Aside from that, and thankfully not being obliged to excuse herself, the evening proceeded in much the same fashion as the last.
There was one more added bonus of getting to see Kara dance. It was, like the rest of her, strange in a perfectly wonderful way. She had an unusual style. Sometimes she would mover her whole body in impossible, serpentine, and achingly slow ways. At other times she would seem to make a game of holding perfectly still while just her hips and stomach were manipulated sharply and precisely, showing off her immaculate control.
It was similar in many ways to the others that had danced before and after her, but there was some unnameable quality which seemed to elevate Kara. Indeed, despite her being nearly naked from the waist up with only a thin strip of material covering her breasts her dance seemed almost completely devoid of the overt sexuality which seemed to typify the vast majority of the performances. It was fascinating to watch.
The night passed, and most of the next day as well, until she found herself staring uncertainly down at shocking expanse of naked flesh, her flesh, which was now quite visible for any and all to see.
The black, ankle length dress she’d been given by Penelope to wear wasn’t, technically, that much more revealing than her gold dress, but not only had she never worn that publicly, she’d been expressly told not to.
“I really don’t know about this.” She murmured softly as she examined the sides of the dress, which were held together -barely- by silver clasps just above and below her waist. It was enough to keep it from billowing out but it also allowed for almost the full length of her sides and all of her legs to be exposed.
“Don’t worry, you look great. You have a fantastic back for this dress.” Penelope reassured brightly, once again pinning a veil to her braided knot of black hair. The veil was black this time, and much longer.
Looking ‘great’ wasn’t exactly her primary concern just then and the reference to her back made her wince since there essentially was no back to the dress at all since it dropped down almost to the dip in her tail bone.
Calliope thought back to Thelios who was still sitting in the feast hall and felt a nauseating flutter in her stomach. She had excused herself just a moment ago, pleading mild illness. It wasn’t totally a lie. Her nerves were certainly making a mess of her insides.
He had offered to leave with her, but she and Lady Nagi had bid him stay, which ultimately he did, if reluctantly. The concern she’d seen in his face had come very close to making her back out of this insanity completely… but he’d nodded and hadn’t pressed it. So here she was.
With her veil in place they made their way toward the hall, only this time they took a rather circuitous route through a number of back rooms and halls, coming into the main hall itself from a door the servants were using to come and go.
Just before they entered, however, Penelope gestured she wait, then returned a half-moment later with a rather imposing looking fellow with darkly tanned skin and a shaved head. He wore loose pants but his broad, well-muscled chest was left bare.
He wasn’t nearly as prodigious in size as Thelios, but he was rather daunting, and she was obliged to tip her head back in order to meet his eye as he loomed over her. Calliope gave them both a questioning look, forgetting that neither of them could see her expression through the veil. He seemed placid, but Penelope grinned.
“This is Lot. He’s agreed to help us.”
“With what exactly?” Calliope’s voice came out more sharply than she had intended. This hadn’t been part of the plan.
“To be Hades of course. It’s perfect. He’ll just stand there looking terrifying in this,” she held up a mass of black cloth, “and he’s so huge we can just hide inside it with him and then switch off.”
Calliope must not have seemed convinced. “Don’t worry,” she added quickly, “I told him not to get grabby with you.” she chuckled. “But I don’t think it’ll be a problem anyway, he’s apparently already heard of you. Knew more than I did actually.” She winked.
That threw her off even more. She glanced up at him warily. “And what is it you’ve heard?”
“That men who get handsy with you loose said hands. Literally.” Penelope answered giggling. The man grunted in acknowledgment, and Calliope wondered if he could speak at all.
Calliope looked between them hesitantly. “Well…. I suppose…”
“Excellent. You should hide now, that way it’ll be a surprise.”
“Wait, he knows who I am? You know who I am?” they both nodded. “Penelope, it has to be a secret…”
“I know, don’t worry it’s taken care of.” She grinned wickedly but didn’t elaborate. He wasn’t any more forth coming, though there was a hint of a smirk at the corner of his mouth that she was pretty sure she recognized. It was a smirk she’d seen countless times on Thelios’s face… usually when she was naked.
The man was already throwing the floor length cloak over his shoulders and pulling the hood up over his head. He held it open, as if to invite her in, and in truth he did look frightening. A proper Hades to be sure.
She stepped forward and was caught very much off guard when he swept her up into his arms. Before she could sputter out a protest, a deep, brusque baritone, one she felt down to the soles of her feet, explained it was easier to carry her and instructed her to lay her head against his shoulder.
For some inexplicable reason her complaint died on her tongue and she felt compelled to do as she was asked. It wasn’t so terrible really, and as soon as they’d maneuvered into position he lowered her carefully to her feet. She barley came up to his chest, so it was a simple thing for him to cross his arms high at the shoulder and give her room to stand inside the cloak without being crushed against him.
Of course it wasn’t that much room, and she was painfully aware of his nearness and the fact that she couldn’t help but brush against him with even the slightest movement. It was somewhat unnerving.
She couldn’t see what was going on, but she could hear the relative silence. The music hadn’t started so she knew that all they were seeing was this massive figure draped in black. She tried to picture it in her mind, and after a moment decided that it was probably a stroke of brilliance on Penelope’s part. The continued silence confirmed the thought.
Finally the music began and the silence melted back into a light hum of conversation and laughter. She tried to pay attention to the music but the large, warm body behind her kept distracting her.
It reminded her that she’d never really been in this sort of extended, intimate proximity to anyone but Thelios.
Of course this train of thought brought back the waves of nervousness and excitement which had been plaguing her all day. And, instead of warring with each other, the excitement and nerves conspired against her, leaving her breathless and near shaking with tension. She could feel her face heat and her skin prickle, and was more than grateful for the veil which obscured her features. She could only hope the flush wasn’t visible on the skin which wasn’t covered as well… gods knew there was enough of it.