At this, Parin returned to the table where the little shrunken woman and the lady Pio sat. She had hung back while they had been deep in conversation, which looked both thought-provoking and emotion-invoking to the lady Piosenniel. But now, by all appearances, they had drifted into lighter conversation. And Parin felt it her duty to offer more refreshment.
"My lady Pio, would you care for anything more at this time? I was able to find the honeyed mead you requested, and may I recommend the steak-and-kidney pie for your companion? I just pulled it out of the oven," flushed with pride,"I bustled Dwarin out of the way just long enough to bake it myself! Or may I simple refill your wine?"
Parin looked steadily at Pio as she awaited an answer, but she tingled with the desire to peer at the old woman nearby. She wondered what business an elf could have with such a curious creature....
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"What if you slept, and what if in your sleep you dreamed, and what if, in your dream, you went to paradise and there plucked a beautiful flower...and what if when you awoke, you held that flower in your hand? Ah, what then?"
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