Open ...And We Danced (Vanari)

[Elysana Demeni]

Fall, 18, 513 Elysana couldn’t hide her excitement as she dressed for the evening. She going as an escort to a party in the Noble District! Every now and then, some rich citizen, looking to impress their peers, would hire a girl or boy from the House to play their companion at some fancy event. This time, a young man had chosen Ely. She dress in an elegant green dress, which featured a risqué, though not quite scandalous neckline, and bound her hair with a jade clasp. She added various jewels to her outfit, as well as subtle hints of makeup and perfume. For the cool fall night, she dawned a shimmering blue shawl. The goal was dress up enough to make the other woman notice her jealously, but not to actually outshine any of them. Giving a little kiss to her friend Tanya, she made her way to the common room to await her companion. He arrived well before the event was supposed to start. He wasn’t bad looking. Probably eighteen, with a rather thin frame and a large mop of curly hair. It would have been unseemly to be seen coming straight to the ball from the Docks, so they would take a scenic route through the city, complete with a light food course in the carriage. Throughout this period, her companion had been mostly silent, looking at her nervously. As they took a few sips of wine after the meal, his tongue finally loosened enough to introduce himself. “Umm…my name’s Antoine. I very glad you agreed to spend this night with me.” Ely smiled. She recognized the type. Young man who didn’t have the best luck with women, yet was expected to appear with them at society functions. As a solid professional, she took it all in stride. Extended her hand, she replied, “The pleasure is all mine. I was honored by your invitation.” Stiffly, he bend to kiss her hand. They both knew their words were empty, but it never hurt to pretend sometimes. When they reached the ballroom, Antoine awkwardly helped her down from the carriage and she took him by the arm. Together, they entered. Inside, they found a lively scene of people dancing and mingling around tables with glasses of sparkling wine. Almost immediately, some other young men come up and grabbed Antoine, and Ely was left alone. Moving towards one of the wine tables, she spotted a familiar woman with curly brown hair standing by herself with a glass of wine. Usually, she didn’t initiate contact with former clients, this one struck her as someone special. Quietly, she slipped up beside the woman and ran a finger down her ribs. “Vanari! I didn’t expect to see you here!”

[Vanari]

Fall, Day 18-19, 513 AV

Where is he?

Twinkling sounds of glasses clinking and polite conversation surrounded the nervous Vantha. The dancing hall was a true sight to behold, with its high vaulted ceilings and elaborate chandeliers. Wealthy couples waltzed by every now and then, their jewels and fine costumes glittering as they fluttered over the marble floors.

Vanari herself was wearing a velvet dress of ruby red, the back criss-crossed with thin, black laces and the neckline far lower than she was used to. In her hair she wore a matching black and red clip of gems and feathers. It was all much bolder than she felt comfortable with, but the seamstress she had consulted insisted on the ensemble. Now, the Vantha understood why; nearly everyone in attendance was dressed equally, if not more resplendent or risqué than she had, and she would have sorely stood out in anything plainer.

She fingered the cheese and fruit in her dainty plate anxiously, standing as close to the banquet table as physically possibly. Where was Anald? She had hoped to meet him at the entrance, but after several chimes of standing around she started to feel self conscious, so she retreated into the halls, thinking she might find him there. It had been half a bell already, but she saw no sign of him. Not, she admitted, that it was an easy feat to begin with. People filled almost every inch of the place in a rainbow of sizes and colors, making it impossible to see beyond ten strides of herself.

Vanari nearly jumped out of her skin as she felt something brush against her, sending tiny shivers up her spine. Then Ely's voice reached her ears, and a mix if relief and excitement replaced her momentary surprise. The slim courtesan was stunning in her lovely green dress and dazzling jewels, and Vanari flushed a little as she remembered the night they had spent together. She had never known such pleasures, and Ely was a, um...truly exceptional teacher.

"Ely! You scared the piss out of me," she grinned, then coughed in embarrassment as she noticed the courtesan's noble company. "I mean, it's so good to see you again. How have you been?

[Elysana Demeni]

Elysana giggled at the other woman’s distinctly unrefined reaction to her presence. Vanari looked miles away from the dirty vagabond who had arrived at the House a week ago, and Ely was quite impressed with her costume. Ely leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek in greeting, “I’ve been well. It’s not often I get invited to balls like this.” She paused to sample some wine offered by a waiter. It was a fruity white, with a light hint of bubbles. “So, what brings you here? Usually I hear you need some kind of special invitation to get into these things. Got some special man?” With that, she winked at Vanari and turned to the hour d’oeuvres. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Antoine and his friends approaching her. Antoine’s nice shirt looked a little rumpled and his eyes where glazed in the look of someone who had consumed a lot of alcohol very quickly. Striding over, she found his arm and led him back over to the table. “Vanari, this is my companion for the evening, Antoine. Antoine, this is my friend Vanari.”

[Vanari]

"Hardly," Vanari replied, feeling more depressed than she cared to admit that she still had not been able to find Anald amongst the swirling guests. "Apparently, a friend I had made a few days ago got us invited through some family connections, but he may or may not be coming tonight. All in all, though, this is just about the most splendid thing I've ever seen!

As she spoke, she noticed Ely eyeing a trio of young, wealthy aristocrats heading their way. For a moment, Vanari thought they knew the courtesan and her profession and were bold enough to approach her in their slightly drunken state.

Once Ely introduced one as Antoine, however, it was clear he was only a companion, and the Vantha visibly relaxed. She was just about to greet the young man when suddenly, all the lights blew out. A chorus of gasps ensued, and Vanari clutched the tablecloth for a point of reference. It was almost impossible to see anything in the inky darkness. People were muttering amongst themselves, some worried, some excited. Apparently, it could have been an act of sorts, although she felt doubtful of it.

As if to prove her point, she felt someone brush roughly past her, and then a pair of hands boldly grope her arms and neck. She would have screamed, had there not been a third hand covering her mouth. Judging from a muffled protests around her, others were undergoing the same treatment. Then, as quickly as it had happened, it stopped. The perpetrators were gone, and slowly servants re-lit the extinguished candles.

Able to see again, the entire hall erupted in outrage. Necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and coin purses were missing on nearly every single guest unlucky enough to have been standing near the entrance. Vanari, fortunately, had kept half her gold strapped beneath her skirts, and the other stored safely under a loose floorboard in her tavern room. No sooner had she felt relief at this thought than a dark figure suddenly scurried beneath the banquet table.

"Thief!" people cried, and several guests tried to dive for the nimble criminal. As fast as he was, however, he was terribly outnumbered, and he seemed to know it.

Vanari barely had time to register what was happening when the thief popped up from her side of the table, grabbed a large carving knife from the rack of lamb she had been so eagerly eyeing all night, and took a moment to consider his options.

He looked to her, then to Ely, who were closest at the moment. Picking the obvious choice, he grabbed the petite courtesan and held the carving knife to her neck. "No one move," he calmly ordered, "or this lovely lady's blood will be spilt without hesitance."

Vanari gaped in horror, struggling to think of something she could do.

[Elysana Demeni]

Even her carefully applied makeup could not hide the color draining from Elysana’s face as the rogue held a huge knife to her throat. Any words she wanted to say caught in her throat, and it was all she could do just to keep breathing. Tears began to well in her eyes. This was even worse than getting caught in the alley with a bunch of slavers and a crazy spider woman. Frantically, she looked around the room. Many of the guests further away were still rummaging through their belongings, trying to figure out what had happened. Those closer to the fracas stared in shock at the man who displayed such temerity to not only steal from the party guests, but to take one as hostage as well. Vanari’s face held a mixture of rage and terror, and Ely hoped she wouldn't do something rash. Antoine and his friends looked deflated. Doubtless they had all fantasized about someday when they would have to face a situation like this, but now that it was upon them, they were just as lost as everyone else. Once he was satisfied his initial demand was met, the thief spoke again. “Now that I’ve got your attention, here’re my demands. I am to be given a boat and passage away from this city. I will take the woman with me, and release her at the shore of the lake. Do not attempt to follow me.” People began muttering among themselves. Ely could feel the thief’s arm holding her trembling slightly. Fortunately, his blade hand remained steady. Finally, a portly man came forward. Ely raised her eyebrows. This man had mad use of her services on many occasions. Obviously he was more important than he indicated in his trysts at the House. “You shall have your boat. No need to cause a ruckus.” Attention suddenly left the thief and turned to the man. The middle-aged woman standing next him, presumably his wife, looked mortified. Ely let out a little sigh of relief, and the thief leered at her. “Ok. Let’s do this quickly.” He led Ely roughly out of the room, following the man.

[Vanari]

The guests were in shock, utterly scandalized at the rush of recent events, but no one made a move to aid the victims. Antoine and his friends looked as helpless as the rest, and Vanari gave a look of unsurprised disgust.

Petch it, she swore under her breath, then hoisted up her skirts.

As soon as the trio began moving, Vanari followed them, completely ignoring the other guests as she tread soft as possible in her velvet shoes. Not that it was overly necessary, since the fleeing party made plenty of noise on their way out, Ely's heels clattering as the thief dragged her along and the older gentleman's voice calmly trying to dissuade against such brute force.

After a chime or two of rushing headlong down the halls, the middle-aged man slowed, panting and out of breath. "Please, sir," he wheezed, a hand resting against the wall for support, "no need to harm the girl. You'll get everything you ask for."

It was then that the burglar finally paused, turning to stare enigmatically at the older man, his knife still touching the delicate surface of Ely's neck. Vanari managed to dodge to her left at the last possible tick, hiding in a small, shadowed niche. She dared not peek around the wall, and instead pricked her ears to hear what happened next.

"Will I, now?" the thief hissed. "Seeing as how important you seem to be, perhaps I should swap hostages. That is, after I'd had a little taste of what such a lovely little courtesan has to offer."

The Vantha's fists balled, her knuckles gone white, and she looked around furiously for something, anything. Glancing down, she could just make out the outline of a large, ceramic vase sitting on an ornate little end table in front of her.

"Please, sir, I'll give you enough money to pay for half the courtesans of Mizahar. Just let the poor girl go!"

He's got heart, I'll give him that, Vanari mused, toting the vase in both hands as she snuck around in the shadows. It just so happened that the thief had stopped in a waiting room of sorts, right before the entrance, and the niche she had hid within was part of a fancy half-wall shielding the inner space from public view.

She had left her shoes behind and knotted her skirts to her hip, eliminating as much noise as possible as she half crouched along the wall. The Vantha wasn't exactly a trained spy, but neither had she much of a choice. Rounding the opposite corner of the divider, she poked enough of her head out to see with one eye. There was the intruder, his back shrouded in black and arm still wrapped around Ely's neck, and the older man as well, looking sick with worry and fear. Her grip tightened on the vase and she worked up the courage to leave the safety of the wall. It's now or never!

As she inched her way behind the thief, the older man noticed, but to his credit he did not so much as blink in her direction. Instead, he puffed up his chest and waved his arms about like the self-important aristocrat he ought to have been. "Hey, have you been listening to me? Are are you as deaf as you are stupid?"

The thief, in his anger, loosened his grip on Ely, pointing the knife at the man instead. "Watch it, old geezer, I could just slit your fat throat right now and be done with it. You're slowing me down. Perhaps I should remedy that."

Just as the fiend readied himself to strike against the patron, Vanari screamed and smashed the vase on his skull with all her strength. For a moment, it seemed the blow had no effect. Then the knife topped from his limp fingers, and the thief keeled over on top of Ely, crushing her to the ground under his weight.

Trembling, both Vanari and the older man bent to shove the unconscious thief over, freeing the slim courtesan once and for all. "Ely! Oh gods, are you alright? Has he hurt you?"

She picked the shards of pottery from the courtesan's hair, brow knit with worry.

[Elysana Demeni]

Elysana rose to her feet and clutched Vanari for several minutes, shivering, not able to speak. The taller woman softly stroked her hair. Certainly, as a young girl she had gone on many adventures, but they had usually been in the company of her father, and she had never come so close to death as she had now. Eventually, she was able to speak. “I think I’m fine. Just scared.” As she pulled away, the small cut on her neck from the thief’s knife left a dark stain on Vanari’s dress. “S..sorry about that.” The other woman bent and kissed her on the forehead. At that moment, she remembered her other rescuer, and turned to him. His face was an odd blotchy pink, both pale from the threat on his life, and red from exertion. She leaned in and gave him a hug. “Thank you too. That was very brave.” The man blushed, which made the tint of his face even stranger. Suddenly, she heard someone clear their throat behind her. She turned to see Antoine and his friends. In that moment, all the fear from the previous encounter distilled into an inexplicable anger. She rounded on him. “You! You have a lot of nerve to come here now, after that display inside. Not only did the contract put my safety in your hands, but it’s just plain decency to help out your lady companion if she’s attacked by a thief, even if she is a whore.” She shoved him hard in the chest. “This night is over. Do not expect to be admitted to the House again for a long time.” Antoine and his friends looked shocked at the outburst. Showing equal resolve to that back in the grand hall, they beat a retreat, whispering among themselves. Ely slumped on Vanari’s arm. “I don’t want to go back to the House tonight. Can I stay with you?”

[Vanari]

Vanari blinked in surprise. She hadn't thought that far at all, only to break the vase over the thief's head. Now, it was clear Ely was too distraught to simply return to her normal routine, and there were other small repercussions to be dealt with.

For one, they would be excellent fodder for gossip within the next bell or two--all four of them, that is--in no time. The Vantha didn't quite relish this idea, but what could anyone do? Perhaps it would be best to make some kind of appearance and clear up the confusion as much as possible, rather than leave people's imaginations to run wild.

"Of course, Ely, if you don't mind my room to be rather...simple," she answered the courtesan, before a thought suddenly struck her. "Um, what should we do with him?" She pointed at the unconscious thief, his hooded head surrounded by a halo of broken porcelain.

As if to answer her question, a whole squadron of personal guards came jogging down the hall. They stopped to inquire if everyone was alright, then offered to escort them back after dragging the thief off to an unknown location. They were probably going to beat some information out of him, but for once Vanari wasn't too against such methods of interrogation.

They thanked the older gentleman again before being rushed off, surrounded by guards. When they finally returned to the dance hall, things were more or less back to normal, but more than a few were whispering in hushed voices at their reappearance.

Vanari kept her chin up, giving Ely's hand a reassuring squeeze. Whether this would be good or bad for her business, the Vantha had not a clue. But, their first priority was to get the petch out of here, and that was exactly what she intended to do. One of the guards was kind of enough to inquire where they were headed to. Vanari answered with a smile, and he immediately flagged down a small buggy, even going so far as the pay the fare.

"To Tarsin's Boarding House, sir. You ladies take good care of yourselves--don't be getting into more trouble, eh?"

Vanari nodded, noting the way his gaze lingered on Ely. She grinned, promising to do just that, and climbed into the little carriage. The guard shut the door behind them, gave a little nod, and they were off, bumping along in the night.

[Elysana Demeni]

Elysana leaned on Vanari’s arm as the Vantha woman escorted her up the stairs of the boarding house towards the room. She tried to ignore the leers of the vagabonds and drifters lounging about in the common room, but the stress of the evening had left her emotionally drained. She buried her face in Vanari’s shoulder to hide her fear and distress. After what seemed like a thousand steps, they reached Vanari’s room. It was indeed simply, with a bed, a window, a chamber pot, a wash basin, and a chest for clothes at the foot of the bed. Ely slumped heavily on the bed, her head in her hands. Vanari sat next to her and put her arm around her. Ely looked up at her and kissed her neck before she finally spoke. “Thank you again for saving me. I don’t usually get like this, but I guess I was just shocked by how vulnerable I am outside the house. I’m also really grateful you let me stay here.” The feeling of security brought on by being with Vanari in this private place brought some of her old vitality back. She ran her hand slowly across the Vantha’s back, and moved her lips closed to Vanari’s ear. “You know, I really enjoyed your visit to the House. You may not think it, but you were very good for a first-timer. If you want, we can salvage some enjoyment out of this evening.”

[Vanari]

She was exhausted. Between preparing all day for the ball, keeping up appearances when she finally got there, and then having to bash thieves in the head with expensive vases, the Vantha felt taxed enough to sleep through the next three days.

There was still, however the issue of the courtesan sitting beside her. How would they sleep? Was she alright? Would she require...more than just comforting words? Seeing Ely's equally weary expression, however, prompted Vanari put a friendly arm around the slight woman. She was such a small thing to be living in such a rough city. It was a small wonder she stayed in that house, with the ever watchful protection of Jacob. Vanari frowned, knowing all too well what that felt like, having only worked up the courage to leave her own haven of safety after learning of her disastrous betrothal.

She was still lost in thought when, unexpectedly--or, perhaps not so unexpectedly at this point--Ely kissed her neck. Vanari struggled with her emotions a bit, unsure whether she should feel embarrassed, excited, or unconscious, as she was still unused to such attentions, eagerly curious about them, and completely exhausted all at once.

With a sheepish smile, she merely gave in, too tired to care. "Alright, but on one condition: you'll still be here in the morning, no running off before the crack of dawn. It's not safe, and I'll be worried all day."

And with that, she kicked off her shoes, plucked off all her accessories, and dove under the covers, grinning under the sheets as she watched Ely approach.