“I believe that is the wrong attire for the gala,” Jacob said, scaring me so bad that I almost dropped the dress…almost.

“I was just looking at it.” I put it back with my embarrassment showing all over my face.

“It is a thing worn by those joining in your culture, correct? As husband and wife?”

“Yeah,” I smiled with rosy cheeks. “My ring, Jacob?”

I darted down the hall past him and into Martin’s room. He was nude when we carried him back and my only hope was that he had hidden it somewhere in the house before he left out into the tunnels. He opened his eyes and tried to sit up. “No, please. I just have a question,” I said hurriedly, making my way to the side of the bed so he wouldn’t keep moving around. “Martin, I know I have no right asking you this, because of the way I treated you, but…my ring?”

“I am so sorry, my love,” he said, taking my hand and kissing the finger that it once sat on.  “It was in the pocket of my vest that I was wearing the night that I left.”

“I should have never taken it off.”

“I will get you another one,” he said, as I laid my head down on his chest.

“I don’t want another one. I want my ring back.”

“I am afraid it is lost, my love.”

“I love the way you say that,” I smiled up at him, kissing the bruised skin on the center of his chest. “The sound of your voice is so different from mine.”

“I am French and you are an American. Your accent is as beautiful to my ears as mine is to yours. But, I must say that I do not understand some of the things that you say.”

“You mean what Jacob calls my slang?”

“I believe that is what one would call it,” he chuckled. “Ouch! You always make me laugh.”

“Laughter is healing and you are looking much better.”

“I feel better, and with your group and the way that you are together, I should be healed in just a matter of days.”

“I better get back to the others. I have to find my gown for this party thing,” I stood, bowing at the waist and he choked on his own burst of laughter.

“Are you alright, did you hurt yourself?” I asked, sitting back down on the bed and holding his shoulder as he leaned to the side to cough.

“You must promise me not to do that at the gala,” he half coughed, half laughed.

“What? Do what, Martin?”

“Bow. You looked like a female version of Jacob, or perhaps, Cates. Women curtsy. You bend both knees with one behind the other.”

“I know how to curtsy,” I said, giggling just a bit. “I just forgot that I was a girl, momentarily.”

“You will be the death of me. Go before you cause me to laugh my stitches open.” He grabbed my hand as I started to get up again. “But not before you give me one more kiss to last until you return.”

I gave him another kiss; only this one was much longer than a simple kiss on the forehead. I pressed my lips to his and he held me there for a long moment. I could taste his blood when I licked my lips, saw a little seeping from the split on his bottom lip and I couldn’t control my next move. I leaned back over and licked the blood off in a slow, lingering swipe, then closed my mouth over his. He groaned in pain, bending at his waist.

“Did I hurt you? I don’t know why I did that.”

“There was no pain in what you just did. On the contrary, it felt so good it caused me pain elsewhere.”

I stood up after a few seconds of silent thinking and almost tripped on his bedside table. It was far too obvious to hide the fact that I had already looked down at his lower half. “I have to go. I am so sorry,” I apologized, backing toward the door, watching him smile, knowing I had just embarrassed the hell out of myself because we both knew what had happened to his private area and I just made it worse. I opened the door as I backed up, trying to act like everything was just fine, and whacked my head on the side of the door as I turned my head to leave. I could hear him laughing and choking as I made my way with a fast pace back down the hall. ***

“Why are you so red?” Derek remarked, as soon as I walked into the family room.

“Why on earth are you wearing that on your head?” I asked in reply changing the subject, and with good reason, because he had a white wig on that had curls all over it.

“They said we all had to wear them.”

“This trunk is full of them, even though your hair is long enough to create the same style,” Tanda said, squatted down in front of it.

“So, does that mean I don’t have to wear one then?”

“Hell yeah you have to wear one,” Derek answered for her. “If I have to, everyone is going to put one on.”

“I must agree with young Derek, Renee,” Cates said, flipping one of the white wigs onto his head.

“Yep, I have to say the same thing, girl,” Sydney added, putting one that looked just like theirs on his head.

Jacob, Fala, and Garvin followed suit and the whole room broke out in one of the loudest, longest laughing outbreaks that we had had so far. Tammy had to excuse herself, leaving the room holding her stomach. I think everyone in the room was coated with red faces from tears that came from laughing so hard, but it was one of the best times that we had had since this whole ordeal had started. The best part of the whole night was watching everyone try on the fancy clothing. Derek was the worst of all, griping about every single thing and causing more laughter than anyone in the room. He was the first to step back in from the hall wearing the knee high fancy green pants with white tights and slim black shoes that barely covered his toes.

“Where is the top?” Tanda asked, getting up and going over to him as he pulled up on the tights that were apparently bigger than the pants.

“I was having too much trouble with all those buttons. I don’t even know if I have these things on right, and they are killing my business,” Derek explained, reaching down and trying to adjust himself.

“Well you most certainly cannot do that in front of those where we are going,” Tanda said, slapping his hand.

“I know just how he feels,” Sydney complained, coming in behind Derek in an outfit much like his, only blue. “I think my toe just broke through. Do we really have to wear the leg things?”

“It was the style of the dignitaries in the days of old, and yes, you have to wear them,” Tanda scolded him, taking control of inspecting the fit, as much as she did passing out the clothing. “I’ll find you another pair.” Then she began re-buttoning his shirt.

“I’ll let you deal with these two and go try on my dress,” I said, grabbing the gown she laid out for me and the silly wig that was much bigger than the one the boys had to wear, and quite frankly, I had no idea how I was going to keep it on my head.

I nearly dropped the things in my hands when Tammy and Cates came out of their room when I was going down the hall to mine. Cates wasn’t able to find any clothes that fit, so he had no choice but to go as Tammy’s eunuch slave. I twisted my mouth at the tight black tights and matching vest that only fit his upper chest. Had the legs been billowy, he would have looked like Isa’s servant. Cates had no shoes on and his hair was pulled back with a long black ribbon. “I’ll put his face paint on before we go to the gala,” Tammy winked as we passed. She looked amazing in her hoop skirt that brushed the wall as they walked down the hall. Her large breasts were pushed up so high, that I think the only thing that kept them from spilling out was the extremely tight way the dress fit around the bottom of them. The dress was gold in color with black lace around the waist and over the mounds of her breasts. I turned to look back at them and saw a large, black bow at her back that draped all the way to the bottom of the gown. Cates didn’t turn his head as I walked by, but I did see his arm leave Tammy’s to pull at the intruding material at his backside.