"You didn't know?" Hesri's eyebrows climb towards her hairline. To her eyes he certainly hadn't looked like he thought he was grappling with a child, not until they'd both fallen off the roof. "Yes, she's older than she looks. She just grew very slowly and in fits and starts, and I'm not sure if any more are coming. There was a man who was small like that in a show I saw, back... once. They said he was an elf, but you know performers."

She believes in elves these days, and all kinds of other things too. Not every bit of strangeness is magic, though.

"She gets frustrated by people assuming she's about ten. Honestly, I think she'd like to leave to join a regiment or something otherwise." She's frowning now, and makes a deliberate effort to stop. "You know how nobles will sometimes make armor for their children just to show off? She'd have to steal some of that."