I was comfortably dozing, feeling warm, and accepted when suddenly Lara lept from the bed pulling the bedding off us.

“We have no time at all today, we have to get moving.

Both Ester and I have emergency gowns prepared but they will need to be checked and tailored with all the attribute changes that have happened to us. The chances of a perfect fit are unlikely, and on top of that you”, glaring at me,” don't have anything at all suitable.

I know of only two tailors that are suitable, but one is family so I can lean on them. But we need to move now if we have any chance of dressing you. “

She raced to the showers Ester and I got caught up in the pressure of the time.

We did what was required, and the quickest of showers while ensuring that we were clean enough.

We moved upstairs and were met by one of Holly’s maids and two of the household troopers who had been doubling as trainers. One was the impressive individual who beat me to the edge of consciousness.

“We will be your escorts. It is not safe for you three to move unsupported. The troopers will be in concealment. Don’t react to anything that they do, Because of the bonds you share, I suspect that you will be well aware of them, but for them to do their jobs. pretend that they don’t exist.”

“Come on we are going to be so busy today, Maurice is expecting you. Girls, your dresses should be there by now.”

The Maid led us out of the barracks without stopping to eat. We started out using our passive movement skills but within moments were encompassed by the Maid’s active moment skill ‘Destination Stepping’. It only took minutes and we were in a different part of the city, with wide-open boulevards, fancy-looking shops, and an absence of beggars and people that were commonly dressed. It was like moving in a strobe light. Each step jumped us to a new location. People were partially frozen, although other people were moving as we were. And yet others only appeared as blurs.

It was minutes later that we arrived at what gave every appearance of being a manor house, within a small but beautiful garden. We fetched up at the door, and Lara started to lift the knocker even as the door started to open. We were expected. We were led down the hall. To the right, some doors opened into a large display room filled with fabrics, dresses, suits, fascinators, and all sorts of garments and accessories.

We continued down to a smaller room. We were met by a very small dapper man and a very tall woman dressed in what I could only consider extremely haute couture.

“My dear Lara, it is so good to see you.”

“I am very pleased to be here with my favourite Uncle. Yet I am distressed to say the dresses you have prepared for Ester and myself for tonight's event are going to need some modification. We have rather unexpectedly changed many of our physical attributes, and this has resulted in some changes to our body shapes. I know that this

Indeed, You are stronger yet at the same time a little slimmer. Your bust line is higher yet you are not wearing any support garments. And Ester you are well past the point that you should have stopped growing and a long way from being able to evolve yet I know that you have grown several inches. Your hips have widened and well where you were previously significantly underendowed you have become more commonly sized.

He glanced at me. “Argh, that explains it. He is just your perfect body match” ended with something of a snigger.

Hazel will you take him next door “Dress him as a First of the Inner Guard”

Hazel “Are you sure, it will mark him to many people.”

“Of course, Zee, he is her consort of course?”

The Maid responded “As far as we can tell it is a true bond. How this has occurred at their corresponding levels we are not sure.”

“I don’t know what class he is but he is certainly not a level 7 Cadet. My intuition is screaming at me.

Do you know what titles he carries?”

“No, they seem well concealed.”

“So Yes, a first of the inner guard, is the best choice we are acknowledging him, but not formally announcing the bond. So he will be able to claim his being Lara’s consort.

Hazel, I think that just displaying the Hero’s decoration, will send the right message.”

With that, I was extracted from the room, as I left I heard excited chatter about the changes that should be made to the gowns.

Hazel stated matter-of-factly “Strip”.

I stripped the training gear that I had been wearing for the last two weeks.

“No, I mean everything”.

I was still wearing my drawers and socks. Hazel’s stare made it clear that she was going to accept no equivocations. So I quickly stripped. She poked and prodded. She took various measurements. Many were what you might expect but others were rather personnel in nature.

She opened a wardrobe and pulled out some undergarments, a set of tight-fitting leggings that were more like a second skin. They slipped between my checks, wrapped my testicles, and were well rather personnel. Socks, tight-fitting singlet. I was no longer naked, but I might as well be, as there was nothing that was not on display, from my toes to the base of my neck.

Next came a set of Ivory pants, that were snug-fitting but started to conceal my details while reinforcing the appearance of strength and power. A crisp white shirt followed that had a high-standing collar. A jacket followed. Then boots. Hazel finally opened a book that had various badges, ensigns, and epaulettes. The first one that she fitted to the uniform was a simple black bead the size of my thumbnail that was placed on the upper left chest. There did not appear to be any glue or pins but as she placed it became part of the jacket. I identified it

Badge - Traveler Hero - can only be worn by interdimensional travellers that have the Hero title.

While I waited as she paged through a book that had more pages than was possible given its thickness I used the “identify” skill on Hazel

Hazel - High Human-Level??? Class ???

Which was not in any sense useful. As she returned she snapped “Don’t be rude, boy” and placed sets of insignia on my shirt and jacket collars. I continued to check the items that she had fitted to my clothing

Officer Insignia - First Rank Cadet. Worn on a dress shirt

Officer Insignia - Consort to the line of the first house Sphinx.

Lastly, shoulder tabs were fitted.

Troop epaulettes - Sphinx, Typhon Regiment, Household Company

As the epaulettes connected to the jacket, the piping that ran down the outer lines of the jacket and pants turned blue.

“So here are your undress whites. We will have your uniform ready, along with better training armour.

I think that Lara and Ester should be ready by now. So let’s go and see.”

We went back to the other room. The girls were pulling on similar uniforms to what I was wearing.

Maurice said, “I will send some of my staff to the barracks this afternoon to start to fit your force with their needed uniforms, and training armour.” I am not in a position to provide true regiment armour for your company until you can provide the materials. I will however have a couple of artificers sent over so that you can integrate them into your company.

Weapon Master Bertran Do you have any ideas on how we can acquire the required weapon masters”.

There was a sniff from the corner. It was unclear whether that was a form of agreement or rejection.

“Where next,” I asked.

“Aunt Helen’s studio” I glanced at Lara, “Ester’s Aunt is the best teacher in the capital for these skills. Normally we would have no chance of a half-mark session, but she was rather interested in training an adult novice who has no relevant skills. So you will be at her less than tender mercy for a full mark.

So yet again we started to stutter step through the streets. Minutes later we arrived at an estate that had many halls scattered across the grounds. We approached one of the smaller halls. As we moved through the grounds I noticed that there were a very large number of very young girls and many slightly older.

This did not look like a martial training facility.

Beneath trees, women gathered and played instruments. Some paraded around plots of flowers, twirling sun shades. All and all it looked little more than a finishing school for a certain class of women to prepare themselves to be decorations on the arm of their strong protector rather than being their own strong arm.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“What on earth is this place?”

“Well, it is finishing school for young ladies who belong to those that require skills in the social graces and estate management. If their families have any hope to make the next step up the social ladder. Ester had most of her private training sessions here.

Since the celebration tonight requires you to be able to participate, that means you need to be able to dance” said Lara with a little bit of a smirk in her voice.

As we entered the grounds, everyone slowed to a slow walk. While the grounds themselves were not large it took as much time to reach our destination as it did to reach the estate. The path which had taken us across much of the inner city.

We all entered one of the smaller halls that were positioned near the centre of the grounds. Ester introduced her Aunt Helen, and her sister June.

“Since we have very little time, Foniel what do you know of Dance”

“Even in my homeworld, I had no skill and little interest”.

“Dance is the expression of control, synchronicity, desire, presence. In the perfect world, it is the surrender of each to the other. And the outside world does not intrude.

At the basic level, dance is just a matter of movement.”

Helen had a small light staff which she lifted from the floor and allowed to strike the floor with a sharp click. From a side entrance, a couple entered and moved to the centre of the space. June took a stringed instrument that was between a lute and a guitar. She started playing a rhythmic tune that had odd moments of dissonance.

The couple started to move around each other. The movement was simple and had suggestions of Tai Chi. I focused on the movements, and within moments there were notifications.

New skill Basic Dance - 1 /10

New shared skill Uncommon Dance - 3 / 30

Attribute Improved - Control + 4

Attribute Improved - Control + 1

“So let's see if you can match that!”

Lara and I moved beside the couple and the music restarted. The simplest solution that I could think of was to surrender control to Lara. I allowed her actions and movements to control mine.

Within beats, we were matching the couple. Who each flared with a level upgrade as we joined them in the dance. They became swept up in our movements.

Skill Improved - Common Skill Trainer - 4 / 20

Skill improved - Uncommon Training - 16 /30

Skill improved - Uncommon Training - 16 /30

Helen clicked the staff twice. The music stopped and the couple bowed and left the floor.

A curtain was pulled exposing a small stage, As the couple left, a group of musicians entered, and a new couple that was clearly of a higher level as with the advances that had resulted in now having Identify as a shared skill, there was a certain amount of passive information that was detectable

As we stood there, Helen said

“That was something of a surprise, I seldom believe what people say, as it is most often wishful thinking. So when I was told you had a true bond at your age, I dismissed it. I should have known better

“What level of dance do you share?”

Lara responded “I had reached uncommon 3. We now share that.”

“That won’t do. If I can add some of the supporting skills then we have a chance to reach level 10, at that point maybe this will work.”

New skill Basic Two as one - 1 /10

New skill - Basic Two as one - 1 /10

The new skill notification caught us by surprise, and we glanced at each other.

Lara sighed “What skill did you get”

“Two as one.”

“What does it do”

I used ‘Understanding’ on the skill and discovered this information.

Basic Two as One

1/10

An unusual skill that has both a passive and active component.

Passive - have a sense of how your partner is going to act,

Active - Allows practised actions to occur simultaneously with your partner.

Upgrade path

Common Two as One

Synergies

???

I explained what I had learned about the skill.

Her response started with a sigh. “Quite ridiculous, but the power of the Prophecy is not to be denied. Not a skill that I have often seen or heard of. But let's start with this.

Fonial I want you to take Lara’s left hand in your right and Lara do the same for Fonial. Extend your middle fingers and find the pulse point on the wrists of your partner. Your objective is to sense each other, and allow your hearts to slowly come together.

Don’t force it.

Don’t worry about your breathing, just focus on your partner’s beating heart.

Forget about your own rhythm.

All that is the beat of your partner's pulse.”

Slowly without thinking we moved closer and closer, Lara was much the same height as me, so as we moved into each other’s space, her head rested comfortably on my shoulder, and our necks crossed, the thump of her heart filled my senses.

Music started in the background and we started to move. Suddenly the music was interrupted by moments of discord and strong beats that broke the rhythmic patterns that had been established. But the only thing that I was hearing was the constant thump of Lara’s heartbeat.

“Good enough you two.

You are worthy of my time, so I will accept you as ’Students’.”

I heard the words but they were distant and unimportant. Helen, in frustration, snapped her staff on the ground and the sound of the metal shoe impacting the stone floors woke Lara and me out of the trance we had fallen into.

“You are fools if you think that it is safe to become so entranced with each other in the middle of a ball. You must maintain awareness at all times”

New skill Basic Two as one - 3 /10

New skill - Basic Two as one - 2 /10

Skill improvement - Uncommon Dance - 4 / 30

Skill improvement - Uncommon Dance - 4 / 30

Attribute Improved - Awareness + 2

Attribute Improved - Awareness + 1

“You can return when you have time. I permit you to dance this one time in public. This is an exception due to the circumstances. You are only barely competent, but I concede there are no good choices at the moment. At least they will not think that you are my students as you Fonial lack the skills that my students normally possess.”

“Ester your skills need to sharpen, you did well in the arena but I did not train you to stand in the line, since this is to be your fate, I will advise your trainers on how to enhance your skill set so that you can perform the principal role of protection while being a visible member of the team, rather than acting from within the shadows.

This will result in a great deal of pain, but embrace it as it can lead to greatness my little one”

“Now go. There is little time and events move at a pace!”

We gathered together and again moved at what seemed a slow pace through the clusters of women and their partners. This time I noticed that there were young and not-so-young that were flitting through the shadows.

There was a small celebration occurring around the couple that had been our first dance partners. I could tell that their friends had known that they were trapped and had been stuck unable to progress. Yet in one session with an unknown and a noble that had only been part of the general course, they had achieved a breakthrough that opened new and unexpected doors.

Once we reached the barracks Elizabeth said “Lara you need to run through the protocols for the ball with Fonial. I know that it is second nature for you and Ester, but since he is of significantly lower rank than even Ester, yet is dressed as a First, there will be some confusion which will be to our advantage.

Of course with the regiment currently in recess, there is no chance that you will encounter any other members of the regiment. There may be seconds and certainly thirds of various household regiments present. We will warn any members of the other Sphinx regiments, So they won’t raise any issues. I have seen just how well you perform in single combat, but duels are different. The chances are that you will be manipulated into triggering a duel Foniel. There is nothing that I can think of to avoid this.

If you can manage to have them declare then you will get the advantage of choice. You mustn’t pick duelling swords, you have no skills in this area, and to be honest, I expect that they will come at you with a duelist class. We will have healers ready. So take what wounds you must, if you can return even one strike then honor will be satisfied. If you cannot achieve this then you are in for a bad evening with a lot of pain.

If you can get that strike as long as it draws blood, you will be able to concede. Please do so, against a duelist you have no chance of victory.

Weapon Master Bertran will be your hidden guard. You can only use him as a second if you gain the advantage of being challenged. If you are forced into making the challenge you can request any of the other arms-men from the various household regiments. You have enough rank that they will be responsive to your request.

So Lara and Ester run through the protocols and get him dressed. He needs to practice wearing the garments and moving both comfortably and showing the correct style.

I know that you have your garments to wear but you are at least comfortable and familiar with the process.

I know that normally you would have members of the general household but in the circumstances, you will need to form your household, and there will be extremely limited support that we can give.

Right now we are stretching the rules to near breaking point with the trainers that we are providing. All of these loyal family members and those from the branch families have suppressed and limited their progressions to give you this opportunity. Do not waste the sacrifices that these and others are making.”

For the next several candle marks Lara and Ester lectured me on the ins and outs of high society, What I could say to whom, who had to speak first, and what were acceptable lines of conversation. How I needed to greet the countless different ranks of nobility.

I was taken through the various greetings and honorifics that would be required when meeting the expected nobles who would be present at the event.

This continued till we had reached the point of exhaustion. We dragged ourselves into bed. And while I felt my body respond to the skin-to-skin contact we were very much too tired to even consider anything more than a light kiss, before we wiggled around to make ourselves comfortable.