Chapter Three
Dinner
Callisto felt ridiculous. She actually missed the cumbersome chemise, kirtle and gown that royalty wore back home. She lost count on the amount of layers Aya had dressed her in. However, the clothing was very beautiful and had to be expensive. The awkwardness of the clothes didn't help that she was still embarrassed. She had asked Aya again whom the demon that left her room was but she hadn't seen anyone.
Callisto stretched her arms out in from of her but the sleeves were much longer than her arms. She looked down at her feet only to find they were lost in long layers of fabric.
"Am I supposed to walk in this?" she asked wearily as Aya finished pinning up the last of Callisto's long hair.
"Women here spend most of their childhood learning how to move gracefully in garb such as this. No one will judge you if you move a bit… slowly tonight," Aya said politely.
"I won't have to dress like this every night for dinner, will I?"
"This is for special occasions," Aya spoke softly.
"I don't get it. What is so special about my father and me visiting?" Callisto asked the question out loud but not really expecting a reply.
"Inutaisho has been friends with your father for over a century. It is a honor to have you in his house." Callisto sighed at the generic answer but the gesture went unnoticed. Aya artistically slid the last hairpin into place and stood back to admire her handy work. "You're truly a vision Lady Callisto."
"Thank you," Callisto said shortly having heard the same thing from every servant she'd ever had. It was their job to flatter royalty. Callisto learned at a young age not to take it whole heartily. Her father was very modest and imposed the same morals on his daughter. Nobody likes someone who thinks too highly of themselves, Callisto heard her father's voice ring in her mind. Aya brought Callisto a pair of flat wood sandals.
"Do you think anyone would mind if I skipped the sandals and wore my slippers?" she asked cautiously eyeing up the painful looking footwear.
"The platforms give you a little more height to help with walking… but seeing as you've never worn them before I think it's best we skip them," Aya said with an amused smile.
"I supposed I'd better start walking. Maybe I'll make it there by dessert. "
Callisto walked very carefully following directions through the halls from Aya who followed her. She met her father halfway.
"I was just coming to escort you," he said as he offered her his arm. Callisto took his arm with a smile and could feel that she instantly slowed her father down. "I see why you started with out me!" he chuckled.
"I'm afraid you could mistake me for clumsy tonight!" Callisto wailed.
"You look very authentic though," her father teased.
"As do you," Callisto noticed as he wore tradition Japanese dress as well.
The presence of Inutaisho could be felt before they even entered the dining room. He greeted them with the same cheer as he did in the morning. They took their seats on pillows at a table that couldn't have been more than a foot off the ground. Inutaisho sat at the head and her father sat to his right. Callisto sat in the spot next to him. The thirty-man table was full of demons except the spot next to her was empty.
"Before we begin dinner, I must apologize," Inutaisho stood and addressed the table. "My son, Sesshomaru will not be joining us for dinner tonight. He has insisted on setting off tonight at the mention of a disturbance at the southern boarder. I understand it to be a small nuisance but he wanted to take matters into his own hands to make sure the problem doesn't get greater."
"Your son sounds just like you before you'd even inherited your land," Christophe chuckled at Inutaisho.
"You could say that, but I think he is more like his mother," Inutaisho said as he took his seat looking to his left where a strikingly beautiful woman sat. Callisto was then thrown into a slew of introductions around the table followed by course after course of delicious food. Every now and then, she would glance at the empty seat next to her wondering what Sesshomaru was like. She caught her mind contemplating why his seat was placed next to her and not his mother. With a sigh, Callisto looked up to see Inutaisho's wife, Kimiko looking at her with a playful smile.
"How do you manage to eat so much but stay so thin?" Callisto joked to make the stare seem less awkward. Callisto almost thought she heard the lady of the house giggle. A little taken aback, Callisto busied herself in the food. Inutaisho turned his attention to Callisto.
"I know Sesshomaru was eager to meet you. I trust you are not displeased by his absence tonight." Callisto looked up stupidly from her dish unsure if he was talking to her. She noticed Lady Kimiko crease her brow and looked from Callisto to Christophe.
"Oh…" she replied for lack of anything better to say but the table kept their eyes on her waiting for the answer to Inutaisho's question. "Um… no not at all. There's plenty of time to meet?" Her father shifted nervously next to her. She looked up at him and if he could sweat he'd be swimming by the looks of it. What was going on?
"Oh my," Callisto looked to Lady Kimiko who's voice was high pitched and mischievous. "Do you have any idea why you are here child?" It was hard to miss her amusement. Callisto became overly aware that she was missing a vital piece of information.
"I'm sorry. I don't understand," Callisto said not bothering to look to her father anymore.
"I think we should end dinner early and go for a stroll in the garden," Inutaisho said calmly giving his wife a stern look. "Christophe?"
Her father looked to him gratefully.
"Would you please excuse your daughter and me?"
***
Author's Note: Thank you CRdragonPyro for the reviews!
