Arlecchino

The Hotel Bouffes d'ete, situated in the Vasari Passage, is a lovely building with clean walls and sparkling windows, and well-mannered, well-groomed children frequent it every day. Unlike other mansions of comparable beauty in the Court of Fontaine, the registered owner of this property does not live on-site. Indeed, nearby residents have not even heard of her. The signature on the relevant documentation is but a false identity — the real power lies with someone else. If one could hear the children whisper at night behind the Hotel's closed gates, one would hear this appellation: "Father." When speaking of "Father," some faces turn worshipful, some hearts are seized with fear, and still others look inscrutable, torn — but their tone always becomes one of respect. These children are part of the organization known as the House of the Hearth. They belong to the Fatui. This place is home to orphans the world over, and the luxurious Hotel is but one of the House's faces. As for this "Father," the master of the House, she is none other than The Knave, Arlecchino, presently Fourth of the Fatui Harbingers. The Fatui — and this Harbinger — enjoy a mixed reputation. But to most of these children, "Father" is the most important figure in their lives. "It is only because 'Father' is here that this place is truly like a 'home.'"