The day of the ball came and the first thing I did that day was make myself a late lunch. I’d intentionally slept in because, well, I wanted to. I’m old, I deserve some relaxation. As I was searing some chicken in a pan, a knock came at the door. I froze and grabbed a knife, hiding it behind my back. I looked through the peephole and breathed a sigh of relief as I saw Char standing there, carefully holding a suit.

I unlocked the door and let her in. She pushed in past me.

“Again,” I said, “I don’t remember telling you where I was.”

She set the suit down on the chair and began to strip. I slammed the door closed and locked it.

“Lavin told me where you were staying. And that I needed to assist you with blending into high society,” she said.

I picked up her discarded clothes from the floor and folded them.

“I can fit into high society,” I muttered.

“Darling,” Lavin said from the door of her bedroom, “you can’t even fit into society. Much less high society.”

Char immediately turned and bowed. I sighed and shook my head.

“My lady,” Char said.

“Please,” Lavin said, “Lavin is fine.”

“Is there any reason you needed us both here?” I asked, putting Char’s clothes down onto the couch.

Lavin ignored me and Char smirked while she pulled on her underclothes. Lavin walked over to me and ran her fingers through my hair. I stepped back and she drew closer, examining my face.

“Gods above,” she said, gently brushing my Hunter’s Mark with the tip of her finger. I gritted my teeth and didn’t move. “You don’t look a day over forty,” she said, a hint of bitterness in her voice. “In ten years, I’ll look older than you and you’ll look pretty much the same.”

Char grabbed her wrist gently and pulled it away from my neck. There were flecks of anger in her eyes.

“Respectfully, my Lady,” Char said, “it isn’t considered polite to touch someone like that.”

Lavin blinked and smiled.

“Yes,” she muttered, “of course.” She glanced at my Hunter’s Mark, which had begun to ache.

I didn’t like being treated like a zoo animal, but I’d been treated that way enough to know what was going through Lavin’s head. Lavin sat down, lost in thought, and I finished making lunch.

As I plated the sandwiches, I said, “It’s a curse.”

“Hm?” Lavin said.

“The Mark,” I said. “It’s a curse.”

“I must admit,” Lavin said, “I am curious about it. The Guild isn’t exactly forthright with information.”

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Char glanced at me and I smiled. I’d take any chance to disclose Guild secrets and she knew it. She rolled her eyes but didn’t stop me.

“Back in the day,” I said, “when I got my Mark, the apprenticeship period was three years and the rejection rate for the Mark was three in four.”

“What does that mean?” Lavin asked.

“Well, for three years you train your body, acclimate it to different kinds of magics, and learn how to be a Hunter. And after that, you get branded and three out of four people either died or were permanently crippled by that. I was lucky.”

“Luckily,” Char said, her tone forceful, “after Jonas’ generation, they increased the apprenticeship period to five years.”

“And how many people died after that?” Lavin asked.

“Two in four,” I said. “If they survived your apprenticeship.”

“Wow,” Lavin muttered. “People take that risk?”

I shrugged.

“You aren’t told about it, plus, like you said, there’s some benefits.”

“Would you still do it, knowing what you do now?” Lavin asked. At first, she looked at me, but I didn’t answer. Then, she looked at Char, who avoided her gaze.

“You never answered my question,” I said, changing the topic. “Why is Char here?”

Lavin looked at me for just a moment more, but when it became clear I wasn’t going to answer her question, she said, “It’s a traditional Imperial Ball. Each matriarch is supposed to bring their first and second spouse.”

“You sure you wouldn’t rather bring your actual spouses?” I asked.

“That’s just tradition, most people bring two guests now, married or not,” Lavin said. “Besides,” she added, “my first husband and my second wife aren’t trained killers.” Then, she turned and smiled politely at me and Char.

I met her gaze but didn’t smile back. Instead I cleared the table and slammed down my duffel bag on the top of it. Unzipping it, I began to unpack the myriad weaponry inside.

Char came over and grabbed an assassin’s harness, fitting it over her underclothes. An assassin’s harness allows for someone to conceal different types of weaponry under their clothes, though a simple pat down will reveal it. They’re very illegal, but also standard Guild issues. The ones we were using today I got from Yvlan. I didn’t ask where she got them from.

I began to strip and asked Lavin, “You’re sure they won’t search us?”

She nodded.

“Members of Parliament go through a separate entrance where you’re not searched. I’ll say you’re my bodyguards and you won’t be searched either.”

I slipped into my underclothes and began to put on my assassin’s harness. In total, I fit four different blades on me, though I was going light. Char fit six. I took a pistol from the pile and checked that it was clean and in working order.

“What’s that?” Lavin asked, peering at my gun.

I glanced up and said, “We used to call these Stallions, named such because it kicks like one when you fire it.” I spun it on my finger and set it down. “It’s got enough stopping power to give a giant some pause, though it isn’t exactly subtle.”

I heard Lavin gulp and she asked, “You think we’ll need that?”

I shrugged. Behind me, Char was balancing a knife on her fingertip.

“I’d rather have it than not,” I said, grinning.

Lavin nodded, slowly.

I pulled out a small folding knife and handed it to Lavin.

“You know how to use this?”

She shook her head.

“Good,” I said. “Don’t. Only use it if you need to cut a rope or something.”

“What if someone attacks me when you’re not there?” Lavin said, holding the knife like it might explode.

“Run,” I said. “If they’re worth their salt, that knife won’t make a difference. You’re more likely to hurt yourself with it than actually protect yourself.”

Lavin nodded. I noticed she was shivering slightly, with anxiety.

I clapped her on the back and said, “Chin up, kid. This is just a dance, how bad can it be?”