Her only piece of jewelry was "Dragon", the polished pewter earring I'd given her three centuries ago, in the right ear.Her only piece of jewelry was "Dragon", the polished pewter earring I'd given her three centuries ago, in the right ear. Her black hair had been teased out to frame her face and fell over the white leather in magnificent contrast. I fought for my voice. "Uhm... Uh... You look wonderful," I finally managed to say. She smiled. "I hope I have that same effect on the rest of the party tonight." "You should wear that more often," I said. "If I wore it more often, you'd get used to it, silly. And I certainly don't want that." She laughed quietly. "You look wonderful, too." "Do you really like it? It's not too militaristic?" "What? A Fleet Uniform? You're a full commander; you deserve it. And the blue and and white go well with me. We'll make quite a striking pair tonight." I chuckled back in response. I brushed what was left of my hair into place. P'nyssa had insisted on cutting most of it off; if this was to be a masked ball then I had certainly be more incognito then usual, and for the past hundred years or so people had been seeing me in long hair. "If you'd cut any more off, I'd be bald." "I left you plenty. And it'll grow back. A year from now it'll be down your back, and you know it." And I did know it; everything on me grows fast; hair, nails, and unfortunately, teeth. "By the way," she continued, "how do I look?" She took the light leather mask and put it over her eyes, adjusting it so she could see. |