Ambrose frowns pensively and scratches his bearded chin.  "Yes... I remember hearing about his death a few years ago; sad story.  Killed investigating a branch of some puritanical Light-drunk crusading order; his friends finished the job for him.  Didn't remember he had a daughter."

"Did she look - in the dream - like she could be a friend?" Jethelia asks Alicia hopefully.

Friend or inspiration, or hopefully both.

"...I don't think you want me to answer that, mother.  Because if I do, then that opens the possibility that I'm lying, and we'll end up going round in circles playing 'I know you know I know'.  I don't think either of us want to have to deal with that.  So please just keep hoping like you presently are, rather than - inquisiting.  That said...I do think that she'd be worth quite a lot, as an ally.  A prodigious spirit-speaker, not to mention that her father's friends have been tutoring her in various useful skills.  She could well rule her barony in her own right, right now, and not make a hash of it, if it came to that.  Not that that's a good idea."

...How would she know that?  The family-dynamic read is...painfully accurate, but that's not what Ciara finds herself wondering about, no - how does Alicia know that a kid her age could run a barony, when that isn't what she's implying happened in her vision?  There's something strange still missing from the picture, and she's convinced it's to do with the sudden and total flip of the Princess's behavior - the way the Princess deflected, instead of just bristling, is also interestingly novel.

"...Please forgive my impertinence, your Highnesses - if I might ask a question of your vision that is confusing me, or request that we not be exposed to this danger without true necessity -

"How did you see it?  From your own eyes?  From another's?  In stranger ways still?"

That reply - doesn't sound like Alicia.  She half-expected Alicia to protest and refuse to answer, but she didn't expect her to... call out how the conversation might go, like she did?  And maybe (sadly) not totally wrongly?

She's not going to press more; she doesn't want to risk Alicia avoiding Lila out of spite.

"What were you doing in the vision before the cultists arrived?"

... and then she narrows her eyes at Sia.  "Interruptions are impolite and best not done, no matter how curious one might be."

Ambrose raises his eyebrows at the "rule her barony in her own right, right now."  He hadn't thought about how useful prophetic visions could be at identifying useful people, but now that one's delivered to him... he'll definitely take a look at her.

He puts a hand on his wife's arm.  "Sia's questions are good, though.  How did you see it, Alicia?"

"...Define 'before the cultists arrived', please; they are already here.  ...Well.  In Villarosa.  Not the Palace."

...

"Before your vision started focusing on them?"

Were she less in absolute control of herself, her face would twist like she'd bitten into a lemon.  As it is, she is possessed of incredible self-control, so all Queen Jethelia sees is a painfully real earnestness.  "Your Highness, Queen Jethelia - I am not only curious but concerned; if you wish not for your staff's input, we should not be here.  It is dangerous to involve oneself, however peripherally, in plots involving demon cultists; I would take that risk, were it for the kingdom's good, but many would rather not and I cannot blame them.  ...Rill, don't be a romantic."

Oh, the irony.

"...I'd like you to stay, if their Majesties permit it, Ciara.  You seem to have your head screwed on right about this whole thing."

...Wait, what?  What?  "I would be honored to be of assistance" slips out of her mouth nigh-automatically, but her thoughts are racing.  This is not how things work with the Princess.  She doesn't pay attention to the help, let alone invite them into her confidences.  No wonder Rill is feeling like things are off; they are!

Yes, something has definitely changed about Alicia!  She's starting to think of old stories where someone got sent a vision to mend their ways and save them from some disaster - Alicia definitely seems to be taking this that way!

(And if she's important enough, or lucky enough, to get that sort of vision - and if there're going to be demon cultists involved in things - some small part of Rill wants to be in on that.)

Jethelia frowns.  She's also thinking of those same stories, but trying not to think of them too much yet.  She doesn't want to be in one of those stories.

"Was she in your vision, Alicia?"

"...I believe so," and that comes with a suppressed grimace, "but I'm curious why you ask."

Then she'll take that as "Ciara could be important," and not object further.  Even though this should have been properly announced beforehand.

"What else did you do in this vision?  And what did this Lila do in it?"

She eats a bite of fruit, to give herself time to not bite her mother's face off about infosec and the importance of proper planning.

"Mother, haphazardly picking my brain isn't going to help; we need to actually sit down and think about points of leverage.  And we shouldn't do that with anyone we don't trust implicitly present; Ciara is certainly loyal to the kingdom, of that I'm sure, but the circle of trust is already too wide and we're having this conversation in the garden rather than somewhere secure."

...Did the Princess just have so much experience, in her vision of what was to come, that she grew up overnight?  But what taught her thanking the staff?  Visions and prophecies are usually about important things!

Ambrose nods.  "All right... yes, Sameth (he gestures to the third servant), tell Earl Kenver that I'm postponing our meeting till my free slot this afternoon.  Alicia, that'll be at half-past-third; hopefully you can organize your thoughts some by then?"

Jethelia has to stop and bite back her first several responses, remembering that this isn't just her daughter talking about her dream, but it's a prophecy as well.

And then her husband intervenes, taking it totally seriously.

So then she decides the least-bad approach is just to change the subject altogether.  "I hope you slept well despite that, Alicia?  And do tell me what you think about this melon; it's from last year's crop in Southreach..."

"I've slept as well as I ever do, I think.  And, yes, half-past third...that ought to suffice.

"...The melon is very good!  Not so watery it compromises on flavor, but still juicy in the way you want a melon to be."

"Yes, the juice is nicely rich.  I do think the aging barely compromised anything at all."

She's... not happy, but fine... with talking about lighter things, like melons and an upcoming ball, for the rest of the breakfast.

King Ambrose doesn't have much time after the breakfast before his next meeting (with the Provost of the Royal Academy, in fact, to talk about some politically-sensitive students from abroad).  But, he tells his understeward to go pull all the files about Ser Kosvin, and anything about his family too.  Also, find a good treatise on prophecy.

After that meeting, just before the next meeting (with the Speakers of three Shire Assemblies), the understeward brings back the files along with Anthopon's Handling Foretellings.

King Ambrose has just enough time to skim a bit about Ser Kosvin.  Talented in Light magic, he graduated with honors from the Yarmouth Academy, took a knight's commission, and handled these various cultists and criminals and beasts, together with these other people; for which he was invested with a barony.  Married Selma Hatham (no particular notes), daughter Lila (evident magic observed when she was just five years old).  Here're the notes from Kosvin's barony's Assembly; statistically-normal level of complaints for a brand-new Baron.  After a year as Baron, he reaffirmed his knight's vows and did these things... and then he died on mission.  His friend and comrade-in-arms Ser Mattan Hyas is currently serving as regent in Lila's name (Selma having refused.)

King Ambrose nods pensively.  Lila clearly has magical talent, for it to be visible so young.  And he could definitely imagine her feeling a drive to fight demon cultists in the future (or Light-drunk maniacs, for that matter.)  Without Alicia's vision, he'd expect to have heard of her maybe five years from now after she's at the Academy.  But now...

... well, he wants to know who she is, more than just this bland background.

But first, he wants to hear more of the story from his daughter.

Well, first, the meeting with the Assembly Speakers.