Everything has gone exactly as I have foreseen.

...well, that's what I would say if I were a villain, right, Sayanastia? That's what you say when you want a shiver to run down the hero's obliging spine, before she offers up one of her rote catchphrases (remember when it was just "schwing"?). It's what you say to convince yourself that you're in control of the situation and that no one can stop you now.

Fortunately, I am as humble as I am beautiful and clever and perfect. I am well aware that I didn't foresee any of this. Well, most of it. The Serigalamu contingent went about as well as could have been hoped. A boy got squeezed and squeaked uselessly about it. But an old man falling down from the ceiling? I'm not even going to say that I guessed that would happen, because I prefer not to tell [i]obvious[/i] lies.

Still, I think the pieces have arranged themselves quite neatly. The Golden Fawn just so happens to be going off with a band of hero-support-staff to accompany two lovely girls on a quest to save a damsel in distress, given a perfect opportunity to see them at their best. And Eclair Espoir has met darling little Yuki when the maid-knight was at her lowest. Two neat narratives. And Civelia gone, to boot!

I will have to have her saved in the end, I think. A little nudge to Eclair, a dropped clue or two. It would be a shame to lose a counterbalance unless I had my own hand arranged properly.

[hr]
[b]TEAM QUEST[/b]

I think this will be the first time that the Handmaidens have assembled together in a little while, won't it? On a noble quest, even, one which requires Heron's touch. And with guest party members, who include:

[list][*]Hazel Valentine Fletcher, still wearing his gorgeous dress
[*]Alcideo of the Chrysanthemum, who neatly joined Cair and Hazel on their way out, because I am not letting my girls run off without support (and I suppose Hazel too)
[*]Keli, beautiful and heroic
[*]Seli, heroic and beautiful[/list]

You are not going through the Roads. You are going to have to cut through the Tanglewood, using the Golden Fawn as a stable waypoint in the midst of the Outside, in order to beat the Khatun to the Boar's Ossuary. The life of Sister Juniper hangs in the balance. You will have to set out from here, in the upper rooms of the Coachwoman's Arms, into the snow and the hateful forest that lies on the other side of Vespergift's walls.

So I suppose the biggest question is who attempts to convince these four companions that Heron is here and ready to lead the party? Who has it in them to even make the attempt?

(And I suppose the most sensitive question is what Hazel makes of these Handmaidens, all assembled, all pointing towards something that they lack in plain sight?)

(And also my daughters are very hot and they've incorporated magical charms of warding and protection into their outfits, and Keli [i]is[/i] going to wrap you up in a big delighted hug, Hazelkins~)

[hr]
[b]TEAM RELAXATION[/b]

Mayzie wraps her hands around her spiked hot chocolate and lets out a little purr of satisfaction. This is one of the promises of Vespergift: that while it snows outside, you can still be safe and warm inside. There's a clever little window that lets you see out of the Ophidia Room and out onto the streets of Vespergift laid out below, and the snow swirls past this window as Eclair Espoir and Yuki Edogawa chirp together.

Mayzie is drinking in both of them, and trying and failing to look like she isn't. The giddiness of meeting a hero meets with the giddiness of having her feelings reciprocated by the most wonderful, frustrating, [i]singular[/i] girl. She lifts her mug and gives herself a little mustache of cream as she sips.

Then she sets the mug down and, using notebook paper, begins to sketch the scene that is unfolding before her...