[...This is entirely too many coincidences. Even if Alaric is just making a shot in the dark, him saying that...it feels like something she should remember. It feels like it's true. But how? What kind of mage would have that kind of power?]

...It would be, yes. But who? To wield magic like this must take someone incredibly strong, and I haven't heard anything about...

[Anyone experimenting with that kind of magic. But the words die as she keeps thinking, Blanche seeming almost disoriented. The storm strikes again--a blow that makes the entire building shudder, and Blanche grimaces. They can't keep focusing on this--nor the servant quarters, which Blanche bypasses entirely. There's no one in the few open doors--it would be a waste of time to check on them.

It isn't long before they get to the stairs, and--]

Ah...Alaric, look. The stairs here, they're...

[Part of the wall has crumbled in, and that's going to make the descent difficult. But this too feels familiar--the awful joke she made at her mother's expense, Alaric carrying her down the stairs, and--]

...Why does this feel so familiar...?

[Blanche doesn't like this. She doesn't like this at all. It's a quiet question, but it's no doubt one that Alaric will hear.]