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Vin frowned Zane bowed his head slightly to her, then juainst the metal rooftop She still didn't believe him about Elend He could see that in her eyes

Well, proof was co She'd soon see She'd soon understand what Elend Venture truly thought of her

But I do so now Let it be known that I, Kwaan, Worldbringer of Terris, aoing to a ball again

The beautiful oould have fit in perfectly at one of the parties she had attended during the months before the Collapse The dress was untraditional, but not unfashionable The changes simply made the dress seem distinctive

The alterations left her freer to racefully, turn more naturally That, in turn,before her ht have been like to wear the dress to a real ball To be herself--not Valette, the uncomfortable country noblewoman Not even Vin, the skaa thief To be herself

Or, at least, as she could iine herself Confident because she accepted her place as a Mistborn Confident because she accepted her place as the one who had struck down the Lord Ruler Confident because she knew that the king loved her

Maybe I could be both, Vin thought, running her hands down the sides of the dress, feeling the soft satin

"You look beautiful, child," Tindwyl said

Vin turned, save the last of it to Elend to help feed the refugees It was the wrong color to go with this dress anyway"

"Many women use jewelry to try and hide their own plainness," Tindwyl said "You don't have that need"

The Terriswoman stood with her usual posture, hands clasped before her, rings and earrings sparkling None of her jewelry, however, had gemstones; in fact, most of it was made from simple materials Iron, copper, pewter Feruchemical metals

"You haven't been in to see Elend lately," Vin said, turning back to thea feooden barrettes to hold her hair back

"The king is quickly approaching the point where he no longer needs my instruction"

"He's that close then?" Vin asked "To being like the hed "Goodness, no, child He's quite far from that"

"But--"

"I said he would no longer needthat he can rely only so much upon the words of others, and has reached the point where he will have to learn more for hiood leader simply comes from experience"

"He seems very different to me," Vin said quietly

"He is," Tindwyl said, walking forward to lay a hand on Vin's shoulder "He is beco the man that he always kneould have to be--he just didn't know the path Though I am hard on him, I think he would have found his way, even if I hadn't co before he either falls or stands up straight"

Vin looked at her s "This is what I have to becoreed "And for yourself This is where you were heading, before you got distracted"

Vin turned "Are you going to coht?"

Tindwyl shook her head "That is not "

This time, Elend did not intend to enter his enemy's lair without a proper escort Two hundred soldiers stood in the courtyard, waiting to acco personal bodyguard Spook would act as Elend's coachman That only left Breeze, who--understandably--was a bit nervous about the idea of going to the dinner

"You don't have to come," Elend told the portly man as they assembled in the Venture courtyard

"I don't?" Breeze said "Well then, I shall remain here Enjoy the dinner!"

Elend paused, frowning

Ham clapped Elend on the shoulder "You should know better than to give that one any wiggle room, Elend!"

"Well, I meant my words," Elend said "We could really use a Soother, but he doesn't have to come if he doesn't want to"