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"Because for a little while, I'm not going to be the stylish gala hostess," Scarlet smiled deviously. "We have one thing to do before the ball tonight. So go get dressed--something inconspicuous, please--and I will meet you in the ballroom with my special delivery. The secret staircase to your rooms is just beside the vanity. Ta!" She blew him a kiss and slipped out her door.

Moving with the super-human speed only her kind were capable of, she flitted through the house like a gray ghost until she came to a quiet corridor. Carefully opening the doors so as not to startle the occupants, she stuck her head into the nurcery.

Adaline, her aging nurse, rocked gently by the window, cradling a small baby in her arms.

"Is it time, Mistress?" Adaline croaked.

"I'm afraid so, deary," Scarlet replied with infinite gentleness.

"You're sure this little pearl will be alright?" the nurse persisted, looking down at the smooth, pink face of the infant with a small, sorrowful frown.

"Absolutely. She will have a privileged life with a loving family," Scarlet promised.

"Better for someone else to handle the teenage years," Adaline sniffed. "This'un's got a mind of her own, even though she's only three months old."

Scarlet smiled and took the babe from her arms. Then she tucked the precious bundle into a basket and added an extra blanket to keep the child warm.

"When can I expect the next one?" Adaline asked, trying not to sound too eager. The older woman had never had children of her own, but had a maternal instinct unlike anything Scarlet had ever seen in all her years, which is what made her such a perfect caregiver for the orphans Scarlet occasionally too on.

"Let me get this little tyke settled, and then I'll let you know when our next ward arrives," she replied with a smile. Then she picked up the basket and walked out of the nursery.

As she walked down the corridors, Devonte fell into step beside her.

"Everything is on-schedule for the next ball. We should be receiving new guests in two hours," he informed her.

"Excellent. Make sure our current guests are given a suitable wake-up call and that any wardrobe needs are met. I'll be gone for an hour, perhaps an hour and a quarter," she said. Devonte went his way to see to the arrangements for all the guests. Then she entered the ballroom and saw Markius and his companion. She approached him and curtsied deeply. "My lord emperor," she purred. "Forgive my appearance, but I have a small matter to attend to before the ball tonight."

Ciro nodded and went to his wardrobe. Inside was a rather old and beat-up gray suit. "This ought to do." he thought as he dressed. Inside one of the pockets was a pair of tattered gloves. "Who'd this stuff belong to anyway?" Finished, he looked in the mirror. He looked suitably poor.

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"OW!!! Vhy did you do zat, piz'da?!" Dmitri yelled.
"Because the next ball starts soon," Alfons noted, "and you are dressed in fatigues. Did you bring your dress uniform?"
"Does bear s**t in woods? Uniform is in backpack. Sìoltach made all of us bring it for some reason."
"Most likely because he knew I'd have one of you stay here. Now get dressed. I was late yesterday; I will not allow myself to be late today!"

Ciro made his way to the ballroom. After making a couple of wrong turns, he successfully reached his destination. He headed towards Scarlet at the far end, giving a little nod of acknowledgement to Markius and Brittania, and finally stopping at Scarlet. "So, where to?"

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Dmitri looked quite nice in his dress uniform.
"So vhat veapon should I bring? I do not zink zat it proper for me have rifle, da?"
"Just a pistol or two."
Dmitri opened up his dress coat, revealing an empty shoulder holster. From his pile of weapons he brought, he placed a Colt Python in it. "Backup." Another holster, located on his belt at the small of his back, already had his CZ75 in it. Buttoning his coat back up, Dmitri looked at Alfons.
"Let's go."

meanwhile, Valthier was still resting as lifelessly as a corpse, and equally as still. he didn't hear the knocks on his door, even as they turned to loud banging. eventually, the servant had to pick the lock and splash water on the sleeping Vampire.

Val woke up with a rather violent start, and screamed. the servant stood there, looking irritated, and when Val saw him standing there he growled and yelled at him.

"do you think that's funny!? you could have DROWNED me, I'm a Vampire!"

the servant only glared back at him, and replied "at least I'm clothed."

Val stared blankly in confusion at first, then his eyes went wide, and he looked down to see a dark ashy-grey member over his bare legs.

he gathered his composure, the colour of life coming to his face, and feigned indifference to his condition.

"and you're also the one who cleans the sheets. now let me dress."

the servant turned away and left, rolling his eyes.

a little later, a dignified-looking Vampire Elf emerged, his silver hair pulled back in a ponytail, and a fine embroidered coat worn over a silk shirt and simple black slacks. he wore the same boots as the previous night, freshly polished. he held his cane in one hand, and the papers under the other arm.

"now, to find devonte..." he mused.

Devonte breezed through the halls of his ancestral home, briskly and stoically seeing to all the arrangements for his sister's second ball. He'd checked on Mouse, to be sure Val hadn't spirited her away in the middle of the day. She was in her small room, aimlessly demolishing the quill pens in her desk. Perhaps it was good that she would ultimately be with Val. She was so damaged that she needed a constant keeper.

Then he breezed down the hallways, alerting a servant here, sending a messenger there, and, as usual, making everything perfect. He was just coming down the guest hallway when Val stepped out of his suite.

"Scarlet has already left, but she should be back shortly," Devonte explained absently. "The second night of the gala will start as soon as she return. She likes doing things in threes, so last night was just the beginning. It is likely tomorrow night she will announce her hair-brained scheme to launch an empire. I received the list of your materials. They will all arrive before midnight, so if you want your Mouse before Scarlet gets swept into decimating the empirical politics around her, you might want to finish that portal to japan before the end of the third ball. Is there anything else you need, job related or otherwise?"

"Yes yes," Devonte waved a hand dismissively. "Those tools are being readied, along with all the other supplies you listed. They're all being packed into saddle bags for Scarlet's wyvern. It's really the closest thing to a dragon she can keep this close to civilization, and you know how she likes to make a show of everything. You should be leaving just after midnight so you can get to Japan before sunrise. I meant anything else. Fresh blood? A message delivered?"