Zelda hadn't gotten to see Ari as much lately as she would have liked, and she did not know which of them was more responsible for this. She'd felt — odd, since Orion's birth, and she was hesitant to leave him for very long. But Ari had more freedom to visit her, as Elliott was older — well, at least he was finally taking up Zelda's invitation. He'd picked a good day, today — Zelda had expected to be alone for much of the evening, as there was some elaborate evening sailing-project commandeering Alfred.

She'd never followed Ari to the bathroom before. But he'd been gone for several minutes, and after a while of checking her watch and listening to hear floorboards creaking, Zelda became concerned. She headed out of the sitting room and over to the lavatory, and found herself listening at the door, as if she could detect whether or not she should knock.

There was nothing she could hear. Zelda wrinkled her nose, and rapped upon the door. "Ari?" she said, "Are you alright in there?"

Merlin, she hoped so.

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