Raquella Berto-Anirul arrives on Salusa Secundus with Valya Harkonnen and other Sisters to collect Princess Anna Corrino for training on Rossak. The gloomy weather and their delayed VenHold spacefolder make the visit feel inauspicious, especially because Raquella wants to demonstrate the Sisterhood’s reliability to Emperor Salvador.

At the Imperial Palace, Raquella’s party is met by Sister Dorotea and several Sister graduates serving at court. Dorotea has rearranged the Emperor’s schedule to cover for the delay, and Raquella praises Dorotea’s competence, privately noting the hidden truth that Dorotea is Raquella’s granddaughter.

Dorotea explains that Salvador chose the Sisterhood because the court Sisters have proved their worth and because Anna needs disciplined training after immature behavior. Dorotea also reveals that the Emperor has ordered her to accompany Anna back to Rossak, ending Dorotea’s service at court. Raquella accepts the command and plans to reassign Valya, while privately considering Dorotea a strong candidate for future advancement.

Raquella reflects on the Sisterhood’s policy of severing children from parental identity. After her daughter Arlett refused to give up newborn Dorotea, Raquella deliberately mixed the babies’ identities in the crèche and sent the mothers away, establishing that daughters raised on Rossak would grow without knowledge of their parentage or special treatment.

Valya asks whether she might replace Dorotea at the Imperial Court, revealing ambition beyond her assigned duties. Raquella refuses immediately, reminding Valya that the Sisterhood, not House Harkonnen ambitions, must be her only family and purpose.

Dorotea then brings the group to Anna Corrino, who is guarded in a reception chamber and resentful about being sent away. Anna’s hostility softens when Valya offers friendship, and Anna admits that without Hirondo she no longer wants to remain at the palace.