7. Frustration
Callista sat on the ground quietly, unsure of what to do, when there was a knock at the door before it opened.
"Master Zesha?" Callista recognized the Gurak to be the tailor from the day before. "I have your-" She blinked in surprise to see a Callista out of her cage and no sign of Zesha. "Excuse me, but do you happen to know where Master Zesha is?"
Callista herself was a bit surprised-this tailor was actually a bit kinder than the other Gurak she had encountered so far. She also noted that this Gurak was...a little different in appearance than most. She had more human-like features, ash-blonde hair tied back in a neat ponytail, and she looked about only a few years older than Callista herself. There was a red sash about her waist, with several pins and needles sticking through it. Her pale orange shirt and brown trousers matched perfectly with the dark auburn boots, showing not just her sense of style as a tailor, but also showed that she was above all tailors-this one was the crème de la crème of them, Callitsa betted. Why else would she have been able to make that red gown that Callista was still wearing today?
"Um-" Callista shrugged slightly. "I-I don't know. I haven't seen him since this morning."
The tailor frowned. "Phooey." She muttered quietly, putting the tray down on Zesha's desk before speaking up again. "Well, that's a shame. The food is going to get cold if he doesn't get back soon." She paused, before crouching down to face Callista properly, eyes full of some catlike curiosity. "Did he wear matching clothing with your outfit after all, by any chance? I wish I had been at the ball to see it..."
The Countess-to-be paused for a moment, before responding. "Yes, he did." She did not say anything else about the ball, however. She didn't want to think about it.
The tailor smiled a bit at this. "Mm, you two would have looked lovely together. And I must say, you're actually quite pretty for a human."
"Erm...thank you..."
Why was the tailor being so nice to her? Perhaps there were some that really weren't all that bad, after all. Not like Zepha, who was obsessively worried about his brother, nor like Zesha, who was forced to submit to Zepha's obsession with him. No, this one seemed...well, relatively less crazy than everyone else she had encountered, at least. That was good.
The tailor paused, completely sitting on the floor facing her now as she spoke. "You probably wonder why I'm just talking to you so casually, aren't you?" Callista nodded in response, and the tailor continued speaking. "I just think that there has to be more than just we Gurak and you humans fighting each other so constantly. I dislike it. It's only done more bad than any good."
Callista was even more surprised, now. There were others, she realized, that thought alike her about the war. She wasn't the only one that knew that there were faults from both sides. "Then...why don't you talk to someone-I mean, your kind-about this?"
The tailor frowned. "They're too caught up in the war. Even Master Zesha, unfortunately. I can't even confide in him, the one closest to me..."
Callista stared at her somewhat-blankly. "Are you and Zesha...?"
The tailor giggled at this, shaking her head. "Dear, no! We wouldn't last a day together, really. He's a blunt idiot of a warrior, in my opinion, but then again I've known him for quite a long time. And I know I'm probably speaking too much, so don't say a peep about any of it, alright?" She then paused, before realizing- "Dear me, I didn't even introduce myself! How rude of me!" She pointed to herself as she spoke again. "My name is Yin. Pleased to talk with you, Lady Callista."
"Uh..." Callista smiled a bit, nodding. "Pleased to meet you, Yin."
Before Yin could speak again, Zesha entered the room. Sweat was pouring down his body again-probably from training with his brother-but Callista also noticed that there was a cut on his face as well, blood trickling from the wound.
Yin turned to face him, a gasp escaping her throat. "You're injured!"
"I'm fine." Zesha responded gruffly, crossing his arms.
The tailor crossed her arms, glaring at him. "Your face is bleeding!"
"I said I'm fine!"
"Dammit, Master Zesha, at least admit that the wound needs to be taken care of! Then you can say you're fine!"
Callista could have laughed at this, if she could will herself to, but she couldn't. It was obvious, though, that the relations between these two were beyond master and servant, but not lovers, either. Rather...it was a scuffle between brother and sister, trying to prove themselves right. She never would have imagined Zesha to have someone acting like some pouty younger sister to him...
"Yin, you are not my caretaker!" He scowled a bit, before speaking again. "Fine. I'll take care of it."
Yin smiled. "Good, Master Zesha. You have to keep your body in check, too-not just your training. Don't want to get sick again, do you?"
He let out a groan, shaking his head. "Shut up or I'll throw you through a window."
Yin just went silent, a playful smile on her face. Zesha glanced at Callista, before looking at Yin. "She hasn't been any trouble?"
"Nope. She's alright, Master Zesha." Yin then smiled a bit again. "I heard that your clothes were matching hers at the ball last night, Master Zesha! How thoughtful of you!"
He glared at her. "No. Talking. About. The ball." He snapped through gritted teeth. Yin cringed a bit, before nodding, realizing now that it was a touchy subject to speak about with either of the two with her.
"My apologies..."
Callista paused, before turning towards Zesha. "Wouldn't you want to bathe, now? I don't think all the sweat on you is that good..."
There was silence, before Zesha grabbed clothes from the dresser and then went into the bathroom, obviously not wishing to have a repeat of what happened earlier in the morning. As soon as the door closed behind him, Yin let out a quiet sigh before speaking.
"I suppose I shouldn't have mentioned that part. I don't know what happened between either of you last night, but I should probably assume that it wasn't pretty, was it...?"
Callista shook her head silently in response.
"I see." The tailor paused, before starting to leave. "I should go. I shouldn't be lingering around here too long-don't want anyone to get suspicious of me, after all. But, I'll tell you this. If there's any human that Zesha is going to open up to...it'll probably be you, at this rate. Good luck trying to make him understand your side of the entire scenario."
With that being said, the tailor walked out of the room without another word.
Callista wasn't sure what to think. What did Yin mean when she said that Zesha would open up to Callista, of all humans possible? Did Yin truly believe that Callista could...help Zesha, in a way? Callista didn't know. As far as she knew, she was doing him more bad than good, after all.
Zesha pounded a fist against the shower wall in frustration as warm water poured all over his body from above. Glaring at no one in particular, he leaned against the wall, letting out a breath as he let the liquid warmth consume his entire being.
Everything had been getting a bit better today...and then the ball just had to be mentioned again. This definitely wasn't his day.
Things had changed since Callista had come along, he was aware. He had expected her to be a nuisance, and yes, he had been correct.
What he hadn't been expecting was that she called him by name. His name.
Why? Why did she do such a thing? Why was she starting to call him by his name? That didn't...it didn't make sense. He was her enemy. She was his enemy. Enemies never treated the other like a friend, or took the other into consideration...
He just shook his head, trying to get rid of the thoughts.
She is my enemy. My enemy she will be...
Author note: So...I guess I ended up adding an OC in here, after all. Yin belongs to me, and is based off the OC of the same name in a Last Story RP forum called 'Last World.' This Yin, however, differs quite a bit from the original RP OC Yin, just to warn those that participate in that forum...
