Fourth chap! Thanks for waiting, guys!
Joy: Thanks! Read on and enjoy!
Kka: Yay! Another David Eddings reader! Yep! I've read ROA. But I didn't really understand though. With all the time travelling and such!
Shirodachi: Aaah, me didn't know you and Lazuli are related. : ) Urgit is cute. : ) And it IS Ayako. And she does have a paper fan, don't worry. I didn't know Porka's like Polgara, and I didn't see the connection between the snake and Sadi until you told me! Omigosh! Ha ha! I didn't purposefully chose a snake as the animal. I wanted it to be a cat (cuz I love cats) but who on earth hunts cats and why on earth would cats be in jungles anyway? So snake it was. : )
Silhouette Panther: Thanks!
Alexia: Okay, laugh all you want. : ) And call me ntd-san, if my nickname bothers you so much! Ha ha! Fehrocious calls me that, and I like it!
Fiery Ice: Yes! Sarcasm rules! *Returns fiery-ice's V sign.*
Reika Zelon: If it makes you feel better, make the pink pig in your imagination a female, okay? Ha ha! Sorry, it's my fault you're having such imaginings. But I STILL refuse to change her name!!
Tensaispira: Have fun. : ) And thanks a lot!
Jo-sen7: I really like it when you take the trouble to copy and paste the parts you like in your review. Thanks a lot!
Unchained: Thanks for tolerating Sendoh's OOC-ness!
Tiran: Thanks!
Frozenfemale: Thanks! Sendoh, bad? Nah, just naughty.
SLL: Hey, Snake-born. I don't really like snakes, and will shamelessly flee for my life is I see one (don't hate me for that!), but I suppose they are fascinating creatures. I was in a playground once (I was about six years old, I think), when a green snake dropped down on me from the tree. I just stared at it and didn't realise what it was until people around me started screaming. Heh heh. Me no rocket scientist. Still, I didn't freak out or pass out.
Lazuli: Your fave story? Gosh, thanks. I was thinking this story was my worst one among others (I really did! I was depressed at that time, I think) and you telling me this helps a lot! : ) Arigato! (BTW, I was so glad Zakath got Cyradis in the end)
Choco_no_baka: Porka, a tea brand? I didn't know that. And don't ask me why I'm using Porka as a name! I dunno either!
So it was that Porka spent the hours sweeping the wide balcony outside while lofty guests mingled inside the hall and chattered endlessly, each feeding themselves to the delicacy that was served. The cake Porka had painfully decorated had been carefully hidden – possibly even thrown away.
Porka was a bit surly about that.
Here I am, she thought bitterly, miserably sweeping the blasted floor while everybody else is twirling away in a dance in the middle of the hall. She stopped sweeping for the tenth time that half-an-hour, and peeked in through a window. Why is it that everybody gets to have fun and I don't??
She patted the pot strapped to her dress. "It's just you and me, Pork. A pity you can't dance. And more of a pity that you're female." She lifted the cork and Pork's head came up, its tongue flickering. "No, no, you get back in there. Not all ladies are fond of you, you know, and they might cause a bit of a catastrophe if they see you."
Pork hissed at her.
"Don't you hiss at me, you impertinent snake! Who's your master here?"
Pork lowered herself and sulked. Porka shook her head and muttered irritably, wondering why Sendoh had given her a snake of all the animals in the world. Pork had done nothing but irritate her, even though Porka had to admit that she was getting fond of her new pet.
Her eyes sought out her own master. Sendoh was tall, but still he was difficult to pinpoint, what with the ladies wearing towering hats that stood a meter above their heads. She located him finally, surrounded by five or six of those towering hats, which sat atop very distinguished ladies, and a couple of other men (one of them was particularly huge with a big, ape-like face). He didn't seem to mind the attention, and Porka narrowed her eyes dangerously when he openly flirted with two of them.
Then one tall woman stepped inside the circle, took Sendoh firmly by the hand and led him to the dance floor. Porka watched for a few minutes. Then, resolutely, she looked away and started to sweep the floor again, this time more viciously.
She peeked again every few minutes, quite unable to help it, and every time she looked, Sendoh was dancing with a different woman. The one who had dragged him to the dance floor in the first place, the tall one, however, remained near and watchful.
Again, Porka looked firmly away.
It was midnight by the time she finished sweeping and sat among the white pillars lining the balcony in exhaustion. It wasn't so much the sweeping that drained her energy, but the emotional turbulence she went through. She remembered distinctively a couple of times she felt like punching the wall with her bare fist. Holding that urge down took more energy that pulling three horses out of mud.
Then the cause of her unstable mood stepped out.
She watched Sendoh take a breather – obviously tired from all the dancing he did. He surveyed the area and when he saw her, his eyes lighted mischievously. He started to walk towards her. The nerve! Porka raged quietly, even as she turned her back on him.
He merely stepped in front of her and brought his face to hers. "Would you like to dance?"
And be another one of your toy? "No." she refused without even bothering to be polite.
Instead of the embarrassed outrage she'd expected, Sendoh sighed in relief and plopped down next to her. "Thank God." He smiled charmingly at her. "I hate dancing."
She scoffed. "You seemed to like doing it with all the other ladies."
"It's very rude for a host to reject the wishes of his guests," he shrugged easily, tugging off his shirt from the waistband of his trousers. "They didn't seem to mind the fact that I don't know half the steps."
"They're too busy staring into your eyes to notice," Porka muttered wryly. "Even if you'd stepped on their feet and turned them to pulp, they'd still be smiling at you and asking for another round."
He narrowed his eyes. "You're looking for another fight?"
"I'm always looking for another fight," she replied. "You don't even have to ask."
He tried to come up with something clever to say to that, but was rudely interrupted by a shout from the doorway. "Akira! How long are you going to be out there?"
It was that tall woman.
He turned around. "A few minutes, Eri." He told the impatient woman. "I have this little argument I want to settle with this blockhead here." He winked. "Spare me some time, for dignity's sake."
Eri looked over at Porka and then nodded grudgingly. "Hurry. My favourite song is coming up."
"I was afraid of that," Sendoh muttered under his breath as she disappeared back inside.
"Who's that?" Porka demanded.
"That? That's Eri. Where did we stop just now?"
"I know she's Eri. Who is she?"
He frowned at her. "Can you ask a question that makes sense, at the very least?"
She glared back at him. "I meant, what does she has to do with you?" She sneered. "Still not understandable? Want me to spell it out for you on paper?"
"If you know how to spell."
Her eyes flashed. "I'm not stupid."
"What a surprise," he grinned when she raised a fist. "Eri's my friend."
Porka's eyes narrowed unreasonably. "You like her, don't you? I saw you dancing with her a couple of times."
He looked confused at the question. "Eri? Yeah, of course I like her."
Porka's lips thinned noticeably. "A lot?" She asked darkly, beginning to blow up.
He raised an eyebrow. "I suppose so." He looked at her blankly. "Why are you looking at me like that? Eri is a nice girl, after all. Smart, successful and beautiful. She's very determined, and she fusses a lot about me, for some reason. Not that I mind. It's nice being fussed around by women sometimes. Why are you gritting your teeth? Where are you going?"
She was metres away from him, stalking away furiously with the broom trailing behind her. "You're a jerk." She hissed and then disappeared around a pillar.
Sendoh blinked. "What did I say??"
Aki was waiting for her by her bedroom door, smartly dressed to suit the occasion. Porka smiled as soon as she saw him, genuinely delighted. She liked the boy, and his open admiration for her didn't hurt her ego at all. "Hi, Aki. Why aren't you out there dancing with all those pretty, young ladies? I'm sure they'll be disappointed not to have a chance to charm you."
Aki blushed, as he usually did with her. "I – I wanted to ask you to dance," he said shyly. He had never gotten rid of that silly shyness, and Porka didn't know if she was irritated or charmed by it. "Do you – do you want to?"
"Yes, I do." She took his hands. "I was waiting all night for you to ask me."
His gorgeous blue eyes widened. "Really?"
Well, not exactly all night. "Yes." She answered briefly. "Now, where shall we dance?"
"The music's loud enough here," he told her excitedly.
"Dance here? Okay. Here it is."
They twirled around in the narrow hallway, having a ball of a time. Aki's hands shook when he placed them around her waist, and Porka found it comical. She didn't laugh, though, which was rather considerate. "You look great," Aki murmured once.
"In this rug? You've got to be kidding."
"It's a rug??"
Porka laughed, fondly mussing the boy's hair. "No. But it looks like it, doesn't it?"
"No, on you, it doesn't."
Porka smiled warmly. "You're such a nice boy. Why don't we go someplace private and you can flatter me some more?" She laughed again when he blushed, quite unaware that she was toying with the boy's feelings. "I was just joking."
They danced for a few more minutes before they were interrupted. "Aki!" came a familiar screeching voice. "Do you know where Akira is?"
Aki jumped, startled. Then he gradually relaxed when he realized it was just Eri, the daughter of what's-his-name Duke. "No, I haven't sorry."
"Are you sure? I feel like whacking him with a hammer." Eri turned to Porka then. "Do you know where he is?"
"No." – and if you don't ask nicely, I'll whack you with a hammer myself. "Why are you looking for him?"
"Nothing that concerns you." Eri grumbled loudly. "Where is he?? And to think I'll be marrying him! What will I do if he keeps disappearing like this??"
Porka had gone suddenly cold up to the neck. She rewound the conversation. "You're going to – you're going to marry him??"
Eri turned slightly red. "Well, he hasn't asked - yet." She admitted in embarrassment. "But he will." That was said with determination. "He definitely will." She looked around anxiously. "I better go find him before he falls into another shameless woman's arms. He falls very easily."
As Eri hurried away, Porka turned on Aki. "Is that true? Is Sendoh going to marry her?"
Aki shrugged, a bit disappointed that all the romance of their dance had disappeared. It took a lot to get there, and having it go so easily made him a bit sullen. "I guess so. She's been making all sorts of plans, most of which I think my brother isn't even aware of. But I suppose he'll just agree. Eri's very demanding."
Porka pursed her lips grimly. "I noticed."
"Do you want to dance again?" Aki attempted.
The look she gave him was absent, even cold, as if the suggestion infuriated her. "No, I don't. Goodnight, Aki."
Aki frowned as she closed her bedroom door. What on earth got into her?
Then the door abruptly opened and Porka poked her head out, suddenly cheerful all over again, though it was with some effort that she kept the smile in place. "I forgot to thank you. You're a terrific dancer, Aki. We should do this more often." She smiled at him.
Aki felt his heart pounding slightly faster than normal. "Oh, um… well…"
"Now, as tradition requires," she went on, "you're supposed to kiss me before I go for my slumber." She grinned wickedly. "Will you?"
Aki froze where he was, his lungs unable to function. "I – I … I, uh –"
She watched him in amusement. "I don't usually allow physical contact between me and my masters, you know," she teased. "This could be a once in a lifetime chance…"
Aki found that he couldn't even move. The thought of kissing Porka made his throat go dry in nervousness. He wanted to, but what if it went wrong? He had no experience – not yet, anyway and –
"I'm joking," she told him then, chuckling. "You're blushing outrageously. That's so adorable. Well, good night!"
The door closed and Aki slapped his forehead, cursing himself.