Raven reached for a plushy white towel, wrapping it around herself as she stepped out of the bathtub. Instinctively, her hands went to wring out her hair, stopping a moment later as she remembered that she no longer had hair long enough to wring out.

Instead, she reached down to free the bathtub drain stopper, replacing the towel on its rack a moment later. Sliding open a drawer at the vanity, Raven slipped on a matching pair of black lace underwear before opening the bathroom door and striding into the suite's main room.

While not frigid, the gentle breeze that drifted through the room was enough of a contrast to the humid, steam-heavy air that a slight shiver rippled down Raven's spine. Her gaze scanned peremptorily over the expanse of grounds that was visible through the wide, open windows before Raven turned to the floor-to-ceiling mirrors that took up a sizable section of the wall. She slid a massive panel of mirror to the side, revealing rows of hanging clothes.

The first row was level with Raven's head, and consisted of what passed as her casual attire. The second row was placed five feet above the first, and held her business and event clothing. Shoes occupied a rack above that, and a ladder extended from the rack to make possible Raven's accession of the items that lay far beyond her reach otherwise.

She had known what she would wear would be long before she slid aside the mirror-paneled door, and Raven stepped up onto the ladder, retrieving a long dress of dark olive satin from where it was hanging on the second rack.

"Come in," she called at the exact moment a knock sounded on the door to the suite.

Francesca walked into the room as Raven leapt lightly backwards off the ladder, holding the dress delicately in her arms so as to prevent it from touching the floor.

"How did you know it was me?" Francesca asked dryly.

Shooting her a sardonically incredulous look over one shoulder, Raven hung the dress from one of the ladder's rungs.

"Your footsteps are distinctive. That, and you weren't particularly quiet about telling Sean that you were coming to check in on me," Raven added, a wry tint to the mischief that gamboled in her grey eyes.

"Ah." Francesca nodded to the gown, a rueful smile twisting her lips. "Do you have one of those in cobalt?" she asked puckishly.

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A/N:

I enjoy slower chapters like this one, perhaps more than you as the reader do. They give me time to collect and organize my thoughts, and while I know that I'll eventually condense a lot of them, I'm happy to toss one in here or there for now. Well, vote if you liked this chapter at least half as much as I did, and comment with your thoughts!