The King and Queen bade the entire Nagasaki a good evening as they departed, admiring one final time the strange clothing in which they dressed.  In a way, Thothcapel was glad he'd brought his sisters, it gave her the oppertunity to see the male and female variations on eastern noble garb.  It was a shame they might all have to die, they seemed like such a nice family.  Perhaps they could come to an arrangement.<br/><br/>___________<br/>"Well," Lilliana began, "I do agree that this is a rather tempestuous time to indulge a suitor. However, I have this." With the speed and grace of a street-walker, she reached down her blouse into the tight space between the corsette and her under-arm, causing  an audible slap to come from the connection between Eurich's face and palm.  She withdrew a small knife, the blade of which was some kind of unpolished metal, like an iron.  "It probably won't kill them, but it's really more of a diversion."<br/><br/>Eurich sighed in frustration and retreated into the bathroom for a few moments.  When he returned, he handed her a much longer blade in a thick sheathe.  He also handed her the slate which read: "If you must fritter with suitors, at least take this.  Desperate times call for desperate measures." Lilliana unsheathed the blade and examined it.  The entire blade exterior was made of folds of silver around a core fold or two of steel. The handle was also steel and very ornamentally carved.  No jewels or things added to it, but the steel was intricate.<br/><br/>"Oh yes," She smiled, catching her tiny reflection in the highly-polished reflection of the blade.  "This should do much more nicely than this old thing." She passed her small iron knife and went into the bathroom.  Since the blade was longer than her knife, she couldn't hide it in the usual place, but she knew she'd need to draw it quickly should something arise.  She considered hiding it in the garter of her stockings, which were bound by hooks to her long underwear.  That seemed like the only logical place to put the blade, but there was always the worry it would be too loose and fall out.  She lifted her leg, brushed away the massive petticoats, and pushed the sheathed blade through the gap in the hooks and into her sock.  The effect only seemed to make her one leg look much more fat than the other, but the petticoats would hide that well.  She only hoped she wouldn't have to do anything riggerous, such as dancing or dashing from room to room.<br/><br/>"Well," She called from the doorway of the bathroom.  "Now that the self-preservation matter has been attended to, I really must be getting ready.  It would be terribly rude to keep the gentleman waiting."  She ducked her head back in the bathroom, closing the door and began her toilette of removing her makeup and cleaning her face and hair to be re-done in front of the mirror.