thought, to punch out a guest on his first day in the house. Very, very bad. But really satisfying… Come on and see the rest of the house, Dairine said, rather more to Sker ret than to Roshaun; and she led them off on the grand tour. The tour took about fifteen minutes, after which Dairine left Roshaun and Sker ret in the living room and went into the kitchen again. Her dad was standing there with a screwdriver; he was in the final stages of refastening the cupboard door. I could have sworn Nita and I brought home canned stuff to replace everything we used last week, he said. You did, Dairine said. I think we re going to need more. Where s Filif Is he okay He s fine, her father said, swinging the door back and forth a couple of times. He didn t go outside the yard, did he I put a force field around the edges of things that ll keep the neighbors from seeing anything. But if he went out He didn t. He may get around, but he didn t feel like going anywhere right now, except under the sky. I get the feeling he doesn t particularly like being indoors. No, Dairine said, I think maybe you re right. And he s enough of a conifer for me to know his tastes, at least a little, her dad said, opening the cutlery drawer where the screwdrivers lived and dropping in the one he d been using. Besides that, we chatted enough for me to find out that he likes his soil acidic. I plugged him into that new bed I was getting ready for the rhododendrons and told him to kick back for a while. He should do fine. You re certainly taking this well, Dairine said, before she could stop herself. I don t know that we have much choice at this point, her dad said, sounding somewhat resigned. I agreed to this, after all, so I may as well try to enjoy it. Now then what about dinner Sounds good. But Dairine immediately started worrying again, as that produced a whole new level of problems. Filif… Her dad was ahead of her. What have we got in the house that s not recognizably a vegetable He thought for a moment. Pasta Spaghetti and meatballs, Dairine said. How s Filif likely to handle the sight of tomato sauce Dairine s dad said. Dairine thought about that. Tomatoes were vegetables … but a jar of spaghetti sauce might pass if no one actually discussed what went into it. Of course, even pasta had been a vegetable once Her father was way ahead of her. Since Filif isn t going to be eating what we are, Dairine s dad said, and since I m not operating under the restrictions you are, I m prepared to prevaricate if I have to. But let s see if we can t just steer the conversation in other directions if the history of food comes up. Meanwhile, utensils… Her dad started rummaging through the flatware drawer for a matched set. I suspect Roshaun can use a fork and a spoon on his spaghetti. If he hasn t had the experience before, we ll teach him. And as for Sker ret I think if we can get him to stick to the spaghetti and leave the plates and the table alone, Dairine said, we ll be doing okay. Dairine s dad reached up into another cupboard and came down with a couple of odd plates from an old set, which Dairine knew for a fact her dad hated, and had been looking for an excuse to get rid of. And in case of accidents he said. Dairine grinned, and went looking for a pot for the spaghetti. As it turned out, the plates survived dinner, though Dairine s temper almost didn t. And the problem, as she d suspected it would be, had been Roshaun. Filif came in to sit at the table in a large bucket of potting soil that Dairine s dad brought in for him, and Sker ret more or less draped himself over the seat and through the open back of one of the dining room chairs, leaving his front end free to deal with the spaghetti. Dairine s dad only had to warn Sker ret once that they were only eating things on top of the tablecloth and inside containers. This led to a lively discussion of what humans ate, and Dairine sat there in mostly mute appreciation of how her father somehow confined himself entirely to discussing how things tasted, without ever going near the subject of what they were. Dairine spent most of her time ingesting spaghetti she found that she was ravenous and forcing herself not to glare at Roshaun. It took him exactly five seconds to master the fork and spoon, though he let it be known that at his home, his people used several different kinds of tongs to handle slippery foods like this. He let a number of things be known over the course of dinner, dispensing the occasional fact or opinion as if he expected everybody to be eagerly awaiting his every word…and paying precious little attention to anyone else s opinions, if they came up. His clothes, his possessions, the size of his house, which apparently would have dwarfed Dairine s, all these came up for brief and tasteful mention. What did not come out was anything personal, anything revealing of the inner nature of the entity who sat there at the table, managing the fork and spoon with the grace of someone who d been using them for years, and had never gotten spaghetti sauce or any other sauce on him, not once. Dairine sat there listening to it all, and stewed. Sker ret didn t seem to notice Roshaun s attitude, or if he did, he didn t reveal it during his workmanlike and concentrated assault on the food. Filif mostly sat quietly listening to the others, and rustled occasionally whenever anyone said anything with sufficient emphasis to suggest that they wanted a response from the listeners. Dairine and her dad concentrated on keeping the conversation going along in a relatively friendly fashion, but Dairine increasingly felt like she was doing weights, and ones that were getting heavier every minute. But they made it through the main course without a murder, and through dessert (her dad s chocolate pudding) without trying to keep a medicine ball in the air. And at the end of it all, Well, Dairine s dad said, looking around the table, it s been a long day, and I m sure that it would be a good thing if we all got some rest now. But it s not even dark yet, Filif said. I know, Dairine s dad said, in a very kindly voice. But there s the time difference to think of; there has to be at least some time difference between your planet and this one. And whatever it is, I m sure it means that you need some rest now. I know I do. And he stood up. The others stood up with him. I think I might withdraw, Roshaun said graciously. Your local night is how long Eight hours, Dairine said, while thinking grimly, It was in your orientation pack, if you had bothered to read it. I ll walk you downstairs, Dairine said. You all saw where my room is. If you need anything, I ll be awake about an hour and a half after the sun comes up. You all have everything you need in your pup tents More than enough, Filif said. Me, too, Sker ret said. A sufficiency, said Roshaun, and turned away from Dairine with no further acknowledgment. Your best of rest, then. Dairine went with their three guests to the stairs, saw them safely down. Good night, everybody, she said, closing the door to the cellar stairs. Her dad was standing there by the sink, having just put a stack of dishes down beside it, and presently washing a couple of glasses by hand. As Dairine turned away from the basement door, he glanced over at her. A harder day than you were expecting he said. Uh, yeah, said Dairine. Did it show You mean, to the guests In Filif s and Sker ret s case, I don t think so. They seem like nice kids. Her father put one glass down on the drainer, picked up the other to rinse it out. I d like to know what s going on with Roshaun, though. So would I, Dairine muttered. She was sufficiently shell-shocked at the moment, and sufficiently in need of something grindingly ordinary, that she actually found herself picking up a dish towel to help her dad finish up at the sink. Daddy, it s driving me crazy. He looked at her with slight concern. Dairine understood why. It wasn t in her nature to make a lot of admissions of that kind, even in the family. Dairine let out a long breath and said, I ve never met a wizard who wasn t… Good her father said. Nice Dairine shook her head. It s not just that, she said. All the wizards I know know at all closely their wizardry is really important to them. Maybe it s not the main thing their life is about: No one says it has to be. But it s important. This guy, though…it feels like he wants you to think that wizardry s a hobby for him. How can anyone be that way Wizardry s about talking the universe right when it goes wrong…finding out what s going on in people s heads and helping them make the world happen. Finding out how things want to be, and helping them be that way. How can anything be more important than that She waved her arms in the air, frustrated. Sure, it s about having fun, too you d have to be incredibly obtuse and clueless not to have fun being a wizard. And there are about a billion ways to do it! But this guy She shook her head. Much more quietly Dairine said, I really don t like him. And I really don t like that I really don t like him. The worst part is that I don t have any reasons for it. He s one of my own kind, a wizard, and he rubs me the wrong way. Her father sighed. You know, he said, there ve been people I ve worked with, occasionally, over the years, that I ve had the same problem with. And I ve never known what to do about it. Wait for them to go away Dairine said. Sometimes they do, her dad said. Sometimes you re just stuck with them. Dairine sighed in turn. Two weeks… It s only been a few hours, her dad said. Don t give up yet. Things may improve. From your mouth to the Powers ears, Dairine muttered. But she found it hard to believe that Roshaun was going to shift his behavior in any way that would matter. Her dad handed her the glass from the drainer. Before I turn in anything I should know about the downstairs her dad said. They ve got a pup tent each, Dairine said, and they re probably sleeping in them. So if you go down there, make sure you turn on the light so you don t stumble into any place you don t want to be. They ve also got a worldgate each, fastened to the bare wall, in case they need to get home in a hurry for some emergency. I wouldn t lean any of your tools against those…You might not get them back. Her dad nodded. It s strange, he said, hearing them speak. It sounds like English…but it runs deeper, somehow. You hear undertones. That s the Speech, Dairine said. Everything understands it somewhat. But you re hearing it with better understanding than a nonspeaker usually gets. She finished drying the glass, put it up on the counter. If it starts to bother you… Her father shook his head. I ll let you know, he said. But no problems so far. He finished with the last glass, handed it to Dairine, and leaned against the counter. So what are we going to do with them for two weeks her dad said. Regardless of where Nita and Kit might be, it s too cold for us to go to the beach…though you might take them out that way once to show them the sea. I get a feeling there aren t many oceans where Filif comes from. You re getting to like him already, Dairine said, and smiled. I m not used to having the plants talk back, her dad said. Or, if they do, being able to understand them. It s an experience. Dairine nodded. Well, we can help them get used to suburban life gradually, she said. Carmela wants to come talk to the visitors, anyway. And once they ve got their disguise routines sorted out, we can take them around the neighborhood, to start with. They can even go over to the Rodriguezes and see Kit s weird TV. For all I know, they may be able to see some program they re missing. Dairine s dad chuckled at that. Okay, he said. Let s try to keep them out of sight until we re sure their disguises are going to stay in place. I really don t want a UFO scandal erupting on my doorstep. I ll take care of that, Dairine said. Good, her dad said. He had been washing the last couple of dishes; he racked them up in the drainer. I m going to turn in, sweetie. It s been a long day. Yeah. Her dad grabbed Dairine and hugged her hard. A long day for you, too, he said. No, leave those last two. Throw in the towel and go to bed. Dairine hung up the dish towel, but not before tossing a last amused glance at the two dishes still in the drainer. You re just hoping that Sker ret will wake up with an urge for something in the middle of the night… Her dad grinned at her and went to bed. Dairine took herself to bed after him, first walking through the house and making sure that doors were locked and lights turned off. Once up in her room, the tiredness came down over her as if someone had put a sack over her head. She kept blinking to keep her eyes open. But before she got undressed for bed, before she even thought of doing anything else, she turned to Spot, who was sitting on her desk as usual, and flipped his lid open. Do me a favor, she said. Get me Roshaun s profile. It s right here, Spot said. Dairine looked at the profile, once again examining that picture of Roshaun. She knew she was imagining it, but on this examination, after meeting the original, that picture seemed to have something that had been missing before: just the slightest sneer. She glanced down the column of material in the Speech that was the public part of Roshaun s name. There, embedded in the long intertwined tracery of characters, would be information about his personality, his abilities, his power levels and level of accomplishment as a wizard, and much else. But now that she looked at it, there was something strange about that long series of names he flaunted around. Some family thing, she d thought at first. But Dairine had suddenly started having doubts. Dairine read Roshaun s full name again, slowly, not as a phrase in an alien language this time, worth savoring for the exotic sounds, but this time translating each word. Roshaun ke Nelaid, it began: Roshaun of the princes line of Seriv, son of the Sun Lord, beloved of the Sun Lord, son of the great King, descendant of the Inheritors of the Great Land, the Throne-destined Dairine sat there at her desk and was appalled, realizing that Roshaun had actually given her the short version of his name. It went on for about six more epithets, which sounded impressive but were difficult to decipher, and ended in the words am me stardet Wellakhir, royal and kingly Masters, Guardians, and Guarantors of Wellakh. Oh my god, Dairine thought. The situation was worse than she d thought it could possibly be. They ve sent me some kind of planetary prince, she thought. The Powers That Be really did think I was getting out of hand, and this is my punishment. I m going to get to spend two weeks worth of holiday baby-sitting spoiled royalty. She tried to read the rest of Roshaun s profile Power