W00t! I just got the news… I'm going to be an auntie again! My third niece/nephew is on the way and is expected to arrive at the end of May! Happiness! Of course, now my mom is telling me the pressure is on to reproduce…LOL. Virtual brownies to whoever can place the name of the movie that the last two lines of the chapter are from. The characters speaking are Andreya and Ianthe. It just seemed to fit the scene.

Karine Dragon'sheart: I do believe that is one of the best compliments I have ever gotten. Thank you very much!

Mugglepirate: I thought the ball was going to be this chapter, but the girls decided they wanted to terrorize a certain Cretin. Hopefully next chapter! Thank you for the review!

M3mOrii: As always, thank you! You know how to make a girl's day. I hope you like this chapter just as much.

In addition, I had my 99th review for "Mercs" from IthilielCuivienien. I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!

Disclaimer: They aren't mine; I'm not making a profit!

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"She was cheerful?" Adelie's voice was bewildered as they strolled down Tailor Street. "In the morning?"

"I was just as stunned as you are." Acacia's breath puffed in the cold air and she shivered a bit. Merrick was riding her hip with the support of a sling-like carrier, a custom Kero had adopted from her Shin'a'in relatives. A broad strip of colorful cloth was knotted at her right shoulder and crossed to her left hip, where Merrick sat in the loop it formed when it crossed over her back. Acacia liked it a great deal, since Merrick, while small for his age, would get heavier as the day progressed and showed no inclination of walking. He was awake, but his head rested heavily on her shoulder and his feet slapped her leg limply every time she took a step. Graham rode in an identical sling on Adelie's hip, wide awake and momentarily distracted by the activity around them. His brown eyes were as wide as saucers and his head turned on his neck like an owl's.

Both boys were bundled against the weather in identical tiny woolen coats with wooden toggles, fleece lined canvas breeches, and colorful knitted mittens and caps. Their hair exploded from underneath the caps and stuck out like a baby chick's down. The two women made a startling sight, judging from the reactions of the passerby. Adelie wore highly fashionable clothes, an elegant woolen dress of deep green under a cream, fur-lined wool cape. Her mittens were fur lined and made of the most delicate of leathers, dyed to match her cape, of which she had pulled the hood over her intricately braided hair. The cloth of Graham's sling clashed horribly, as it had been produced by the Shin'a'in and was just as colorful as a glorious sunset. Against Acacia's clothes and outerwear, Merrick's sling was a bold splash of color. She wore her trusty black cloak over her warmest breeches, also black, with an undyed wool sweater over a beat-up leather tunic. Her sword was strapped to her back, as Merrick would inhibit any type of draw from the hip. She was obviously a mercenary and the sight of her with a child riding her hip and walking with a fine lady, who had an identical child riding her hip, was understandably startling.

"Did you find out what she was so happy about?"

"Auntie Kero thinks she got around to doing what Derrick and I didn't."

Confusion settled over Adelie's features. "With who?"

"Captain Jeremy Munchous, City Guard."

Adelie's jaw dropped. "Are you serious?"

Acacia's face remained composed. "Quite."

Graham chose that moment to start babbling and pointed a finger behind them. "Cacie!"

"What?"

"De man is walking."

"Yes, there is a man who is walking."

"He's walking behind us." Graham frowned and scratched at his head.

"There are many men walking behind us."

"He walk funny."

Adelie frowned. "Graham, it's not nice to make fun of people."

"Sowwy."

"That's all right, Graham." Adelie turned back to Acacia. "So, have you had any luck with the whole Acario thing?"

"You know about that?"

"The entire Court knows about that. It was the drama for awhile."

"No luck, so far. We thought we had something, but it's not going to work out."

Adelie's eyes glittered. "Were you going to send your assassin friend after him?"

"The thought crossed my mind, but Andy doesn't want to make enemies here, and I can't blame her. I wouldn't force her to do something she doesn't want to, if it's even possible. She said if it became a sanctioned job, she would do it for free."

"That's understandable. We are talking about a life. I'd be hesitant, if I were her."

Acacia snorted as they came upon the door to Adie's favorite dress shop. "The thought of taking a life isn't what is stopping Andy. She couldn't be nearly as successful as she is if that were a problem. No, she likes Haven and likes being here with my family. She knows a good thing when she sees it and she doesn't want to ruin her welcome here."

A frown creased Adie's forehead as she opened the door and a wave of warmth and the spicy scent of mulled cider greeted them. "Cacie, how is that you can be friends with someone who so obviously has little respect for life?"

"Easy; she respects the lives of me and mine. It's everyone else that has to worry. There is no position safer than that of a friend of an assassin."

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"Well, that cost me a pretty copper."

"It was worth it," Adie soothed. Graham had been allowed out of the sling once they got into the store. Unfortunately, Kero's reassurances that Graham would be fine as long as he got to help proved to be false.

Well, it could have been true, if we were doing something a three year old would enjoy doing, Acacia mused. In the end, he had been put back into the sling on Adie's hip, where he was now sulking. Merrick had finally woken completely and was now looking around as alertly as Graham had on the way to the dress shop. While she used one arm to stabilize Merrick, the other clasped a wrapped package containing her new ball gown against her side. It was a dress that had been ready-made and Acacia once again thanked the gods for her athletic figure. It was an odd-sized dress, which is why it had not been purchased. It had originally been made for a woman from the country gentry, one who was accustomed to hard work. Her family had been unable to afford for her to complete the season at Court, so she had returned home without the gown. Now, Acacia was benefiting from her misfortune.

"I still think we could have gotten her to go cheaper."

"You already got a good deal on that gown. She also offered to alter it for free."

Acacia snorted. "I don't trust anyone with a needle and thread around me other than Andy."

"I doubt she is really that good."

"Wait until you see her gown."

"She has a gown?"

"Oh, yes. She made it for when she has to mingle with the highborn. I saw it in her packs. I imagine she'll hang it up soon so that the wrinkles will come out."

"She is coming to the Ball?"

"She's my guest."

"What about Derrick?"

"As a Herald, he has his own invitation. I'm bringing Andreya."

"Well. That will be…interesting."

Acacia frowned. "Worried about shaych rumors?"

Adie cast her a frown. "Worried about assassin rumors."

Acacia laughed. "No worries; Andy's fairly good at hiding her profession."

"Cacie?" Merrick's voice was soft.

"What?"

"Dere's a man walkin'."

Acacia frowned. "Yes. There are men walking all around us."

"He walk funny."

Adie sighed. "Does your aunt teach any of you manners? Merrick, it is not polite to make fun of people."

"Sowwy."

Acacia frowned. "Funny how, Merrick?"

"Walk wike Andy."

"Andy walks funny?"

"Quiet. No steps."

Acacia's eyebrow winged up as Graham nodded enthusiastically. "Is it the same man you saw, Graham?"

"Uh-huh."

A chill settled over Acacia. "I don't like this."

"It's probably nothing, just some servant out on errands."

"There are no coincidences."

"You sound like your aunt."

"Adie, that was one of the nicest things anyone has ever said about me. Come on."

"Where…?" Adie trailed off as Acacia quickly changed course to cut down and alley.

"After that little problem on Player's Lane, I'm not risking anything. Here, take Merrick."

They paused after turning a corner in the alley and transferred Merrick in his sling to Adie, the packages tucked into the slings. Then Acacia drew her sword and gestured Adie to walk in front of her. They began to work their way back to the Palace using alleys and cutting through peoples' yards. They seemed to loose him after a few turns and Acacia began to think they had overreacted until they rounded another corner and saw him in front of them, leaning casually against a wall. It was a narrow alley, so they had no room to get past him. She contemplated turning them around and taking another route home, but tossed that idea as ineffective. He would simply follow them until he could cut them off again.

Acacia stepped in front of Adelie and gently pushed her friend behind her. The man smirked and straightened from his slouch against the wall. He was a completely average man, unremarkable in the extreme. The only hint of his profession was that he was lean, but he could easily have been mistaken as a farmer. He held his hands away from him, showing he had no weapons. Acacia had learned the hard way from Andreya that a lack of weapons did not mean he was not dangerous. His smile widened when Acacia did not let her guard down.

"You were right, earlier, when you were talking to your friend." He nodded at Adelie, his eyes twinkling with humor. "It is better to be the friend of an assassin than to be an enemy." He brought his hands together in front of his chest, palm to palm, and bowed slightly. "Tell Andreya that Jon said, 'We're even'."

With that, he vanished. Acacia blinked. He had been there, then just as suddenly he was gone. Adelie made a soft sound behind her and she turned to face her friend, who was pale with shock.

"Was that…?"

"An assassin? Yes. Apparently he owed Andreya a rather large favor and he chose to pay her back by letting us live." Acacia calmly sheathed her sword, her steady hands showing no indication of the shaking she was doing inside. Then she took Merrick back and began walking as quickly as she could. Adie hastened to catch up with her. "Come on. We need to get home before we use up any other favors the local assassins might owe Andy. I don't imagine she is going to be thrilled to learn about this one, as it is. Not that I regret him using it. If he's on Andy's level, we would not have stood a chance."

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"Andy."

"Mmph."

"Andy."

"Sleeping." Andreya scrunched her face in irritation and buried herself deeper in her blankets, snuggling with her pillow. Sleeping with Jeremy was much more comfortable, as he had proven his claim to be a very good bed warmer. However, she had no doubt that if she went back to his warm rooms over the bakery, very little sleeping would have been accomplished, so she had returned to Kerowyn's cottage to catch up on the sleep she had lost. Of course, it appeared she was not going to get any sleep here, either.

"Come on, Andy, you need to wake up."

"Is the cottage on fire?"

"No."

"Is Haven being attacked? Check that, is the Palace being attacked?"

"No."

"Then go away."

Acacia said it as fast as she could. "Jon told me to tell you that you two are now even."

Andreya sat straight up and almost smacked foreheads with Acacia. Acacia, expecting the reaction, quickly pulled her head out of the line of fire and sank back on her heels next to Andreya's bed. Andreya's dark eyes were clouded with fatigue and the delicate skin under her eyes was dark. Acacia restrained a wince. Her friend had been operating on less sleep than she cared the think about and she had just pulled Andreya from a sound sleep. She could almost see the thoughts stuttering along behind Andreya's eyes, a far cry from the efficiency her friend usually operated at. Her head turned and she looked Acacia in the eyes.

"I could have sworn you just said that Jon said that we're even. Tell me I was dreaming that."

Acacia shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry. That was real."

Andreya groaned and buried her face in her hands, falling backwards into her nest. She remained prone for a few moments, then let her hands fall to her sides. "Well, I suppose if I was going to unknowingly call in a favor, it could be for worse things than saving your hide." Then she swore viciously. "Whoever it is that wants you dead seriously wants you dead. Maybe we'll get lucky and whoever it is will offer me a job."

"I doubt that. Especially since Kero registered herself as your current temporary employer with the Guild to prevent someone from offering you a job."

"If you were a would-be murderer, would you check with the Mercenary's Guild to see if one of the best assassins around, who happens to be in contact with the target, currently had a job?"

Acacia snorted. "If I knew anything at all about you, I would know to not even try. It takes a lot to gain your friendship or loyalty, but once it's given, you never rescind it."

"True. Damn. I'm assuming that it is this Acario everyone has been talking about that is targeting you."

"Sounds about right."

"Well, there is only one way to deal with this. Unfortunately, we can't take care of it in any way that won't have members of your government putting out death warrants on me."

"That is a problem," Acacia mused.

Andreya sighed and closed her eyes. "Has anyone ever tried that Truthspell on him?"

"Can't." They both looked up to see Ianthe standing in the doorway, looking a bit rumpled. It was surprising to see the normally svelte Ianthe having even one hair out of place, much less seeing her hair tosseled by the wind and wearing a pair of Whites that had long since ceased being white. "There needs to be an accusation in order to render a Truthspell. Would you accuse a man suspected of killing his own family?"

Andreya snorted. "I would, but I don't suppose people who have something to lose would."

"Exactly."

"So, we need evidence." This last was from Acacia.

"I doubt he left evidence," Andreya said on a yawn, scratching her head and sinking further under her blankets.

"Yes, he did." Adelie's words caused Andreya's half-closed eyes to pop back open and captured the attention of the other two women. Adelie was sitting on Acacia's bed, Graham dozing next to her and Merrick busily trying to untie her shoes. "There's gossip all over court about all types of grisly trophies he kept from each person he had killed."

Acacia snorted. "What kind of idiot keeps trophies from crimes he ordered committed."

Andreya raised a hand and started ticking fingers off as if she were counting. Acacia watched as all of the fingers on the first hand were ticked off, then the second, then as the fingers of the first hand were ticked off again. Andreya was halfway through the second hand again when Acacia broke.

"What are you counting?"

"How many employers have asked me to bring back proof that I've completed a job. Hold on, I still have quite a few more to go."

"Bringing back proof is one thing, but actually keeping that proof? That is not exactly a sane thing to do."

"Are we talking about the same Acario? I could have sworn the one I was thinking of was crazy enough to make his entire family disappear. Aside from that, it is very common for people who commit multiple homicides to keep a trophy so that they have something to help them to remember the thrill or remember something else attached to the crime, such as the reason it was committed. What?"

Acacia was regarding her friend as if Andreya had sprouted horns. She had known, intellectually, that Andreya was a very educated woman. While she had never attended a formal school, Andreya was well read on many subjects. Acacia supposed it was only sensible for an assassin to be knowledgeable about the psyches of killers, but hearing Andreya spouting what she had read was a completely different thing.

"Do you really think he actually kept evidence? Do you keep trophies from your kills?" Acacia had expected a negative and was surprised when Andreya sighed and crawled from under the blankets. She went to her wardrobe and pulled out one of her saddlebags. Stuffing her arm into the bag, she began rummaging, discarding various items until she at last withdrew something wrapped in black silk. Tossing it handily to Acacia, she crawled back into bed, shivering in her thin nightshirt.

Acacia regarded the small silk bundle for a moment, noting the embroidery that appeared to be something written in a language she could not understand, loath to open it and see just what exactly Andreya kept.

"It doesn't bite."

Acacia pulled in a deep breath and unwrapped the silk. Ianthe and Adelie moved to peer over her shoulder as she unwrapped it. When she revealed the contents, Adelie shrieked and ran back to the other side of the room, gathering up Merrick so he could not run over and see. Ianthe was a bit more contained, pressing the back of a hand against her mouth.

"Oh…that is…truly sick."

Acacia froze, staring at the eye that was staring back at her. If it were not for the fact that she was holding it in her hand, she would have sworn that the owner of the eye was boring into her very soul. It was an intense green, so bright it almost glowed. It was enough to give her the shakes. The spell was broken when Andreya reached out and plucked the eyeball from Acacia's grasp barehanded and knocked it against the wall. Instead of the squishing sounds she had expected, it made the sound of a stone against the wall. It was then that Acacia also noticed that the back half of the eyeball was missing. Instead, it was a smooth and concave. Andreya smiled grimly and handed it back to her.

"It's glass. It belonged to my first kill, which I actually accomplished before I became an assassin. He was a truly evil man, feeding off the pain of others. If it weren't for him, I would probably be married and a mother by now. That eye haunted my nightmares. When I finally broke and killed him, I took the eye to prove to myself it was nothing more than a bit of glass. On the bad nights, I pull it out and remind myself that not only is he gone, I killed him. It's a reassurance for me."

Silence reigned. Acacia let Andreya wrap the eye back up. Instead of putting it back in her bag, she put it under her pillow. Acacia sat on the floor, staring at her hand.

"All right," Acacia said, voice sounding hollow. "I'll acknowledge the possibility that he took trophies."

Ianthe swallowed. "So, what does this mean?"

"It means, if we find the trophies, we'll have ample cause to accuse him and Truthspell him."

"I bet they're at his estate, probably in his suite," Andreya said, sticking her feet back under the blankets. "Of course, if we want to break in and get the stuff, we're going to have to be sanctioned. Otherwise, I doubt it would count in any court."

Acacia sighed and turned so she was leaning against the frame of Andreya's bed, rubbing her suddenly aching forehead. "Why does this have to be so hard?"

"It's what keeps me from being completely evil," Andreya commented. "Some rules, you cannot break."

A pounding on the door to the cottage broke into their musings. Rex, well rested after a morning without the twins and Sariah, bounded to the door, barking in his deep and threatening way. He hit the rug near the front of the cottage, which Kero had expressly put there so he would stop scratching up the floors when he slid, and rode it to the door, where he crashed. The earth shuddering thud did not phase him and began barking at the door as Ianthe went to answer it. Acacia accompanied her and made an effort to corral Rex.

"Yes, we know someone is there. Good puppy."

When she had managed to get a handle on the fur at the ruff of his neck, she nodded to Ianthe, who finally opened the door. She did not get a chance to politely acknowledge the person on the other side, because he shoved past her, anger in his eyes and a sheaf of parchment in his hands. He rounded on Ianthe, his golden features distorted in rage.

"You bitch!"

"I thought that was your title, Geryl," Ianthe said tiredly, closing the door. "What do you want?"

"You set me up!"

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

"I came home after my daily walk at the market to find five different women in my rooms accusing me of cheating on them!"

Acacia, standing behind Geryl, felt her eyes round. Ianthe looked at her over Geryl's shoulder and narrowed her eyes. Acacia put on an innocent expression and shrugged, trying not to laugh. Ianthe merely raised an eyebrow and turned back to Geryl.

"How did five women manage to get into your rooms?"

"I have no idea."

"Riiiiiiight." Te drew the word out.

"That is irrelevant. They all had notes that were in my handwriting that I never wrote, telling them to come see me!"

Ianthe leaned against the kitchen table. From her angle, she had an excellent view of Acacia doubled over with suppressed mirth.

"Uh-huh. So…why are you here?"

"You set me up!"

"Look, Geryl, it is not my fault you indulge in so many affairs that you cannot even schedule them properly."

"They were sealed with my personal seal! You broke into my rooms and stole it! I will have you charged!"

Te snorted. "Good luck with that. Especially since I didn't do it."

"If it wasn't you, it was one of your horrid sisters!"

Te glanced over at Acacia and received a shake of a head in reply. "None of my sisters broke into your rooms and stole your seal."

"Do you have any idea what this has done to me?" His voice was low and he spoke through clenched teeth, putting his nose an inch from hers. Rex growled low in his throat.

"Does it involve certain dangly bits rotting and falling off?" Te asked sweetly.

Geryl yelled and raised a hand to strike her. Te flinched and brought her hands up, but the blow never fell. Instead, Geryl stood before her, whimpering, Andreya's right hand wrapped around his wrist in a wicked nerve pinch. She was pressed against his back, full-length, and the sharp little knife in her left hand was pressed against his throat. Andreya leaned forward until she could whisper in his ear, almost lovingly. Softly, she began murmuring, so softly that Ianthe could not hear what she was saying. Whatever it was, it was enough to terrify Geryl. Te felt an unHerald-like glee as she watched the fear creep into his cold blue gaze. The scent of urine in the air drew her gaze downward, where she saw a growing wet blotch on the front of Geryl's breeches.