This chapter is brought to you by Born Ready by Dove Cameron.

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"Your wig is falling off."

Jovette gasped and instinctively reached for her hair.

Nine clicked his tongue and adjusted it for her. He was careful not to accidentally smear the makeup she meticulously spent three hours putting on for her disguise.

"You have improved," he said.

Jovette was nearly unrecognizable. If not for the fact that he had raised her since she was four, he would not have known it was her.

She batted her eyes at him, emerald green having changed to vermillion red to hide her true identity.

"I should hope so. Ophelia had a hand in helping me with the color charm."

"It was good enough to trick the puppy."

"Only Rowan?"

Nine shrugged. The rest of them were experienced agents. It would have disappointed Lord Eartha if they couldn't see through Jovette's disguise.

They were in a private room designated to receive their gear.

Belwyn and Mercury had taken Rowan to get his in another area.

"Put this on," Nine handed Jovette a uniform that was similar to his and turned around to give her some privacy.

"Are we not getting into our costumes?" she asked.

"You will receive them at the third checkpoint. Put the hood on."

He heard some shuffling behind him.

A few minutes later, Jovette was finished.

"You can turn around."

Nine did as he was told.

Wearing the uniform, it was difficult to tell if Jovette was a man or a woman.

"Fits?" Nine asked.

Jovette cocked her head from side to side.

"I think so. Not too tight, but not too loose. These pants are nice."

"Thermal charm. You won't get cold," Nine explained.

"Nice."

She threw her wig at him and he caught it without thinking.

Nine stared at it confusingly for a moment.

"It keeps falling off."

It seemed they would need to look for better wigs in the future.

Thankfully, Jovette was going as a woman for this mission.

---

They met up with Venus on their way to Lord Eartha's office.

When he saw them, he smiled tightly and handed them their Tower-issued daggers.

"Are you alright?" Nine asked.

Lord Eartha had pulled him aside a few days ago to tell him about Pluto replacing Venus, but he hadn't had a chance to speak to Venus about it.

Venus being replaced wasn't exactly a horrible thing.

The reason Pluto was taking over for him was because he was about to be promoted to the role of Director for the Research and Development department.

Venus wasn't only a gifted handler, but his mind was sharp and he was intelligent. As a prodigy of the mystic arts with a photographic memory, he was a competitive candidate for the role of Director.

Nine had seen nothing wrong with a promotion, but he could tell Venus was unhappy despite the good news.

When he asked his question, the response Venus gave him was a broken-hearted look.

"Come back safe," he responded instead, before leaving despondently.

Nine sighed, much to Jovette's confusion.

"Something the matter?"

He shook his head. "Later."

The issue would need to be shelved for now.

---

Geared up with their uniforms and weapons, they arrived at Lord Eartha's office once more for one last meeting.

"Yadda yadda be safe, yadda yadda remember the rules, yadda yadda come home..."

They left the city by midnight on horseback.

Three days later and hours before dawn, they arrived at the third checkpoint and found hidden cases within the trees.

They opened the cases and found three outfits inside, preserved with charms to keep them from wrinkling.

Rowan stared at the outfits for a moment.

"Um, who's wearing the dress?"

"That would be mine."

Julian took off his hood, revealing his face--oh.

"Lady Jovette?" Rowan asked in astonishment.

She winked at him. "You were so easy to fool, Rowan. Honestly."

He flushed in embarrassment at being called out.

Excuse him, but he didn't think Jovette would go out of her way to crossdress just to test out her disguises. What was the point of it if she was just going to dress as a woman for the mission, anyway?

As if she could read his mind, she said, "I just wanted to know how it would take you to figure it out."

Well then.

He pretended as if his pride was still intact and quietly went behind a tree to change.

Five minutes later, he came back out with a forced smile.

"Hey, I think we have a problem."

No one said a word. Not Bel, not Mercury, not Tobus.

They all stared at him with a hint of pity before going back to doing whatever it was the three of them needed to do.

"Pluto, the outfits are the wrong size."

"Apologies, Happy Dagger. It seems the Intel Department assumed you and Apothecary would be cross-dressing for this mission. Please put on the suit."

Jovette took the suit that was supposed to be his and handed him her golden ballgown.

"..."

---

"Tie up the laces."

"No! Leave my waist alone! I can't fight in that!"

"He's right. It will be hard for him to run, too."

Tobus handed Rowan back his shoes--a pair of durable, non-slip, mission boots with hidden knives. The skirt of the gown was long enough to hide them. He could also tear it off the skirt easily in case things got violent.

The bottles of poison Rowan brought with him were shoved into his shirts. Wrappings used to form false breasts had hidden compartments for storage.

"He didn't learn the blade?" Tobus asked.

Bel winced. "He's a better poisoner."

There was a lot to unpack from that vague explanation, but they didn't have time to discuss it.

Tobus had already changed out his traveling gear into something more combat-oriented. He donned a set of arm guards with hidden blades and stashed a few extra daggers into his belt.

With his co-op uniform completed, he pulled a cloak over himself and climbed onto the driver seat of the carriage that was conveniently left in the middle of the woods with expensive white horses.

Mercury had finished dressing long ago and was stashing away their traveling gear into the cases.

He was decidedly very amused by the turn of events.

His costume was more over the top than usual, but they were dressing as a rich bourgeoisie merchant's family, so that was to be expected.

"Rowan, look. There's a wig for you."

There was, indeed, a wig that was perfectly colored to match Rowan's natural hair color.

Bel shoved it onto his head before he could protest.

"Beautiful."

"Jovette, are you finished?"

"Almost! Can someone help me with these cuffs?"

A handsome man stepped out from behind the trees. He was dressed regally in a dark velvet suit lined with golden stitches, and a red cape draped over one of his shoulders. His blond hair was tied into a horse tail, the long smooth length dropping gracefully down his back.

"Well?" Jovette asked. "How do I look?"

"Stunning, my Lord," Mercury praised, giving her a playful bow.

She chuckled. "It fits perfectly. How's the gown?"

"Lovely. Doesn't Rowana look beautiful?" Mercury presented Rowan in front of her.

Jovette looked stunned.

"Wow."

"... Wow," Rowan repeated.

"Is that all you get?"

He raised his skirt up, revealing his pants in a very unladylike manner.

"There are charms stitched into the skirt. It's technically the shield. Do I need to bring this back if I damage it?"

"Preferably," Bel answered. "Lord Eartha gets into a tiff when agents leave their issued weapons behind. Your has a lot of enchantment on it, so it's considered a gear."

Ah, enchantments.

Mercury belatedly thought.

It really explained why Rowan had gone two shades paler.

The communication stone around his neck was already causing him discomfort.

But Mercury couldn't pity him when it came to this. As agents, they needed to endure, especially since magic played a huge role in their missions.

As Tobus would say:

This, too, Rowan would overcome.

---

Bel sat beside Tobus at the front of the carriage, acting as a second coachman while Tobus held the reigns and drove the horses.

The three "guests" of the masquerade were inside the carriage, getting into character for the mission.

They still had another six hours of travel left to go before they reached the Puadu Compound.

They could have gone faster, but the white horses were civilian mounts and not bred for long distances and speed, unlike the ones they took to the third checkpoint.

Coming to the ball on Vesna's horses would have made them suspicious, given that the horses they had were carnivores.

"About what I said a few days ago..."

Bel was aware this wasn't a good time, but it was the closest to privacy they had in days, and he was not about to let a little disagreement be left alone to marinate for so long.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, remembering what he said and ashamed of his words.

Tobus glanced at him quickly. His eyes went back to the road a second later, but Bel could have sworn his gaze was equally apologetic as his own.

He was proven right when the other man huffed and said, "... Same. I'm sorry, too."

They said nothing to each other for a while, letting the sound of the carriage wheel rolling against the road fill up the quiet.

"After this mission, do you... want to go somewhere?"

Tobus blinked. "Where to?"

Bel laced his fingers together as he pondered on that. "Maybe a place to get a drink?"

"You mean the Fox Bar?"

"Well, no. I was thinking something... nicer."

Tobus didn't say anything for a few seconds, and Bel held his breath for his answer.

"The Peony Garden?"

Um...

"Isn't that a brothel--"

"Listen!" Bel nearly jumped out of his seat when he suddenly Mercury's muffled voice from the carriage. "I get you guys are having the most sweetest moment, but for gods' sake, Bel. We are still here, and we can hear you! Can you do this some other time?"

Bel flushed red in shame and covered his face.

He heard a rustle of clothes and then there was a hand on his back, patting him gently.

Like he was a puppy.

"There's privacy in the Peony Garden, and the music and drinks are nice. We can talk there once we get back."

Bel wanted to cry, but there were no tears.

He slowly nodded his head like a hung dog.

"Good try!" Mercury shouted again from the carriage.

Bel was this close to throwing him out.

---

The author has something to say:

Heads up, y'all. The first look of the character sheet is up on the discord under TSCFIST. I will post another one here once the story is finished. The amount of ways I can use a picrew was honestly amazing. I was starting to run out of combinations and you can tell. You really will. I assure you. Anyway, please go check it out if you're curious. I am fully aware that I haven't described anyone in actual detail besides Nine.