Rare is it that Anastasia should acknowledge the allure and proverbially curled finger of a geniune curiosity when one presented itself, true mysteries having always been admittedly few given the Russian monarch's predilection for simply knowing so very many things whether they be spoken or otherwise. Rarer still was it for her to indulge the fleeting whim of a curiosity, even if doing so entailed naught more than querying after the whims of another individual. It is for this reason that the seemingly minute and inconsequential inquiry parts from her lips as the pair of women traverse the reflective marble floor of the museum's lobby.

"Mmm," she hums gently in acknowledgement, choosing for the moment to cease any line of questioning that might have them dabble in the conversational taboo that was Calliel's family life. The finer details of her would-be prodigy's parental situation were an amorphous haze at the very edge of Anastasia's consciousness, an enigma to be sorted and deciphered at a later time, though she bends to the uncanny sense of tragedy that eeks from the shaded abyss. No, it would not do for such a discussion to be had here, now. So instead does Anastasia offer her own manner of anecdotal distraction. "My mother would take me and my siblings to the Gosudarstvennyy Russkiy Muzey all of the time, but I much preferred the Louvre. Have you been to the Louvre?" She turns to her young companion, an expertly-manicured brow pitched to accent her query.

They meander about the corridors of the museum for a time, idle conversation passing betwixt them when they chose, a thoughtful silence permeating when they did not. The Russian woman was quite content to allow the young Were to take leave of her company when she so desired, having been taught that one's quiet interpretation of a presented artwork was a wholly personal experience. But it is not until she turns a final corner that the Duchess finally falls still, the timely click of her footwear dissolving into the practiced quietude of the chambers around her, sage eyes falling with decided heft upon a large and intricate frame displaying a series of poignantly familiar faces...

Anastasia Romanova

Grand Duchess of Imperial Russia