REVISED: 05 February 2019
5. The Enchanted
-;-
When the event came into her view, Misao could not help but gasped at the sight.
Thousands of torches, candles and wooden lamps lit up the palace's garden like a daylight. The hundreds of ladies and gentlemen in their many-coloured kimonos looked like enough of colourful flowers to her. The many flowers designed in most of women's hair added to the extreme array of colour and light.
Streamers of flowers and countless garlands hung from every Japanese tree and every Japanese table practically cascaded with the many bouquets of flowers of every kind.
In the centre of the large lawn, a huge wood was built to be the dance floor. She watched happily as the many geishas and the dancers danced in unison with their paper fans and joyful music. The other visitors who were not dancing wandered and mingled around throughout the rest of the garden while the many guards still watched in silence.
Not far from the dance floor a small platform had been raised to accommodate four special tatamis where Hiko, Okon and Kenshin sat. The other one was not occupied that made her wonder where he was when she spotted a huge gathering of women near the foods' tables.
'I guess he was there.' Misao thought.
"May I be of service, my lady?" someone said in courtesy, making Misao jump. Turning to the person, she was almost surprised to look at Soujiro. Memories flashed in her mind as she remembered that the smiling boy in front of her was an expert in murdering people.
She shook her head no.
"Can I help you in any way?" Soujiro asked, unconvinced - he gave her a warm smile as his mind trying to register if he saw this person before.
"No, thank you." She answered as he bowed in respect and walked away.
As the hours passed by, she just stood behind the tree and hid herself using the cloak Megumi gave. The night was windy and a cup of sake might kill the chill. She refrained to grab the drink; aware that Yumi and the others will see her if she made her way to the foods' table. Misao wanted to remain unnoticed as what Yahiko had planned.
It was a fantastic night despite the fact that she was all alone among the crowd. Several men asked her to dance but she rejected them. She does not know how to dance and for the most part, she lacks the interest. Several times, she wandered all alone. Seeing the garden lit up like daylight had been already enough.
She observed, walked and hid again in the bushes not far from the main party place. She even tried to blend herself in the shadows, like a spy. It made her sad that she has to be this way but somehow, she was enjoying the feeling of solitude. In the distance, she could hear the music begin again as another round of dancing starts.
"Kenshin, enough drinking sake!" a feminine voice said that made Misao looked behind her and quickly hid. Her eyes travelled to the source of sounds… not far from three feet, a couple sat on the ground. The red-haired man was leaning against the stone wall while the woman grabbed the cup from him.
It was Kamiya Kaoru, she recognised. She heard a lot about her and knew that Kaoru a year older than Misao. She was lovely in her indigo kimono and pink obi.
"Oro… just let me drink one… Just one…" he pleaded.
"But you already drink more than twice so enough!" Kaoru exclaimed. "You should dance with another girl and I should save Aoshi!" A giggle escaping her lips, "He's already lost in the crowd of ladies and it made me feel so guilty." She continued.
"And you failed to think about that." Kenshin sighs and to his surprise, he saw a figure behind the bushes.
Misao has to run now. She never meant to eavesdrop. 'I shouldn't hide. It's not like Shishio and the whores were in this area, stupid, stupid, stupid.' she cursed herself repeatedly.
As she was about to run, the voice before called her, "Wait!"
Kenshin and Kaoru ran towards her.
"Are you lost?" Kenshin asked.
"Umm... I…" Misao's voice was shaking. She was in shock that she never had the chance to answer in full sentence.
"What's your name, dear?" Kaoru asked instead.
Misao repressed the urge to look away as she desperately thought of a name. "I'm Sukanami Akari. Just Akari." It was a fairly random name, the only one she could only think of. "I'm sorry, I never meant to eavesdrop on your conversation, excuse me... I need to go." She added.
"Wait!" Kaoru called as she held her right wrist, "Kenshin, why don't you entertain her so I can rescue your little brother out there?" she asked, indicating Misao.
Misao blushed. She did not attend the ball to dance with a prince. Somehow, she was disappointed that it was not Aoshi but who was she to refuse? She was sure that the red-haired guy only dance with Kaoru since the beginning of the ball. 'Am I that lucky today?' She asked herself.
"Well then, Akari-san, would you like to dance with me?" Kenshin asked with politeness, his hand reaching her and she could not help but smile at the Prince. Over her shoulder, she saw Kaoru nod as Kenshin led Misao toward the dance floor.
The dance area was full because of the many women who hovered around Aoshi. Kenshin smiled as he saw his fiancée grabbed the poor boy out of the group. Misao almost laughed at how the ice block seems to look like he was fine but she knew that deep inside, he was annoyed or maybe frustrated.
"I do not know you, Akari-san.", her alias made her look at Kenshin, "Are you from Kyoto or did you travel here?" he asked while they walked together.
"Yes, I've travelled here." She lied.
"Ah, that is why…"
"Huh? Why what?" she asked, perplexed.
"…why I never saw you before." He laughed as he tried to turn Misao. The music making him faster causing her to be out of breath.
As they turned, Misao spotted a face she knew among the many other faces that passed by. As their eyes locked for a moment… she was sure that her heart would stop. Yumi glared intensely at her. She was thinking their servant or just a look alike Kenshin was dancing with...
"Akari, what's the matter?" The red-haired prince asked, noticing her mood.
"Nothing, really… I'm already tired." She lied as she tried to move away from him.
"Are you well?" Kenshin asked again, doubtful yet a concern glint in his violet eyes.
"Yes, I just need to get away from the crowd." With a quick curtsy she turned and dodge between the many people, leaving a confused prince behind her.
"Akari, eh?" His voice sounded unsure as his eyes followed the figure of the lady disappeared from the crowd.
-;-
Aoshi became grateful to the Gods that made him stand at least a head and a shoulder above the average women. Like a babbling patch of flowers whose perfume was rising like a cloud around him, Aoshi stood in the middle of the unknown number of ladies. Their kimonos were an overly bright mix in his eyes like someone had spilled a pallet of paint in the lawn. However, since he was a tall man, he spent most of the time looking over their many-flowered heads.
When the ball began he had been bombarded by the never-ending line of women who wished to introduce themselves to him. They chatted at him in an effort to spark his interest. Many of them were asking so many questions that he usually answer 'Aa' in attempts to make their mouths zip.
To his utmost relief, it was Kaoru that saved him. She held his arm and offered him to dance with a bright smile and wink making several women glared at her.
As they danced, he was thankful for Kaoru's actions but then he was immediately irritated at her since this whole event was her idea after all.
"I'm sorry; I failed to think about the ladies." Kaoru apologised.
"Aa…"
"You do not say much, do you?"
"When there is something necessary to say, I speak." He retorted, annoyed at the comment.
"I see." Her voice heavy with mock seriousness.
"Where is Himura?" Aoshi asked, wondering.
"Dancing with a lady." She shrugged and looked around for a moment. "There he is with the lady in blue."
Looking in the direction she indicated, Aoshi saw a dark hair in a bun with wild flowers on her hair. Her simplicity has an extreme difference from the other women who looks very same with exaggerated make-up and hair. Her kimono was simple too. The colour was a plain blue similar to his eyes but a number of petal patterns were printed on the fabric.
When Kenshin turned her, a pair of indigo eyes and a lovely pale face flashed at him. For a moment, he wondered if the woman in his brother arms was the servant girl he met in the forest. 'It was impossible', he thought.
He was so distracted that he nearly fall from the missed step.
"Are you well?" Kaoru asked as they stopped dancing.
"Yes but I…" His mind was loss at words.
'Misao?' His mind suggested. "I apologised Kaoru-san for I must leave you here." He said as he took a quick glanced on the crowd noticing that Kenshin and the girl was gone.
"Alright then." Kaoru answered, surprised at what bothers him.
Aoshi leaves Kaoru in a hurry. He walked faster, ignoring the smiles of unknown women in front of him. He was certain that he had seen her and now she has disappeared. The music came to an end and the dancers dispersed which had the unfortunate effect of revealing him to the many women who wished to dance. He glared at the crowd, but no girl like the one Kenshin was dancing with could be seen.
He gave up looking. Turning to the first lady at hand, he began at another long hour of dancing. Several women were polite, some are completely unable to stop being seductive while others seemed inclined to try a proposal of marriage out of him that night.
'How annoying…' he thought.
"Am I right?" a feminine voice asked and it belongs to the lady he was now dancing with. Aoshi does not know what she was asking since he never pay attention at her.
"Aa" he replied, clueless. He wished that this night would be over.
"You're a cold person, aren't you? Want me, Kamatari to warm you up?" the lady giggled in a flirtatious way.
The music stopped and he gave the lady a bow. "Thank you for the dance." He said coldly.
There I was again tonight
Forcing laughter, faking smiles
Same old tired lonely place
"You're welcome Aoshi-sama! I look forward to the next ball, look for me…" She curtsied and leaned in close to him, her lips was an inch away from his ears, "…as I will look for you." She whispered seductively and turned to leave.
Walls of insincerity,
Shifting eyes and vacancy
Vanished when I saw your face
Aoshi shook his head. Enough was enough; he was already tired with this madness! His mind made up to seek the refuge shadows of the garden when he saw her again.
All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you
He ran as fast as he could as he saw her dodge between people clearly intent on leaving. Her face looks tired but still beneath the makeup she wore, he was unsure that it was the girl in the meadow or her twin.
As he caught her, he held her right wrist tightly, wishing for her to stop…
She turned around…
Your eyes whispered, "Have we met?"
Across the room your silhouette
Starts to make its way to me
Misao's heart skipped a beat. Aoshi had found her; his face pale with a confusion in his eyes. 'He recognised me!' she thought in panic.
The playful conversation starts
Counter all your quick remarks
Like passing notes in secrecy
"Would you like to dance with me?" He offered his hand, his voice was like a melody in his ears and she was charmed.
Misao could not find her voice but nodded against her will.
And it was enchanting to meet you
He took her hand and led her to the dance floor as the music began to play.
All I can say is I was enchanted to meet you
In his arms, she truly feared that she would pass out and could not help but gulp. "You have no reason to fear me." He commented making her look at him sharply.
This night is sparkling, don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew
I was enchanted to meet you
As they danced, his blue eyes bored at hers, "Most women would be flirting with me by now." He said, a hint of disgust in his voice.
"Perhaps I am different from those women." Misao giggled.
"What's your name?" he asked, it was the first time he asked a woman's name tonight.
The lingering question kept me up
2 AM, who do you love?
I wonder 'til I'm wide awake
"You do not know?" Misao was shocked by the question. 'He don't recognised me after all!'
"I apologised but I don't." he answered. He met too many people tonight to remember names.
She almost laughed, liar…
"Oh, it must be very difficult for you this evening then, with so many people around." She said and continued to speak about different things as they continued to dance.
And now I'm pacing back and forth
Wishing you were at my door
I'd open up and you would say, "Hey, It was enchanting to meet you,
"Aa." he answered. She feared that she annoyed him by telling some sort of thing.
"May I ask something?" Misao smiled. "If you didn't know me, why did you ask me to dance?"
He looked at her for several moments, several emotions danced in his eyes as he tried to decipher himself why he had.
All I know is I was enchanted to meet you
"You stood out above the other women…" he said, unaware that his thoughts were already said.
This night is sparkling, don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew
This night is flawless, don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew
I was enchanted to meet you
Misao's heart was now beating fast as his eyes bored into her while his hand was trying to reach her face. She looked at the floor instead, too ashamed to look back at him. Again, he remained silent this time and slowly, his hand found her face and forced her to look back at him. She looked back at him as the song slowed down and Aoshi noticed her lack of jewellery, the simplicity of her hair, all of these remind her of someone else… the servant girl in the meadow.
"I thought you might be someone else…" he added as the song ended and their dance stopped. He bowed.
A faint blush was rising to her cheeks.
This is me praying that
This was the very first page
Not where the story line ends
"It was a great dance, Aoshi-sama.", she said turning to leave.
"You haven't told me your name yet." He commented, making her eyes wide.
"Akari." Misao answered as she ran away from him
My thoughts will echo your name
Until I see you again
These are the words I held back
"Take care." he whispered.
As I was leaving too soon
I was enchanted to meet you
Misao smiled, the blush on her cheeks would not fade away.
Please don't be in love with someone else
Please don't have somebody waiting on you
Please don't be in love with someone else
Please don't have somebody waiting on you
She looked one last time at him before leaving the garden - his eyes were still into hers, she could not fathom the emotions he was hiding through the frozen blue orbs of his eyes. Taking a deep breath, she ran faster as the prince look away from her.
This night is sparkling, don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew
This night is flawless, don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew
I was enchanted to meet you
Please don't be in love with someone else
Please don't have somebody waiting on you
'Aoshi-sama, if you only knew how much I'm happy tonight…' Misao whispered to herself.
End of Chapter