Re: Oil on Water by Dinky
Posted: January 25th, 2009, 1:46 am
Well, Dinky's back with chapter 5, and for all her apologies, and writers block, I think it's pretty good. Hitomi made it through the banquet, but can she survive on Gaea? Will she and Van find any private moments? Or will they completely scandalize the court? And what of Poor Annie? Will Allan finally get his revenge? Is Annie in for a miserable night, or can the spunky little lady turn the tables on the gallant knight. Read on and enjoy, Gaea may never be the same again. Chapter 5
You Really Shook Me!
AN: I'm aliiiiiiiiiivvvvveee! Sort of. This chapter doesn't do a very good job of proving it, though. Sorry. Warning: There isn't a whole lot of VxH in this chapter, and I'm terribly sorry about that. I did warn you about that possibility after last chapter... Anyway, I'm trying really hard, honestly I am, but I'm so blocked up that my writer's block has turned into writer's constipation! So, this isn't great- but I wanted to post something. I promise more VxH next chapter. Really.
Working double time
On the seduction line
She was one of a kind, she's just mine all mine
Wanted no applause
Just another course
Made a meal out of me and came back for more
Had to cool me down
To take another round
Now I'm back in the ring to take another swing...
(You Shook Me All Night Long: AC/DC)
Hitomi sat on the edge of the massive bed, fear and excitement making her shiver delicately. Moonlight poured across the floor, illuminating the room in a soft, dim glow. The cool breeze wafting through the open window caressed her skin through the silky fabric of her very see-through nightgown.
This was it, the night she'd been waiting all her life for. Her wedding night. Soon, she would feel Van's touch, feel his fingers (and more!) exploring every inch of her. She trembled again in anticipation.
Suddenly, he was there, standing in front of her in all his lean, beautiful glory. His tanned skin glowed in the moonlight, and she had to crane her neck to see up into the shadows masking his face. She sighed in utter contentment when he reached out a hand to trace her face, grazing her lips with the pad of his thumb.
Slowly, seductively, he pushed her down into the pillowy softness of the bed. His lips drew a trail of fire from her earlobe to her collarbone, and she shivered in delight as his warm breath tickled her sensitive skin. Calloused fingers ghosted up and down her sides, along her legs, caressed her face, giving her goosebumps but never nearing the places she most needed touched. She squirmed impatiently under him, murmuring in protest as she tried to manuver her body under his questing fingers.
What was the matter with him?
Suddenly, a group of old men, their faces hidden in shadow, ringed the bed. Hitomi shrieked in shock as she simultaneously tried to shove Van off of her and clutched him tighter as a shield. Van didn't seem to notice they were there at all, his mouth and fingers never slowing even when she swatted at him.
“...and may you be fruitful and multiply. May you bless this land with the children created from your love...” the old men droned in unison.
“What the hell is this? What's going on?” Hitomi demanded as she struggled harder to push Van away from her. Merle suddenly appeared at the side of the bed, looking down her nose disapprovingly.
“It's the Fertility Blessing. It's tradition for the elders to witness the Royal Wedding Night, to make sure you're a virgin,” she said firmly. “It'll be over soon. Just deal with it!”
“NO!” Hitomi shrieked wildly as the men's voices droned louder. “No, no, no, no, NO!”
Her legs tangled up in the long skirt of her sheer nightgown as she fought harder to get out from underneath Van. She pushed and shoved frantically, screaming the entire time.
Whump.
“Ouch, what the hell?...” Hitomi muttered. She blinked up at the dark ceiling of her bedroom; her legs still twisted up in her blankets on the bed while her head and shoulders rested on the hard wooden floor.
“Oh, god. It was just a dream,” she exclaimed in a breathy, relieved whisper. Of course it had been only a dream. A nightmare! Van would never do something like that to her.
Would he?
Hitomi climbed back onto the bed, thumping her pillows viciously. There was no way Van would allow something like that. She was being stupid for even remotely questioning it. Merle, though... she could see Merle being all for it, if it was a Fanelian tradition.
Hitomi shuddered and wrapped her blankets tightly around herself, staring out the windows at the double moons hanging low in the sky. Dear lord, what had she gotten herself into? Was Van as worried about everything as she was?
On the other side of the castle, Van snored blissfully, lost in dreams of saunas and itsy bitsy green bikinis.
Annie sat, her hair curled, coiled, pinned, and poofed to perfection, waiting patiently for Round Two to start. She wasn't really thinking about what she would say or do, or making any kinds of plans. Things seemed to get a little crazier if she just acted spontaneously, anyway.
But those shoes! Those damn, pinchy, lacy shoes! She was going to break an ankle if she had to wobble around in those all night- or at least get a bad case of toe cramps. No, those suckers had to go.
Annie glanced around casually, taking a quick inventory of the maids still in the room with her. Not a single one of them was paying any real attention to her. It was like she was an enormous, living doll to be dressed up and moved around how they pleased and forgotten in between. At the moment, that was just fine with her.
Slowly, so as not to attract any attention, she lifted her massive skirt and slid her shoes off of her pinched feet. Whistling an innocent tune under her breath, she quickly kicked them under the heavily ruffled love seat she was perched uncomfortably on. Flexing her mercifully bare toes against the plush carpet, she let her heavy skirts drop with a hugely satisfied grin. Problem numero uno solved!
Somewhere in the depths of the palace, a bell tolled with a loud, musical chime. The maids stopped their twittering conversations and approached Annie respectfully.
“The dinner bell, milady,” one murmured gently, and Annie bounced to her feet. Her ribs creaked under her corset, and she grimaced.
“Oops. Forgot I can't move around in this thing,” she muttered darkly to herself. Checking her bag for the fifteenth time to make sure her inhaler was safely tucked inside, she followed the maids as they glided gracefully out of the door. Not that the inhaler would do her a whole lot of good if she had an asthma attack anyway, since she couldn't take a deep enough breath to get the meds into her lungs. She scowled darkly for a moment. It would serve Allen (and Eries) right if she had an attack at the dinner table tonight.
The maids stopped her outside of a massive double door and whispered to her to wait until she was announced. Beyond the doors, Annie could hear muffled laughter and the clink of glasses. She tilted her head to the side and smirked mischievously to herself. If she was going to crash and burn, it may as well be with a decent audience.
“Announcing Lady Annie of the Mystic Moon,” a deep voice boomed, and the room fell silent as the doors swung open. Annie took a deep breath, lifted her small chin, and pasted her brightest smile on her face.
Round Two: GO!
Allen turned towards the doors as they opened, one hand protectively on Celena's delicate shoulder. He bit his lips to keep them from smirking at her new title: “Lady Annie”. Ha! Only good manners kept him from snorting with derision.
Celena strained to see past the fat, overly dressed courtiers to catch her first glimpse of the Mystic Moon woman who'd given her the treasured photograph album. Allen smiled softly at her childlike excitement, but he was hard pressed not to stand on his toes and crane his neck to get a look, too. He could hardly contain his chuckles just imagining Annie's reaction to Austurian fashion. And she laughed at his uniform! It was positively understated compared to the courtier's fashions!
The crowd shifted, and he caught sight of her in all her lacy, poofy, pink magnificence. She was dressed from head to toe in all the finest Austuria had to offer- namely lace, and lots of it. Those sleeves were enormous! And her skirt! Allen thought the entire crew of the crusade might fit comfortably under that skirt. Not that any of them had any business getting under her skirt...
Her glossy, mahogany hair was coiled and pinned into beautifully artistic curls and swoops, leaving the slender curve of her neck and shoulders bare to show off her creamy skin. And more skin... why the hell had Eries and Millerna dressed her in something that showed off that much cleavage? Okay, so it wasn't really any more than what most of the women in the room were showing, but still! Allen could see the men in the room jostling to get a better eyeful, and his blood boiled.
Across the room, Annie caught his eye, and the huge, shit-eating grin on her face killed any remaining urge to chuckle. Good gods, she looked like she was actually enjoying this! It wasn't fair! She was supposed to be uncomfortable, maybe even a little angry, but definitely not happy! Ugh! She just didn't make any sense to him.
“She's beautiful,” Celena sighed, and Allen was forced to agree, albeit very reluctantly. His plan was completely backfiring!
Eries moved swiftly to Annie's side, propelling her through the crowd as she introduced her to everyone of importance. Allen didn't know whether to laugh or groan at the astonished looks on the courtier's faces when she grabbed each of their hands and gave them a hearty shake instead of curtsying. He watched as she smiled and laughed, batting her eyelashes just so and throwing him the occasional glance as if to say, “see? I can behave myself!”.
She was behaving herself a little too well, perhaps. Already a few of the more vicious ladies were throwing venomous glances her way after she'd charmed more than half of the men in the room in under five minuets. Really, it was embarrassing how even the elderly gentlemen were falling over themselves to get a chance to meet her. Pompous old coots. What on earth was Annie saying to them that had Princess Eries about to go into conniptions?
Eries caught sight of Allen and hustled Annie forward abruptly. “Ah, Sir Allen. It's an honor to have you here tonight.”
“The pleasure is mine. Thank you for the invitation,” he replied formally, giving his perfect bow. Celena bobbed a curtsy at the princess, but her eyes were glued to Annie's grinning face. Before any proper introductions could be made, Annie leaned forward and grabbed her hand.
“You must be Celena. I'm Annie,” she exclaimed cheerfully, her eyes twinkling with delight. “Your brother stayed with me on Earth. I'm so glad I actually got to meet you!”
“You wanted to meet me?” Celena gasped in awe, and Annie beamed at her.
“Heck, yeah! I'd hug you, but I think we'd just bounce off of each other like two giant beach balls in these get-ups!” she laughed. Celena blinked at her, an astonished smile hitching up the corners of her mouth.
Allen couldn't stop the tiny smirk on his face. “How are you enjoying Austurian fashions, Lady Annie?”
“Oh, they're fabulous, Sir Allen,” she returned with the same sugary sweetness coating her voice as his. “I've always wanted to try on a dress like this.”
“I think your dress is beautiful,” Celena said shyly, still staring hesitantly at the beaming Annie.
“Isn't it wild? I feel like a bell-” she swung her hips so the skirt mimicked the movement of a hand bell as Eries and Allen stared at her in shock- “And I'm not sure, but I think I might be missing half of my top. My aunts would never let me out of the house with this much chest showing!”
Eries turned white, completely speechless, and Allen groaned inaudibly. Didn't Annie realize that half the room was listening surreptitiously to her every word? Specifically, the male half of the room? Allen gave her a significant glare and had to stifle another groan. Oh, she knew alright, if that mischievous twinkle in her eye was anything to go by. She was playing a dirty game that he couldn't hope to win, unless he somehow managed to shut her up. Which, quite frankly, was less likely than Eries suddenly professing her undying love for the Mole Man.
Annie watched Allen unsuccessfully trying to hide his astonished horror, her shark grin growing larger by the second as she curled her bare toes against the cold stone floor. Oh, this was way too easy. They put her into this ridiculous outfit. It was only fair that she found a way to use it to her advantage.
The only problem was that horrific corset. She was having a tough time breathing, let alone talking in a normal voice. Her hands itched to pull out her inhaler, even though she knew it wouldn't really do any good. And the way Allen kept eying her overflowing bodice like he couldn't help himself wasn't helping, either. It made her breathing hitch funnily, and that actually hurt like hell in the torture device hidden under her dress.
“Princess Millerna Sara Aston Fassa,” announced the guard, and the doors swung open to reveal the glorious beauty of the princess.
Millerna paused dramatically in the doorway, standing still just long enough to make the perfect impression. Her long, golden curls were piled on top of her head like a magnificent crown, and the curve of her neck was as graceful as a swan's. Her powder blue dress was just as fancy as Annie's, dripping with lace and glittering with jewels. She glided across the room gracefully, her enormous skirt giving the impression that she was floating rather than walking. All in all, she was the most beautiful person anyone had ever seen.
“Wow. Now there's a woman who can make an entrance,” Annie murmured appreciatively. Millerna may have been dressed in the same ridiculously ostentatious style as she was, but the princess actually had the height and figure to pull it off.
Spotting their little group, Millerna glided through the small crowd toward them. She held out her hand to Allen, and he took it lightly, bowing to graze her knuckles with his lips with the barest of touches.
“You look lovely, as usual, Princess,” he murmured and was suddenly very conscious of Annie giving a tiny snort of amusement. He straightened abruptly, his back ramrod stiff as he gave her a disapproving glance. At least, he meant it to be disapproving. His eyes wandered accidentally below her shoulders to her impressive, ahem, display, and the disapproval vanished like haze under a hot sun. Damn it!
“Isn't this exciting? When Father's advisers heard about Annie, they insisted on all of this-” she waved a perfectly manicured hand vaguely at the assembled courtiers. “I'm so glad we chose that dress for you, Annie. Doesn't she look perfect, Allen?”
Once more, his eyes strayed momentarily to Annie's plunging neckline before he could stop himself. Pursing his lips, he trained his gaze to a point on the far wall and gave a very noncommittal “hm”.
“I think so,” Celena murmured bashfully, and Annie leaned over to link their arms together.
“Why, thank you, Celena. I feel like I'm just a spiky crown and a magic wand away from Glenda in Oz,” she laughed, shooting a glance at the silent Eries. “So, are you a good witch, or a bad witch?”
“I beg your pardon?” Eries gasped, as Celena, Millerna, and Allen glanced at each other in confusion.
“That's Glenda's famous line from the movie, after Dorothy squishes the Wicked Witch under her house,” Annie explained, merely succeeding in confusing them further. Another bell chimed, and the crowd of courtiers stopped milling around and headed expectantly through another set of double doors. Millerna slid her arm through Allen's familiarly and began moving toward the door. He, for his part, played the perfect, chivalrous gentleman as he escorted her to her seat.
Annie rolled her eyes and smirked a little behind his back, keeping her arms linked with his bashful sister as they followed, Eries on Celena's other side.
“So, did you like the present I sent for you? Or did Allen confiscate it?” she asked the pretty girl cheerily.
“Oh, no. I love it. Allen tells me stories about the Mystic Moon from the pictures almost every day!” Celena told her, a real smile lighting up her face. Annie looked at her in astonishment, stopping dead in her tracks.
“Celena! You're smiling! Allen said you didn't smile...” she trailed off abruptly, glancing sheepishly at Allen's back. Celena tilted her head with a confused look, her lips slipping down into a slight frown.
“That book makes her smile. Right, Celena?” Eries murmured gently. Celena gave an infinitesimal nod, and Annie grinned at her as they started walking toward the enormous table again.
“Well, good. You've got a pretty smile. You should do it more often,” she declared cheerfully. “I'll bet Allen doesn't tell you all of the stories, or at least, he probably leaves the best parts out. I'll have to tell you how things really happened.”
Unfortunately, Celena was seated next to her brother, and Annie was closer to the head of the table, directly across from Meiden Fassa and surrounded by two of the fattest, most pompous advisers Austuria had to offer. Allen would've chuckled at her unfortunate seating arrangement, but the way the men kept staring down her bodice made him crack his knuckles surreptitiously under the table in fury. Those damn, dirty perverts were old enough to be her father!
Everyone stood formally while King Aston entered the room and huffed his way regally to his chair at the head of the table. Annie had to bite her lips hard to keep from giggling. The tubby king was decked out in almost as many ruffles and bunches of lace as the ladies of the court, and the little hat with the enormous feather jutting out perched on his round head wasn't helping matters. His double chin wobbled as he gave the order to sit, and Annie couldn't help but think he looked like an elaborately dressed bowl of jello. She would never laugh at Allen's uniform again. At least, not really. She'd still have to give him hell about it whenever she got the chance.
Everyone sat down in a rustle of silk and expensive fabrics, and Annie was secretly a tiny bit disappointed that her skirt didn't come flying up to smack her in the face. It would've added a bit of fun to an otherwise tedious evening...
“How was that, Eries? I practiced,” she said to the shocked princess with an innocent smile.
“Practiced, my dear?” the courtier on her left asked, his eyes once more straying to her cleavage. Annie resisted the urge to squirm under his squicky gaze and smiled sweetly at him.
“Mm. I practiced sitting. The first time I tried, my skirt flew up over my head! It took two maids to get me out of it!”
If proper etiquette had allowed, Eries might have smacked her head on the table. As it was, she merely clenched her linen napkin in a white-knuckled grip and tried to change the subject.
“Lady Annie is King Van's bride's dearest friend,” she said smoothly. “She will be traveling to Fanelia with my sister and I at the end of the week.”
“Ah, yes. Lady Hitomi Kanzaki of the Mystic Moon. Lord Van is a lucky man,” Meiden Fassa murmured quietly, his eyes fastened on Annie with a calculating look. Annie stared back at him with a sweet smile and a cold glare in her wide, dark eyes. This was the man who'd supposedly 'bought' Hitomi from King Aston and nearly kidnapped her in the night. Thank god for Merle and Van, or who knew what this calculating merchant would have done with her.
“So, how exactly do you know Fanelia's future queen?” he queried, and Annie found herself wishing she had left those awful shoes on so she could 'accidentally' kick him under the table.
“We were college roommates,” she said tersely, but then was forced into a long explanation about what, exactly, a college was and why, in heaven's name, did ladies like Hitomi and herself need a higher education.
“And what is it that you are studying?” Meiden asked mockingly, his chin resting on his steepled fingers as he continued to assess her with that coldly calculating stare. Annie pursed her lips, wishing there was a way out of giving him any information.
“Music,” she finally told him, and his smile made her skin crawl.
“Ah. Then before you leave us, you will have to grace us with your talents,” he murmured, and she hoped he didn't notice her tiny shudder. That was definitely not going to happen, if she had any say in the matter.
“My dear, are you not hungry? You've hardly sampled your plate,” puffed the courtier sitting on her right. “Here, you must try this. It is an Austurian delicacy.”
Annie eyed the grey goop arranged artfully on thin slices of some kind of vegetable and shook her head.
“Oh, no thank you. I'm sure it's delicious, but there's only so much room under this corset, you know. Don't want to risk popping out of it!”
Eries turned as white as the tablecloth, and three seats down, Allen's mouth thinned into a tight line. Annie herself almost regretted her words as the courtier's eyes fastened on her chest with a greedy stare. Almost. What was dealing with a few lusty looks compared to making Eries and Allen squirm a little?
At the head of the table, King Aston finished his meal and stood, the signal for the courtiers to follow him into first room for after-dinner drinks and mingling. Allen caught Annie's arm and nonchalantly pulled her out of the crowd to a semi-private corner of the room.
“Annie, what in Jichia's name are you doing? Do you think at all before you open your mouth?” he hissed at her angrily, and she blinked innocently at him.
“What are you talking about? I was just making conversation. It's not my fault you Austurian men are perverts.”
“Please do not put me on the same level as those men you were sitting next to,” he snarled.
“Why not? You're looking, too,” Annie said in a loud, conspiratorial, whisper to him, smirking broadly. Inadvertently, his eyes shot down to her bodice, and he turned away quickly, ignoring her amused snort.
“What do you expect, when you're dressed like that?” he demanded accusingly, waving a hand in the general direction of her chest without actually daring to look at her again. Annie tilted her head, put her fists on her hips, and gave him a serious glare. Unfortunately, the twinkling mirth in her eyes gave her away.
“You know what I think? I think it was your idea to get me dressed up in this prom dress from hell in the first place, and now your little plan is backfiring on you,” she drawled, one eyebrow quirked as her shark grin crept lazily across her face. Allen could feel the telltale burn of red in the tips of his ears and offered a silent prayer of thanks that his long hair covered them up.
“That's utter nonsense. Why would I care what you're dressed in?” he mumbled unconvincingly, and his ears burned redder under Annie's laughing grin. Millerna glided up to them, pulling an overwhelmed looking Celena with her.
“Allen, you can't keep our guest of honor all to yourself. She's barely gotten to talk to anyone,” she pouted prettily at him.
Allen bowed slightly, obviously in no mood for Millerna's small talk. “Your forgiveness, Princess. If you'll excuse me?...”
Millerna gave a bewildered nod, and he disappeared quickly through the crowd before another word was spoken. Annie's grin spread from ear to ear as she watched him retreat, the princess and Celena exchanging confused glances in his wake.
“Well, what's the matter with him?” Millerna wondered out loud.
“Oh, he's just jealous because my sleeves are poofier than his,” Annie told them casually, and laughed at the dumbfounded expression on the princess's face.
The laughter died abruptly as the three of them were suddenly surrounded by a mob of twittering court ladies. Celena looked like she couldn't decide if she wanted to melt into a puddle on the floor or run screaming out of the room, and Annie couldn't blame her. What a fakey bunch of vipers!
They gushed over Millerna's dress and hairstyle before turning the full force of their falsely friendly attention onto the brown-haired oddity from the Mystic Moon. She was hard pressed to keep her smile plastered on her face as they went on and on in admiration of her ridiculous gown.
“Oh, you need to see the shoes I found for her to wear. Right Annie?” Millerna exclaimed rapturously, and Annie's eyes widened in surprise.
“Oh. Yes... they're really something,” she agreed, stalling for time even as she tried to smother a laugh. Oh dear. Eries might just keel over dead when Millerna forced her to show the room that she wasn't wearing any shoes! The ladies all looked at her in expectation, and she blinked innocently.
“Well... why don't you show them to everyone?” Millerna finally said, a hint of confusion trickling into her voice.
Annie thought for a moment, wrinkling up her nose. “How about tomorrow?”
“Oh, no. We want to see them with your dress,” one of the ladies crooned, and everyone leaned in just a tiny bit closer. Annie wished she had room to step back; they were making her feel claustrophobic.
“Just show them,” Millerna insisted.
Annie shrugged, unable to stop the amused grin from tugging up the corners of her mouth. “Okay, you asked for it.”
She lifted the massive skirt, and the ladies jostled each other to get the first glimpse of the promised shoes. Instead, they got a good look at her multi-colored toenails and tiny, bare feet. She had to bite her lips to keep from giggling at their shocked expressions.
“Annie! What happened to your shoes?” Millerna finally gasped out after she'd dropped her skirts back into place. Once more, she shrugged nonchalantly.
“They weren't very comfortable, so I took them off. I think they're under the sofa.”
She grinned broadly as the room erupted into a low buzz of whispers. Eries materialized at her side, the stark white of her face at odds with her calm expression.
“You must be exhausted, Lady Annie. It's been such a shocking day for you,” she said sweetly. Her eyes ordered the smaller girl to agree or else.
“Oh. Right. Absolutely,” Annie agreed after catching the warning in the elder princess' glare. Under normal circumstances, there was no way she would have agreed to bow out so soon, but things were hardly normal. That dress was getting heavier by the second, and the thrice-accursed corset seemed to be shrinking. As amusing as it might be, she didn't really want to deal with a full-blown asthma attack tonight.
Demurely, she allowed herself to be led back to her rooms, giggling to herself a little when she imagined the gossip likely to be flying around the crowded room she'd just left. Honestly, it was too bad Eries had had the foresight to make sure she wasn't served more than one glass of vino. Things might have gotten really fun if she could've pulled a Hitomi and gotten trashed during dinner!
Once the torturous corset was unlaced, Annie gulped a few much needed deep breaths of air. The nightgown the maids gave her was almost as ridiculous as her dress had been- all lace and silk and nearly see-through in the moonlight. Victoria's Secret would've been put to shame. Shrugging, Annie tugged it on and tumbled into bed, absurdly thankful when the last maid finally left and closed the door quietly behind her.
“What a mess,” she groaned into her pillow, and then smirked to herself when she remembered Allen stalking off through the crowd. Score one for her! And maybe, just maybe, if she made herself enough of a headache, they'd speed up their schedule and bring her to Fanelia before the end of the week.
Yeah. That would be the plan, then. Because a whole week of being strapped into a corset just was not an option. The future taken care of, Annie rolled over and promptly fell asleep.
You Really Shook Me!
AN: I'm aliiiiiiiiiivvvvveee! Sort of. This chapter doesn't do a very good job of proving it, though. Sorry. Warning: There isn't a whole lot of VxH in this chapter, and I'm terribly sorry about that. I did warn you about that possibility after last chapter... Anyway, I'm trying really hard, honestly I am, but I'm so blocked up that my writer's block has turned into writer's constipation! So, this isn't great- but I wanted to post something. I promise more VxH next chapter. Really.
Working double time
On the seduction line
She was one of a kind, she's just mine all mine
Wanted no applause
Just another course
Made a meal out of me and came back for more
Had to cool me down
To take another round
Now I'm back in the ring to take another swing...
(You Shook Me All Night Long: AC/DC)
Hitomi sat on the edge of the massive bed, fear and excitement making her shiver delicately. Moonlight poured across the floor, illuminating the room in a soft, dim glow. The cool breeze wafting through the open window caressed her skin through the silky fabric of her very see-through nightgown.
This was it, the night she'd been waiting all her life for. Her wedding night. Soon, she would feel Van's touch, feel his fingers (and more!) exploring every inch of her. She trembled again in anticipation.
Suddenly, he was there, standing in front of her in all his lean, beautiful glory. His tanned skin glowed in the moonlight, and she had to crane her neck to see up into the shadows masking his face. She sighed in utter contentment when he reached out a hand to trace her face, grazing her lips with the pad of his thumb.
Slowly, seductively, he pushed her down into the pillowy softness of the bed. His lips drew a trail of fire from her earlobe to her collarbone, and she shivered in delight as his warm breath tickled her sensitive skin. Calloused fingers ghosted up and down her sides, along her legs, caressed her face, giving her goosebumps but never nearing the places she most needed touched. She squirmed impatiently under him, murmuring in protest as she tried to manuver her body under his questing fingers.
What was the matter with him?
Suddenly, a group of old men, their faces hidden in shadow, ringed the bed. Hitomi shrieked in shock as she simultaneously tried to shove Van off of her and clutched him tighter as a shield. Van didn't seem to notice they were there at all, his mouth and fingers never slowing even when she swatted at him.
“...and may you be fruitful and multiply. May you bless this land with the children created from your love...” the old men droned in unison.
“What the hell is this? What's going on?” Hitomi demanded as she struggled harder to push Van away from her. Merle suddenly appeared at the side of the bed, looking down her nose disapprovingly.
“It's the Fertility Blessing. It's tradition for the elders to witness the Royal Wedding Night, to make sure you're a virgin,” she said firmly. “It'll be over soon. Just deal with it!”
“NO!” Hitomi shrieked wildly as the men's voices droned louder. “No, no, no, no, NO!”
Her legs tangled up in the long skirt of her sheer nightgown as she fought harder to get out from underneath Van. She pushed and shoved frantically, screaming the entire time.
Whump.
“Ouch, what the hell?...” Hitomi muttered. She blinked up at the dark ceiling of her bedroom; her legs still twisted up in her blankets on the bed while her head and shoulders rested on the hard wooden floor.
“Oh, god. It was just a dream,” she exclaimed in a breathy, relieved whisper. Of course it had been only a dream. A nightmare! Van would never do something like that to her.
Would he?
Hitomi climbed back onto the bed, thumping her pillows viciously. There was no way Van would allow something like that. She was being stupid for even remotely questioning it. Merle, though... she could see Merle being all for it, if it was a Fanelian tradition.
Hitomi shuddered and wrapped her blankets tightly around herself, staring out the windows at the double moons hanging low in the sky. Dear lord, what had she gotten herself into? Was Van as worried about everything as she was?
On the other side of the castle, Van snored blissfully, lost in dreams of saunas and itsy bitsy green bikinis.
Annie sat, her hair curled, coiled, pinned, and poofed to perfection, waiting patiently for Round Two to start. She wasn't really thinking about what she would say or do, or making any kinds of plans. Things seemed to get a little crazier if she just acted spontaneously, anyway.
But those shoes! Those damn, pinchy, lacy shoes! She was going to break an ankle if she had to wobble around in those all night- or at least get a bad case of toe cramps. No, those suckers had to go.
Annie glanced around casually, taking a quick inventory of the maids still in the room with her. Not a single one of them was paying any real attention to her. It was like she was an enormous, living doll to be dressed up and moved around how they pleased and forgotten in between. At the moment, that was just fine with her.
Slowly, so as not to attract any attention, she lifted her massive skirt and slid her shoes off of her pinched feet. Whistling an innocent tune under her breath, she quickly kicked them under the heavily ruffled love seat she was perched uncomfortably on. Flexing her mercifully bare toes against the plush carpet, she let her heavy skirts drop with a hugely satisfied grin. Problem numero uno solved!
Somewhere in the depths of the palace, a bell tolled with a loud, musical chime. The maids stopped their twittering conversations and approached Annie respectfully.
“The dinner bell, milady,” one murmured gently, and Annie bounced to her feet. Her ribs creaked under her corset, and she grimaced.
“Oops. Forgot I can't move around in this thing,” she muttered darkly to herself. Checking her bag for the fifteenth time to make sure her inhaler was safely tucked inside, she followed the maids as they glided gracefully out of the door. Not that the inhaler would do her a whole lot of good if she had an asthma attack anyway, since she couldn't take a deep enough breath to get the meds into her lungs. She scowled darkly for a moment. It would serve Allen (and Eries) right if she had an attack at the dinner table tonight.
The maids stopped her outside of a massive double door and whispered to her to wait until she was announced. Beyond the doors, Annie could hear muffled laughter and the clink of glasses. She tilted her head to the side and smirked mischievously to herself. If she was going to crash and burn, it may as well be with a decent audience.
“Announcing Lady Annie of the Mystic Moon,” a deep voice boomed, and the room fell silent as the doors swung open. Annie took a deep breath, lifted her small chin, and pasted her brightest smile on her face.
Round Two: GO!
Allen turned towards the doors as they opened, one hand protectively on Celena's delicate shoulder. He bit his lips to keep them from smirking at her new title: “Lady Annie”. Ha! Only good manners kept him from snorting with derision.
Celena strained to see past the fat, overly dressed courtiers to catch her first glimpse of the Mystic Moon woman who'd given her the treasured photograph album. Allen smiled softly at her childlike excitement, but he was hard pressed not to stand on his toes and crane his neck to get a look, too. He could hardly contain his chuckles just imagining Annie's reaction to Austurian fashion. And she laughed at his uniform! It was positively understated compared to the courtier's fashions!
The crowd shifted, and he caught sight of her in all her lacy, poofy, pink magnificence. She was dressed from head to toe in all the finest Austuria had to offer- namely lace, and lots of it. Those sleeves were enormous! And her skirt! Allen thought the entire crew of the crusade might fit comfortably under that skirt. Not that any of them had any business getting under her skirt...
Her glossy, mahogany hair was coiled and pinned into beautifully artistic curls and swoops, leaving the slender curve of her neck and shoulders bare to show off her creamy skin. And more skin... why the hell had Eries and Millerna dressed her in something that showed off that much cleavage? Okay, so it wasn't really any more than what most of the women in the room were showing, but still! Allen could see the men in the room jostling to get a better eyeful, and his blood boiled.
Across the room, Annie caught his eye, and the huge, shit-eating grin on her face killed any remaining urge to chuckle. Good gods, she looked like she was actually enjoying this! It wasn't fair! She was supposed to be uncomfortable, maybe even a little angry, but definitely not happy! Ugh! She just didn't make any sense to him.
“She's beautiful,” Celena sighed, and Allen was forced to agree, albeit very reluctantly. His plan was completely backfiring!
Eries moved swiftly to Annie's side, propelling her through the crowd as she introduced her to everyone of importance. Allen didn't know whether to laugh or groan at the astonished looks on the courtier's faces when she grabbed each of their hands and gave them a hearty shake instead of curtsying. He watched as she smiled and laughed, batting her eyelashes just so and throwing him the occasional glance as if to say, “see? I can behave myself!”.
She was behaving herself a little too well, perhaps. Already a few of the more vicious ladies were throwing venomous glances her way after she'd charmed more than half of the men in the room in under five minuets. Really, it was embarrassing how even the elderly gentlemen were falling over themselves to get a chance to meet her. Pompous old coots. What on earth was Annie saying to them that had Princess Eries about to go into conniptions?
Eries caught sight of Allen and hustled Annie forward abruptly. “Ah, Sir Allen. It's an honor to have you here tonight.”
“The pleasure is mine. Thank you for the invitation,” he replied formally, giving his perfect bow. Celena bobbed a curtsy at the princess, but her eyes were glued to Annie's grinning face. Before any proper introductions could be made, Annie leaned forward and grabbed her hand.
“You must be Celena. I'm Annie,” she exclaimed cheerfully, her eyes twinkling with delight. “Your brother stayed with me on Earth. I'm so glad I actually got to meet you!”
“You wanted to meet me?” Celena gasped in awe, and Annie beamed at her.
“Heck, yeah! I'd hug you, but I think we'd just bounce off of each other like two giant beach balls in these get-ups!” she laughed. Celena blinked at her, an astonished smile hitching up the corners of her mouth.
Allen couldn't stop the tiny smirk on his face. “How are you enjoying Austurian fashions, Lady Annie?”
“Oh, they're fabulous, Sir Allen,” she returned with the same sugary sweetness coating her voice as his. “I've always wanted to try on a dress like this.”
“I think your dress is beautiful,” Celena said shyly, still staring hesitantly at the beaming Annie.
“Isn't it wild? I feel like a bell-” she swung her hips so the skirt mimicked the movement of a hand bell as Eries and Allen stared at her in shock- “And I'm not sure, but I think I might be missing half of my top. My aunts would never let me out of the house with this much chest showing!”
Eries turned white, completely speechless, and Allen groaned inaudibly. Didn't Annie realize that half the room was listening surreptitiously to her every word? Specifically, the male half of the room? Allen gave her a significant glare and had to stifle another groan. Oh, she knew alright, if that mischievous twinkle in her eye was anything to go by. She was playing a dirty game that he couldn't hope to win, unless he somehow managed to shut her up. Which, quite frankly, was less likely than Eries suddenly professing her undying love for the Mole Man.
Annie watched Allen unsuccessfully trying to hide his astonished horror, her shark grin growing larger by the second as she curled her bare toes against the cold stone floor. Oh, this was way too easy. They put her into this ridiculous outfit. It was only fair that she found a way to use it to her advantage.
The only problem was that horrific corset. She was having a tough time breathing, let alone talking in a normal voice. Her hands itched to pull out her inhaler, even though she knew it wouldn't really do any good. And the way Allen kept eying her overflowing bodice like he couldn't help himself wasn't helping, either. It made her breathing hitch funnily, and that actually hurt like hell in the torture device hidden under her dress.
“Princess Millerna Sara Aston Fassa,” announced the guard, and the doors swung open to reveal the glorious beauty of the princess.
Millerna paused dramatically in the doorway, standing still just long enough to make the perfect impression. Her long, golden curls were piled on top of her head like a magnificent crown, and the curve of her neck was as graceful as a swan's. Her powder blue dress was just as fancy as Annie's, dripping with lace and glittering with jewels. She glided across the room gracefully, her enormous skirt giving the impression that she was floating rather than walking. All in all, she was the most beautiful person anyone had ever seen.
“Wow. Now there's a woman who can make an entrance,” Annie murmured appreciatively. Millerna may have been dressed in the same ridiculously ostentatious style as she was, but the princess actually had the height and figure to pull it off.
Spotting their little group, Millerna glided through the small crowd toward them. She held out her hand to Allen, and he took it lightly, bowing to graze her knuckles with his lips with the barest of touches.
“You look lovely, as usual, Princess,” he murmured and was suddenly very conscious of Annie giving a tiny snort of amusement. He straightened abruptly, his back ramrod stiff as he gave her a disapproving glance. At least, he meant it to be disapproving. His eyes wandered accidentally below her shoulders to her impressive, ahem, display, and the disapproval vanished like haze under a hot sun. Damn it!
“Isn't this exciting? When Father's advisers heard about Annie, they insisted on all of this-” she waved a perfectly manicured hand vaguely at the assembled courtiers. “I'm so glad we chose that dress for you, Annie. Doesn't she look perfect, Allen?”
Once more, his eyes strayed momentarily to Annie's plunging neckline before he could stop himself. Pursing his lips, he trained his gaze to a point on the far wall and gave a very noncommittal “hm”.
“I think so,” Celena murmured bashfully, and Annie leaned over to link their arms together.
“Why, thank you, Celena. I feel like I'm just a spiky crown and a magic wand away from Glenda in Oz,” she laughed, shooting a glance at the silent Eries. “So, are you a good witch, or a bad witch?”
“I beg your pardon?” Eries gasped, as Celena, Millerna, and Allen glanced at each other in confusion.
“That's Glenda's famous line from the movie, after Dorothy squishes the Wicked Witch under her house,” Annie explained, merely succeeding in confusing them further. Another bell chimed, and the crowd of courtiers stopped milling around and headed expectantly through another set of double doors. Millerna slid her arm through Allen's familiarly and began moving toward the door. He, for his part, played the perfect, chivalrous gentleman as he escorted her to her seat.
Annie rolled her eyes and smirked a little behind his back, keeping her arms linked with his bashful sister as they followed, Eries on Celena's other side.
“So, did you like the present I sent for you? Or did Allen confiscate it?” she asked the pretty girl cheerily.
“Oh, no. I love it. Allen tells me stories about the Mystic Moon from the pictures almost every day!” Celena told her, a real smile lighting up her face. Annie looked at her in astonishment, stopping dead in her tracks.
“Celena! You're smiling! Allen said you didn't smile...” she trailed off abruptly, glancing sheepishly at Allen's back. Celena tilted her head with a confused look, her lips slipping down into a slight frown.
“That book makes her smile. Right, Celena?” Eries murmured gently. Celena gave an infinitesimal nod, and Annie grinned at her as they started walking toward the enormous table again.
“Well, good. You've got a pretty smile. You should do it more often,” she declared cheerfully. “I'll bet Allen doesn't tell you all of the stories, or at least, he probably leaves the best parts out. I'll have to tell you how things really happened.”
Unfortunately, Celena was seated next to her brother, and Annie was closer to the head of the table, directly across from Meiden Fassa and surrounded by two of the fattest, most pompous advisers Austuria had to offer. Allen would've chuckled at her unfortunate seating arrangement, but the way the men kept staring down her bodice made him crack his knuckles surreptitiously under the table in fury. Those damn, dirty perverts were old enough to be her father!
Everyone stood formally while King Aston entered the room and huffed his way regally to his chair at the head of the table. Annie had to bite her lips hard to keep from giggling. The tubby king was decked out in almost as many ruffles and bunches of lace as the ladies of the court, and the little hat with the enormous feather jutting out perched on his round head wasn't helping matters. His double chin wobbled as he gave the order to sit, and Annie couldn't help but think he looked like an elaborately dressed bowl of jello. She would never laugh at Allen's uniform again. At least, not really. She'd still have to give him hell about it whenever she got the chance.
Everyone sat down in a rustle of silk and expensive fabrics, and Annie was secretly a tiny bit disappointed that her skirt didn't come flying up to smack her in the face. It would've added a bit of fun to an otherwise tedious evening...
“How was that, Eries? I practiced,” she said to the shocked princess with an innocent smile.
“Practiced, my dear?” the courtier on her left asked, his eyes once more straying to her cleavage. Annie resisted the urge to squirm under his squicky gaze and smiled sweetly at him.
“Mm. I practiced sitting. The first time I tried, my skirt flew up over my head! It took two maids to get me out of it!”
If proper etiquette had allowed, Eries might have smacked her head on the table. As it was, she merely clenched her linen napkin in a white-knuckled grip and tried to change the subject.
“Lady Annie is King Van's bride's dearest friend,” she said smoothly. “She will be traveling to Fanelia with my sister and I at the end of the week.”
“Ah, yes. Lady Hitomi Kanzaki of the Mystic Moon. Lord Van is a lucky man,” Meiden Fassa murmured quietly, his eyes fastened on Annie with a calculating look. Annie stared back at him with a sweet smile and a cold glare in her wide, dark eyes. This was the man who'd supposedly 'bought' Hitomi from King Aston and nearly kidnapped her in the night. Thank god for Merle and Van, or who knew what this calculating merchant would have done with her.
“So, how exactly do you know Fanelia's future queen?” he queried, and Annie found herself wishing she had left those awful shoes on so she could 'accidentally' kick him under the table.
“We were college roommates,” she said tersely, but then was forced into a long explanation about what, exactly, a college was and why, in heaven's name, did ladies like Hitomi and herself need a higher education.
“And what is it that you are studying?” Meiden asked mockingly, his chin resting on his steepled fingers as he continued to assess her with that coldly calculating stare. Annie pursed her lips, wishing there was a way out of giving him any information.
“Music,” she finally told him, and his smile made her skin crawl.
“Ah. Then before you leave us, you will have to grace us with your talents,” he murmured, and she hoped he didn't notice her tiny shudder. That was definitely not going to happen, if she had any say in the matter.
“My dear, are you not hungry? You've hardly sampled your plate,” puffed the courtier sitting on her right. “Here, you must try this. It is an Austurian delicacy.”
Annie eyed the grey goop arranged artfully on thin slices of some kind of vegetable and shook her head.
“Oh, no thank you. I'm sure it's delicious, but there's only so much room under this corset, you know. Don't want to risk popping out of it!”
Eries turned as white as the tablecloth, and three seats down, Allen's mouth thinned into a tight line. Annie herself almost regretted her words as the courtier's eyes fastened on her chest with a greedy stare. Almost. What was dealing with a few lusty looks compared to making Eries and Allen squirm a little?
At the head of the table, King Aston finished his meal and stood, the signal for the courtiers to follow him into first room for after-dinner drinks and mingling. Allen caught Annie's arm and nonchalantly pulled her out of the crowd to a semi-private corner of the room.
“Annie, what in Jichia's name are you doing? Do you think at all before you open your mouth?” he hissed at her angrily, and she blinked innocently at him.
“What are you talking about? I was just making conversation. It's not my fault you Austurian men are perverts.”
“Please do not put me on the same level as those men you were sitting next to,” he snarled.
“Why not? You're looking, too,” Annie said in a loud, conspiratorial, whisper to him, smirking broadly. Inadvertently, his eyes shot down to her bodice, and he turned away quickly, ignoring her amused snort.
“What do you expect, when you're dressed like that?” he demanded accusingly, waving a hand in the general direction of her chest without actually daring to look at her again. Annie tilted her head, put her fists on her hips, and gave him a serious glare. Unfortunately, the twinkling mirth in her eyes gave her away.
“You know what I think? I think it was your idea to get me dressed up in this prom dress from hell in the first place, and now your little plan is backfiring on you,” she drawled, one eyebrow quirked as her shark grin crept lazily across her face. Allen could feel the telltale burn of red in the tips of his ears and offered a silent prayer of thanks that his long hair covered them up.
“That's utter nonsense. Why would I care what you're dressed in?” he mumbled unconvincingly, and his ears burned redder under Annie's laughing grin. Millerna glided up to them, pulling an overwhelmed looking Celena with her.
“Allen, you can't keep our guest of honor all to yourself. She's barely gotten to talk to anyone,” she pouted prettily at him.
Allen bowed slightly, obviously in no mood for Millerna's small talk. “Your forgiveness, Princess. If you'll excuse me?...”
Millerna gave a bewildered nod, and he disappeared quickly through the crowd before another word was spoken. Annie's grin spread from ear to ear as she watched him retreat, the princess and Celena exchanging confused glances in his wake.
“Well, what's the matter with him?” Millerna wondered out loud.
“Oh, he's just jealous because my sleeves are poofier than his,” Annie told them casually, and laughed at the dumbfounded expression on the princess's face.
The laughter died abruptly as the three of them were suddenly surrounded by a mob of twittering court ladies. Celena looked like she couldn't decide if she wanted to melt into a puddle on the floor or run screaming out of the room, and Annie couldn't blame her. What a fakey bunch of vipers!
They gushed over Millerna's dress and hairstyle before turning the full force of their falsely friendly attention onto the brown-haired oddity from the Mystic Moon. She was hard pressed to keep her smile plastered on her face as they went on and on in admiration of her ridiculous gown.
“Oh, you need to see the shoes I found for her to wear. Right Annie?” Millerna exclaimed rapturously, and Annie's eyes widened in surprise.
“Oh. Yes... they're really something,” she agreed, stalling for time even as she tried to smother a laugh. Oh dear. Eries might just keel over dead when Millerna forced her to show the room that she wasn't wearing any shoes! The ladies all looked at her in expectation, and she blinked innocently.
“Well... why don't you show them to everyone?” Millerna finally said, a hint of confusion trickling into her voice.
Annie thought for a moment, wrinkling up her nose. “How about tomorrow?”
“Oh, no. We want to see them with your dress,” one of the ladies crooned, and everyone leaned in just a tiny bit closer. Annie wished she had room to step back; they were making her feel claustrophobic.
“Just show them,” Millerna insisted.
Annie shrugged, unable to stop the amused grin from tugging up the corners of her mouth. “Okay, you asked for it.”
She lifted the massive skirt, and the ladies jostled each other to get the first glimpse of the promised shoes. Instead, they got a good look at her multi-colored toenails and tiny, bare feet. She had to bite her lips to keep from giggling at their shocked expressions.
“Annie! What happened to your shoes?” Millerna finally gasped out after she'd dropped her skirts back into place. Once more, she shrugged nonchalantly.
“They weren't very comfortable, so I took them off. I think they're under the sofa.”
She grinned broadly as the room erupted into a low buzz of whispers. Eries materialized at her side, the stark white of her face at odds with her calm expression.
“You must be exhausted, Lady Annie. It's been such a shocking day for you,” she said sweetly. Her eyes ordered the smaller girl to agree or else.
“Oh. Right. Absolutely,” Annie agreed after catching the warning in the elder princess' glare. Under normal circumstances, there was no way she would have agreed to bow out so soon, but things were hardly normal. That dress was getting heavier by the second, and the thrice-accursed corset seemed to be shrinking. As amusing as it might be, she didn't really want to deal with a full-blown asthma attack tonight.
Demurely, she allowed herself to be led back to her rooms, giggling to herself a little when she imagined the gossip likely to be flying around the crowded room she'd just left. Honestly, it was too bad Eries had had the foresight to make sure she wasn't served more than one glass of vino. Things might have gotten really fun if she could've pulled a Hitomi and gotten trashed during dinner!
Once the torturous corset was unlaced, Annie gulped a few much needed deep breaths of air. The nightgown the maids gave her was almost as ridiculous as her dress had been- all lace and silk and nearly see-through in the moonlight. Victoria's Secret would've been put to shame. Shrugging, Annie tugged it on and tumbled into bed, absurdly thankful when the last maid finally left and closed the door quietly behind her.
“What a mess,” she groaned into her pillow, and then smirked to herself when she remembered Allen stalking off through the crowd. Score one for her! And maybe, just maybe, if she made herself enough of a headache, they'd speed up their schedule and bring her to Fanelia before the end of the week.
Yeah. That would be the plan, then. Because a whole week of being strapped into a corset just was not an option. The future taken care of, Annie rolled over and promptly fell asleep.