"Betcha ya won't," one of the little girls said.
"Once upon a time," Martha said, "there was this handsome Prince and pretty Princess. But the father of the Princess, King Exaltanta, was a heathen and did not believe in the Prophet. Now. When a true believer, kind King Farko, captured King Exaltanta's kingdom, the deposed king hid his daughter in the deepest dungeon.
"Now when the fair Prince, who was the son of King Farko, and whose name was William, heard of the Princess in the dungeon, he decided that he would rescue her and marry her. And after she had had one child by him, the two of them would travel to the Holy City of Meizque to participate in the Changing of the Wives and the Festival there.
"Well, it so happened that King Farko got a special dispensation from the Great Priest to send the members of Exaltanta's family to their Reward without their consent. As he prepared the ceremonies—they were to be very simple: for, after all, the royal household members weren't true believers, and would consequently need to spend a million years (at least) as Outcasts before entering into their Reward, anyhow—as he prepared the ceremonies...."
"But does everyone get a Reward? Even people who don't believe?" a little girl asked, wide eyed.
"Nearly everyone, my child. The Prophet was not a cruel man. Of course, people who try to Cast themselves Off never, never, never get a Reward. But others, everybody else, all get theirs. It's only a question of how long they have to wait. Sometimes, as when they're unbelievers, it may be a long, long, long time, but...."
"I know that," Joey said.
Martha looked up at him and sighed; she stood up. "Come with me, dear," she said.
At that moment, the door flew open with a loud bang.