She tensed again as she finally heard her cue and felt suddenly light headed. This was madness, what was she thinking?
But it was too late.
She pressed back against Lot’s hard body as the the cloak abruptly opened and swallowed Penelope up inside of it. There was a sudden crush of bodies as Penelope seized her by the hips and twisted them so that she was the one pressed up against their ‘Hades’ instead. Of course that meant that Calliope was poised with her back to the audience, and would be visible once their little make-shift tent opened up again.
The applause petered out and even in the dimness she could make out Penelope urging her on.
One more deep breath.
She tapped her heel to sound the bells and slipped one bare leg backward out of the cloak, pausing to sound the bells once more before she felt the cloak part just enough for her to duck out slowly. Her heart thrummed loud and high in her chest as she turned and straightened in one slow movement, settling into a not quite stiff, statuesque pose. It wasn’t unlike the one she’d taken in her last performance. Only this time there was no instrument to hide behind.
Knowing they couldn’t see her, she closed her eyes and pulled herself together. It didn’t matter where she was, or who they were. It wasn’t any more difficult than dancing for her sisters, she reminded herself. Besides, they didn’t know who she was. For all they knew she really was the queen of the underworld.
She smiled at that, a small secretive smile. That’s what she would be then.
She settled more comfortably into her stance and scanned the room with a tip of her head. There were few who weren’t watching. She extended an arm before her, as if being led by an invisible escort and made her way to the center of the floor, careful not to let the bells do more than tinkle with the faintest of whispers.
The dance itself was made up primarily of highly stylized movements, gestures, and poses. The stillness of it suited her usual reserve, and the gestures, her long limbs. And yet, as she began to move through the long practiced routine, they felt somehow wrong.
It was stately enough, and elegant as always… her eyes glanced toward the still looming figure cloaked in black, then slid further left as she dipped backward. Till now, she had avoided looking in her master’s direction for fear she’d lose her nerve.
That wasn’t the sensation which accompanied the glance however. It was more like a warm, familiar twinge in her belly. She glanced again and felt another twinge. He seemed to be watching her. Intently.
Calliope was strangely inspired by the sensation and decided to modify the dance. She turned to face the cloaked figure and focused on the twinge. Instead of continuing with the usual movements, she brought her hands to her thighs and drew them up her legs and over the bared skin of her stomach, shifting her hips and luxuriating tin the feeling until the twinge became a vibration.
She wasn’t totally sure about what to do with what was now obviously arousal, so she just gave in and went along with it. She didn’t go so far as to sink into lewdness, but when she stretched out her arms to the figure and moved away, she could feel the beseeching quality of the gesture in a way she hadn’t before, and when she walked, it was with a new languid heaviness, her hips rocking slightly.
This felt right to her. This made sense. The aspect of Persephone who ruled along side Hades, was also a wife, a fully fledged woman, a fertility goddess. It wasn’t hard to imagine what waking up so changed could feel like. It hadn’t been so long ago that she had woken up like that… no longer a virgin… having become aware of her body in ways she could never have imagined.
She was still becoming aware of it. He still managed to do… things… to her that surprised her… that she had trouble finding words for. And that wasn’t even beginning to consider the implications of her pregnancy.
It was as if every rote gesture of the dance was given new meaning by this knowledge, was given new depth, and she found herself profoundly moved by it.
She continued, this time letting her arousal build and fill her belly and limbs, and even stoked it with stolen glances in her master’s direction.
By the time she came to the height of the dance she was breathing hard from nothing but her excitement. She found herself suddenly on her knees and almost doubled over, as if overcome… well, perhaps truly overcome.
Her hands clenched in the material about her loins and her eyes clamped shut.
She had to get a hold of herself. She’d let it go on too long and too far.
Hoping to salvage what she could of the performance she flattened her hands and smoothed them down over the material and straightened, then rose to her feet with as much pretended dignity as she could muster. It was difficult with the buzzing of her arousal still making a mess of her head and body.
Goddess, she reminded herself as she resumed in a more stately manner. After all, a goddess wouldn’t let something like a minor break down inhibit or embarrass her. Still, it was easier said than done.
The dance was almost over… but after that strange little moment she’d had, she felt she needed something else to make it work. She spotted a bowl of fruit nearby and across the room from where Thelios sat. She smiled triumphantly under the veil. If she timed it right…
She made her way over to the table, noticing too late that it was sitting before the ‘flock’ which had attached itself to their red haired host and his equally red-haired sister. It didn’t matter.
She could see Thelios’s brother smile and chuckle as she delicately plucked a pomegranate off the top and presented it to him on the tips of her fingers, then gave him her profile and lifted her arm higher to reveal it to the room in general.
She then made her way around the edge of the floor…. more quickly and lightly this time, letting the bells jingle as they may and adding one or two quicker turns. Nothing requiring any particular skill, but playfully enough to hint at the other version of herself, Penelope that is, who was waiting hidden for her return.
Before she did return however, she paused directly before Thelios. It was across from the host, so she was certain the symmetry would keep her motives hidden from everyone else. From him… well, she wasn’t sure she wanted to keep it hidden from him. In fact she hoped very much he would see through the disguise and understand her meaning.
He was sitting partially reclined, resting his chin on his fist in such a way that his expression was obscured. She had no idea if he knew or not, and he gave nothing away.
She swayed and turned her back to him, rising to her toes and stretching her arms over her head with the dark red fruit still held in her fingers. It was the move she should have performed instead of falling to her knees as she had. Waste not want not, as they say. She tilted backward and caught herself from falling, or at least gave a good impression of it, but before moving away again, she paused once more and looked back over her shoulder at him.
She held the fruit out for him as she had the host, only this time instead of slipping away with it still in hand, she lightly tossed it toward him.
He caught it easily, as she knew he would. Another second’s pause, and then she moved, fearing that lingering much longer would give her away to more than just her intended audience.