"So what's the occasion?" Rifka asked one of the wait staff as she accepted a glass of punch, "It must be something big, to throw such a large party."

"Oh, well… Today marks the fifteenth anniversary of Lord Vandella's acquisition of the Great Panthera Mining Corp in Brazil. Every year he takes a trip down there to manage the company, and brings back all sorts of riches." The waitress became sad and sighed softly. "It's so terrible though, that the same day he made the biggest success of his life, he lost his only daughter. Wandered away from her nanny in the middle of the day, poor thing… She was only five."

"Oh, that must have been awful for him!" Rifka exclaimed. Next to her, Kanda was listening silently while he kept his eyes on the crowd, ignoring her hand in the crook of his elbow.

"They say that's why he became so cold, that he's unable to love because his heart died that day… Not sure how much stock to put in that though." The waitress lowered her voice conspiratorially and Rifka leaned toward her, intrigued, "they say he was a cold, hard man long before he ever went to South America…"

Rifka raised her eyebrows, though lowered her eyelids slightly at the same time. "You don't say…" She toasted the waitress with her glass and slipped away from Kanda to mingle. She put on a friendly smile even though on the inside, the crowd was making her as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

Her nerves got the better of her. She turned her head to see if she could spot any of the others, and promptly bumped into someone. "Oh, my goodness, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me, I wasn't watching –"

"Kassara – it's you!"

"- my step…" Rifka stopped short and blinked down at the person she had bumped into. It was an old man, shorter than she was but very broad in the shoulder and stocky in frame. He looked like he had been a very hard worker in his youth. His hair was white and slicked back in a style very much like how Lord Vandella wore his.

"I'm sorry, you have me mistaken… My name is –"

"Nonsense! I'd recognize my granddaughter anywhere! Kassara, you've finally come home!"

"Your granddaughter…? Who, me? Old man, what are you talking about?" Rifka felt her face getting hot and glanced around awkwardly in hopes no one was overhearing the babbling old man, brushing her hair back from her eyes in exasperation. An elderly woman approached, taking the man's arm.

"Eric, dear, you're scaring the poor child. She couldn't possibly be Kassara, Kassara is gone." She stroked the man's arm soothingly a few times before looking up at Rifka with a friendly smile. "He sees her everywhere these days, child. You'll forgive him, won't you? You certainly couldn't be… there's really no way… Oh my…"

The old woman's eyes settled on Rifka's face just as she brushed her hair away from the scar across her eyebrow, and her expression became startled. She grabbed Rifka's wrist and began pulling her unceremoniously through the crowd. "Eric," she called over her shoulder, "Go get Anton – Now!"

"Now wait just one minute!" Rifka cried out indignantly, trying to pull free.

The woman let her go sharply and pointed. Rubbing her wrist, Rifka straightened and brushed out her dress, pointedly not looking at what she was being directed to, but eventually she could stall no longer. Looking up, her eyes settled on a large oil painting of a family portrait.

It was undoubtedly the Lord Vandella of several years ago, standing tall and handsome beside an ethereally beautiful woman with long dark hair and dark skin. She was sitting in an ornate chair with a child held close to her side – A child with dark hair, dark eyes, and a fresh white scar across one eyebrow.

The sound of glass breaking startled the banquet hall into sudden silence. Rifka stared at the portrait, her glass of punch now in shards on the floor at her feet. At the base of the portrait was a gold plaque with a fancy script scrolled across it.

"Righteousness is not for Kings alone."

Her hand flew to the charms at her throat, touching the ring that hung there. In the portrait… was she mistaken? Was Lord Vandella… wearing that ring?!

With a quick intake a breath, Rifka spun on her toes and hurried back through the crowd, looking quickly for the others. She found them and pulled them all close, gritting her teeth to control her voice and rising temper. "We have to leave! I've made a terrible mistake!"

Kanda looked down at her and saw her hands were shaking. Shocked, he turned toward her and she looked up at him. There was panic in her eyes – he didn't like that look on her. "What happened? What did you find?"

"There was something strange about this city when I came through her on my way back to HQ. I told Komui that I wasn't sure what it was… We assumed it was Innocence… I'm not sure that's the case anymore. I think this city… I think these people are…"

"There she is, Anton! Look! It's your daughter, Kassara!"

Horrified, Rifka turned her head to see the elderly couple arriving with Lord Vandella in tow. He stared at her, completely stunned, and walked toward her in a daze. He reached out to touch her face, her hair, and then brushed his fingers over the ring on her necklace.

"Amazing… I could almost believe you were a reincarnation of my wife, not my child…" He reached up to brush her hair back from her eyebrow, staring at her scar. "Is it you, Kassara? Do you remember me, dear? Do you remember your father?"

Rifka clenched her hands into fists, trying to stop her shaking. "I'm… awfully sorry, my Lord… I really don't know… what's going on…"

His expression changed from wonder to uncertainty at the sound of her voice. "Are you from Russia, my dear? I'm having trouble placing that accent of yours. And, if I may be so bold – how old are you?"

"Oh… I'm… Well, I'm twenty-two, my Lord… but no, I'm not from Russia… I'm from Peru…"

Vandella's blue eyes glinted sharply as he stared down into her eyes. She had to fight to keep herself still under his gaze, desperate to keep him from knowing that she was lying. "And who are your parents, my dear?"

She called upon every ounce of willpower she had in order to face him with such a brave front, but her insides were going cold. "I'm so sorry, my Lord, I wish I knew. You see, I was raised by the church – an orphan." She gestured toward her friends, glancing over at them.

"How do you explain this ring, then? This is my father's signet ring – one I lost in South America nearly fifteen years ago."

"It's…" Rifka felt the trap closing in, "it's, you see…"

"It's a promise ring!" Lavi's voice brought a fresh silence to the hall. He dragged Kanda up beside Rifka, slipping their hands together with a masterful, bright-and-shiny grin of utter distraction. "He bought the ring from a shop in Brazil when we were there a few months ago, intending to give it to Rifka as a promise of marriage." He rounded on Kanda, waving a finger, "You were supposed to tell me before you did it, so I could make plans!"

Kanda glanced at Lavi with such a violent silence that Lavi paled. When he spoke it was through clenched teeth. "Lavi… What the fuck are you doing?!"

Lavi kept the beaming grin on his face and spoke through the corner of his mouth. "Desperate times call for desperate measures, Yuu! Look at her! We need to get her out of here!"

Kanda looked down at Rifka. He felt her hand trembling in his palm and became sharply aware of just how much fear she was hiding. Gritting his teeth, he closed his eyes and took a breath, knowing Allen would probably pay a lot of money for what he was about to see.

When he opened his eyes again, there was a soft, tender expression on his face and a slight, fond smile curving his lips. He reached out to take Rifka's chin in his free hand, turning her head to make her look at him. "You haven't given me your answer yet, either, darling…"

She flushed and shivered as she stared up at him in surprise, and Kanda remarked that it was the most beautiful look he'd ever seen on her face. It helped him ignore Lavi's antics behind him as the redhead made a shocked face, caught completely unprepared for Kanda's acting ability.

After another heartbeat Rifka smiled and nodded slowly. With a small, triumphant grin, Kanda bent his head and kissed her deeply, drawing her against him. Behind them, Allen and Lavi fell over as though hit by a truck, while Miranda looked ecstatic. She clutched hands with Lenalee, whom was finding it very hard not to stare at Kanda while he was making such dreamy faces. She had known him for so long; she wished she could take a picture just for proof that it was real.

When the couple parted, Vandella looked down at Kanda as though weighing his words carefully. Then, closing his eyes with a broad grin, he stepped back. "It's a coincidence, then! Complete coincidence! My father misses my wife and daughter more and more as the years go by. When I lost my daughter abroad, my wife could not forgive me and wasted away, until I lost her too. I have not had the heart to start over and so, you see – I have no heir. He worries about our city and what will happen to it."

Kanda drew Rifka close to his side, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. He didn't like the way she was still shaking, but he was proud that it wasn't showing on her face. He glanced up as Lavi stepped up beside them. "That's a pretty sad story, my Lord… but God makes all things clear in the end, does he not?"

Vandella sized Lavi up suspiciously. "Yes… that is how the saying goes." Glancing around, he became aware of the stillness of his party and waved his hands. "Start the music up again! The sun hasn't even begun to set! This is no longer just a welcome home party, but an engagement party as well! Congratulations to the young couple are in order, everyone! A waltz! Start a waltz immediately!"

The guests all toasted Kanda and Rifka, both of whom began to blush deeply as they were swept into the dance. Clutching each other tightly, Rifka lowered her head slightly.

"Kanda… We need to talk about this…" She whispered to him.

"We can talk about it later." He growled back at her.