Ella laughed when Nick grabbed her up in a hug, even though he looked a mess and smelled even worse. She was still utterly grateful to see him, and she pressed her cheek to his dirty hair. "You need a bath," she said, and honestly, so did she.
She watched Nicky accost Joanie, who she suspected didn't know him, and she couldn't help but laugh. "Nick, your Peter Pan is showing," she told him fondly, and she looked around to see how much attention they'd called to themselves. "Do we think we could find hot water anywhere?" she asked hopefully. She could sneak them into the palace, but she didn't think that was just the thing at present, and she wanted to get somewhere more isolated to talk to Joanie about her stupidity in the woods the previous night.
She was about to ask Nicky who he'd seen, when a man cleared his throat from just a few feet away. Her face went pale white as he introduced himself (in English) as Georgy Lvov.