"Killashandra Norrel? Would your full name be Killashandra Leigh Norrel?"
"Yes, it is. Have we met, sir?"
"Yes and no," Mr. Harris told her with a smile. "Let's just say I'm familiar with your work. A very beautiful piece, by the way."
"Okay, this is getting very weird," K told him. "Mr. Harris, you'll have to forgive me. I'm a bit confused as to what it is you're speaking of."
"A few years ago, you gave two friends of mine a sword, correct?"
"I'm still at a loss for what you mean, sir. I've given swords to several people over the years. Who exactly are your friends?"
"I'm sorry," Mr Harris said. " Please forgive my lousy idea of a joke. My friends are John and Lawrence."
Hearing the names, K smiled and nodded.
"That was nearly a decade ago to celebrate their twenty-fifth anniversary. I worked on that blade for nearly a year in preparation for that night. They were celebrating their "Double Decade" that same night too. That sword was to celebrate that rather than their anniversary. I only learned that they coincided a few hours before I presented it to them."
"Indeed it was," Mr. Harris replied. "I was there that night, and I remember your presentation."
Lara looked at K as she stood there remembering that night in her past.
"Are these folks good friends, babe?"
"They're much more than that truth be told, lover. John and Lawrence are something akin to charter members of the local ICS chapter. John actually does drag and looks fantastic doing it. He performs under the name of Jacqueline, and SHE is a star. Or at least I think she is, anyway. They're family now, you might say."
"What was it you said again?"
"As we have forever been friends, so now let us become family. Accept this sword, the symbol of our house, and welcome to the fold. Welcome to the House of Steel."
"What's the House of Steel?"
"A few years before the evening Mr. Harris is talking about, I gifted the court with a sword of my own making. The following year, I claimed Maker's Priveledge and asked to name my own house. The board granted my request and thus was created the House of Steel."
"Oooh! So you're saying my lover is a titled lady?"
"Something like that, yeah," K told her, laughing.
"Well, I've taken up enough of your time this evening, ladies. Please enjoy the remainder of the night and the rest of your stay here at the High Sierra."
Mr. Harris bid them a goodnight, then departed into the depths of the hotel.
"What do you think, babe? Shall we go check in with Cassie?"
"Yes, I think that is a grand idea. She's probably wondering what happened to us or that we possibly stood her up."
"Then let's not keep our new friend waiting, my angel."
Lara and K walked through the casino listening to the sounds of the slot machines and the cheers of winners at the tables.
"It's so noisy," Lara said. "I don't think I could ever work in a place like this."
"That makes two of us, lover. And when you take into consideration where I do work, you'd think this sort of thing would be a walk in the park, right?"
Lara laughed at the image that came to her mind.
"Well, you not might make it as a dealer, but you'd make one hell of a security supervisor."
