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Post by Anastasia on Jan 26, 2009 17:59:17 GMT -5
She nodded, her expression determined.
"Yes. And when we escape, we'll make it all the way back."
The other girls may have given up, but Anastasia wasn't going to.
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Post by Esmeralda on Jan 26, 2009 18:01:52 GMT -5
Esmeralda was one of the ones who had given up. But was thinking better of it, now.
"To Paris, or Russia?" she asked quietly, as if unaware that was almost funny.
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Post by Anastasia on Jan 26, 2009 19:48:44 GMT -5
The question momentarily took her by surprise, but she quickly recovered.
"Paris."
Russia would only be trouble.
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Post by Esmeralda on Jan 26, 2009 22:39:59 GMT -5
Esmeralda's brow cleared.
"Oh, good," she said. "I shouldn't know what to do in Russia. They don't speak French, do they?"
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Post by Anastasia on Jan 26, 2009 22:50:18 GMT -5
She smiled.
"I think only the nobles would know it, if anyone did."
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Post by Esmeralda on Jan 26, 2009 22:53:06 GMT -5
Esmeralda nodded. She was calmer now--the banter had not been without purpose, though she herself had not been aware of it.
"I'm ready," she said. "I mean, when the time comes--I'll be ready."
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Post by Anastasia on Jan 26, 2009 22:55:46 GMT -5
Anastasia, out of the corner of her eye, could several people settling in for the beginning of the meal.
"Me, too."
And nervous, but she tried not to focus on that.
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Post by Esmeralda on Jan 26, 2009 23:22:13 GMT -5
Esmeralda smiled, a little tremulously, and moved to sit. She had a little time to wait, before making her distraction.
The meal seemed to take forever, everyone gorging. In truth, Esmeralda had never known such bounty, except on feast days at home (or what passed for it). But she could not partake today. She had to remain focused--and she was far too nervous.
At last, when the platters were nearly picked bare, she glanced around for Anastasia.
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Post by Anastasia on Jan 26, 2009 23:26:11 GMT -5
Anastasia, for her part, had done her best to act natural, to blend in with the crowd. Nervousness and excited energy made it hard for her to eat much, and she only picked at her food (though if anyone noticed, they didn't comment). Finally, as things wound down, she began to discreetly make her way away from the assemblage and toward the banana trees.
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Post by Esmeralda on Jan 26, 2009 23:44:43 GMT -5
When Esmeralda saw this, she stood, carefully picking her way between the lolling harem girls and eunuchs, until she reached the head eunuch--as far as she was concerned, he was the one with the power--and told him modestly that she had prepared a dance.
He did not seem terribly enthused, but he didn't think it a bad idea, either. These girls held little interest for him--they came and went with the tide.
"Very well, very well," he said, and promptly ignored her again, leaving Esmeralda to her own devices as far as music went. She approached the musicians, and curtsying, asked if they might play something she could dance to. She could dance to anything, she suspected; even if she had never heard the piece before, she had always been able to feel it in her bones.
She began to move, and as she did more and more heads turned. She danced with a natural grace that looked, and was, untrained. Watching her, one might be fooled into thinking she did nothing spectacular, that one could do that if one tried, but she did it so fluidly that it was impossible not to be captivated.
The music was unfamiliar, but she liked it well enough. And it moved her, in a small circle that widened slightly as people gave her room.
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Post by Anastasia on Jan 26, 2009 23:50:20 GMT -5
As the music began, she continued to edge away, waiting only until the others had gathered near Esmeralda to watch before completely melting away into the trees and weaving among them until she finally reached the wall at the property's border.
The music was a bit muffled back here, but she could still hear it, and she could use it as cue as to how much time she might have left. As the music picked up the pace, she began to scale the wall.
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Post by Esmeralda on Jan 26, 2009 23:56:12 GMT -5
Esmeralda picked up her pace as well, the music swirling around her almost as a living partner. Her head thrown back, her cheeks rosy and her dark eyes shining, she was indeed a vision (even apart from the harem outfit she barely wore). All the more so for being unconscious of it.
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Post by Anastasia on Jan 27, 2009 0:00:50 GMT -5
It took her a bit, the wall being mostly smooth, though she finally reached the top thanks to a tree that was near enough to be used as a balance and aid. She sat at the top, trying to keep a low profile as she got her wind back and swept her gaze over beyond.
It seemed their entire compound was set back a ways from the proper of a large city, keeping them separate from the hustle and bustle. Happily, on the other side of the wall was a gentle slope that wasn't too far down and wouldn't pose too much of a problem to a goat.
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Xerxes
- In the Duggins -
I am King. And I need answer to no one.
Posts: 53
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Post by Xerxes on Jan 27, 2009 0:21:46 GMT -5
*Xerxes' entrance had been unheralded, and sometimes he preferred it so. Never more than today, it would seem, as one of the women had taken to dancing to entertain the others, or herself.
Screened by one of the shading lengths of cloth that ran from ceiling to floor, his gaze followed the girl as she danced.*
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Post by Esmeralda on Jan 27, 2009 0:29:20 GMT -5
Esmeralda danced until she could see Anastasia return safely. She did not see the king, of course. But she had performed as if for one. When she came to rest, her bosom heaved and tendrils of her dark hair had come undone. When she danced, she knew nothing else. She was joy incarnate.
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