<strong>A Masquerade Party on Osiris ~ Around 3 and a half years ago</strong><br/><br/><div class="floatleft">(http://imageshack.com/a/img856/4299/4zk6.jpg)</div><br/>The night was warm and balmy, as it so often is on a Summer's eve on Osiris. One of the core planets, it is home to many rich and influential families, including the Tams, who may have had relatives at the Midsummer Ball that night. Thalia was a guest, attending with her date for the evening, Dale Silver. A recent law graduate, he was dressed impeccably in his black tailored suit, and he stood out from the crowd with his pale blonde hair, even when he - like so many others - were masked. He was tall and good looking, and he was just the type to hire a Companion, had circumstances been different. That was, if he hadn't met Thalia by chance at the hospital the week before, where she was finishing her residency.<br/><br/>He was charming and it was the first fine party she'd been invited to in months. Thalia could've turned him down, but why would she? She was interested in learning more about this man, his dedication to justice and the law. He saw a better future for the people of Osiris.. for the Alliance, and while she had never involved herself in politics much or anything to do with the law, it intrigued her. Something told her that Dale Silver just might be on the path to doing a lot of good. That in itself was why she'd accepted his invitation, and why she danced with him tonight.<br/><br/><div class="floatright">(http://imageshack.com/a/img853/4188/5efw.jpg)</div>She still had a few dresses from her days at the training house, and Thalia had chosen to wear a slinky gown of pale blue silk with a mask of gold lattice and peacock feathers. It was more subtle than some, as so many favoured large hoop skirts and trains, but it was easier to dance in and she looked much more comfortable and at ease than some of the other guests. Unlike in later years, her hair was a dark chocolate brown and not its cheery blue. She watched her date as he danced, and she had greeted other men as introductions were made, but as she had been taught, she gave her fuller attention to her date. It was only proper and of course, she wanted to.<br/><br/>"I would love to hear more of your plans for the future," she said, her footsteps slowing from the dance, as she turned to face him. Even beneath the mask he wore, Thalia saw the twitch of his smile. "You're going to be spending a lot more time with me, Thalia. That's if you'll give a man such as I, a chance." She gave him a grudging smile, "you mean you wish to date?"<br/><br/>"You know that my father has found me a position with his law firm. What I haven't mentioned is it's on Ariel. I'd like you to come away with me-" Thalia looked slightly less convinced, "but I just met you." He looked around at the crowd, then turned back to her, "hear me out. There is a very good hospital on Ariel and I have the connections to find you a position there, if you would like me to. Two months and you will be finished at the hospital here on Osiris. A fully trained doctor. I'm not just offering you a life, Thalia. I'm offering you a future."<br/><br/>She looked at him for a long moment, before she turned away. "I can't accept your offer. It's generous.. too generous, but that's not it. It doesn't seem very fair, leveraging your connections-" He shook his head at her. "Oh please. People do it all the time. Companions do as well. It is the way that our society works, Thalia, you know that. Think about it. I'm going to get another drink." He let go of her arm and strode off toward the bar, his manner more forceful than it had been before.<br/><br/>He bumped into a bearded stranger on the way, and kept on walking.. before he suddenly stopped, turned around and stared him down. Dale was taller than the stranger by an inch or two, and he scoffed at Samson with hardly a thought. It was all he took to recognise him as an off-worlder, and his swords confirmed what he already knew, that this stranger was a cavalryman. "Backwater academy scum!"<br/>