"They have such a habit of it don't they?" Does she look old enough to have children grown - well, at least a little more than before. The grey makes it easier to obscure the truth and make the inconsistencies less obvious. "One moment you are cradling them and they are begging for sweets, and the next you can hardly keep step with them."

Devi, a dour faced little girl who stubbornly refused to openly like treats and carrying around her knife like it was Lakshmi's own shamsher. Devi, a woman grown, by her side, refusing to let anyone come near her despite not knowing how it pained to see her do so. Insistent on her position of second in command. Children, they had such habits. "Not at all forgiving to their parents, I find."