Before this evening, the newly completed star chart would have been adequate in its colorless glory. In fact, Alice wouldn't have thought twice of it; she would have double checked her equations, ensured the coordinates matched appropriately, and handed in their work. Mr. Evermonde, however, had opened her eyes to the value of art, and Alice had begun to hope midway through their assignment that he might make it beautiful.

He didn't disappoint.

She watched the paintbrush ease the watercolors around the parchment with rapt attention as he explained his talent. A tutor, she never would have guessed that to be the source of his art. Creativity had always seemed to be an innate trait, one she couldn't possibly learn. Perhaps that wasn't the case, though, perhaps she simply hadn't tried hard enough in her first year of art lessons. (Alice highly doubted this to be the case as she dropped art from her courseload as soon as she was able to. Her talent laid in more organized forms of thought than the vast freedom that was creativity.)

"Fascinating," she replied as she continued to watch him work. "I never would've thought to emboss the markings, you can save yourself from smudges and the likes with such a simple charm."