"Has she arrived yet?" Kietnan asked Kahal as they were putting on the finishing touches to their formal wear in Kahal's dwelling.

"No. Not that I know of. Either way, I just wish we didn't have to go through the motions of this event, not knowing whether or not anything is going to happen."

"I understand the situation is tense, but let's try to relax. Captain Bron is trustworthy and he is sharp. We can trust him to be over security while we fulfill our duties."

"You're right. I know, you're right. I just can't help but have a bad feeling."

"I understand. Trust me, I do. We'll do the best we can to keep our eyes and ears open from where we are."

Kahal nodded as they left his dwelling and went separate directions to go retrieve their dates for the evening.

Kahal greeted Biechta at her dwelling, complimenting her on her poised beauty, as always. She never had a hair out of place or a wrinkle in her clothing. He escorted her to their Royal box of the balcony in the theater. Anxiety grew within him as they sat down and he looked over the theater. He had a great vantage point from up here, but he was so far removed from all of the people. Big thoughts race within his mind. Would they go after the royal family again? Or the entire premier? He couldn't help but feel like they were all sitting ducks.

Much to some of their protests, he had insisted on moving away from tradition for tonight's events. Traditionally, the entire premier and their families would be seated together in the large royal box. But Kahal and Kietnan knew that was just too convenient for any potential attackers. He had insisted that they separate. They were in four different boxes tonight. Each son was sitting in each of the four boxes, having been brought up to speed on the potential threat. And that way each of the Lords of the four quadrants wouldn't feel snubbed. Well, that was the idea. Of course some of them did anyway. But he just had to insist that it was for their safety.

Of course, the fact that he didn't tell any of them these new arrangements until half an hour ago did not help the reactions. But it couldn't be helped. There were only a small handful of people. He trusted right now and he didn't want to give any of them a chance to tip anyone off to the new security measures, even if it were by accident.

The door to the box opened and Kahal turned, on high alert. He watched as the guard at the door held the door open for Thuq to enter. He turned and held out a hand for the female behind him, escorting her to their seats beside Kahal and Biechta. It was a strategic move on Kahal's part, to invite his administrative assistant to sit with him.

The royal box would typically only hold the royal family and the other members of the premier. However, with him spreading the premier and the royal family out, that left room for others. So he had insisted that he needed his assistant by his side. When in reality, it was Rahn who he wanted in the box with him. He would take any opportunity he could to try and get information from her. Why has she been so silent these past several days? Was there truly absolutely nothing planned or did she just not know about anything? Or did she know something, but didn't have an opportunity to share her information with him?

As she entered the room, she looked up and their eyes locked. Kahal didn't know why he thought just looking at her would bring him any information. But still, whatever was going through his chest didn't quite feel like disappointment. The opposite, in fact.

He glanced down to see that she was in formal wear. Of course, that made perfect sense, as she was technically here as his assistant's date and nothing more. So of course she was wearing a beautiful, feminine garment. But he just hadn't really thought about it. Not that she had ever seemed not feminine to him, but she had always carried herself and her attire in more simple garments. Always ready for a fight. He inwardly chuckled to himself.

And as he continued looking her over, he then noticed the difference in her attire compared to what most other women were wearing. At first, it appeared that she was an a dress but then after further inspection it was actually a pair of wide leg, loose flowing pants, with a snug top that accentuated her curves tucked in and a more transparent loose top over it that matched the pants. He had to admire her resourcefulness. He wouldn't be surprised if she had the pants fitted to where she could easily remove them, probably wearing her short athletic pants underneath.

"My lord?"

He was brought out of his thoughts and realized he had been staring at her too long. He looked up to find Thuq staring at him.

He cleared his throat. "Thuq." He nodded.

"My Lord. Thank you again for inviting us to watch the production with you in the Royal box. You remember Lana?" He turned and placed his hand on her lower back. The action was an innocent gesture, Thuq playing his part as her date for the evening. Yet he found the corners of his mouth turning down at the sight.

"Greetings, my lord." Rahn gave an exaggerated nod and slight bow, which was typical of people who weren't used to being in the presence of such high ranking members of society. He had to keep in the chuckle that wanted to escape him. She truly played her part well. "It is an honor to be here this evening." She said as she stood upright.

"I hope you both enjoy it." He offered another slight nod, yet still searched her face for any type of signal from her. But her face was blank. This is when he noticed her earring. The one that was really an earpiece, sending any audio it picked up to whoever was on the other end.

His anxiety spiked as the house lights dimmed and the light on the stage rose. It was beginning.

"This is so exciting. Thank you so much for inviting me, my Lord." Biechta whispered from beside him.

He pulled himself from his thoughts long enough to turn and look at her, offering her a nod. "Of course, my lady." Was all he could manage. He watched as her eyes opened wide in anticipation as his brother's wife walked onto the stage in front of the large, heavy curtains.

"Greetings!" She welcomed, the discrete microphone on the side of her face allowing her voice to carry through the entire audience. He watched as cheers erupted through the entire theater. As far as he could tell, there wasn't a seat empty in the entire theater. Thousands of Qarthans were in attendance. The pressure to keep them all safe weighed heavily on his mind. He glanced to Rahn, she was watching the performance like she didn't have a care in the world, even though he knew that wasn't the case.

"The story you are about to witness is quite unbelievable." She began as the crowd quieted down to listen. "But I can assure you every single scene, every single moment you are about to witness is true. We are proud to be allowed to share these unprecedented events with you, our fellow Qarthans! So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!" She waved and rushed off the stage while the crowd roared with cheers. He had to give it to Halan, she could excite a crowd.

As the performance went on, he felt himself slightly relax, which only unnerved him more. Nothing had happened yet, an hour in. This was good. But at the same time... were they waiting for his guard to be down? At least his people seemed to be enjoying themselves. There were many times of loud gasps of surprise, cheers, and even cries of anger during the times where people were rude or mean to Ashima. He wasn't paying full attention to the performance, but the parts he did, he had to admit the entire thing was done very well.

He tensed as the entire crowd erupted into loud cries of protest, quickly letting out a small chuckle to himself, as he realized it was just because of the show. The men playing the parts of Zein and Garen had forcefully pulled Ashima away from the dwelling at camp. The curtains closed and the stage lights shifted to focus to the side where his sister-in-law was standing announcing an intermission. Sounds of chatter filled the theater as everyone discussed what they'd seen so far. He felt his tension rising again. Everything was an opportunity for attack.

He managed to put a slight smile on his face and turn to the female beside him. "Are you enjoying it so far?" He asked Biechta.

"Oh it is positively magical!" Biechta clapped her hands together as she stood.

"Please forgive my dear niece, she can get excitable sometimes over the silliest things." Her uncle Teth said as he sent a glare in her direction.

Kahal watched as Biechta's entire demeanor changed and she became a shadow of the happy woman from a moment ago.

"Oh, I find it delightful." Kahal defended. "Afterall, what is life without a bit of excitement and wonder. Rather dull, I think."

"Oh! Um... of course." Teth fumbled.

Biechta gave him a slight smile in return. "If you will please excuse me, I want to make sure I return before the next portion." Biechta nodded at both her uncle and Kahal before taking steps to leave.

"Excuse me, my lady." Kahal turned in slight surprise as Rahn approached Biechta. "Mind if we walk together?"

"Oh, that would be lovely." Biechta responded in her ever polite manner.

"Thank you. I am Lana." She offered her a slight bow of her head.

"Lady Biechta." Biechta nodded in return.

"I'm here with Thuq, lord Kahal's administrative assistant. Do you know him?"

"Yes, we've met."

"I see you're accompanying Lord Kahal tonight, that's quite an honor."

"Yes, quite the honor indeed."

Kahal watched as the women excited the room, nodding to a guard, making sure he escorted them. Why would Rahn latch onto Biechta like that? Was she worried for her safety? Or did she simply want to escort the woman to the restrooms, as she had said?

His curiosity got the better of him and he quickly excused himself from lord Teth's presence, heading toward the facilities himself.

But once he was in the main hallway, he realized his mistake. There were way too many people to simply catch up with the females. He cursed quietly to himself. How do we have our own private royal box but yet we don't have our own toilet facilities? It would be something he would have to rectify in the future. Not that he minded mingling with people of various statuses, but it was simply a safety issue. That was very clear to him now.

"Brother." He turned the find Kietnan approaching him, hand-in-hand with Ashima. "Any word?"

Kahal Shook his head. Seeing his brother and the alien woman was still a sight to get used to.

"Is she here?" Kietnan spoke quietly.

"Yes, but we haven't had a chance to speak." Kahal rubbed on his hear, and Kietnan nodded in understanding of Rahn's earpiece. He couldn't be too careful of what might be overheard.

Kahal noted how Ashima's eyes showed worry and she clung to Kietnan's hand, but she was maintaining her smile for outward appearances. Yes, his brother had a fine partner. Knowing that Ashima would recognize Rahn should they interact at all this evening, the brothers had agreed Ashima would have to be brought in on a few key details.

"I was actually looking for Lady Biechta. Have you seen her?"

"Wasn't she with you?"

"She left the box to go use the facilities, Thuq's date went with her. I lost them in the crowd."

"You brought Bi as your date tonight?" Ashima asked in surprise.

"Bi?" Kahal asked.

"Lady Biechta." Ashima said with a sigh, as if disappointed. "You are her escort tonight?"

"Yes... Is that OK?" Kahal asked jokingly. However, the stern frown on Ashima's face told him that she was not joking. "Why, what's wrong?"

"You weren't supposed to ask her." She rolled her eyes. "No wonder he didn't."

Kahal didn't know what she was talking about, and he wasn't sure if he would ever get used to her overly exaggerated facial expressions. Or her having no issues with speaking so openly to him. It was refreshing, he had to admit. Perhaps this is why his brother was so drawn to her.

"Ashima, not now." Kietnan spoke firmly to his partner, but Kahal noticed how he gently rubbed her back as he spoke.

She huffed but nodded in agreement. "We better get back to our seats." She said as she pulled him.

Kietnan stopped their movements and turned back to his brother. "Do you need me to help you look for them?"

Kahal knew it was also his brother's way of asking if there was anything going on.

He shook his head. "No, I'm sure they just went to use the facility. A guard was with them."

Kietnan nodded before turning, and following his partner back towards where their box was located.

He found himself being jealous of his youngest brother, probably for the first time. He had a partner who complimented him well, and both supported and pushed him to do well in life. And also he was in the box with Lord Racht from the south, a much more agreeable Lord than the one he had been paired with. But it only made sense to invite Lord Teth to his booth, with Biechta as his date for the evening. That, and he knew the male would gripe and complain if he were paired with anyone he considered to be "less than." Yes, he would speak with the king and queen about the lord as soon as all of this other mess was dealt with.

The hallways cleared as people returned to their seats, and Kahal could see the door to the women's facilities from where he stood. The guard he had sent to follow the females was standing just outside. He should have sent a female guard, he inwardly berated himself.