Chapter VII: Bansan Dinner
Buttoning up the cuff to the sleeve of her dress, Michiru proceeded to zip up the back; only to discover that she could barely make it half way. She grunted in discomfort as she tried her hardest to make it all the way up. Pale arms flailed back and forth, up an down; fingers wiggled in a final attempt to reach.
"What's with this thing?" she yelled out painfully. Many attempts later, she gave up, panting nonetheless, and heading towards the door slumped over in defeat.
Meanwhile, Haruka was already dressed and ready to go; bow tied and shirt tucked in. Settling down on the sofa with a book in hand, she was interrupted abruptly with a whiney cry.
"Haruka!" Michiru whined. "Can you help me with this?" She turned around and motioned towards the dress's zipper that had slid back down from the natural motion of her movements.
Haruka blushed and nodded softly. "...sure." She slowly pushed herself up off the couch and made her way over to Michiru.
Michiru had turned around while waiting for Haruka's answer to her plea and saw the light pink making its way across her high cheeks. Michiru blushed too, reason unknown to her, as Haruka arrived and placed her hands on Michiru's shoulders. Her head was ever so close to her own. Soft Pink turned a dark hue of red that spread to the ears.
"Turn around so I can get to it. . ." Haruka swivelled Michiru in place and ran her hands down her back to the base of the zipper; which coincidently was almost to the base of her spine. Michiru's gut tingled, heart rates quickened. Haruka's face came closer to the base of Michiru's neck, her breath warming the skin; another set of shivers ran down Michiru's spine to her gut.
"Ha. . ru. .ka. . .?" The statement died towards the end in a question. Her stomach clenched in nervousness. Her brain couldn't even process real thoughts through all the sensation.
Their was a knock on the door, the two sprang apart in a jolt quicker than lighting itself.
Fwafwa stood in the door's frame looking in the room in search of warm bodies. "Ah, Michiru, Haruka." It was always so formal, the way he spoke. "Are you two ready to go?" It was as if he always kept a distance from everyone else in his formalism.
"No," Haruka stated, glaring at him, her voice dripping with disdain. "I was helping her zip up the dress." She faced back behind Michiru and zipped the dress. "Now we're ready."
Michiru turned around to face Haruka, couldn't help the light blush that warmed her cheeks. She reached out, not far, to Haruka's neck and touched it softly as she messed with the bow tie, not meaning to. This time it was Haruka's turn to flutter inside.
"Thanks. . ." was the mumbled reply.
Haruka sighed in what was mostly annoyance, partly anger. "So you said yesterday that our parents are supposed to be there?"
Michiru nodded in affirmation. "Yep, that's what she said."
They continued to follow Fwafwa down and around the twisting hallways, getting more confused every second as to where they were heading. "We're almost there," he said.
Shortly after saying so, they came around a corner and came upon one of the most beautiful parts of the entire palace. In front of them, was a grand stair case leading up to huge golden double doors made of marble. Each side of the majestic door was adorned by ionic columns. The over-all appearance was almost like the front door to the famed Notre Dome in France. Haruka and Michiru stood gawking in awe.
"I had no idea something this grande even existed in the palace!" Haruka exclaimed.
"Me either..." Michiru conferred.
"We're going to be late if you two don't get a move on now." Fwafwa was becoming a little impatient.
They quickly got over the site and followed after him quickly; neither one of them knowing what they were about to get themselves into. Practically jogging up the steps trying to catch up, Fwafwa had already begun to open the door.
Michiru's and even Haruka's heart stopped at the sight of the interior. Not only was it just as beautiful as the outside, it also held a huge dining table made from solid wood in which their parents were already sitting at; and also another older man.
Haruka took in a deep breath and steeled herself for what was about to come. Her mother looked her in the eyes, a disapproving look. Her father stern-faced as always, hiding the emotions within. 'I will not let them get to me, no matter what. I'll dress the way I please to...'
Michiru, otherwise, was almost grateful to be seeing her parents. She was anxious to show them how much she had grown being away from home. All she had ever wanted was to make her parents understand that she could be independent. They smiled at her as they saw her.
A server had been waiting at the door, it seemed, as a young man holding a lace towel over his left fore arm bowed and waited the appropriate 5 seconds before standing back up straight. "Follow me, if you please." He started over to the table with Haruka and Michiru in tow.
Haruka had been placed in front of her parents on the opposite side of the table, three chairs down from the mysterious older man. Michiru, likewise had been set opposite of her parents, but this time right next to the man. Haruka immediately hated him for this. Who was he anyway? Her question was answered as Michiru curtsied to him before sitting. "It's good to see you again, Damasu."
'Damasu?' She couldn't figure where she had heard that name before, but it dawned on her quickly enough. 'Her bodyguard she's betrothed to...' Her heart raced in panic. How could this be happening now? She didn't figure on having to deal with him as well as her parents in the same day. In fact, she had completely forgotten about him! 'Shimatta.'
And eerie silence settled over the table for a moment, no one knowing what to say. It seemed as something was watching out for everyone as the young man with the lace came back. He cleared his throat for an effect that wasn't needed in the still environment where the crickets were chirping already. "Her majesty, Serenity-sama."
Everyone stood in their place at the table as a set of doors on the other side of the room swung open slowly, almost as if they were in slow motion. A woman donned in a long silver-white dress, with equally long silver-white hair styled most peculiarly in two buns each streaming ponytails, emerged in the same slow motion-like quality. She made her way to the head of the table and stood for a few seconds before seating herself, everyone else sitting at the table following suite. She raised her left hand a little ways off the table, almost a wave, and suddenly a stream of young women came from some cut away in the wall that no one had noticed before. Each of them carried a silver platter with a silver dome covering them. Approaching everyone from their right-hand side, they set the platter down in front of them, lifted off the cover, and hurried back away from wherever they came from. Serenity-sama smiled. "So, to the parents, how do you think they are coming along so far away from home?"
Dinner was just as uneventful as any other dinner ever created by mankind, at least the kinds I've ever been to. It consisted of a five course arrangement that took over three hours to complete. Little was ever spoken to directly Haruka and/or Michiru, they were merely just attenders, it seemed. The only thing that could've been called an event was the issue of Haruka's flaring temper any time Damasu ever so much as breathed near Michiru; which you can imagine was near impossible to not do considering he was seated next to her anyway. Both were glad to know that they were allowed to go back to their room afterwards and that their parents were staying in the guest quarters of the palace and leaving early the next morning, including Damasu as well.
"Thank the gods that they're leaving in the morning and not sticking around, ne?" Haruka asked as she made her way to the stairs leading to the loft.
"Well, I guess. I suppose I get along with my parents a lot better than you do." Michiru followed Haruka's lead as they spoke.
"You bet. I'm just grateful that at least my mother never got the chance to hound me again like a bad dog about the way I dress here. I don't think my father really cares. Although I'm firstborn heir to the throne, I don't think anyone expects me to take it. I don't want it anyway. I'd rather just serve as a knight or advisor or something." She made it to the top and flopped down on the pillows gathered on the plush floor. "If I ever have my own place, hell, I don't even need my own place, I want a loft area just like this."
"I may not agree with your relationship with your parents, but I wholeheartedly agree with that last statement of your's." Michiru fell backwards onto the floor from her knees distance next to Haruka. "Who ever thought a boring "dinner party" could be so tiring?" She sighed as she put her arm up over her face trying to relax. "I'm just glad my parents got to see that I can be independent for once in my life without them." Haruka grunted.
"I never in my life would have even assumed a "dinner party" could even last three hours." She turned her head in Michiru's direction. "Hey," she prompted herself up on one elbow. "You said before that you didn't like Damasu, right?"
"Of course I don't. Who could love someone that's twice their age and a complete stranger?" She started drifting off to sleep in exhaustion.
"That's what I thought..." She lied back down on her back. "What about that spring festival thing coming up soon?"
"What about it?" Michiur mumbled. She was clearly not thinking straight being half asleep.
"Who do you want to go with?" Haruka asked trying to seem casual, checking out her nails even though Michiru's eyes weren't open.
Michiru's shoulders moved slightly in a sleepy shrug. "I don't know... I'm tired."
"Well..." Haruka tried to find the courage to ask. "How about just going with me then?" She waiting in anticipation for Michiur's answer.
Michiru yawned. "Sure, Haruka. I'll go with you if you want." She turned over on her side and was almost alseep.
"Michiru?"
She woke a little. "Yeah?"
"May I sleep next to you here?" She felt happy even if Michiru told her no. They were going to go to the festival together.
"Sure, go ahead. Now please just let me sleep, okay?"
"Okay..." Haruka snuggled up close to Michiru's back facing the same direction instead of being back-to-back. Michiru could feel her slow breathing on her neck and slowly drifted off into a deep sleep where the whole conversation was forgotten.
A shadow in the moon light below in the common room's main floor watched as they fell asleep, this time not knocking anything over to startle them.
Okay, wow. Now that it's 1AM, who's glad I finally updated?Actually I'm waiting for a Bleach episode to finish downloading onto my computer so I can watch it. I figured writing was a better way to keep awake than reading. Reading always makes me sleepy for some reason... Right! So R&R! Just click that little button, bottom left-hand corner, at the bottom of the page. That's it, good! More fuel fore my fire I have going in the furnace. ;) Apparently being tired also means being delusional!