The sound of the ball washes over Reud; people laughing, talking, eating and drinking, all mingling with the music washing out from the musicians on the far side. Reud is stood in the corner, taking a momentary respite from the exhausting task of selling the idea of Srinaber to these arrogant nobles.

Reud squirms uncomfortably, adjusting the tight-fitting clothes he had bought this morning to try to look less like a vagabond. There were far too many frills, embroidery, and laces for his liking. However, this was the current fashion, and going against that would immediately mark him as an outsider in these people’s eyes.

Looking over the room, he spots Jessabelle. She is dressed in an elegant red gown, her hair gathered by a fine net adorned with glimmering crystals. She is currently deep in conversation with a young man, but her glazed eyes and frozen smile suggest her talk isn’t going well. Her eyes glance around, before eventually focusing on Reud, filling with a silent plea. Please save me they seem to say.

Sighing, Reud delves back into the crowds, weaving around groups of revellers, before approaching Jessabelle and the young man.

“... and that means I’m in line to inherit an Earlship as well as a Baronship.” The man says, completely oblivious to the fact the woman he is talking to isn't listening to a word.

Hiding his smile, Reud walks right up to her, holding out his elbow. “My lady, would you honour me with a dance?”

Jessabelle smiles and takes his arm. “I would be delighted, my lord.”

The young man lifts his head, protesting, but the pair of them are already away into the dancing crowd. Taking Jessabelle’s hand, Reud pulls her gently into the steps of the dance, his feet falling back into the patterns taught to him centuries ago. It seems that this, at least, had not gone out of fashion.

“Have you had any luck?” He asks Jessabelle, trying to guide her in the dance without much luck.

“A little, but there isn’t much interest. It’s just such a large risk for anyone to want to undertake. Especially so close to winter.” She says, frowning as she steps on his foot for the third time. “Besides, most of the people here want to talk about who will host the next ball, not about anything meaningful.”

Reud shrugs. “We only need a couple. Once they return with goods they can sell on, others will join so as not to miss out.”

Jessabelle curses as she steps on his feet again, stumbling slightly. “My lord, would you mind if we stopped…”

Reud smiles. “Of course. We seem to have lost the attention of your admirer anyway.” Carefully, they ease their way to the edge of the dancing people and out, walking over to one of the many small tables positioned around the edges of the room. As they settle down into the chairs a footman walks over and places two glasses of wines before them, before quickly moving off again.

Reud ignores the drink, still remembering with distaste the experience with being drugged not so long ago, but Jessabelle doesn’t hold back. In one go, she swallows the contents of her glass before reaching across the table and swapping it with Reud’s.

Reud lets the noise wash over him again. From where they are sat, they can hear the announcements of each arrival, Baron this, Lord that. A constant onslaught of minor nobility, here to jockey for minor advantages over their peers. The whole thing turns Reud’s stomach, just as unpleasant now as back before the war. Hopefully they would be done here soon, so he can head back to Srinaber, and to Lilia. He hadn’t seen her for nearly a week now and missed her terribly.

A spluttering from beside him pulls Reud out of his thoughts. Jessabelle is dabbing at a spot on her sleeve, stained with wine, her face colouring. Before he can say anything to her, however, he feels a presence at his bad. Turning, Reud finds a group of people standing behind him up behind him, two men alongside two women, all dressed in gaudy clothing.

“Sister dearest, how… interesting it is to see you here.” The man on the left says.

Jessabelle looks up at him, her eyes filled with loathing. “Merek, Carak, I have nothing to say to either of you.”

The other man, Carak, smirks at her. “That’s not a very nice way to greet your family, after all these years.”

“Family? Don’t make me laugh. We stopped being that when you took my inheritance and abandoned me with nothing.” Jessabelle says, her cheeks reddening with anger.

Merek flicks his hair back from his face. “It was never your inheritance, you stupid girl. You must have done something to father to make him leave everything to you.”

Carak nods along with his brother. “There’s no way he would have ignored his two sons over a daughter.”

The two women beside them murmur agreements. The one beside Merek twirls her auburn hair around a finger. “Maybe she’s been hiding her magic, and bewitched him?” She says, her voice high and winy.

Merek smirks at her comment. “Yes, that could be it, well said my dove.” Turning to Jessabelle, he raises an eyebrow. “Is that what happened dear sister? Did you awaken some demonic powers and poison his mind?”

“I- You-” Jessabelle splutters, her normally collected demeanour entirely absent.

Carak lets out a laugh. “And now we hear that you’ve been trying to convince people to buy into some new scheme of yours. Don’t you worry, we’ve been making sure that everyone knows exactly how trustworthy you are. You won’t be finding any takers here, you may as well just go back to Littlestream where you belong. Leave high society to those with a talent for it.” The woman by his side titters and presses herself close to him, smiling adoringly up at him.

A faint glistening at the corner of Jessabelle’s eyes finally spurs Reud into motion. He wasn’t going to let one of his people be bullied in this way, not whilst he was here. Pushing his chair back abruptly, he stands, turning to face the newcomers.

“It’s only polite to introduce yourselves when meeting a fellow of the peerage.” He says, bowing his head just the right amount to appear polite. “Viscount Reud at your service.”

The two women immediately bob down into a curtsey, but the brothers take longer, looking to one another then giving a clumsy bow. Reud notes with distaste the depth of the bow, not nearly enough to be considered acceptable given the difference in position. Was that an intentional slight or a lack of experience?

“Viscount Merek and Viscount Carak, I assume, if you feel able to talk to one of my servants in such a manner?” Reud asks, straightening his back to talk down his nose to them, assuming the role of the arrogant noble.

The brothers look at each other in panic, before Merek speaks up. “No, my lord. Not Viscount. Just Lord Merek and Lord Carak.”

“Just lord? Not even a Baronship between you?” Reud says, raising an eyebrow and clasping his hands behind his back. “You aren’t even true peers, so how exactly do you justify how you spoke to Jessabelle here?”

Carak looks from Jessabelle to Reud, licking his lips nervously, his arrogant attitude gone. “My lord, she is our sister, which gives us the right to-”

Reud interrupts him. “That’s where you are mistaken. If you had taken a moment to look into the matter, you would know she was acting under my name. An insult to her, therefore, is an insult to my person.” Reud raises an eyebrow. “Unless that was your intention?”

Carak looks at the floor. “No my lord, we would never.”

Merek steps forward, a false smile plastered onto his face. “Please, my brother spoke hastily. We were just greeting our sister, we did not mean for her to take insult at our words.” Turning to Jessabelle, he bows his head. “Dear sister, accept my humblest apologies.”

Jessabelle looks from him to Reud, the anger slowly draining from her face. For a moment, an expression of gleeful maliciousness flickers over her before being replaced with a serious frown. Standing, she walks around the table to stop beside Reud, dropping into a flowing curtsey. “Dear brothers, your apologies are accepted. I know you didn’t intend for your words to be insulting. You must have meant to come over to pledge your aid in my Lord’s endeavours, isn’t that right?”

Merek snaps his head up, glowering at Jessabelle. “We were just-”

Reud claps his hands, smiling. “You were coming over to pledge your aid? How marvellous. So I can expect boats representing each of your families to arrive in Srinaber within a month?”

The two men strive to avoid meeting his eyes, saying nothing.

Reud’s smile grows wider. “Excellent, it pleases me to hear you have no objections. I shall look forward to your arrival. After all, I’m sure neither of you would like to incur my displeasure?”

Carak goes to open his mouth, but Merek silence him with an elbow to the ribs. “No, my lord. We would be honoured to aid you as much as we can. Now please, excuse us.” Bowing again, deeper this time, he retreats, dragging the rest of the group with him.

“Yes! The expression on the faces of those smug little pricks.” Jessabelle gloats, watching them flee with a smile on her face.

“Keep it under control, we are still under scrutiny here.” Reud chastises her.

Jessabelle bobs a courtesy to him, struggling to hide her smirk. “Of course, my lord. Now, I need another drink.”

Reud sits back down in the chair as she vanishes off into the crowd. Dealing with high society was so exhausting, having to remember all the little rules and traditions, and all the myriad ways a person can insult another. One of the few things he had been glad to have avoided in the past centuries hidden away. Hopefully this night would end soon, he was just about out of patience.

Someone drops into a chair beside him, sighing loudly. Reud opens his eyes to look at the newcomer. It is an old man, with close-cropped hair, wearing tight, military-style clothing. A spiralling scar runs from his left eye, across his cheek, ending at the corner of his mouth.

The man leans forward, his eyes blazing with indigo light. “We meet at last, free mage.”

Reud’s heart races as he stares wide-eyed at the man beside him, his body tensing to attack. The Seekers had found him.

“Relax, mage. I won’t touch a noble like you in front of all these people.” The man says, leaning back and sipping on his wine. “I am Seeker Dain, and I just came to talk.”

Forcing himself to relax, Reud glances around the room. There isn’t any sign of other Seekers, and no one seems to be paying attention to them. He can’t seem to see Jessabelle, but she is likely off hassling a footman for another drink. Hopefully, she would stay away whilst Reud figured out what exactly was going on here.

Dain watches him with amusement. “I’m alone, if that’s what you’re wondering about.”

Reud turns his gaze back to the man. “What do you want?”

“Oh, let’s not be rude.” Dain says. “I’ve introduced myself, surely you should do the same?”

Reud looks him over, thinking. This man was connected to the missing children in some way, and now he had just shown up beside him. What game was he playing?

Dain swills the wine in his glass, then takes another sip.

Eventually, Reud responds. “I am Reud. Now, I’ll ask again, what do you want?”

Dain leans forward. “I have to admit I was surprised to hear that the rumoured free mage had just brazenly rolled into my city, in a magical carriage of his own design no less. Then, instead of lying low, he shows up to a ball right in front of me. Rather arrogant, wouldn’t you agree?”

Reud struggles to keep his face neutral, his mind racing. What did this Seeker want? The man seemed much more… agreeable than the others he’d encountered.

“I’m not here to cause trouble. We can go our separate ways if you like.” Reud says.

Dain smiles widely. “That won’t do, you can’t just show up then leave again, without saying hello. How about you come by the Seeker compound, and we can truly catch up.”

Reud finds himself nodding, the idea actually seeming surprisingly agreeable. He’d wanted to do that anyway, and now was as good a time as any. “I might just take you up on that-”

Wait. This feeling was familiar, from his days at the academy. The faint brushing along the edges of his mind, the tingle of mana along his spine. He’d been taught what this meant, he was being influenced by a mentamancer. The Seeker was a mind-mage. Quickly, Reud clamps down on his thoughts, pulling mana into himself to disrupt the suggestion. His desire to get up and walk to the Seeker compound immediately vanishes.

The smile slips from Dain’s face. “How curious, for a free mage you have surprisingly good training. I would love to learn where you were taught.”

A tingle of mana brushes across Reud’s mind again, but finds it sealed behind an impenetrable shell. Reud smiles. “You may as well stop trying to do that, I know what you are.”

Dain throws his arms wide. “Can’t blame me for trying, why have an affinity if you aren’t going to use it?”

“I’m not going to walk into your compound, so if that’s all you want, you can leave right now.”

Dain smiles. “We will have to disagree on that point, my dear free mage. I’m sure we will be sat in the same room in a day, maybe two at the latest.”

Reud frowns. “We’re here now, aren’t we?”

Dain just smiles.

Reud’s eyes widen as a thought hits him. Leaning forward he waves a hand at Dain’s knee. It passes straight through, touching nothing but air. Reud sighs, the man was an illusion.

“I was wondering how long it would take you to figure it out.” Dain says, smirking. “I must say, I’m a little disappointed.”

Reud sits back again, glaring at him.

“Well, we can continue this discussion in person, at my compound. Don’t keep me waiting too long, little mage, or you may not like the consequences.” Dain says.

Then he vanishes.

Reud glances around, but no one seems to have reacted to the man’s disappearance. Maybe it was only him that saw the illusion in the first place? Dealing with mind-mages was always difficult. He’d have to tell Jessabelle to be extra careful when she returned.

The party continues on, with no one approaching Reud, much to his relief. There were just too many thoughts bouncing around his head for him to want to deal with speaking to people. After a while, a new concern sprang up. Jessabelle hadn’t returned.

Reud stands and walks around the ball, but the woman is nowhere to be found. She was sure taking her time with her drinks.

Reud catches the attention of one of the footmen. He walks over and snaps a deep bow. “How can I help you, my lord.”

“Have you seen a woman, wearing a red dress with a glittery hairnet?” Reud asks.

The man thinks for a moment. “I think so, my lord. She left some time ago.”

Reud nods to the man, letting him go. Why would Jessabelle leave? Unless…

A sinking feeling grows in the pit of his stomach. He’d managed to resist the Seekers suggestion, but what if the man had turned his magics on Jessabelle?

Rushing outside, he heads through the city towards the north gate. If only he hadn’t waited for so long for her to return, she wouldn’t have had such a head start on him.

His steps slow as he approaches the gate, the huge wood and iron doors currently shut. He was too late, they wouldn’t open again until the morning. A guard confirmed that a woman in a red dress left a little while before, heading north.

That meant exactly one thing. The Seekers had her.

Damn.