The Evening of the 14th Day of Spring's Beginning

"Are you nervous?" said Issak.

"Aren't you?" replied his sister.

"This isn't the first time we've done this sort of thing, you know. Turn around, let me help you. Hold your hair up." Issak fastened the collar Allis had been trying to clasp with shaking fingers.

"You're right, I don't understand why I'm so worked up this time. It's just another dance at the palace." Allis let her hair fall from her hands and fingered the pearl choker around her neck, then turned to her twin. "Do I look all right?"

"Allis, you always look all right," said Issak, but he surveyed her with a critical eye nonetheless. "Mm. You look like a very elegant prisoner, take off one of the bracelets." She stuck her pretty pink tongue out at him and removed one of the matching pearl cuffs. "Better. No, no, it's not working, turn round again and lift your hair." He unfastened the choker. "That's better. You can keep the one cuff, and the earrings, but the rest of the set has to go. The least ornamentation the best with us, Allis, you know that."

"It's true," she sighed, smoothing out the subtly patterned ivory fabric of her ballgown. "Still and all, it'd be nice to display the peacock's plumes once in a while, don't you think?"

He pulled her to him and pointed her at the cheval glass, standing behind her with his hands tracing patterns on her bare shoulders. "Sister, we were born with peacock's plumes." He rested his chin atop her glossy dark head and took them both in with eyes of a shade not far from a peacock feather's iridescent green. His waistcoat matched her gown, giving it just the right touch of scandal considering white, not ivory, was correct, and her bodice was cut just a fraction of a hair too low for propriety, displaying her curves to great effect. "If you wore the choker," he said in her ear, sliding a finger the length of her collarbone down the soft slope of her breast toward her cleavage, "you'd pull the eye up and spoil the entire effect of that bodice."

He ran his finger deftly back up her neck, tilting her chin up as his touch left her skin, and she gave him an impish smile in the mirror. "You're right, of course."

"Actually," he growled, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer, "you are dazzling tonight. I could eat you."

"Not till Neya's Day, brother," she said demurely, slipping out of his arms and tapping him on the nose with her fan. "Then you can have your fill."

"Do you two always practice seduction on one another?" came a cool voice from the corner.

"Seducing you never goes anywhere and we have to practice on someone," said Allis, slipping into a fur-trimmed pelisse and settling its hood carefully over the richly fragrant blossoms banding her hair. "Besides, no one is as good at it as we are. It's no challenge at all with anyone else."

"Tonight's quarry you will find sweet but almost comical," said the voice. "He has no real experience whatsoever with men or women, combined with an ardent nature. It should be a matter of a few meaningful glances and that's all, you'd have him snared. He's naive, but he's not stupid. Don't rush at him."

Allis rolled her eyes. "You know very well we only rush at someone if that's what's required."

Issak began pulling on his cloak, and sighed. "Inexperienced and naive. Oh dear. Please tell me he's not ugly to boot."

"To the contrary, he's rather handsome."

"Well, there's a lucky thing. Not that it would stop us, there's always something to desire about someone, even if it's only their absence," said Issak with a grin as he popped his hat onto his head.

"You do realize that we can't accept him as a Supplicant just because you want us to," said Allis, turning back from the door. "We can't do that. Not even for our sponsor. We take this job quite seriously--we believe in what we're doing."

"I know you do, my dear," said the figure in black, taking her hand and one of her brother's. "That's why I'm asking you to do this. I truly believe the Heir to be a perfect Supplicant candidate, even though it would also serve my purposes. Otherwise I wouldn't ask you to so much as dance with him. Do realize," the Teacher added as they turned to go, "do realize that while he is exceedingly winsome and still as guileless as a baby, he is also genuinely charismatic. What you will unloose in him may prove more than even the two of you can handle."

"You underestimate us, dearest sponsor," said Issak with a kiss on the pale cheek. Allis kissed the other side.

"I merely wish to warn you not to understimate Prince Temmin," said the Teacher. "Now. Off to the Keep with you. He's waiting for you, he just doesn't know it."