5. Stop
Callista woke up again to hear vomiting. As her eyes blinked open with alert, she realized the sound of it was coming from the bathroom, the door open. She couldn't see Zesha in there, but she had a feeling that whatever illness had occupied his body was doing a worse toll to him than anyone else had assumed beforehand.
As soon as she spotted her captor walking out of the bathroom (fully dressed this time in his armor, of course), wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, that was when she spoke up.
"Are you alright?"
He looked surprised, yet again, at her concerned tone, but he tried to keep his face stoic as he answered.
"I am fine, human." He muttered in response, in a tone that made Callista think otherwise.
"You're still sick, aren't you-"
He shook his head. "I cannot let this mere trifle keep me from my duty to Lord Zangurak. It is nothing….I..." He let out a soft cough, before finishing. "I will be fine."
She still wasn't convinced. Despite this, though, she stayed silent for a moment, watching as he opened up a nearby closet, glancing at her once before letting out a breath as he glanced at the items of clothing contained in his closet.
"Is there anything wrong?"
Zesha looked a bit hesitant, perhaps even embarrassed, before he turned to face her. "Well...apparently Lord Zangurak wishes to have you on display tonight at a ball." He responded, wincing slightly. "And, well, a ball would therefore require some sort of formal….dress…"
That was when Callista got the idea. "Oh. You mean-"
"Yes." He responded, cutting her off as he looked away from her, averting her gaze. "You will be, ahem, measured soon. I would suggest that you just do what they ask, and even if you tried to escape, I'm sure it wouldn't be exactly good for one to be running about unclothed."
"Oh…"
And then that was when the tailors entered the room.
It was awkward, being measured for the ball. Having to strip down in front of enemy tailors was a bit embarrassing, with all of them fussing over every single inch of her body. What was even more embarrassing was that Zesha still had to keep watch over her, so she was grateful when he covered his own face with both hands to avoid seeing her unclothed state.
At the end of the entire time (which was the span of about two hours or so), the tailors had produced the most stunning dress that they had ever seen. It was a red, off-the-shouder dress, a long, perfectly flowing skirt that reached Callista's ankles, with black lace at the hem of the dress and as a sash at the waistline. The dress was so well-fitted that there was absolutely no need for a corset to be worn underneath it, something that Callista was a bit grateful for. There were black, sparkling flats to be worn with the dress, as well as a black rose hairclip to match.
Zesha had been absolutely speechless-probably because Callista doubted that he had ever been present for someone to have custom clothing made for them, let alone a female human.
"Doesn't it look splendid on her, Master Zesha?" One of the tailors asked, the Gurak's eyes widening in the hope for approval.
He let out a breath. "Yes. It's perfectly presentable for tonight. That will do."
The tailor smiled a little at this. "Will you be wearing matching clothing, Master Zesha?"
He glared at the tailor. "Shut up before I consider throwing you through a wall. Understood?"
The tailor bit her lower lip, awkwardly going silent at once.
The afternoon had been very uneventful after that, leaving Callista to do nothing but think while Zesha went to go through some more training with Zepha. And then, the evening arrived...and she was dressed in the red dress and brought to the Ballroom by Zesha, where Zangurak and the Gurak nobles were eagerly awaiting her presence.
She glanced at her Gurak captor/escort. He was wearing the same attire as the first time he'd encountered her at Lazulis Castle, including the mask. She noticed all too well that they matched, colour-wise, at least, and that Zesha was completely avoiding her gaze as he spoke.
"Just...don't make a fuss, and you'll survive this." He muttered quietly. "I assume that you have been to such balls before, so you would know well of what to do."
Yes, Callista thought, I know. Keep silent and let myself be displayed like a prized pet, do whatever people tell me to do...
She took a deep breath, before the two entered the Ballroom.
The layout of the entire Ballroom was extremely similar to what it looked like back at Lazulis Castle-tiled flooring, high ceiling, a staircase at the entrance that split into two ways going down... It made the Countess-to-be feel the same as she felt back at Lazulis during the engagement party; displayed like an object, to be shown off as if she was a polite, submissive woman who always obeyed her uncle, Count Arganan.
Instead of applause, though, the Gurak nobles gossiped with one another or snickered as she was led down the stairway, towards Lord Zangurak. She saw the huge, hulking form, saw the aura of red that sparked from his arm, glowing with the power of the Outsider...and immediately she nearly froze, completely intimidated. This man wasn't just malicious like Zepha, or stubborn like Zesha. No, this man was truly one to be feared already. If someone dared to anger him, she didn't want to think of how terrible the consequences could be.
"So..." Zangurak's deep voice rumbled, as if the very earth around them was about to shake. "This is Lady Callista Arganan..." He chuckled a bit, before turning towards Zesha. "Zesha, the guests are in need of entertainment." He seemed to smirk. "Perhaps a dance with Lady Callista is in order...?"
Callista's eyes widened, turning towards Zesha, who looked just as surprised as her.
"Lord Zangurak, do you truly mean-"
"Go on, Zesha." Zangurak merely responded, a wry grin on his face. "I'm sure you would like some entertainment yourself in some way. Isn't that so, Zesha?"
Zesha glanced at Callista, before he slowly led her away from Zangurak, to a clearer space. Standing in front of her, he gripped her waist carefully with one hand, while he awkwardly put his other hand on her shoulder. Leaning close to her, he whispered something-a warning-into her ear, just as the music started to play.
"Just keep up with me."
"Wha-"
She didn't get to finish her sentence.
The dancing was something she wasn't used to, something that she wasn't prepared for. The dainty movements one did during, say, a waltz or something was nothing like how they danced here at the Gurak Castle, that was for sure.
Unlike others that she had danced with, other suitors, Zesha was...violent. No, he didn't hit her or anything, but his movements were rigid, yet roaring with such a ferocity that Callista doubted anyone else could match. And his eyes-his eyes never once stopped observing her as she struggled to keep up with him. His gaze never wavered-he just simply helped her through the movements, as if it was the simplest thing to do in the world. This was so unlike other suitors that danced with her (Jirall included). They would have just let her take the fall instead.
As soon as the music came to a halt, that was when she nearly stumbled, tripping backwards over her own feet. She closed her eyes, expecting to hit the ground.
Instead, a strong arm wrapped around her waist while a hand grabbed the back of her head gently, but with a firm grip. Her eyes opened to see Zesha's eyes staring right into her own, the facial expression on his face a mixture of discomfort, frustration, and possibly a hint of concern. As he helped her to stand upright, the two turned to see Zangurak, who now had his attention towards Zepha. The blue-aura right-hand man of Zangurak was holding a whip in both hands, watching hungrily as a certain white knight was tied to a nearby column by his wrists, stripped of his armor.
Callista realized immediately who it was.
"Therius..."
Therius, with visible scratches and cuts all over his upper half, weakly turned his head. His emerald eyes, once full of a passion to protect his people, had grown dull, but Callista swore that there was a spark in his eyes as he noticed her presence.
"Lady Calli-"
Zepha only grinned, casually holding the whip in one hand as he glanced at Zesha, before he pulled back his arm and pushed forwards.
Snap.
Some of the Gurak nobles began to laugh as Therius' face slowly contorted into pain, the never-ending lashings bringing him more and more pain. Zesha grabbed onto Callista's wrist tightly as she grew pale from seeing the atrocious act in front of her.
"Don't make a fuss." He hissed into her ear, reminding her of the easily possible consequences that could follow if she did.
She chose, at that very moment, to ignore it. Just as Zepha was about to lash the white knight for what seemed like the thirty-ninth time.
"Stop it!"
And with that, she wrung her wrist free from Zesha's grip and summoned a magic attack, launching it across the ballroom and sending Zepha painfully sprawling to the ground. There was silence for a moment, as everyone turned to face her.
The next thing she realized, Zesha had her pinned to the wall, holding her wrists above her head with one hand while the other hand held one of his swords to her throat.
"I told you," He growled, his hot breath "Not to make a fuss, you filthy human. And you...you..." A complete snarl was on his face as he spat out the words. "You dare to hurt my brother! Do you know what you have-"
"Zesha, enough."
Zesha turned towards Zangurak, eyes full of disbelief. "Lord Zangurak..."
Zangurak's eyes glowered with disappointment. "Do what you wish with the Arganan girl, but not here, Zesha. Is that understood?"
Zesha didn't a say a word-all he did was nod in agreement, bowing a little.
"Good. You may go, Zesha."
The next thing Callista knew was that she was pushed against a wall, her body sliding to the ground beneath her.
Zesha let out a growl, looking down at her with absolute dismay.
"Get up." He snarled, discarding his swords onto the nearby desk. Callista tried to get to her feet quickly, but as soon as she was fully standing, he backhanded her in the face, causing her to fall again. He didn't dare bother helping her up-instead, he kept her pinned to the ground, his hands grabbing both her wrists tightly stuck to the ground as he got on both knees to lean close and snap at her face.
Callista didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to do. Trying to defend herself would get her hurt-even more hurt that she began to expect now. She was completely helpless to her captor, her struggle against him in complete vain.
"You have disgraced me." He hissed, making complete eye contact with her. "You have hurt my brother. You, human, will pay for-"
He stopped speaking as his eyes widened in shock, his grip going slack on her as he suddenly collapsed. Callista let out a gasp as he landed on top of her, hearing him cough and hack, struggling to breathe. She didn't know why this was happening at first, but then she remembered.
Zesha is still sick.
Her eyes widened at this realization, and with all her might she pushed him off her, the Gurak captor landing on his back as he still struggled to breathe. His body convulsed for a moment.
She couldn't let him suffer like this-even if he was her enemy, even if he had just tried to beat her to pieces. That was just...wrong.
Without saying a word, she summoned her magic, slowly, shakily, and directed it towards her captor. Instantly afterwards, light trailed from her hands and poured all over the Gurak captor, bathing him in light. Zesha was letting out what appeared to be quiet sobs, now, but at least he wasn't convulsing anymore, nor struggling to breathe as he had been before.
When he finally starting breathing normally again, she stopped using her magic. Slowly, cautiously, she pulled herself into a sitting position as he kept breathing, his face turned away from her. And then, he spoke.
"...I forgot."
"Forgot?" She blurted it out before she could stop herself. "Forgot what?"
"..." He didn't say a thing for a moment, still breathing as he kept his face hidden from her. "I forgot that...the House of Arganan would contain such vast capabilities for a higher level of magic."
She didn't know what to say in response. She didn't know whether it was safe to move him, to try to ask if he was alright, but for now he at least seemed healthy enough so that he wouldn't die on her. Glancing at the bed, she pulled the blanket off the bed and slowly covered him with it up to the shoulders. He turned towards her, letting out a breath of surprise, but he didn't say a word for a moment. It was hard to see in the darkness of the room what his expression was made up of-whether it was sadness or surprise, or gratitutde for what she had done for him.
"Why?" He finally asked.
Why? Callista wondered what else he could have said. I nearly killed you.
"Because..." She didn't know what to say. "It's not right for me to just stand there and watch you die."
He didn't say a word. Neither did she.
Both were silent for the rest of the night.