Anastasia Romanova
It was a fool's errand indeed to presume that this introduction could have gone as smoothly as Anastasia had allowed herself to hope for the very briefest of moments. Between the hesitance of her impromptu companion to even accompany her this far and Alexander's notably glacial exterior, it could have gone no more favorably than this. To her merit, though, the Russian royal was every bit as willful and as persistant as her creator. He had chosen his progeny well, it would seem.

Anastasia casts naught more than the most pointed, assured of glances towards an admittedly shocked William. If the Englishman had not suspected prior to this that the young woman was in possession of knowledge beyond what was deemed possible, certainly now all doubt had been erased. Traditionally it was her custom to be keep whatever knowledge she gleaned from what and who surrounded her closer to the chest than this; however, given that she sought to involve Alexander in this she could hardly hold such details from him. No, Alexander must know precisely with whom they were dealing, no matter his apathy towards the man she had in tow.

The iciness of Alexander's "introduction" was not entirely unexpected, for who was Jack the Ripper to a man who had conquered worlds? Who was the lynx to the lion? Regardless, the shards of her creator's venomous words hardly perturbed the stoic Russian; she had, after all, been subjected to far worse in the dawn of their relationship. In fact, only does the Duchess speak when William finally discovers his voice and the wherewithal to offer rebuttal. "William," she quips, a command to silence issued in naught more than a single word and the slicing of sage eyes to her companion. It would not do for them to quibble amongst themselves as petulent children when there existed far greater worriments at hand.

Quickly does Anastasia move to provide mitigation to her creator, though it is questionable if even the young maiden herself knows precisely why she has brought the wayward Englishman here... why it was that she would trouble herself and her maker with the business of this Council and its quarry. She is spared the toil of an explanation, for the moment at least, with the depositing of a rather exquisite stone bracelet within her hands. Anastasia holds the item as if it were glass, the accessory itself far older even than Alexander and yet it glistens in the dancing firelight as if it had known no other hands apart from theirs. Softened, serene eyes flicker from the jewelry within her cupped hands to its gifter, a long moment of pregnant silence beheld there for he had never bestowed upon her a gift quite like this one. Finally she chances a step nearer to Alexander, leaning in to lay a kiss of gratitude upon the man's cheek and whisper softly something for his ears alone. "Spasibo, otets." Thank you, Father.

It is a rare moment of tenderness that passes betwixt creator and progeny, there and gone in the transpiring of mere moments before William does once again capture wholly the attention of the Russian woman. That customary, guarded shade passes over Anastasia's eyes as they deviate to the stranger she had brought; though his aversion to Alexander's iciness was understandable, she would require far more cooperation from the vagabond if she should know success in this particular venture. Allowing William a fair few moments in which to speak his piece, the young woman then turns to her maker to proffer up an answer to his inquiry. "IImenno poetomu ya privel yego syuda. Sovet yavlyayetsya naivnym, oni ne mogut kontrolirovat' yego bol'she, chem on mozhet kontrolirovat' sebya," she offers in a tone that is nothing if not assertive, direct. That is why I have brought him here. The Council is naive, they cannot control him any more than he can control himself. "YA ubil bol'she, no u menya byl opytnyy prepodavatel". I have killed more, but I had a skilled teacher. Her eyes traverse a hard line between Alexander and William then, lingering a moment upon the weary facade of her would-be companion before venturing once more to the elder man. "If they have him, it will be catastrophic."