This week, Scandunt had taught the exchange about proper social etiquette and set up a formal dinner for everyone at a banquet hall in the city with a bunch of Lion Tribe officials and social elites to test them. However, before dinner, the trainees were free to roam the streets.

"Do you like dancing?" Fortus asked, surprising Lolo.

"I do, actually, but I'm not very good at it."

"Really? That surprises me. With all of your martial arts training, I'd imagine dancing would come easily for you."

"Honestly, I just don't have much experience with dancing."

"Again, that surprises me. You don't have dances in the Wolf Tribe?"

"No, we do. I'm just usually hosting. And boys don't ask me to dance with my brothers standing sentinel over me."

"I wonder why," Fortus teased.

Lolo scrunched her nose up at him.

"Well, we are going to fix that today."

"Fix what?"

"Your lack of dancing experience."

"Really?!"

Fortus laughed. "As long as you don't mind putting up with me as your partner."

"You're serious?!" Lolo was giddy with excitement as they walked. "I didn't know you liked dancing."

"What guy wouldn't like holding a pretty girl in his arms?" he countered.

"Touché!"

Fortus took Lolo back to the city square with the large 'Cooperation' fountain. This particular weekend, the town was hosting a music event in the square featuring lots of different musicians and music styles. A good sized crowd of people had gathered to listen and dance.

"Can we watch some of the other couples dance for a bit?" Lolo asked.

"Why?"

"Just to give me an idea of your tribe's dancing style."

Fortus shrugged and found a spot on the edge of the pool for them to sit on while Lolo studied the dancers. After a few songs without Lolo showing any signs of moving, Fortus got impatient. "We're here to dance, not observe."

Lolo blushed, swinging her legs.

"You're not nervous, are you?"

"A little," she admitted. "I told you. I'm not very good."

Fortus stood up and offered her his hand. "This time, you get to follow my lead."

Fortus was an excellent dancer. He spent the first five minutes or so teaching Lolo the basic dance steps and the next hour experimenting with increasingly complicated moves and lifts. Lolo was small and agile enough that Fortus could pull some pretty impressive stunts with her. Once Lolo allowed herself to relax and just trust him, she felt like her feet barely touched the ground.

"Where did you learn to dance like that?" Lolo asked him when they stopped to get some water.

"I grew up in the palace with a high official as my father. I've been dragged to more formal dinner parties, banquets, and events than I can count, and the only thing to do besides eat and flex your social status at those sorts of things is dance.... What?"

Lolo was giving him a funny look and leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Fortus, how do you not have a real girlfriend?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're talented, you dance, you're kind, trustworthy, intelligent, charming, and fun to be around, and you are ridiculously attractive." Lolo realized a little too late what she'd blurted out and covered her mouth as she blushed.

It was Fortus's turn to dish out the funny looks. "You think I'm attractive?"

"... Don't look so surprised."

"Ridiculously attractive?"

Lolo smiled and nudged his shoulder to alleviate some of the awkwardness. "It's no secret that you're easy in the eyes, Fortus."

"But that's not the point here, is it?" Fortus chuckled. "I'm more interested to know that, of all people, Huo Lohse Lang finds me ridiculously attractive."

She laughed. "Well, don't let it get to your head."

"Too late! I mean, I already knew that I'm a decent looking guy, but to catch your eye, that's a whole 'nother level."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why is my opinion 'a whole 'nother level'," Lolo asked with finger air quotes.

Fortus hadn't anticipated Lolo turning the conversation around on him. "Uh. I'd have thought that was obvious."

"Spell it out for me."

"To catch the eye of a princess," he tried to play it off, "that's an incredible honor!"

"Oh. I see." Her face fell slightly.

Fortus could tell that his answer had missed the mark; Lolo was suddenly quiet and withdrawn. "Lolo, I'm sorry. I didn't-"

She held up her hands. "No, Fortus, please. You don't have to apologize or explain yourself. You didn't say anything wrong."

"Ok. But-"

"You were just being honest with me, and that's something that I really appreciate about you."

Fortus was disturbed to watch Lolo put on a brave face and force a smile.

"So, should we get back to dancing?" she asked.

"I suppose…. Lolo, are you ok?"

"I'm fine!" She laughed unconvincingly and walked to an open space in the square, waving Fortus over.

He joined her but didn't feel much like dancing anymore.

"Fortus?"

Instead of dancing, Fortus caught her hand and took her to a quiet park where he deposited her on a bench. Lolo was very confused but compliant.

"You're not ok."

Lolo looked down to stare at her hands that had begun to obsessively twist the sash from her dress around her fingers.

"I hurt your feelings."

"You didn't say anything wrong, Fortus."

"But I did hurt your feelings."

"I know that I'm being silly. Sorry to spoil the mood."

"Lolo, I don't want an apology. I want to understand."

She had to think about how to answer him. "It's just that I didn't think that me being a princess mattered to you. I'm almost positive that I'm overreacting, but it still stings to be reminded that someone you feel close with might care more about what you are than who you are. I really don't think that's the case with you, Fortus, but your comment did catch me off-guard."

Fortus felt the bottom drop out of his stomach as she talked, and he sat down next to her on the bench. "You're not overreacting at all, Lolo. This is the exact reason why I've never been able to make friends before." He took a deep breath. "I owe you an apology. I wasn't thinking. The reason I consider you a friend is because I trust you, Lolo. You are the only person I've ever been able to trust besides my father, and that is a rare, wonderful gift that has absolutely nothing to do with you being the wolf princess."

"You mean it?" she asked, searching his face.

Fortus nodded.

"You really trust me?"

"Yes. And I hope my stupid comment earlier didn't completely destroy your trust in me."

"Fortus, answer me honestly. What am I to you?"

He smiled. "Giving me a chance to redeem myself?"

"In a way, I suppose...."

"Lolo, you are my friend, plain and simple. Well, that and my pretend girlfriend for the summer," he added cheekily.

"Ok." Lolo exhaled slowly. "Ok."

"Do you believe me?"

"Yes, I do."

"I'm sorry I hurt your feelings."

She smiled gently. "I know."

"Thank you for giving me a second chance."

"Thank you for taking it."

"I'm going to hug you now."

"Ok."

After a good hug, some of Lolo's optimism and warmth returned.

"So," she grinned, "gonna answer my original question?"

Fortus chuckled. "It's a little uncomfortable."

"I can handle uncomfortable.... So, are you going to tell me, or not?"

"Alright. Here goes.... It's just that I find you ridiculously attractive. To be honest, all the guys do, so for you to reciprocate is kind of a big deal."

"Oh. I don't even know where to go with that."

"Yeah. It's awkward."

"So where does that leave us then? Does that change anything?"

Fortus scowled ever so slightly. "I hadn't thought of that. What do you think?"

"I don't know. I know what Ulana would think, though."

"Yeah, she'd probably want to see our fake relationship become a real one."

Lolo nodded.

"What do you want?"

"Believe it or not, Ulana and I have talked about this."

"Doesn't surprise me knowing her," Fortus laughed.

"Then I'll ask you what I asked her. Do we have to be more than friends just because we find each other attractive?"

"Hm. That's a valid point. But you didn't answer my question."

"What do I want?"

"That's the one."

"I don't think that a physical attraction to someone is a good enough reason to start a romantic relationship, and I don't want to run the risk of ruining a great friendship by becoming more than that without knowing if I feel more. You know?"

He nodded, thinking.

"Well, so your turn. What do you want?"

"I have to admit, Lolo, dating you has been fun, and I could get used to keeping you closer. But do I have those types of feelings for you? I honestly don't know. Part of me would enjoy being in a relationship with you. But I don't know if that's because I've enjoyed being in a relationship or if it's because I've enjoyed being with you. Does that make sense?"

"Actually, yeah. It does. I feel the same way." She laughed. "It's kind of confusing, isn't it?"

"Glad to know I'm not the only one. So, we're still just friends? Maybe we'll revisit this someday?"

"I think that's probably a good plan for now."

The formal dinner Scandunt arranged was uncomfortable for Lolo at best. Fortus had said it perfectly earlier. The only things to do were to eat and flex your social status. Scandunt himself served as the host for the evening, and he was quite thrilled with the guest list. Perhaps the most notable guests were the Felis family, and for the first time since the Bear Tribe exchange, Huo Lohse saw Ingenex's older brother, Insaltus, walk in with their mother, Evinco Felis, King Hospes's older sister. Insaltus looked a lot like his mother, sandy blonde hair, pointed, upturned nose, dull brown eyes, and a permanently snobby and bored expression. By comparison, Ingenex was similarly blonde with a pointed nose, but his eyes were warm, and he smiled much more readily than the rest of his family.

Lolo turned to whisper with Fortus, "I haven't seen Insaltus in a while. How is he doing these days?"

Fortus shrugged. "The Felis family tends to keep to themselves. I don't see much of Ingenex outside of the exchange either."

"You know, for all the hype you lions place around being social, you're not very good at it," Lolo observed, triggering an involuntarily hearty laugh from Fortus that caught many of the guests' attention.

"You are quite right about that, Lolo," he grinned at her.

"Care to share the joke with everyone?" a city official to Huo Lohse's left asked.

"Erm. It was kind of an inside joke," she deflected.

"Pity."

"Hey," another important person across the table spoke to Huo Lohse and Fortus, "I recognize you two!"

"You do?" Lolo was genuinely surprised.

"Yes, from the tavern last week! You were the amateur actors featured in the play that night! Oh what was it? The daughter of White and the son of Black!"

Lolo had conveniently left out the details about their amateur acting from last weekend's report to Scandunt and from her date description to Ulana. Fortus and her brothers hadn't felt the need to mention it to anyone either. Needless to say, being recognized for it was a little embarrassing.

"Oh, you were so good!" She raved. "No wonder the fight scenes were so spectacular with you both being a part of the training exchange! And for such a short story, you really made the romance believable. That kiss! And the way you held her while she died. Incredible acting!"

Down the table, Ulana inhaled some of her food and started coughing. Everyone was now staring at Lolo and Fortus who were both blushing furiously.

Lolo cleared her throat. "Um. Thank you, madam. It was fun."

The lady looked around the table and spotted her brothers. "Oo! And these were the proud sons of White! Also from the exchange, I see. Are they your brothers in real life?"

"Yes. This is Zhongyan and Haowan." The twins nodded to their fan.

"Oh! Such fun! And your name, dear?"

"Huo Lohse Lang."

"As in, the Wolf Tribe leader's daughter?!"

"Yes, ma'am," Lolo smiled bashfully.

"And your boyfriend appears to be the Lion General's son?!"

Huo Lohse's smile dimmed slightly.

"We aren't a couple," Fortus saved her. "Huo Lohse Lang is my closest friend." He dropped his voice low as though telling a juicy secret. "She's agreed to pose as my girlfriend this summer to help me ward off some unwanted female attention." He lifted a finger to his lips to ask the room to keep the secret to themselves.

Their fan seemed all the more delighted by this newly revealed conspiracy, and the rest of the room got a good chuckle out of it.

"You and your 'girlfriend' have been the talk of the town this last week," another city official chimed in. "I wasn't there to see the performance, but I've heard all about it from several people who were there. Rumor has it that the storyteller has been making inquiries to try to find you for an encore."

Fortus granted the official a gracious smile. "Sorry to disappoint the storyteller, but I think that was a single showing."

There was a collective buzz of disappointment.

Their fan spoke up hopefully. "Perhaps for tonight's entertainment, you would consider a reprise of your fight scene?"

"I don't think the banquet hall would appreciate us sword fighting in here," Lolo said apologetically.

There was an immediate outcry.

Fortus stood up. "How about a compromise?"

"What did you have in mind?" someone asked.

"I've been teaching Huo Lohse how to dance."

"Oo!" Their fan squealed enthusiastically. "I'm sure we could find some music for you."

The dinner ended, and musicians were procured. Fortus exchanged looks with Lolo, and they stood up to take their sword belts off and walk onto the dance floor. Fortus read her face and took her hands.

"Trust me, Lolo. I'll take care of the rest."

She nodded with a small, nervous smile.

The musicians chose a ballad ideal for a romantic couples dance, and Lolo cringed a little.

"Don't worry about the music," Fortus smirked. "We'll make it work."

In her flowy red dress, Fortus had fun spinning Lolo in circles to make her skirt flare out and twist around her legs. Anytime they did anything even slightly tricky, their audience applauded, which meant they were clapping a lot. Lolo's martial arts training had prepared her for all of their stunts, and Fortus enjoyed having such an intuitive dance partner, so they pulled a lot of them. As the music ended, Fortus spun Lolo into his arms to drop her down in a dramatic dip, and everyone clapped.

The rest of the evening centered around speculation on how long it would take for Fortus Arum and Huo Lohse Lang to make the transition from friends into lovers. In this sterile social environment, a dynamic relationship such as theirs proved to be something of a sensation. It appeared to Lolo that she and Fortus had managed to become the main topic of gossip for another week.

"I hope tonight doesn't cause trouble for you," Lolo said to Fortus on their walk back to the palace.

"Why would it?"

"Well, you told everyone that we're only pretending to be a couple. If word gets out-"

Fortus laughed. "Lolo, as long as your name is tied to mine, perhaps especially in something scandalous like a fake relationship, it will only serve to confirm that we have a relationship. No one can deny that we work well and look good together, so as long as we make it a point to be seen together in public, no one will question our relationship, at least not openly."

"I can't wrap my head around all the nuances of your Lion Tribe social rules. It gives me a headache just trying to think about it."

Fortus wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, forcing her to hold onto his waist to keep herself from losing her balance. "I like that about you, Lolo. I never have to second-guess what you mean. Even when you're being a tease, you never hold onto the ruse for long."

"Tactically speaking, that's a pretty serious weakness," Lolo appealed to his soldier sensibilities.

"Perhaps when it comes to deceiving an enemy. Even then, though, your instincts to protect your pack make up for that particular weakness. We've managed to deceive an entire town about the nature of our relationship solely on your wits. And, it's also a great strength, being so straightforward. Your allies completely trust you."