Rain still fell outside, but the train platform was covered by a roof.
Even so, when the train came to a steady stop at the platform, the thick steam rising from beneath the carriages carried an unusually damp chill.
Earl Belinder, Earl Eddington, and Earl Hawthorne walked at the front to greet them, with a red carpet already laid before the carriage door. As the door opened amid the sounds of metal scraping and transmission rods shifting, the guards who emerged first quickly placed a metal step plate over the gap between the carriage and the platform.
The band began to play, and the Royal Maids stepped out.
They opened their umbrellas and stood beside the carriage, shielding the doorway from the rain falling from above.
Amid the enthusiastic applause of the crowd and the rapid clicking of the reporters' cameras, Margaret Anjou emerged from the carriage.
She wore a golden gown beneath a brown coat, her long golden hair pinned up behind her head. Her expression was cool, and she was dressed with considerable grace and splendor.
The smoke from burning magnesium strips mingled with the steam, making the scene seem hazy and dreamlike. The bobbing hats and waving arms made the chaotic backdrop all the stranger.
The photographs captured Princess Margaret's lovely face as she paused outside the carriage door, but more people noticed that when facing the three earls, she extended her hand first to Countess Belinder.
It might have been mere courtesy, but it also invited more than one layer of political interpretation.
"Your Highness, welcome to Moon Bay City."
Holding Margaret's silk-gloved hand, the Great Witch of Fate greeted her softly. The princess responded appropriately in Kartherian Language with a slight Wilundell accent.
The Earth Witch's apprentice gave this formally recognized Great Witch a slight