I was at my bedroom desk, copying down notes on Antheian etiquette like a good girl when I heard Portia's excited greeting from downstairs. I internally groaned.

Tomorrow was the big ball. Today, I was supposed to have my last fitting, in which everything would be finalized.

But tonight, I would get my chip out and disappear before anyone noticed I was gone.

If things went my way, at least.

I prepared for the worst as my door flung open once again, Portia holding a massive black dress bag in her hands.

"You just wait until you see this, sweetie. You just wait," Portia excitedly chittered, as she hung it up by the door. I was a little terrified by her excitement.

Portia rushed into the hallway, past June, who was still hovering in the door. "Good luck," she said, only semi-joking, before closing and locking the bedroom door so I could get changed.

I dropped my pencil onto my desk and started to peel off the loose dark clothes I'd been wearing. I just hoped the dress wouldn't be gaudy.

As I unzipped the dress bag, I couldn't help the flash of excitement that ran through me. Portia hadn't been lying.

It was a really nice dress.

And that was an understatement.

I knew Portia was probably getting quite impatient, so I quickly slipped it on. The clasp and zipper were surprisingly easy to reach, and I was able to get myself in the dress. But as I began to put my arms through the dress's sleeves, I froze.

This was very very bad.

Also, a massive understatement.

My worst fear had become a reality.

The sleeves were see through.

I turned to the mirror, staring at my one injured arm. It still hurt quite a bit from the constant work being done on it, but I'd started to get used to the pain. In the mirror, I could clearly make out the bandages.

They weren't bloody. Not now at least. Maybe I could lie...claim that I'd found new bandages to put on it because it still hurt a bit...and...

No, that wouldn't work. I was pretty much confined to this room 24/7. June would know straight away that something was off.

"Are you ready yet? It's been a solid five minutes," June complained impatiently from outside the door.

God, no. I'm not ready. I'll never be.

Honestly, I had a single option. And it would not be a very smart one. Probably quite unsanitary.

I had to take off the bandages. I had to pretend like it was fine. Sure, I may get blood on the dress, but the stark white was much more obvious than a slightly bleeding wound.

"Seriously, are you okay in there?" The doorknob began to turn, and I panicked.

"Yes! I'm naked!" I shouted. Okay, maybe not the best excuse. The knob immediately went back to normal and I heard nothing from the other side of it except a quickly muttered, "Sorry."

Quickly and quietly, I unpeeled the bandage from around my forearm. As expected, it was stained with dark red blood. The wound itself was oozing a bit of it, too, between the haphazard stitches. I winced but tried not to pay much attention to it. I threw the bloodied bandage in the trash by my desk, praying June wouldn't bother looking there. Then, I shoved my arm unceremoniously back into the dress's sleeve and finished zipping myself up.

"Ready," I called out. Seconds later, June entered with Portia at her heels. Her face was still a little red, probably from almost walking in on me in the nude. I felt a bit bad.

They both froze when I turned around. June's jaw seemed to nearly drop.

I immediately felt a bit embarrassed. I wasn't really one to wear things like this...I didn't exactly know how to feel...

"Oh my...oh my," Portia muttered, hand covering her mouth. I think she may have been tearing up. "Absolutely gorgeous. Absolutely..." She kept murmuring as she came towards me and gently straightened some of the fabric near my waist.

I really felt like curling up in a ball and hiding. I was not a fan of this sort of attention.

I turned to the mirror again, looking fully at the dress for the first time. I had to admit...it was something else. Incredible. I looked like...like a socialite woman.

The material was the finest evergreen velvet that I'd ever touched – something only sold to the expert dressmakers who treated Antheian elites. It fit tight to my chest, waist, and hips, before flowing down towards the tiled floor smoothly. The sweetheart neckline showed more than I usually was willing to, and the delicate embroidery brought it all together. Then, of course, there were the panic-inducing sleeves. Even though I hated the predicament they put me in, I still found them beautifully elegant. The sleeve's velvet material was interwoven with the see-through mesh to create mesmerizing lines and leaves of green before slowly trading velvet for mesh at the wrists.

"Perfect. Just perfect. I'll go back downstairs to double check with Marcus on payment," Portia announced, before hurrying out of the room.

I turned back to June, who was still looking at me as though I were an alien species. In a way, it was funny to see her so flabbergasted. I did a sarcastic twirl, allowing the mermaid-style bottom to swish through the air. "What do you think?"

She opened her mouth, and then closed it. "Um, yeah. It's nice. I like it," she mumbled quickly. Her face went a little red.

I turned back to the mirror. June was definitely bothered by this whole situation. Whether it was embarrassment or something else, it was weirdly satisfying to watch her discomfort. "Well," I said, dramatically, having far too much fun, "I think it's elegant, if I do say so myself. June, fetch my carriage!"

She did not fetch my carriage. Instead, she seemed to get ahold of herself. "God, okay. We get it." She paused for a second. "Wait, turn around, the zipper is not fully done."

I let out a sigh and held still, hands on hips. I jumped a little when her cold fingers touched my neck to fix the zipper. Then, she hooked the clasp quickly. "There...," she said, resting a hand on my velveted shoulder. "Now you're good." Her hand brushed along the velvet. And then she stopped moving entirely.

She was staring in the mirror.

I stared in the mirror.

And I saw now what she was staring at.

Oh, of course this had to happen. I guess I should have expected it. Obviously, taking off bandages from an unhealed wound was never a good idea.

Red hot blood was dripping down my wrist, into my palm, and falling, one drop at a time, onto the wooden floor.

That'd leave a stain.

"What...," June muttered, staring at the drops of red.

She reached to grab my arm, and I yanked myself away from her. She reached out again, and I simply took another step back. This just pissed her off. She held out a hand expectantly, but I didn't move.

"Really? Let me see. You're going to get the dress all bloodied." As if it weren't already covered in my own blood.

"No." I wasn't giving up that easily.

June crossed her arms, staring me down. I stared back. "If you don't give me your arm, I'm going to call someone else up here to force you to."

I wanted to call her bluff, but I had a feeling she wasn't lying. She had a lot more manpower than I did.

And it'd be easier to try fooling just June than some stranger.

Reluctantly, I loosened my grip on my arm. June grabbed it immediately, and I winced at the spike of pain that ran up my bicep.

She unzipped the back of my dress enough that I could pull my arm out of the dress. I felt a little awkward, as I wasn't wearing much underneath, but she was laser-focused on my wounded skin.

The stitches weren't very clean. The hacker never said he was a doctor, so I didn't blame him. The blood leaked out everywhere, and June quickly grabbed the nearest thing she could find – a plain white pillowcase. She began mopping up the blood carefully, holding my arm gently in her hand.

"I don't get how this is possible," she said, setting the sheet aside and looking me in the eye. I saw a bit of an accusation there. She left for a moment, rummaged around beneath the bed a bit, then pulled out a first aid kit. "Tell me how this is possible."

I didn't say anything, just let her open the kit and pour out some antiseptic. I leaned against the bed. I clenched my fist when she pressed the antiseptic to my skin.

She paused again, staring down at the now visible stitches. She seemed more perplexed and frustrated by the second. "And these aren't our stitches. These aren't..."

She began to put two and two together, and I looked away pointedly. She grabbed my chin and forced me to meet her gaze. "Look into my eyes and tell me you didn't actually try to mess with your chip."

Easy. "I didn't actually try to mess with my own chip."

She narrowed her eyes angrily. "And now tell me you didn't hire someone else to mess with your chip."

I clammed up. "Mmmm, I definitely did not hire anyone to mess with my chip. Depending on how you define hire." I mean... I hadn't paid him yet.

She let out a disappointed sigh. I thought she'd be angrier. Because there was no point even trying to cover it up now. It was so obvious that someone else had messed with my arm. I obviously couldn't have done it on my own.

But, hopefully, she didn't know how. As long as she didn't know how, I would still have a chance at getting out to the hacker tonight to finish the job.

June stared at me for a moment, looking like a tired parent. "God, Marion. You couldn't just be obedient for once. I really didn't want to have to do this to you."

That got me alert really fast. What could she possibly do to me? Even if they locked me in here, it wasn't much different than how things already were. Maybe they'd finally actually board up the windows.

"What?" I asked, when she didn't continue. My fear was starting to get to me. I had to get to him tonight. Tonight. Otherwise, who knows what could happen. I could die at the ball tomorrow. I could break my cover. I needed an out, now.

She carefully bandaged my arm, not speaking. Then, she zipped the dress back up. She knelt by the side of the bed and pulled out a white box similar in shape and size to the first aid kit.

I frowned as she began to unzip it. But she stopped before it could fully open and reveal whatever torture device was inside. She looked at me. "Lie down."

Nope. Nope, nope, nope.

I tried backing away from her, back still pressed up against the bed. She pulled something out of the box, but kept it hidden in her palm. Then, she came towards me.

Okay, definitely not.

I climbed onto the bed, scooting as far away from her as possible, my back against the wall.

She got onto the bed, to my dismay, and gently pulled me away from the side wall. I didn't even bother fighting back at this point. I was definitely trapped. What could I do? Shove my way past her and jump out the window? I still had the chip in my arm. Wherever I went, I still had the stupid chip.

She laid me down, making sure my head rested against the pillow. Then, I felt a sharp pinch in my neck.

I knew what this was. But even as I thought that, June's face began to fade from my view. I tried to grab onto her arm, or something, just to keep my grounded. I missed. She stepped back and out of my line of vision.

I wanted to say something, but I had no words. My voice wouldn't work.

Slowly, I fell asleep, passing out before I could hear the door shut.