Besieging her with fancy is her dark counterpart, in the same way he did when they were children, and stirring awake aspects of the queen from her days-long lethargy. She gazes upon the woman and her guardian, the former so elegant as to appear a divine apparition, the man startling in his own shades of cool alabaster.
“We are pleased to receive you, amiirad Téng Lian,” the lioness presses on, though not only for inveterate purpose. Tianlong— she has longed to become acquainted with this culture, and already their princess seems lovely and competent. “Were you on a state visit to the west?”
Her inquiry is sincere, though spoken through an obscuring fog.



