To Alicia’s eye, the city seemed at once highly modern and terribly ancient. Part of this was due to the memories from Christine; the sight of all the rows of terraced houses and the cobblestone streets was positively antique in comparison to Christine’s experience with squat apartment complexes and asphalt-covered roads. Even for Alicia, there were churches and buildings they passed that by their designs looked as if they might be four or five centuries old, although they had clearly been maintained and refurbished several times over the years.

At the same time, compared to the estate or even the town of Bridgeford, there was an undeniable urban modernity to Ludestre. The bustle of the crowds of people walking through the street, the constant traffic of horse-drawn carriages and omnibuses and even the occasional magnolic coach, the buildings with wrought iron fences and rows of windows, even the smell of ash and soot; it all spoke to a city caught in the grasp of the relentless drive of progress.

In fairness, the air had cleared up significantly as they left the train station, traveling to the family’s estate that was situated only a few blocks from the Houses of Parliament. Partly that was due to their carriage moving away from the factories to the east, whose tall chimneys could be seen, from the right vantage point, spewing smoke and ash at all times of day. However, as Miss Hartwright had explained, it was mainly a result of the wrought-iron poles, spaced out at periodic intervals in this part of the city, which contained a clever bit of circuitry that repelled malevolent odors. Even now, walking out into the Bywin family’s garden, she could see one of those desmokers, placed between the trees and draped with vines.

To say that Alicia felt nervous would be a severe understatement, and yet she refused to let that show. From the moment she had passed through the estate and entered the garden, led by the Bywin butler, she was acutely aware of all the gazes that were upon her. This tea party was ostensibly a subdued affair, practice for the young noblewomen who had not yet made their public debut, but she was not fooled. This would mark her first real steps into the world of politics, and everyone here would be silently passing judgement.

The garden itself was beautiful, she had to admit, with a wide area of carefully trimmed grass surrounded by tall bushes with bright flowers and towering trees, an imitation of wilderness that nonetheless bore the marks of meticulous management. Set in the center of the grass was a long table, five seats on either side, where nine girls around her age already sat. She was led to a seat near the head, right across from a girl with a pale, freckled complexion wearing an equally pale pink dress.

The butler, a man of middling age and thinning hair, waited for her to sit down before making the first introduction. Turning to the girl in the pale pink dress, he said, “My lady, may I present to you Lady Alicia Senius?” The girl ducked her head in recognition, and the butler turned to Alicia. “Lady Senius, I present to you Lady Flora Bywin.”

“Lady Senius, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Miss Bywin said. Her voice was thin but her gaze was steady.

“Likewise, Lady Bywin,” Alicia said, inclining her head in a slight nod. “I am quite grateful for your invitation to this function.”

“I am glad you were able to accept,” the girl replied. This was all mere formalism; Alicia had needed a venue to illustrate her Blooming, and as such the Duke had arranged for the invitation with the Marquess Bywin. It was crucial, however, that all proper niceties be observed; the Bywins could not afford to offend the ducal house of Senius, and Alicia for her part needed to not humiliate her own family in any way.

“Allow me to introduce the others at the table,” Lady Bywin continued. What followed was a series of niceties as, one by one, Alicia politely greeted the other noble children at the table. Three of them had last names which were unfamiliar to her, which meant they were not highly titled, although she did her best to memorize their names anyways. From the other four whose names she recognized, three were viscounts and one from an earl. Alicia held the highest rank, although as the host it would not do to condescend to Lady Bywin herself.

She felt some of her nervousness dissipate. The selection of guests had clearly been quite deliberate; she knew that the Marquis and her father were close allies, and none of the other guests were from families with enough status to publicly speak ill of the Senius estate. She was still at risk of gossip and rumors, but at least any open shame and humiliation could be avoided.

After the introductions were finished, servants emerged from the house carrying tea pots and tiered trays stacked high with small sandwiches and pastries. They moved with careful precision, placing the trays down at equal intervals and pouring each girl tea, starting with Lady Bywin and then moving down in order of rank.

“I understand this is your first time in the city, Lady Senius,” Lady Bywin said. “How do you find it? I confess that I found it awfully busy and enclosed, on my first visit. Yet, I find that its sights have grown fonder with time.”

“More than anything, I find myself overwhelmed,” Alicia replied. “I had read several descriptions before, of course, yet none of them adequately prepared me for the experience of being here myself. I do believe I have seen more people in the past day than I have seen in the whole year preceding it.”

“I had quite the same experience,” the young Lady Perthwood chimed in, the second daughter of the Earl of the same name. She was small, even for her age, and she wore a dress in a mature dark red, a decision that flirted with overcompensation. “I am sure that you will adjust to the city life quite quickly, Lady Senius. As the poet Ardwin wrote, ‘no sooner did I taste Ludestre’s delight/than I was loth to let it leave my sight’.”

“Indeed,” Alicia murmured, resisting the urge to mention that Ardwin’s ‘delight’ was meant far more euphemistically than Lady Perthwood had likely intended. “I expect it will be a good idea to become acclimatized now, so that I am well prepared for the time when I attend the Academy.”

“Ah yes, I had heard that you recently Bloomed,” Lady Bywin said, and Alicia flashed her a small smile of gratification. It seemed that Lady Bywin was both quick on the uptake and gifted at leading conversations; Alicia made a mental note that it might be worth developing a further relationship with the girl. “I believe that congratulations are in order.”

Alicia took a sip of tea as the other girls all took turns expressing their congratulations as well. The tea was light and had a slightly floral flavor, which she quickly identified as rose. She could feel the magnolic power tingle as it touched her tongue, and soon she felt it begin to spread out through her whole body.

“Congratulations indeed,” Lady Perthwood interjected. “I had heard that you fell ill shortly after the ceremony, so it is a relief that you seem to have recovered.”

Alicia winced ever-so-slightly at the words. “It was just a small fever. Quite unrelated.” Even as she spoke, she felt like kicking herself. Nobody had yet to suggest that it was related, so her denial would only seem like it was confirming the rumors.

Once more, Lady Bywin mercifully took charge. “Well, I had heard from my father that you are already quite proficient with your thaumaturgy. If it isn’t too much to ask, could you perhaps give us a small demonstration?”

“It would be no trouble at all,” Alicia replied. She decided that it was definitely worth developing relations with her.

Casually, Alicia set the tea cup down, and then turned her hand so that her fingers were facing up. She closed her eyes, schooling her face into an expression that suggested a sense of ease bordering on disinterest, and then desperately began the process of bending the magnolic power in her to her will.

It was far easier now than it had been at first, yet it was still far from effortless. She reached out in her mind and commanded all the motes of magnolic power to stop all motion away from her hand. They obeyed, although still somewhat sluggishly, and she could feel them begin to gather on the right side of her body. However, she had found that it wasn’t enough to just tell them to stop flowing away; eventually they would gather in such numbers that her concentration would break, and then she would lose control entirely.

Instead, once she had them mostly stilled, she switched to a different mindset. She imagined the tip of her right hand to be a magnet, and all the particles to be as iron shavings. She needed them to be still first for this mindset to work, but once they were, it proved far more effective than the last. Now the magnolic power seemed to practically stream toward her hand, gathering together in her palm and threatening to erupt, uncontrolled. She was still using small enough quantities that such an eruption would at worst singe her skin, but it was crucial that she fully developed control now.

In truth, Alicia wasn’t quite sure why she needed these frameworks, although Miss Hartwright had said it was necessary for all practitioners to have something of the sort. Magnolic power was just too strange and unfamiliar for the mind to process and control in its native form; it needed some form of intermediary thought to control it effectively. Her mental frameworks provided this, allowing her to manipulate it with greater ease at the cost of whatever limitations her frameworks naturally provided. For instance, considering the power as a gas gave it a pressure that resisted her pull, while thinking of it as iron filings made it concentrate in one point but gave up fine control or subtlety.The scientific and theological implications of this were potentially staggering, but she unfortunately didn’t have the luxury to delve into that at the moment. She filed that as a topic to investigate later, once she had successfully escaped the metaphorical sword hanging over her head.

The final step was to hold in her mind the desired outcome, and then command the gathered magnolic power to make that manifest in reality. She had originally just been planning on creating a small burst of light, but now that the magnolic power was buzzing at her fingertips, she felt inspired to try something a bit more interesting. Alicia held the image of Lady Bywin’s face in her mind: freckled cheeks, timid nose, thin lips, kind eyes. Finally, she released her hold on the magnolic power, letting it emerge from her fingertip and into the air.

The other young ladies let out a sound of collective awe. Alicia opened her eyes to see an ethereal bust of a woman’s face glittering in front of her. It was made of soft pink streams of light, which flowed from her fingers and sketched out the image she’d pictured before dissipating into the air. Alicia pursed her lips, somewhat disappointed. The shape had turned out as she desired, but she had been unable to properly capture the fine details; as a result, it wasn’t clear who the face was meant to be. It had been a foolish idea to attempt something she had not much tried before, but hopefully those watching would forgive her ineptitude.

“That was quite a display,” Lady Bywin said after a moment. “I had no idea you were an artist, in addition to your other gifts.”

“I appreciate your compliments, Lady Bywin,” Alicia replied. “In truth I am still quite unskilled, but I am endeavoring to learn.”

Alicia felt the effects of the cast a moment later. If having magnolic power in her body made her feel powerful and without limits, then releasing it had the opposite effect. She felt drained and slightly light-headed, and she surreptitiously leaned back in her seat to steady herself. Miss Hartwright had said such a sensation was common, although the degree to which it affect Alicia now was concerning. Perhaps another visit from Doctor Hadwick would not go amiss.

The rest of the party passed without much fanfare. Alicia did her best to seem elegant and dignified, as she sipped more of the tea she gradually recovered. She let Lady Bywin and Lady Perthwood control the conversation, responding when addressed but otherwise content to observe. When the party came to a conclusion, it was no small relief; even if she had not been artificially exhausted, she had rarely socialized with those outside her family for such an extended period of time. She had the presence of mind to graciously thank Lady Bywin and bid the others farewell, and then she retreated to the waiting carriage that would take her back home.

She had no real metric to judge her performance; all she could do was hope she had not embarrassed the Senius name. In any event, what was done was done, and there was no changing it. Now, she had to turn her attention to her second task; meeting with Miss Hartwright’s lawyer friend.