"Thank you, Amalthea, but you should be proud too. Your shots saved our skins. You are rather skilled with both the sword and the bow. Maybe later, you could train me."
	Still high off the adrenaline of battle, the princess drew a long gasp and clutched at her chest. "Oh my gosh! I know, right? We were like a power couple! We were totally badass." She giggled.
	Solomon looked back at the solemn girl trailing behind them. "And let's not forget Rose. That was a bold move, jumping into the bank with Amalthea in order to give her the bow and arrows. You both were certainly much bolder than I."
	Amalthea offered Rose a condescending smile. "Absolutely. You were a big help today," she said. Rose shrank, saying nothing.

Then, Solomon remarked, "I didn't feel right, doing that."
"How do you mean?" Amalthea replied.
	Solomon withdrew a piece of cloth from his pocket and wrapped it around his hand, covering the Mark. "I would rather not use this symbol as a shield. I will use the strengths it gives me to keep us safe, but flashing it about to every assassin is something I will try to avoid. We'll have to find other ways to deal with them, in the coming times."
	Rose reached out to touch his back, to comfort him. But it would have crossed a line. Such an intimate gesture should only be shared among friends, people he could trust, not undeserving traitors. Besides, it might make the princess jealous. Her fingers flexed, bent, then curled in - she couldn't bring herself to touch him.

Instead, Rose folded her hands behind her back and increased her pace to approach Solomon's side. She opened her mouth to speak, but Amalthea spoke first. "Why?" the princess asked. "Soldiers display their regalia all the time, showing to the whole world who they're fighting for. Why shouldn't you do the same? You're the Hero, for crying out loud! Everyone should be flocking to your side, and anyone who doesn't is an idiot. Make every enemy make a choice: Join you or die. I mean, it's not like they'll have much choice anyway. If you don't show them the mark, they'll just think you're a nobody and get themselves killed by underestimating you. But if you let your Mark be plainly visible, you'll be giving them a chance."

Before Solomon could reply, Rose said, "No, he's right. The Mark is a trump card. If he plays it too early, he is liable to be manipulated or strong-armed into doing something he shouldn't before he's strong enough to resist. Remember, we only just barely got away from those assassins, and they were relatively new. If we met any serious opposition, they'd just laugh at us and cut off the Marked hand for a trophy. And don't even get me started on orc warriors. Assassins wet themselves when they see orcs. Those green monsters have to fight tooth and nail from the day they're born just to survive. The Mark won't do anyone a whole lot of good until Solomon is strong enough to wield its true power."

"Well," Amalthea retorted, struggling to think of a comeback, "how about we let Solomon decide, hmm?"

The two girls looked to Solomon for an answer.