Beautiful has always been the first word that others would use to describe Selene, and, the one that Selene would use herself. After all, why deny her obvious beauty? Slender, toned, and tan, with a taste for the most striking dresses, beauty is a weapon that Selene wields well.

Perhaps her most striking feature would be her high, sharp cheekbones, though they are often disguised with a bright smile, used often, to charm both friend and foe alike. Warm brown eyes are set under dark brows, always alight with some inner fire, seeing some hidden joke that the world is not privy to. Her hair, a warm chestnut, tumbles in lustrous curls down to her ribs, rarely kept up in public appearances, and occasionally adorned with a flower here and there, if the mood strikes.

It doesn’t take much to be called rebellious in the Vanirion family. From the way her mother describes her, one would expect Selene to be entirely feral, cavorting with all sorts of depraved and sinful folk, yet, those who have met her are always let down. The nobles would describe Selene as a courteous, intelligent young woman, with her father’s gift for numbers, and her mothers beauty and charm. An apt description, for Selene Vanirion, but of course, that is only one of the names she goes by. Traders know her by Caoimhe, a sharp, witty, young woman who has a talent for acquiring certain objects, without any mention of where they came from on either side. Her lovers have a variety of names given, though those are only for a night, with the names discarded as quickly as the men. Out of all her given names, her favourite is ‘The Black Cat’, a shadowy figure, who finds even the most hidden love letters, and sells them, extorting those who want their secret affairs kept, and assisting peddlers of information, for a steep price. Three illustrious, yet very distinct reputations, with none having linked them together.

On a cold winter’s night, Caerus Vanirion was brought into the world a full minute before his sister, Selene, a fact that he has never let her forget.

Even for siblings, their rivalry was fierce, anything that one did, the other was determined to do better, from archery to horse riding, needlework to acrobatics, nothing got in the way, not even their mothers relentless nagging about how a young count and countess should be conducting themselves. Of course, there were a few strange looks at Caerus’ ability to sew beautiful dresses, and more open shock at Selene’s prowess in spitting watermelon seeds, but the twins never paid attention to anything but the score.

It was at a dull, seemingly endless banquet, that the twins discovered their true talent in life. Larceny. Caerus had come back from the hosting Duke’s room with a letter from the man’s mistress tucked in his sleeve, which he had produced to Selene with great amusement, challenging her to find something better. Not to be outdone, she had scoured the Duchess’ room and come back with a beautiful diamond necklace, carelessly shoved down her bodice. Though their parents had tried everything to cease their relentless rivalry, stealing was what brought an end to a seemingly infinite contest, the thrill of getting away with such a nefarious crime was far more intoxicating than any victory they’d experienced before.

From that infamous night onward, the twins joined forces, knowing that it would take their combined intelligence in order to run two businesses, a legitimate one during the day, to cover up for the illegitimate one during the night.