Great.

(She wants to get everything taken care of before going to find Luthien again. Doesn't want anything else on her mind.)

Shortly after she settles in to work on her term project for alchemy, there's a knock on the workshop doorframe, and when Daniella looks up - there's Li Jiana standing alone, waiting at the threshold.

"Can I... help you?" she says in Mandarin.

"There's a question I wanted to ask, that you seemed most likely to be able to answer."

"Are you sure you have the right person?"

"Yes. You don't know the question, yet."

"Most people don't think of me as the most likely source of answers."

"I'm not most people."

"I guess not."

She steps in and sits next to Daniella on the bench.

"Your aunt is Andromeda Rhys-Lake, correct?"

"One of them is, yeah."

"We'd heard - rumors, about her daughter, and then those rumors suddenly stopped, about ten years ago."

"I'm aware it's personal, and not particularly my business, but - I've often wondered what happened to your cousin, if you know and can share."

"Artemis, you mean? She died. Probably. Ran away to hunt mals and never came back."

"Ah."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"It was a long time ago."

"Why are you asking?"

"I'd taken a - bit of a personal interest in her when I was a child, when I first heard of her. Both of us the daughters of powerful women, our mothers rivals, but the two of us living under the same heavy burdens, existing under the same microscope by sheer virtue of our identities..."

"I was fairly sure she'd be in the year after me in the Scholomance, and - I've wanted to meet her for a long time." Tiny, humorless smile. "I thought that if anyone in this world could understand me, maybe she could."

"Your twin doesn't do the trick?"

"He's... Different. Family always is."

Squint.

"I don't remember there being very many microscopes around Artemis. Or heavy burdens, really. She pretty much just did what she wanted."

"Those burdens nor microscopes aren't always visible, especially to those outside of the closest circle of the family. And from what I know of Andromeda Rhys-Lake... She's a controlling woman, and one difficult to escape the notice of."

"And children don't often run away from unbroken homes."

"But you did know her first hand..."

"Okay. You've got a story you want to tell about this. Why now?"

"I'm graduating soon. I won't have many chances later."

"You don't think I'll make it out?"

"I think you probably will. But I expect your aunt and the - delicate situation between our enclaves - will prevent most casual conversation."

"You beat out everyone for valedictorian without looking like you were trying, when you didn't need to and while your brother was attempting to do the same thing. I think you could arrange a conversation if you wanted to."