The National Museum had been built to lie between the Houses of Parliament and the Academia Magnolis. It was built to mimic the style of ancient Remian architecture, with a facade of white marble supported by tall pillars. It looked much like one of those ancient temples to a pagan deity, although it lacked the weathering that the ages had wrought upon those older structures. There was a real beauty to the building, and Alicia could almost imagine herself as a Remian lady some thousand years ago, heading in to worship Altheia, the goddess of Wine and Wisdom, or perhaps Duluth, the god of War and Justice. Yet a long fence of wrought iron wrapped around the whole structure to ensure that only the proper people could enter, which she found quite broke the illusion of it all. It was rather ironic, she thought to herself, that the scavenged remnants of the past were to be housed in such an artificial attempt at replicating that same history.

Some part of her knew that she was being too critical, or at least far harsher than she ought to be just from her upbringing. At the same time, the memories she had inherited from Christine were pretty unambiguous when it came to the matter of colonization. Christine’s people had themselves been oppressed, their cultures and futures stolen in the name of civilization, and she had still carried the weight of that lost future. As such, Alicia could no longer look at exhibits containing the wonders of the Orisol or the ancient sculptures of the Jatibon Islands, without feeling a newfound sense of disgust.

She knew that it would not do for her to express such thoughts, however, and so she kept them to herself. The magnolic carriage came to a stop, and a few moments later the driver opened the door with a bowing flourish. Alicia descended, turning to see the Bywin family emerge from the carriage behind her. As the Duchess did not deign to travel to Ludestre, it fell upon another lady to serve as Alicia’s chaperone. The Bywins, being a close political ally of the Duke, were quite a natural choice.

The young Lady Bywin, wearing a pastel blue dress that complimented her pale complexion and light brown hair, paced forward. “Lady Senius,” she said, falling into a shallow curtsy, “I trust that you have been well these past few days?”

Alicia gave her a nod of acknowledgement in return; as the daughter of a duke, she was expected to give courtesy toward lesser nobles, but it was unconscionable for her to lower herself before anyone other than royalty or her father. “Lady Bywin,” she responded, somewhat more curt than she had meant to be. “I have been quite well. I thank you for your concern.”

Lady Bywin’s parents came forward. The Marquis Bywin was a short and portly man, his face marked with the thin lines of one who smiles easily. He gave her a grin, and she noted that he was the type of man to take up more room with his presence than he did with his body. His wife the Marchioness was in contrast quite thin and partly buried beneath a lacy cream-coulored gown, but her face held a similar kindness. She was not what one would call a classical beauty, but there was something in her sharp lines that caught the eye. The woman moved with a casual ease, gliding over to put a hand on top of her daughter’s shoulder.

“Flora, my dear, why don’t you introduce us,” she said, her voice clipped but not unpleasant.

Lady Bywin blushed. “Lady Senius, I present to you my mother, the Marchioness Bywin, and my father, the Most Honorable Marquis of Fellport. Mother, father, I present to you the Lady Alicia Senius.” As they were introduced, the Marchioness and Marquis curtsied and bowed, respectively. Alicia returned each with a deeper nod of acknowledgement. By the Nine Faces, it was all so exhausting! She once more found herself inadvertently longing for the easy conversation she’d had with Elizabeth. Already Alicia had begun to compose a letter to the other girl, although it had been left incomplete on her desk for the time being. But that would have to wait for her return.

“Marquis, Marchioness, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I was delighted to be invited to your garden party last week, and I appreciate your assistance in today’s matter as well.” The words came naturally, a consequence of Miss Hartwright’s continual instruction.

“The pleasure is all ours, Lady Senius,” the Marquis replied smoothly. “We are always happy to assist the Senius family, in whatever capacity that may be.”

Their carriages pulled away, leaving room for the next nobles who were arriving. As a group, the four of them began to make their way toward the museum. Alicia and Lady Bywin walked ahead, while The Marquis and Marchioness followed a few steps behind.

Lady Bywin turned to Alicia as they walked. “I hope that your time in the city has been enjoyable?”

Alicia thought of the meeting with Mr. Finnegan, of seeing the streets with Miss Hartwright. And she thought of someone else, but she pushed that out of mind, “It has indeed. I confess that the city is not quite what I thought it would be from the descriptions I had read, but it has an undeniable charm nonetheless.”

“I am most glad to hear it. Should you ever need anyone to guide you, I would be most happy to be of assistance.” The lady gave her a smile that was obviously quite practiced.

“I shall be returning home soon, but the next time I am in the city I will be sure to take you up on that offer,” Alicia replied. It all seemed to weigh on her in a strange way that it never had before; or perhaps it had, and she had just never noticed. They were approaching the steps of the museum, and several discrete guards bowed at their approach, opening the doors before them. Without knowing quite why, Alicia suddenly said, “Lady Bywin, what do you desire from your life?”

The young lady seemed taken aback at the unexpected question. “Well, I-I haven’t given the question much thought, to be honest.”

Alicia smiled thinly at that. “I should hope you are always honest with me, Lady Bywin.”

“Of course I am, Lady Senius. I would never dare to lie to you,” Lady Bywin said, looking a little panicked at the thought. Alicia felt a surge of regret and frustration—she had only been meaning to tease the girl slightly, not send her into such a nervous state.

“If you would be so kind, please do give it some thought. I will look forward to your answer later.” She knew, as she said it, that such a request was unfair. Young ladies were taught, practically from birth, that it was sinful for them to hold desire. Such a thing was impossible, of course; to desire was to be human. Still, it at least sufficed to ensure that ladies did their best to hide their desires, and to mask them with shame. Asking a young lady of good breeding what she wanted for herself was at the very least improper, and at worst could be seen as a malicious trap.

Nonetheless, Lady Bywin nodded in compliance. “Of course, Lady Senius. As you request.” Behind those wide eyes, her mind was almost certainly working furiously to find an acceptable response. Alicia suppressed a sigh. They had only just entered, and she was already exhausted.

The interior of the museum was a stark contrast from the cold Remian façade of the exterior. Here, everything was built in a distinctly modern style; hardwood floors of a rich golden color arranged into complex geometrical patterns, a high ceiling ornamented with white plaster arranged into delicate vines and flowers, and all along the walls tall glass cases containing the subjects of the exhibition. The crowd was a mix of gentry and academics, the latter marked by the thin black robes they wore over their suits, the sleeves banded with colorful accents that marked their fields and degree of study. The majority of the individuals here were men, but there were some wives as well as a few noblewomen who seemed to have a genuine interest in natural history.

The prince was not difficult to find. He was near the back of the room, surrounded by a group of scholars and other young men near his age. They seemed to be inspecting one of the glass cages, and even from this distance she could see how he was clearly commanding the conversation; the way that everyone else looked to him, and how laughter seemed to erupt whenever he spoke. She grit her teeth; she would have to greet him and play along with his little charade, at least until she could find a reasonable excuse to retire.

Turning to Lady Bywin and the Marchioness, she said, “If you will excuse me, I must greet my fiancé his Highness.”

The Marchioness smiled gently, dipping into another slight curtsy. “Of course, Lady Senius.”

Alicia turned and began to make her way across the hall. While it was improper for a young lady to arrive without an older woman to a social event, or for that matter to be alone with a gentleman at all, those rules had a single exception: a fiancé. In theory, it would be perfectly proper for her to be alone with the prince, as they were to be married and he was, by nature of his birth, naturally a perfect gentleman. Yet it must be said that theory and praxis have always been quite different.

Despite herself, Alicia could not help but notice some of the exhibits set in the glass cases as she passed by. The theme of this exhibition seemed to be the physiology of monsters, and as such multiple cases contained strange limbs, leathery wings, frightful skulls with terrible fangs, and other such carefully preserved peculiarities. As she approached the prince, she could quite clearly see what had attracted the attention of his little group. Set behind the glass was what looked to be the entirely of a monster, a six legged creature covered with white fur with a vicious mouth that reminded her of a crocodile and a large tail that seemed to resemble a scorpion. Even diminished by the stillness of death and posed behind glass, the monster was incredibly impressive, standing at nearly seven feet tall and nearly twice that in length. She recognized it to be a type of manticore, although it was unlike any she had read.

Yet there was a different monster to address at the moment. As she approached the group, the conversation died and all eyes seemed to lock on her. She stopped in front of Prince Alsander and fell into a deep curtsy. “Prince Estelar, I am honored by your invitation.”

He looked at her impassively for a moment, and then he smirked. “Yes, I suppose you would be. I am glad that you came, Alicia. I have been looking for an opportunity to acquaint you with my friends.”

She recognized it to be one of the constant exercises of power that the prince seemed to delight in. His will had brought her here, alone and stripped from what few allies she had, and so of course the black-hearted prince couldn’t resist showing her all of his own supporters in return. He gestured around at the others in the group, who Alicia had not yet paid more than a cursory glance.

Alicia now gave them her attention, and she started in shock.

The prince was still speaking. “Here is my good friend, Lord Henry Valian, son of the Duke of Valian. We have known each other since…” Alicia couldn’t focus on his words, too shocked for propriety.

She knew Lord Henry Valian, the tall boy who already had well-defined muscles underneath his fitted suit. Just like she knew the Lord William Richmond, a thin boy with thick glasses and the son of the High Priest, or she knew Marcus Strayed, not a noble but who might as well be since his father controlled one of the largest mercantile empires. The only one missing was the Prospect Alyx Tetravar, who was presumably still in some palace in Francouis.

These were all the so-called ‘capture targets’ that had been revealed to her before, in her vision of Christine’s life. Together with the prince, these four boys were the ones who would, if left unchecked, inevitably bring about her doom.