Phaedra steps lightly over the floorboards, her shoes trailing lines of mist. Between the wooden planks, a red light shines from below.

Phaedra: The vacation we were on, when we were murdered... It was a trip my dad had wanted to take with me, once I was old enough to lead alongside him.

She stops at the portrait of her father. She looks up at it wistfully, holding her teacup as the steam swirls around.

Phaedra: We were going to see all the wonders of the old world... Ruins... shrines... battlegrounds... places where sacred history was made. But he was killed before we could ever go.

As Pavel looks on behind her, with Katja resting her head on the floor outside his bubble... an arm with black tattoos emerges from the floor, glowing red, and prepares to grab a scone from the plate.

Phaedra continues, looking off to the side in thought.

Phaedra: Irving and Lani... they stole me away from my duties this summer, and took me on that trip as a big surprise. We didn't make it to all of those places, but... gods, I was so grateful.

Pavel raises a finger in protest. The red light behind him begins to fade.

Pavel: Wait... it was just a vacation? They said you had run away... to avoid... princess stuff?

Phaedra whips around, looking concerned.

Phaedra: They WHAT?