As the night drew on the air in the hall grew thick and hazy from the hundreds of brightly burning oil lamps, and was almost choked with the scents of cedar and juniper. A thin, fragrant smoke slipped slowly from the censers that hung from the ceiling, adding to the heady vapor and obscuring the painted designs and figures dancing overhead.
The drums had begun again, and their soft patter was joined quickly by the rhythmic tinkling of bells.
Three dancers had taken the floor this time, having emerged from one of the island-like congregations. They were similarly attired; all three wore broad belts of thin, layered gold just below their bared breasts, which in turn secured the translucent skirts that fell to their slender ankles. The silvery din of bells came from the strings wrapped around those same ankles.
Time is a strange creature, Calliope reflected to herself as she glanced between the dancers and watched Penelope signal to her from across the room. The truth was the evening had begun to drag on the more she had anticipated that signal, and yet, now that it was given, it seemed as though it had gone far too quickly.
The signal indicated that Penelope would be ready to dance in another song or two, and that Calliope needed to extricate herself as soon as possible if she wished to uphold her agreement to help the young woman.
She glanced at Thelios who was leaning back, talking to Lady Nagi, who was herself lounging on the couch next to theirs. His hand was still circled around the ankle resting between his knees, his thumb rubbing absently over the back of her calf.
She sighed and glanced back to the floor. She couldn’t say the evening had been uninteresting, it wasn’t, but the entertainment thus far had been surprisingly tame with the usual assortment of acrobats and dancers, music, and food. It was more elaborate and exotic than anything she had witnessed herself, but she had expected something a little more… well she couldn’t say what she expected, but considering the audience, she was less shocked or stunned than she thought she’d be.
Though of course she’d already had several days to acclimatize herself to the general ambiance of excess which permeated the place… so that might account for something as well.
There were such gathering at home as well, though women like herself would never have been allowed to attend. Only whores, slaves, and courtesans. She could understand why, as a number of the dances could be considered down right lewd… not what a man wanted his wife or daughters to see if he wanted to maintain their respectability.
For her part, Calliope had rather enjoyed it. The performers were all skilled, and many easily rivaled or surpassed her sisters, who until now had been the yardstick against which all were measured.
Perhaps it might have been because, as Thelios had suggested, they were competing… either for their master’s sake or for attention, and in a way that her sisters and friends never would have. Certainly not with such energy and intensity at least. Most of the time they would only play and dance for each other.
As entertaining as it was, however, the proverbial hourglass had run its course and she had things other than her amusement to consider now.
She took a deep breath and leaned in, touching Thelios’s knee. He glanced at her and paused his conversation.
“Would you mind if I walked around a bit? I need to stretch my legs and get a little air.”
“Did you want to leave?” He rumbled.
She smiled and shook her head. “Not just yet, it you don’t mind, I’d just like to move about for a bit.”
He simply nodded. “Be careful.” He added as she rose.
She smiled again. “I will.”
She sewed her way through the crowds, losing herself easily so that no one in her group could have seen where she was going and slipped out of the hall. Penelope was waiting for her down one of the side corridors, wrapped in a sheer bit of nothing which left precious little to the imagination. It seemed to be standard enough fair for dancers, and was more than some wore. It was rather flattering on her… especially the way it pressed up and displayed the rise of her chest, not always an easy feat with a slender dancer’s body.
“There you are! Here.” She handed Calliope a veil and pulled a pin from her hair, gesturing for Calliope turn around.
As Penelope pinned the veil to her hair to keep it from slipping off, Calliope removed her blue tunic so that she was only wearing a plain white dress, one which would blend in easily with the other slaves and be more or less unrecognizable. She folded the tunic and hid it behind one of the statues in the hall.
“So, what is the plan?” Calliope asked, taking the instrument from Penelope which had appeared from behind another statue, obviously placed there by the dancer earlier in the evening.
“Well, honestly, this is going to be a good deal more difficult than I thought it might. I’ve insinuated that I won’t be dancing, but they’ve been watchful all night.”
“Remind me who ‘they’ are again.”
“A handful of spiteful little bitches who are conspiring to keep me out of the running.”
“That’s not a helpful description. I’ve been lead to believe that could describe half the room.”
Penelope laughed at that. “Far more than that no doubt. I might even include myself if I could be bothered with tiresome things like self reflection.”
Calliope chuckled as well, tugging the veil into place. “Perhaps if I could recognize them I might be of more help.”
“In that crowd I doubt I could give you a description which would allow you to recognize them.”
“That’s true enough, I suppose. Will they try to keep you from the floor, or hamper you in any way?”
“I don’t doubt it.”