Noir and I arrived one day later, the day before Alice was to turn 13, at the orders of the Queen of Midnight to escort her heir to the Night Palace. Unfortunately, there were complications that we didn’t anticipate, such as the fact that her parents weren’t thrilled at having their daughter as the heir to one of the Nights. They had already petitioned Noon about the decision, and even though Noon had said that there was absolutely nothing they could do about it, that still didn’t stop her mother from slamming the door in our faces as soon as she saw our Raven wings. For a while there was the sound of yelling and doors slamming, and then an entourage of hansom cabs drove up the road, containing Noon and his escort. They were quickly admitted to the house, while Noir and I had the pleasure of waiting outside in the brisk November air for another twenty minutes. At long last, the door was opened for us by Noon himself.
“I apologize for the misunderstanding,” he said. “Do come inside.”