Scandunt spent the fifth and sixth weeks of the exchange teaching the trainees about the art of dance in preparation for a social at the palace the following weekend. The trainees, especially the boys, were encouraged to find girls on their visits to the city to invite to the social. With all the palace soldiers, there was an extremely skewed ratio of guys to girls-- something that Ulana was particularly excited about.

"Lolo! Let's get ready for the dance together!" Ulana said gleefully, holding onto Lolo's arm and jumping up and down.

"Your place or mine?" Lolo laughed at her friend's giddiness.

"Yay!" Ulana linked arms with Lolo and half dragged her toward the guest rooms.

"Ulana, slow down. My legs aren't as long as yours," Lolo teased. "Why are you so excited for tonight? It's just a dance!"

"Yes, but it will be a dance with more guys than girls, which means we might actually get to dance." She squealed just thinking about it. "There are going to be so many handsome young men in uniform!!"

"You and men in uniform," Lolo scoffed.

"You can't deny that guys look good in uniforms. The tailors do all the work to make them look neat and sharp, so it's hard for the guys to mess it up. You have brothers, Lolo. Do they put in the work to look good if they can help it?"

"Depends on the guy," she smirked, "and on whether or not there is anyone in particular that they care to impress."

"My point exactly. What about you, Lolo? Anyone in particular that you care to impress tonight?" Ulana teased.

"Not especially."

"Not even Fortus?"

"Haven't I already told you? We are just friends."

"Yes, yes," Ulana seemed disappointed.

"Well, if you are just friends with Fortus, is there anyone that you do have your eye on?"

"Honestly, no. I'm like you, Ulana, single and unattached. So dress me up! I've got nothing to lose and everything to gain."

Even with the proactive search for more girls to invite to the social, the guys outnumbered the girls by at least two to one, and while Ulana reveled in all the male attention this afforded her, it wasn’t enjoyable at all to Lolo. It didn’t help that Lolo was one of the renowned exchange girls, a princess, and really quite pretty in an exotic Wolf Tribe way. The handsome men in uniform to Ulana were aggressive vultures to Lolo.

“You must be Huo Lohse Lang, the Wolf Tribe princess,” yet another lion soldier addressed her, using the crowded room as an excuse to get a little too close for comfort.

“Yes,” Lolo tried to back up again and met a wall. She started looking for escape routes.

Another soldier appeared to her other side, and another in front of her, and another.... As the guys cut off every conceivable path of escape, Lolo started to feel claustrophobic, and her hand instinctively moved to where her sword usually sat in her belt. She started to hyperventilate as the guys all talked over the top of each other, vying for her attention.

“Excuse me,” a man someone addressed as ‘captain’ parted the cluster of young soldiers and extended his hand to Lolo. “Would you care to dance with me?”

He’d offered her an escape, and she took it without hesitation. “Thank you for rescuing me, back there,” Lolo smiled as they found their position on the dance floor.

“My pleasure,” the captain smiled back comfortably.

“I didn’t catch your name, Captain…?”

“Emit. Captain Emit.”

“It’s nice to meet you.”

Captain Emit had the classic Lion Tribe look. Blonde hair, brown eyes, broad chest and shoulders, somewhere around six feet tall. He was also a fairly good dancer which suggested that he had been brought up in a higher social circle.

The dance was short, and afterwards, Captain Emit suggested a walk through one of the nearby gardens to “escape the predators.” Lolo laughed and followed him out.

“So Huo Lohse Lang,” Captain Emit kicked off the conversation, “you’ve been in the Lion Tribe for how long now?”

“Tonight wraps up our sixth week of training.”

“Less than a month and a half. What do you think of the Lion Tribe?”

“It’s different from what I’m used to. It has its own charm, but I’ll admit that I prefer the Wolf Tribe. We have much more relaxed social rules.”

“Fair enough. Well, for only six weeks in the Lion Tribe, you’ve certainly managed to leave a mark.”

“How do you mean?”

“I happen to know that Captain Artibus finds you to be a challenging opponent….”

Lolo laughed.

“And you have been the main topic of the summer’s gossip and rumors in connection with the Lion General’s son for the past month.”

Lolo nodded. “Some mark, huh?”

“I’m curious about the Wolf Tribe’s ‘relaxed social rules’ that you mentioned.”

“Oh? What about them?”

“How do they apply to intimate relationships?”

Lolo felt something in her stomach twist. “Excuse me?”

“Here in the Lion Tribe, people are expected to get married before they become intimate, but my sources tell me that you and young master Arum are already sleeping together.”

“Your sources?”

“They are reliable, I assure you.” He smiled at her again and her already knotted stomach lurched.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“I’m curious if this is how the Wolf Tribe does things? You seduce someone into getting you pregnant, and the deal is sealed. I can see how in these… interesting times, forming an alliance with the Lion Tribe military would be a great benefit to the Wolf Tribe.”

“What is your point, captain?” Lolo's breathing had become erratic.

“I think we might be of use to each other.”

“How so?”

Captain Emit backed her into a wall, preventing an easy escape by placing his hands against it on either side of her. Lolo looked down at her toes. “Fortus Arum never needs to know that he wasn’t the one to get you pregnant.”

Lolo was shaking violently. She couldn’t bring herself to look the captain in the face, and something warned her not to try.

“There you are! I was looking for you.” Lolo felt like she might pass out from the relief of hearing Fortus’s voice. Fortus took in the scene. Lolo’s fingers were twisting the fabric of her skirt so hard, she was nearly ripping the material. The captain stood up quickly, but his hands moved away from the wall only after Fortus identified their placement. “Exactly what business do you have here with my girlfriend?” Fortus snarled and grabbed the captain by the front of his uniform to slam him into the wall.

Captain Emit narrowed his eyes at Fortus and pushed him off. “No need to get so worked up. We were just talking.” The captain walked past Fortus, intentionally knocking shoulders with him while staring Lolo down. Once he was gone, Lolo slid down the wall to sit and regain control of her trembling frame and ragged breath.

“Lolo, what happened?” Fortus knelt down in front of her, visibly disturbed.

“Give me a minute.” Lolo had to put her head down on her knees and close her eyes to calm down before continuing. “Fortus, I don’t know how, but Captain Emit just told me that he has sources that know we are sleeping together.”

“What? It’s probably just a rumor.”

“No. It’s more than that. I think someone saw you come to my room that night.”

Fortus got up to pace.

“Fortus, listen to me. Why would someone want to keep tabs on you in the middle of the night?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is it possible that you weren’t their target?”

Fortus stopped pacing to kneel next to Lolo again. “You mean my father?”

She nodded. “Why would someone, specifically one of his subordinates, want to spy on your father?”

He was up pacing again.

“Fortus, we need to tell him.”

He nodded and stopped pacing to look Lolo in the eyes. “What else did you and the captain ‘talk’ about?”

“It’s not important,” she deflected.

Fortus knelt down for a third time and cupped his hand under her chin to lift her face. “Lolo, I’m not Standig. I won’t do something stupid when you tell me what happened.”

Lolo shook her head. “What does it matter what he said? I told you the part that's important… the part that you need to tell your father.”

“Don’t you trust me?” Fortus sounded hurt.

“Yes. Absolutely, but what’s the point in me dirtying my mouth with the filth that person said to me?”

“Did he try to blackmail you?”

“You’re really not going to let this one go.”

Fortus shook his head.

Lolo took a deep breath. “He seemed to think that I’m trying to trick you into a Lion-Wolf Tribe alliance by seducing you.”

“Anything else?” he was up again, fuming.

“He... offered to help me.”

"Help you? How?"

She hesitated. "By getting me pregnant."

“That sick, low-life, son of a-”

“Fortus! Yes, he’s a scumbag, but we need to talk to your father. I've got a hunch that there is more going on here.”

“How is it that you always manage to attract the slimiest creeps?!”

“Fortus! Focus! Your father!”

“Right! Right. Let’s go right now." Fortus helped her stand back up and they left the social together.

"By the way, did you call me your girlfriend again just now?"

"Uh…." He stopped walking to look down at her awkwardly and was rewarded with an emotional hug.

"Thank you for looking out for me."

***

Fortus took Lolo to his home to wait for the Lion General.

"Lolo, are you ok?" In the light, he could see her face properly for the first time since they'd left the social. She looked pale and sweaty.

"I'm ok. A little shaken is all," she said, smiling weakly.

Fortus wrapped her in a tight, protective embrace. "I saw you walk out with the captain and didn't think much of it, but then you didn't come back. I'm sorry. I should have paid closer attention."

"No. If you'd come to get me sooner, we wouldn't know that someone is spying on your father. Sure, it wasn't the most pleasant encounter, but, ultimately, I'm unharmed, and you did save me before anything could happen."

"Why did you walk out with him in the first place?"

"To get away from the crowd. I don't know if you noticed, but there were a lot more guys than girls, and I kind of felt like a piece of meat."

Despite himself, Fortus laughed and Lolo took advantage of the moment to pull away. "And you were easily the prettiest girl there."

"What an outrageous statement! Don't sell the other girls short," Lolo scowled indignantly at him.

"Name me one girl that was prettier than you."

"There were plenty of gorgeous Lion Tribe girls, and Ulana looked flawless."

"You're right, I'm sorry. But you embody this kind of feminine innocence where Ulana is a shameless flirt. Personally, I prefer the former."

"There you go with that silver tongue again," Lolo rolled her eyes.

"Am I interrupting?" Torvus Arum said as he walked in.

"Not at all," Lolo smiled. "We were waiting for you."

Torvus got a good look at Lolo and became concerned. "Huo Lohse, you don't look well."

"Father, we need to speak with you."

Torvus found a seat. "Alright. I'm listening."

"We have reason to believe that you are being watched," Fortus said. "Well, Lolo does, and I believe her."

"Explain."

Fortus looked at Lolo who understood that it was her turn to talk.

"Someone saw Fortus come to my room in the middle of the night a while back."

The shock of Torvus's face was not from the thought that there were spies on the loose. His eyes darted back and forth between the two teenagers in front of him.

Lolo turned to look at Fortus who was looking intently at his shoes and beet red. "You didn't tell him?"

"It never came up."

"Does he know about the nightmares?"

Fortus shook his head.

"Fortus was in your room in the middle of the night?" Torvus worked hard to remain calm and keep his voice casual.

"It was my fault, sir." Lolo explained.

"How was it your fault?"

"Fortus was just having a hard time sleeping and was out for a walk. He heard me having one of my nightmares. I've been having these nightmares since last summer.... Anyway, they sound awful. I cry and struggle in my sleep. Fortus heard me and was worried. I must have looked like a mess when I answered the door. Long story short, he came in for a while to help me settle down and go back to sleep."

"I see," Torvus said, obviously relieved.

"The problem is that, to an outsider, it easily could have looked like something else," Lolo continued, "especially with all the relationship rumors surrounding us."

"You say that you have reason to believe that someone saw you?" Torvus returned to the original point.

"Yes, sir," Lolo nodded.

"Continue."

"Tonight at the social, a soldier by the name of Captain Emit pulled me aside and attempted to blackmail me with this information. He expressed confidence in his sources."

"Blackmail? What did he want?"

Lolo blushed and shifted her weight.

"Sex," Fortus answered for her. There was a long, uncomfortable pause before Fortus continued. "The captain has assumed Lolo to have nefarious intentions for me. He thinks she's seducing me for tactical reasons. If she were to become pregnant-"

"... she could force an alliance and strengthen the Wolf Tribe," Torvus nodded. "So he used this information to try to blackmail you, Huo Lohse, and in doing so, revealed that someone is watching the Arum household."

"That was my conclusion, sir," Lolo nodded.

Torvus stood up. "Thank you both for coming to me with this. I'll take it from here."

"General," Lolo looked up at him, "is there any way we can help?"

Torvus smiled and placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "For now, just feign ignorance. Watch each other's backs. I'll let you know when I find something." Without another word, the Lion General left.

"Thank you, Lolo," Fortus said.

"What for?"

"For not telling my father about my nightmares. For taking the heat for that night. For being clever enough to know when someone accidentally spills sensitive information. For bringing that information to us. Take your pick."

Lolo just smiled and hugged him. "You're welcome."

***

The next day, Lolo couldn't help but feel like she was being watched, and that, plus a resurgence of her nightmares, made her jumpy.

"Lolo?" Standig seemed concerned. "You're acting really weird today."

"Am I?" Lolo laughed nervously, proving Standig's point.

"Yes. You are. What's up?"

"Just wound up from last night, I guess."

"Oh?" Ulana snuck up behind Lolo making her startle. "What happened last night? 'Meet someone?"

Lolo tried to laugh again, but it came out sounding more like a strangled cat.

Ulana gave her a funny look and then looked at Standig. "He's right. You are acting weird today."

"What happened?" Standig all but demanded.

"Nothing. It was just loud and crowded and having that many guys in my face all at once kind of freaked me out," Lolo only sort of lied.

"Hey, Lolo," Fortus called from across the field, "come talk to me for a minute."

More than happy to skip further interrogation, Lolo bustled off to talk to Fortus.

"'You doing alright this morning?" he asked, keeping his voice low.

"I'm a little anxious, if I'm honest. I keep getting this feeling that I'm being watched."

"Me too," Fortus grimaced. " But I also think we might just be freaking ourselves out…. How did you sleep?"

Lolo noted the increased concern in his voice and sighed. "I had nightmares all night," she confessed. "How about you?"

"Same. I didn't get much sleep."

"You feel it too?"

"Feel what, exactly?"

"Just a certain tension, like something ominous is hiding just out of sight."

He nodded.