After walking through the desert for a night, Rydia expected to see the oasis town of Kaipo, not a castle whirring with machinery. It made her uneasy – the machinery – as it reminded her of the Giant of Babil, which had come so close to taking so many lives. Her friends’ lives…

The sentry at the doors let them in upon his first glance at Alec’s headwear.

Alec brought Rydia straight to the throne room. She expected to see Edward, or at least partially did, so she was taken by surprise to see two blond men, one much tanner than the other, in his stead.

Alec walked up to the tanner one, gave some reason for Rydia to be there, and excused himself somewhere, leaving with only a hushed “sorry” to Rydia before he disappeared beyond the throne room doors.

“Another girl…” the tan one muttered. “Probably thinks I’ll propose to her, too… My heart only belongs to Anna..! Oh… My Anna…” After his digression, he turned his attention back to Rydia. “Welcome to D- to Figaro. I don’t think now is the time for me to have an audience, but perhaps if you come back tomorrow I’ll…”

They all waited in awkward silence for someone to speak, until finally, the other enthroned man said, “I can show you to the spare room, if you’d like.” He stood and started for the door. “We all may find answers in the morning.”

After the man showed Rydia to her room, she was left alone to entertain herself for the better part of the day.

There was nothing in her room to do, and there were surely some women who could give her something to pass the time by, even if it was something so superficial as clothes. Maybe they could explain to her the sudden change in world geography… Rydia needed enlightenment.

She wandered around the castle until she found a bedroom with two maids milling around, occasionally tending the fireplace or straightening the already-perfect beds and table. Rydia stood in the doorway for a second before going in and approaching the two maids.

She asked them to do her hair and one immediately ran off, coming back a few minutes later with her arms full of hair things, makeup, dresses, and whatever else she’d decided Rydia needed. After that, the time they were styling her was a blur that dragged on for hours. The maids must have redone everything ten different times.

Once they were done, one handed Rydia a mirror, asking if she liked the final product. She looked into the mirror, mildly curious, and a stranger stared back.