So the situation is set. Asmodeus manipulated every circumstance to bring Aksinya to a convent and girl's school in Austria. We still don't have any idea what the demon's overall plan is. He obviously thinks there is more opportunity for evil in this situation than in Russia.
They visited Sacré Coeur in the late morning the next day. Aksinya wore a wonderful gown Natalya had just finished fitting to her. Natalya had an appropriate matching dress that had come from Aksinya’s closet. Natalya could wear almost any of Aksinya’s clothes without fitting. They never fit Aksinya very well to begin with. Now, Aksinya wore nearly only those that had been her mother’s or her sister’s. Asmodeus insisted.
The weather was clear and cold. They rode in an elegant covered carriage, a coupe, from Aksinya’s uncle and aunt’s mansion to the convent and gymnasium at Sacré Coeur. They entered the center of Wien and arrived at a beautiful old catholic church with three attached buildings. The church appeared first. It was tall with a face decorated by stained glass. The bell tower stuck upward from the center. Connected directly to the church was another long building that was constructed in a more modern style. It was mostly sandy brick with long windows on the upper floor and shorter windows on the lower floor. A wide archway cut through the center of this building. Their driver turned the stylish coupe, through this archway. They entered a large retanguler courtyard. That’s when the other two buildings came within sight. On the other side of the courtyard was a building that appeared almost as old as the church. It was wood and stone and built in an archaic style. To the right, another building attached to the building that fronted the street and the older one across the courtyard. The building to the right was the newest. Within the courtyard, to the left across from this building the side of the church. It was as decorated with stained glass as the front.
When they entered the courtyard, Freifrau Bockmann began a running commentary, “Do you see Countess, the building along the street is the students’ dormitory. Most of the rooms front the courtyard. Across from that is the convent. They are both attached to the church. Between them and across from the church is the school... I mean the gymnasium. That is such a new term for me. It was always just a school when I attended there.”
The building between the convent and the dormetory had a fine facade. It looked like a school, but definitely one that taught the highest level of decorum. Over the double door in elegant script was the name, Sacré Coeur. The driver pulled directly before the door. A very officious appearing older woman and a tall nun stepped through the wide door to greet them.
This is mostly description punctuated with little tidbits of information. I have to take this chapter to describe this place to the reader because this will the an important part of the story. Much revolves around the school, convent, and the Bockmanns.
The first point is that Aksinya's clothing is a choice of Asmodeus. We've seen this before. This time, he obviously chose it to impress. When the clothing is described, it is exactly what a Countess would wear. Note also that obviously Aksinya's clothing was sub par to her mother and sister. You might expect that difference from her mother, but not her sister. We also see that Aksinya's clothing never fit her well--isn't that interesting.
The rest is simply the description of the buildings. I usually have to work on this over and over. I try to use the fewest words for description, but I want the reader to see what I describe. This takes time and careful editing.
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