She was used to bathing in front of people.
Mina and Ochako, her maids in waiting, we're often present whenever Callie took a bath back at the castle. The former would tend to washing the Princess' hair, when it was still waist length, while the latter made sure to keep the water hot.
In those calm moments by the fire, the princess and her maids would talk freely about anything and everything. They were intimate moments that allowed Calliope to truly appreciate the bond she had with her two, closest companions. Though they were her maids, she saw them more as her friends.
Yet, as she sat in the tub, surrounded by floral scented steam and the gentle twitter of colourful song-birds, Calliope couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable as Nemuri ran a wash-towel over her bare shoulders.
Despite insisting she didn't need to, the Madam had managed to persuade the Princess into bathing in her own, personal tub. It sat on clawed feet by a large, open fire in a room so elegantly dressed, Calliope would have thought it belonged to royalty.
"So..." Nemuri began, her voice forever that sultry purr, "what's a lovely, little creature like you doing with the likes of Touya?"
Callie stalled, caught off guard, not only by the question, but due to the fact the wash-towel had now traveled to her chest. The Madam glided it gently across her collar bones as the princess tried to keep her breath steady.
"I met him in a bar," she said, forcing casual confidence into her voice as her fingers wrung together beneath the surface of the water. "He offered me and my friend a ride to the Southern Continent."
Nemuri dipped the wash towel into the water in the space between her legs. Calliope held back the wince of surprise that threatened to make her thighs snap shut.
"Oh, the fair one?" Nemuri asked. She squeezed the water from the towel and set it aside as she made her way over to the basin by the fire.
Calliope nodded. "That's right." And she couldn't help but begin to wonder what the men were doing while she sat here, naked and uncomfortable and entirely at the mercy of this strange woman. But her thoughts were promptly chased away as Nemuri returned to tip an entire basin of water onto her head.
The princess gasped once as it engulfed her, then once more as Nemuri's hands slipped into her hair and began to massage.
"Ah, he was quite the sweetheart." The Madam cooed, her nails scraping lightly over her scalp. "What's his story?"
Calliope swallowed. Of all the things she'd learnt to do over the years, if only she'd learnt to be a better liar. Perhaps Touya could give her a lesson or two once this awkward exchange was over.
"He's erm-we're childhood friends." She managed, as Nemuri began to run a comb through her wet locks. She was considerably gentle and almost motherly in her movements. But Calliope remained rigid nonetheless as her words were the thing that were causing her the most discomfort.
"Ahh. Young love, that's sweet." She cooed.
Long fingers danced across the nape of her neck as Calliope spluttered a reaction. "Oh no, we're not courting or anything." She corrected, trying not to shudder beneath the Madam's wandering touch.
"Nonsense!" She called lightly. "If there's one's thing a Madam can tell, it's when a man is in love with a woman. It makes for good business."
Calliope could only try to swallow through the tightness in her throat.
Finished with her hair, Nemuri pulled up a chair and sank gracefully into it, smoothing our the creases of her skirts.
"So, why the southern continent?" She asked, smiling sweetly, as if such an expression would ease Callie's obvious discomfort.
"Huh?" Calliope gulped, arms tight across her naked chest as Nemuri continued to stare out an answer from her.
"You said that's where Touya was taking you both." The Madam reminded. The smirk of her painted lips revealed that she knew she'd caught Callie in a lie. The realisation only made her feeble attempts at lying even worse.
"Oh, right. Yes. Of course. Well-"
"Isn't that where the late Queen came from?" Nemuri cut in, suddenly interested in her long, sharp nails.
Beneath her crossed arms, Calliope could feel her heart begin to hammer. "Erm..."
The Madam's claws were at her scalp again.
"My, has anyone ever told you what lovely hair you have?" This time, the pull of her nails through her hair did elicit a shudder. "And your skin...we don't see such a lovely shade around these parts." Her thumb was at her cheek, rubbing the wet skin beneath.
Calliope chanced a glance to see a tongue slide over a set of even, white teeth.
A she-wolf eyeing up a little lamb.
"Well...I-I should check on the boys." The princess stammered, pushing to her feet suddenly and almost slipping in the tub.
But two hands caught her and covered her naked body with a long robe of dark satin.
"Don't worry, Princess Calliope." Nemuri laughed lightly. "You're secret is safe here." After securing the robe around her waist, she took a step back and smiled. "Us girls have to stick together."
Calliope searched the Madam's face, her fingers curling anxiously into the smooth fabric of the robe. Was that sincerity she saw in her smiling features? Or was she as good at wearing a mask as Touya was?
Laughing at her stunned silence, Nemuri continued. "Feel free to come and go as you please, your highness. Free of charge. We've very always very discreet about our clientele." She winked an eye at Calliope's silent stare. "Oh I see. You're waiting to see if there's a catch?" She mused, swinging her hips to a side as she cocked a perfectly sculpted brow.
When Calliope's jaw worked nervously beneath the Madam's stoic stare, the dark haired woman breathed a gentle laugh. "Well there isn't one." She declared, a hand going to pat the princess' arm. "But, of course, if the boys ever want to share the company of one of my girls, they'll have to pay."
Calliope could only nod. The Madam was looking pleasantly pleased with herself as she began to sweep around the room, gathering up Calliope's old clothes and tossing them into a basket.
"But I'd Imagine that jester of yours won't be interested. What with him only having eyes for you." Her gaze was mischievous when she swung it back to her.
"Oh, I dont know if that's true," Calliope finally managed to speak.
So, Nemuri had known their identities all along. Just how far had their story already spread? How on earth had it reached this part of the kingdom before they even had? Perhaps they could blame Keigo the bard's ridiculous song.
"Nonsense!" Nemuri guffawed with a flick of her wrist. "Stop playing coy, my dear. A princess you may be, but an innocent fool you are not." She sauntered over to a large, elegantly carved armoire and cast an alluring smirk over her shoulder. "Trust me, I can tell. Now let me see..." She returned her eyes to the golden handles and pulled open the ornate doors. She hummed in thought as she ran her fingers along the row of elegant garments that hung there.
"And if he didn't only have eyes for you before, he certainly will once he see's you in..." she paused for effect, fingers hovering between two gowns. With a satisfied purr, she snatched at the one in the shade of honeymead "this!"
She held it out for Calliope to admire. It was a satin sheath gown with a plunging neckline. It was unlike anything Calliope had been allowed to wear before. Even to bed, high collars and long sleeves were a must.
"I-I dont think I could possibly wear that." She stammered through a small, polite smile.
The Madam rolled her eyes as she sashayed her way back towards her.
"Callie, Callie, Callie. My dear!" She sang. "You are a princess and a future queen! You shouldnt be seen wearing such dreary clothes!" She gestured with a grimace towards the pile of Callie's discarded garments. "Especially not in my house!"
Her broad smile was contagious and Calliope found herself unable to protest as she let the motherly Madam strip her from the gown and slide the shimmering fabric of the dress over her head. It fell to her ankles and draped luxuriously over her lilth body.
Sighing happily at her appearance, Nemuri then began to fuss with the princess' hair that was starting to dry into bouncy ringlets. Callie wondered if this was how she treated all her girls- her behaviour bordering between a mother-hen and a little girl with a doll.
"There!" Nemuri exclaimed contently, after taming the ringlets towards the back Callie's head. "Now you don't look like some pauper pulled off the street."
Calliope was then turned to face a full length mirror. As her eyes clapped her appearance, she barely recognised herself. This was the first time she'd seen her reflection after cutting her hair. She turned her head this way and that, smiling at the way her curls bounced around her high cheekbones. The new look was refreshing, as was the sight of her in such a bohemian dress. She felt as free as a forest Nymph as she swished her skirts to marvel at the way the candlelight played upon its pleats.
"Ahh! There's the Toshinori smile!" Nemuri purred, over her shoulder, giving it an affectionate squeeze.
Despite all her initial reservations and suspicions, Calliope decided then and there that she actually rather liked the busty, flirtatious Madam.
Before leaving Nemuri's boudoir, the Princess insisted that she at least borrow a gown to go over the dress she wore. As lovely as it was, Callie wasn't entirely comfortable walking back into the room where the boys were, flaunting the low-cut neck line.
The feathered collar of the gown the Madam had picked out for her tickled her cheeks as she swept through the corridor in swirl of golds, creams and platinums.
She passed by doors that greeted her with different snippets of sounds and conversations. From groans of pleasure, to shrieks of excitement, to hushed, lewd babbling.
What a curious place this was.
There was loud laughter coming from the room she and her companions had been given as she approached it. She immediately recognised Touya's impish snicker and Sam's boyish chuckle as she placed a hand at the door. After listening curiously for a moment, she knocked gently before entering with a creased look of bemused apprehension plastered on her face.
Upon stepping over the threshold, she was greeted with the amusing image of her two companions laid side by side on the bed, coiled in feathered scarves and cradling chalices of wine. The open wardrobe and empty bottle was clearly the source of their ridiculous attire.
"Enjoying ourselves?" She smirked, eyeing their tipsy grins with glee.
"Callie!" Touya bellowed, casting his glassy eyes towards her and holding out a hand. "Come join us!" He patted the spot in the mattress between him and Sam.
Shaking her laughing head, she perched herself on the end of the bed instead, as Sam handed her a drink. The fact his eyes dropped quickly to her waist and back hadn't gone unnoticed. When his gaze then caught hers, he cleared his throat quietly behind a sheepish smile. She merely squinted playfully at him as she took the chalice from his hand.
"What were you two cackling about?" She asked, bringing the beverage to her lips as she eyed the two men curiously from over the rim.
Sam's cheeks were pleasantly pink around his dimples as he exchanged a look with a drowsily smirking Touya.
Touya scoffed and waved a dismissive hand. "Ah, I was just telling Sam a couple of tales from when I was last here."
She swallowed her mouthful of wine and placed a delicate hand at her chest. "Pray tell." She mused, crossing one leg over the other.
Touya looked roguish beneath his feathers. "They're not stories suitable for your royal ears, your highness."
She rolled her eyes at his expression. "I'm not a child." She scoffed.
The merchant chuckled ."You're exactly right, your highness. Because, of course, even children are allowed to hear about the birds and the bees. Princess aren't."
She drank deeply from her chalice until no more wine met her frowning lips. Then, getting to her feet, she glided over to place the cup on the bedside table. Standing over the merchant with her arms crossed, she asked; "And what, dear Touya, are princess allowed to do?"
He cast her a half-lidded smile. The wine had darkened his lips giving him an almost vampire-like appearance.
"Drink wine with two handsome, half naked men apparently..." he drawled, his voice dropping to an alluring note as he raised his cup.
Sam snorted a laugh beside him, his breath making the feathers around his neck dance. How the princess wished she had been there when they made the decision to play dress-up. Admittedly, they both looked like disheveled fledglings- all pinkish skin and ruffled feathers.
"Oh! Lucky me!" She exclaimed, brows raised and lips twitching a smirk. "Where are they?" She cast a theatrical look around the room as she poured herself another chalice.
Just then, a pillow collided heavily with her head as sarcastic laughter rang out through the room. She gasped loudly, almost sloshing red wine down the front of her pale dress as she stumbled upon impact.
"Be careful!" She chided, eyes dropping to check she hadn't stained Nemuri's lavish clothes. "This dress isn't mine!"
Touya gave a low chuckle. "Whoops! Maybe you should take if off, just in case."
This time, it was she and Sam who launched cushions in unison. The lanky, tipsy merchant managed to dodge one, but the other caught him straight in the face, making him grunt in surprise. His laugh was boyish and bright.
Callie noted that this was the first time she'd ever heard such a genuine sound spill from his lips as easily as his wine did down his bare chest.
"Ignore him, Callie..." Sam huffed, casting a wry expression sideways at Touya as he dabbed a handful of feathers at his wine-coated skin. "That dress looks lovely on you, by the way."
Out of all the men she'd ever encountered, the jester really did have the most lovely voice. At court, she always enjoyed the way his modulated speech carried so freely throughout the room, captivating a crowd until every punchline of a joke or plot twist of a story. But ever since spending time with him face to face, she found his voice was loveliest of all when it was directed solely at her.
She felt her eyes drop bashfully at his compliment. But before she could thank him, however, the merchant's loud groan caused the smile that had formed on her lips to fall into an unamused frown.
"I'll be having none of that, thank you very much." He asserted with a teasing wave of a finger.
Beside him, Sam rolled his eyes and breathed a long sigh through his nose.
"None of what, Touya?" Callie questioned through a half-smile, swatting at his legs for him to make room. He shuffled across the mattress as she took a seat against the many cushions piled up against the headboard.
"You know damn well, what." He replied with a mock sneer. "You two better keep your hands, compliments, and longing gazes to yourselves. This is a brothel, not a damn martial chamber."
Calliope couldn't help but snort a laugh. "You're rather terrible, you know that don't you, Touya?"
Sam twitched his eyebrows in silent agreement.
"Callie..." The merchant began, casting her a lopsided grin, "what did I just say about keeping your compliments to yourself?"