Eternally Bound: Part 9
----- Emulation -----
She yawned again and stretched. While her mission was accomplished, she was definitely paying the price for the post-midnight visitation. The young woman actually thought about napping in her study, but her bed seemed so much more appealing. She rose from her desk, shuffled to a mirror and looked herself over.
Paige wasn't a vain woman, but she maintained her appearance and afforded herself some small degree of luxuriousness most nobles took for granted. Her hair was a bit flat in the back, having sat in her office chair so long, but a few small tugs from a flat pick-comb puffed it back into place. She offered a smile to herself that only lasted for a moment as her eyes trailed down her own body's reflection. She wasn't curvy; she wasn't thin… she was simply… Paige: a lovely blossoming young woman, but one who failed to see her own beauty, and she laughed in spite of her reflection.
Her eyes trailed over her smaller breasts and stopped on her stomach. Her mind immediately flashed to the voluptuousness of her Elonian friend, Demitra, and she couldn't help but compare. Demitra's full breasts and shapely abs danced in her mind as she trailed off to the woman's belly dance of excitement a day ago. Sexiness notwithstanding, she'd actually enjoyed seeing how the skilled woman moved, and further enjoyed trying to emulate it. A smile came to her face as she began to shake her hips, pretending she was back in that moment. Here, within her study, away from wherever any prying eyes or servants or staff could see, she could let down her guard for a moment.
She closed her eyes, allowing an unheard melody rhythmically move her body. She imagined Demitra's hands lifting her arms and sliding down her body, then stopping to guide her hips. It felt so real; like the desires she felt when she happened upon Ember and Demitra's opened bedchamber door a few weeks prior.
"Just like that," Demitra whispered in Paige's ear.
Paige's eyes sprung open to see Demitra's reflection in the mirror, her hands on the woman's waste. She lost her footing, plunged headfirst into the standing mirror, and face-planted on the floor with her rear unceremoniously in the air.
Demitra giggled at the woman's awkwardness as she bent down to assist. "Apologies for startling you, Lady Paige Dejarin. I… I simply wished to assist in your endeavors. You are a quick study, indeed!"
Paige rolled over, looking with shameful embarrassment at the Elonian. "Um… Yes, I was just…" she stammered, not even realizing the words she was trying to form.
"It is alright, Lady Paige Dejarin; you do not have to explain. My presumptuousness was overzealous, and I am sorry. I simply… felt what you did in the moment." Demitra offered a hand with a sympathetic smile.
Paige took the hand, attempted to stand on the legs of a newborn, almost fell. Demitra slid her arm behind the woman's back to support her. She was lifted seemingly effortlessly by her friend, came face to face with the Elonian upon standing upright.
"Uh…" Paige's cheeks were flushed, first from the embarrassment and touch, now at the proximity. Her eyes were not hers; they traveled the Elonian's facial features, her vibrant green eyes, her large plump lips…
"Ahai there," Demitra giggled.
"Your eyes…" Paige was falling into them. It was almost a futile struggle not to drown.
"My eyes?" Demitra asked playfully blinking.
Paige's reflection beamed back at her, and therein brought her to the moment. It was her reflection… not Ember's. She shook her head. "Yeah, they… They are both the same color again. I…" She wiggled from the woman's grasp, went about resituating the mirror. "I think removing your gloves worked. I mean, your hair is still quite white, but…"
Demitra laughed. "I do not know, Lady Paige Dejarin, I believe I am beginning to enjoy the color.
Paige fell back on logic to extend the conversation beyond the awkwardness of the previous encounter. "Well, you know white is actually all colors together." While the words were intended to be matter-of-fact, they came out shaky.
"You never cease to amaze, Lady Paige Dejarin."
"Sorry, I just…" She cleared her throat. "May I ask why you came to see me? It is a bit late."
"The sun has already greeted us," Demitra said, tilting her head.
Paige drew back the curtains to see the sun's rays rippling on the waters below. "Uh… I… I did not mean to stay up so late after my visitors."
"Visitors?" Demitra asked, overhearing the woman's mumbles.
Sighing, she drew the blinds together. It's not like the woman could sleep after this incident anyway.
"I came to explain that we are ready!" the Elonian bounced. "All our outfits and costumes have arrived; Sebastian was in the process of bringing them in. I simply could wait no longer to…"
Paige laughed. The woman's infectious enthusiasm when it came to shopping transcended her normal bravado and sensuality, replacing it with a quaint cuteness that lit up her face. "I see. Well, I shall be down momentarily. I am guessing you want to try on our costumes now?"
"Indeed! Ari and Six have arrived as well; Ember is coordinating the evacuation of the staff so we may have privacy in the main receiving area. This will be fun, indeed!" Demitra exploded with excitement.
"Well, I suppose we shouldn't keep everyone waiting then. Shall we?" she said, gracefully motioning to the doorway.
Demitra practically hopped out and skipped down the hall.
Paige watched the woman exit with a smile that changed to worrisome after she left. "Paige, what are you doing?" the woman said to herself, sighed, then slowly followed.
[To Be Continued...]
