“Oh, my dear, innocent vampire queen. If only life were as simple as you made it out to be,” Kalisha sighed and kissed her.
“It is in the Empire. We are caught between two worlds. First is the Confederacy, the world of magic, where we are trying to overthrow its custodians, the elves and so must remain quiet if and when we move within. When we liberate it, it can be ours and ours alone to rule. Only then will we finally be free.
“The Empire, the world of machines, is not hostile to us...yet. And it is this world that forgets its compassion and makes nightmarish weapons of war. That forges people like Alice into living thralls, as you once did, but more powerful, capable of reason yet choosing to. It is this world that we have to date quietly in, or risk arrest and hard labor.”
“You are the Queen of a tiny mountain, a pebble at most, caught between the toes of a giant world. I live in the faraway Alliance: the world of balance, of peace. My people know how to be neutral and cater to all comers while not offending them. It is this world that gives me the skills to see and survive in all of them. Not just survive, but thrive. It will be my duty to help you, my naive beauty, navigate it as well if we are not to be stuck here forever.”