Love Looks Not With the Eyes
Chapter 5 First Attraction
He walked solemnly through the halls carrying pails of suddy water to scrub the floors in the girl's room. He had orders that guests were expected - "young" guests, and all was to be cleaned. Especially his mistresses room. As he walked he thought about Mimi. She'd been acting rather odd around him lately. Flicking her hair, teasing and smiling at him, and when she sat down crossing and uncrossing her legs CONTINUOUSLY.
She'd been doing it for months now when he confided in Sai about it he said, "It's because she likes you."
"That's all well and dandy, but my hormones don't run in her direction. Besides, while she is very pretty I just can't feel that way about her. "
He'd grown to find girls attractive. He just had yet to experience his first real crush on someone.
When he came to the door and opened it he found the shades all pulled down and the doors shut. He thought that was odd as he was sure he had opened everything earlier. Shaking his head, he put the buckets down and went to the curtains. He had just begun to pull them open when Mimi's voice startled him into spinning around to stare at a dark corner where her silhouette blended in with the shadows.
"Ryuuen! Over here...", she giggled.
At this strange call to her side Ryuuen couldn't help the awkwardness in his gaut as he approached her. When he met her in the shadows he immediately sensed that he was walking into a bad situation. He didn't understand exactly what, but 'something' bad. When finally enough light hit his mistress he realized she was dressed only in a thin robe with obviously nothing underneath.
This made him jittery. He'd seen Lady Soi this way before - accidentally. The first time she was just coming out of the bath and it was Ryuuen's hour to wash out her tub. The last time she had been like that was in an effort to entice her husband. For some reason the last of these incidents stayed clear in his mind to offer an explanation for what was happening.
"Ryuuen...", she let out another giggle.
Ryuuen raised an eyebrow and stepped back a step. "You need something, my lady? A drink... a DRESS?"
"No, I think I'm wearing," she stepped forward and laid a hand on his chest, then moved her fingers to the center to play with the buttons on his shirt, "just what I think is best. As for what you can get me..."
"Your ladyship, if you don't require anything I do..." Ryuuen began only to be cut off.
"Ryuuen, I DO need something."
A rising panic started to charge through his veins. He had a weird idea where this was going - but Mimi//She's only 12 for heaven's sake! Maybe I'm wrong...//
She suddenly looked very shy, "I've always like you Ryuuen. I've always loved you..."
"I like you too Mimi, but why...?"
"You do? Then why don't we try and show each other?"
"Show each other?"
"You remember that night after your father died?"
"Yes..." He couldn't help gulping.
She gave him a peculiar smile. "You told me that what my parents were doing was something to show how much they love each other. You love me, don't you Ryuuen?" she asked in a strange half pouty, half overly sweet voice.
"Yes, I love you." he backed up more only to have her move forward.
"Then why don't we try it? Find out why..."
He was shaking his head before he even spoke up, "No, Mimi. No!"
"WHY NOT?!!" she yelled. "You said you liked me! You said you loved me! Why can't we? Just once. Why?" She began crying, falling to her knees admist her heavy sobs.
A feeling of something akin to sympathy overtook the foreboding, "Mimi, I DO love you." He bent down and lain a hand on her shoulder. "But we're... we're too young to be doing that. Only married people can... and.."
"You DON'T have to be married!" Mimi cried. "The maids have done it with some of the stable hands, and THEY'RE not married!"
"Mimi, please... you have to love someone in a different way than... you love me."
She practically stopped crying then, and a horrible predatory look crept in to her eyes as she gazed back at him. Ever so calmly she stated, " I KNOW the difference. I wouldn't do THIS with my father! Or any of my cousins! Or anyone that I just loved. I know what attraction is... and I'm attracted to you Ryuuen. I have been since before even I knew what it was. I can't do this with anyone else! I don't WANT to do this with anyone else!"
Something disturbingly heavy had just hit Ryuuen in the stomach. Somehow he'd always known this. But he never thought about it. Problem was, even with as utterly beautiful as he found her, he couldn't feel anything but a platonic love for her.
She got up noticing his stricken expression. "You don't feel the same way do you?"
Ryuuen hastily got up. "I need to finish your room..." He walked over to his pail and picked it up determined to start at the opposite end of the room from her.
"You bastard!" she screamed to his turned back.
He spun around, wincing at her volume.
"You said you love me! I hate you!"
"Mimi!" Ryuuen called gently from across the room. He reached out a hand to her as if it would stop her outburst just by the gesture.
"You're right! You DO have work to do!" She marched directly over to the pulled shades. "You need to mend and clean the draperies!"
"No!" Ryuuen yelped just before he say her give a firm tug on each on in turn pulling them, rod and all down.
"And you need to restuff my pillows!" she yelled next running to the bed. She yanked the pillows out of their covers and pulled at the seams of the pillows with a terrible fury until the ripped sending goose feathers scattering everywhere. "And remake my bed!" she swung the blankets on the floor. "And sweep the floors!" She ran over to the fireplace and scooped up some ashes in her hands.
Ryuuen managed to jump out of his stupor at this, and ran to her clutching her wrists causing some of the ash to spill to the floor.
"No, Mimi. Don't! What will your father say?"
"That's not MY problem. It's YOURS!" At that she literally threw the ashes into his face. The soot burned his eyes and stained his face.
"You think you're better than me! You're nothing but the son of a shop keeper! And my SLAVE!"
He was still wiping the burning soot from his eyes when he heard his bucket of water being spilt over.
She ran up to him next. "I hate you. I HATE YOU!" she flung herself at him. Fortunately, he had cleared his eyes enough to see her just in time to catch her wrists and restrain her. She screeched in fury like a mad harpy.
"Mimi, stop it!" he yelled in a plea over her squeals.
"What is this?" boomed a deep voice from the doorway. Mimi instantly froze, Ryuuen went white.
Ryuuen turned to look at the speaker. An enraged Nakago stared back. Immediately Ryuuen let go of Mimi's wrists. Mimi ran to him in tears.
"He went crazy father! Just started tearing things up!" she squealed.
Ryuuen opened his mouth to protest, pure anger written all over his face. He then noticed the 2 girls behind Nakago. One with short blond hair and a pretty face. The other had auburn hair tired up in 2 goofy looking buns on her head. They were whispering back and forth to each other and giggling.
"Did he? Hmmm..." Nakago eyed Ryuuen for a minute, then he let his gaze wonder to the side regarding the 2 girls behind him. "I regret to say that my daughters will have to entertain you elsewhere. Mimi take them to the Green Room."
"Yes, father." Mimi said like a perfect, obediant girl with no signs of her earlier fury.
Once they had gone down the hall a little ways, Nakago turned his attention back to Ryuuen. A tolerant smile came to his face as he crossed the room to the boy.
"Have you anything to say?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"What would you like me to say?" Ryuuen answered head bowed.
The eyebrow went up higher. "I think we both know what happened here. Unfortunately, I do have to ask YOU to be the one to..." he looked around as Ryuuen's head came up in disbelief, "... clean up all traces of her dishonor. But you needn't do it alone. I'll send some servants up to help you. When you've finished, see to my daughters and their guests." Nakago gave one more disapproving glance around, and turned on his heel and left.
//Did he just kind of... apologize to me?// Ryuuen couldn't help braking into a grin as he walked over to the side of the room for his pail.
Ryuuen and a few others had helped him get through his second cleaning spree, then insisted that he get a bite to eat first before he attended to the "tyrants" upstairs. White the servants couldn't help feeling disgusted - and one even burst into tears at the sight of the room - somehow none were surprised.
"Her father's temper that one has." said one servant over their lunch.
Ryuuen looked up from his soup and sandwich questioningly.
"Wonder if she'll have her mother's womanly charms?" said another maid in a tone seeping with innuendos.
This sent a round of laughter around the table. All joined in but two. Ryuuen and the cook. The cook looked at Ryuuen and spoke up reprimandingly.
"Here now! Don't you be talking about Lady Soi that way! She's a decent woman, no matter what lays in her past."
"Seems there's a ALOT that does i lay /i in her past." This caused another wave of laughter and snickering.
"Oy! Stop it now! Hasn't she been good to 'ya?" yelped the cook which quickly quieted the table. "Well then, don't go talking about her like that. Especially in front of the young one here." She nodded to Ryuuen who sat poised with half a sandwish in his mouth, looking at everyone totally obilivious to what they had been implying. All her knew was that Lady Soi was very nice. She was always good to him, and never judged or punished him harshly.
Talk was quieter from that point on at the table and Ryuuen finished his soup and sandwich in no time. With a heavy mind he made his way to the Green Room.
The 4 looked up at him all at once, Mimi's gaze making him self-conscious. With a tight smile Mimi said, "This is our servant Ryuuen."
Ryuuen gave a small smile. The 2 other girls whispered to each other and giggled. Whatever they said apparently annoyed Mimi, because she shot them a look of displeasure.
"Here, see to the tea Ryuuen." Mimi snapped coldly.
"Yes, ma'am." he said crossing the room. He picked up the tea tray and began to walk away to get it refilled.
"Did you get your mess cleaned up?" Mimi called as he was reaching for the door handle.
With an expression of contempt which he hoped didn't seep into his voice he turned his head to look at her out of the corner of his eye.
"Of course, my lady."
With that he left and purposely took his tiime finding retreat downstairs in the kitchens.
When he brought the tea back he was forced to look busy as the girls talked. He had decided that the auburn haired firl was a perpetual talker and couldn't shut up even if she wanted to. On top of that, her hair-do just ANNOYED Ryuuen to no end. After half an hour of this Mimi spat out, "Don't you have something else better to do than to bother us?"
Shocked back into reality from his daydreaming he looked at Mimi quizically. "If you don't need anything else..."
"No, get out. You're interrupting female activities." she replied venomously with a stare to match.
"As you wish. Ladies...", he bowed in retreat. Happily, he thought to himself he had some fireplaces to clean out on the i other side /i of the manor.
AN: This chapter is not finished yet. Or I should say it is, but I haven't finished typing it up from my writing notepad yet, (yeah, I'm old fashioned). However, I wanted to go ahead and put this up for now so you can all have something to reassure yourselves, that I am working on this story, and will finish it, even if it takes me 10 years to do it. LOL As always even in this chapter's unfinished form I'll welcome comments. Take care, and rest will hopefully coming to you soon!