When I finally get out of the warm bath and stare down at the "clothes" Lucien had given me, I sigh in resignation. "Adrian, you wouldn't happen to have any normal clothing I could wear, do you?"
"Well, for now you could wear my blouse," he teases, but I take it from his hand without arguing.
"I'd love to, thanks." He seems a little displeased with my lack of reaction, but I explain, "It's more coverage than without it."
Adrian tries a different tack. "You know, little bird, you are far too eager to wear our clothing. Shouldn't you be more careful in a house full of men? You should know what that does to a man."
"I don't really have a choice. I literally have one change of clothes," I say, opening the door. I shiver in the cool air of the hallway. "Which I would really like to go wash right now," I add.
"Hmm." Behind me, Adrian stops, and when I turn around, he eyes me up and down.
"...Adrian?"
"You know, as your lover, I really should dress you better." I narrow my eyes suspiciously at him, but he just winks and saunters off.
...To be honest, I'm still a little worried about whatever Lucien is plotting, but for now, I'm happy to have some alone time, even if it's not much. I half-sneak around the mansion to collect my clothing - the thrall dress, the bathing dress, and I even go to retrieve the maid outfit. It's better than nothing, and if I wear it without the apron and the petticoat, it's quite a nice little black dress.
Unfortunately, though Dante is in his room, the maid outfit is not.
"Adrian retrieved it," he answers, not even looking up from his book. "He had quite the gleam in his eye as well," he adds, with a half-smile of his own. When he does finally look up, he asks "What are you doing without your master, anyway?"
I make a face at his phrasing. "You should know better than I. The longer he's gone, the more I worry…"
Dante hides a smile behind his fan. "Well, it must be taking longer than he expected to find the materials. But I would suggest you find him soon." He eyes my clothing. "And without that blouse."
I roll my eyes. "He can find me easily, I'm sure. I need to wash my dress."
Thankfully, I'm not interrupted on the way to the laundry room, but even so I rush through washing my clothes. Somehow, I feel more vulnerable without underwear now than I did in the bath.
Unfortunately, my luck doesn't last. I hear the door behind me open before my underwear are completely dry. As I was afraid of, it's Lucien, and his gold eyes are glittering darkly.
"You're a very poor servant," he begins, then his eyes flick to my underwear drying on the rack, and his smile widens. His eyes flick back to me. I'm wearing Adrian's blouse like a dress, with Lucien's sash and vest over the top. "That isn't your uniform, little bird," he says, and takes a step towards me.
"You don't seriously expect me to change back without my underwear," I reply nervously, taking a step back."
He shrugs. "Does it matter if you're covered anyway?" he teases.
"Since you're here, yes," I grumble. "What the hell is your plan anyway? Why did you leave?"
"Oh, yes," he says with a grin. "I'm going to teach you how to dance."
"That's going to be awfully difficult with your height," I reply hesitantly.
Lucien's smile quirks darkly. "Oh, it's not partner dancing. I need to teach you if I want you to dance for me, don't I?"
I feel myself turn bright red. "Y-you're kidding. I can't do that. Especially not without-" His eyebrow twitches in amusement. I shake my head vigorously. "That's hard enough fully clothed, much less- much less-"
Lucien watches me for a moment, then sighs in disappointment. "Fine." Before I can stop him, he grabs my underwear off the drying rack. His fingers glow for a moment, and steam rises out of them in a sudden white puff. I snatch them away as soon as they're dry.
But I still mumble, "Thanks."
He chuckles. "Come to the music room once you've changed."
Technically, he didn't tell me not to wear the blouse, so I keep it on. I tie the sash in a different way, so it fits more like a skirt. I have a feeling I'm going to need the extra coverage.
Much to my surprise though, when I enter the music room, Lucien is the only one there.
"What, no audience this time?" I ask.
"You wouldn't do it if there were," he replies casually. When I look at him properly, I realize he's shed some of his clothing as well, so he can move more easily. He places a thin disc on a player in the corner of the room, and music begins to pour from the horn. He looks unusually serious as he turns to face me.
"Now, you have a sense of rhythm, but the first step is to get your feet to follow that rhythm naturally. Mirror my steps." He begins a light, but slow routine, dipping his feet back and forth with the music.
My attempts are clumsy to the point of looking like a mockery. I try to imitate how he's turning his toes in and out, and end up stumbling instead. He sighs and takes my arms to hold me up. "Here, now you don't have to worry about balance. Stop- stop adding extra steps."
"I'm trying," I say, but I can't keep up. "I keep missing steps, so-"
"Don't worry about what you missed. Just think about where you're going next." Lucien is an unexpectedly good teacher, and after a little more awkward stumbling, I can mostly keep up.
"Good," he says, stepping back. "Now, lift your arms, in the shape of a-"
But as soon as I do, I immediately lose my feet and start stumbling again. He sighs in irritation again. "This isn't something that can happen quickly," I protest.
"I know," he sighs, then moves behind me. "The problem is you're not swinging enough."
"Swinging?" I ask, still concentrating on keeping my basic stepping right.
I feel his hands on my waist, and stumble in surprise. "Keep going," he says into my ear. "I'll lead your hips."
I'd feel relieved that he can't see my cherry-red face, except that I know he can certainly hear my heartbeat pick up. Fortunately, he's too busy concentrating to make a comment.
Eventually, I pick up the thread of the steps again, and he moves his hands with my hips as I do. Once I'm in the rhythm, he starts pushing them in and out to make wider arcs. It's embarrassing, but at the same time, I can feel how it's making the movements smoother. "Good. Now, you add some turns here...and here…" He twists my hips back and forth, on the corners, and I feel my heart rate shoot up even more. I stumble again, and concentrate on keeping the rhythm. Suddenly, I feel the change. The movement feels natural now, like one continuous shape rather than a series of steps and movements. Lucien steps back and comes back to the front, smiling approvingly.
I feel too accomplished to be embarrassed now, and grin at him. "I'm doing it, right?"
He nods. "Now, your arms-" He pauses. "Actually, that might be the best you can do today," he says with another sigh, and stops the music. He looks almost melancholy.
"Lucien?"
When he looks up again, the melancholy is gone, but his smile is warm. "You did well. Let's get you some dinner." But before I can be too happy, his eyes flick over my clothing again. "But change back into your uniform first."
I feel so energized after getting some proper exercise that I make myself a real dinner. While my food is simmering, I inspect the chiller and the fruit basket and find runes carved into both. A transportation circle? Even the pantry shelves have the same symbols, so it must be. That seems like an awful lot of effort just to make sure those four are cut off from the outside world. I find myself wondering again what each of them had done, but now is not the time to ask.
When I come out with my food, everyone's in the main room again.
My hair must be a mess, because Adrian comments on it. "Looks like Lucien worked you pretty hard," he teases.
"He's teaching me how to dance," I answer curtly.
"You'll give us a demonstration soon, I hope?" says Dante with a smile.
I feel myself reddening. "Uhh, well…"
"She's reserving it for my eyes alone," says Lucien.
"I definitely am not," I retort hotly. "But really, I can barely do anything. I'm awful at it."
"That's too bad," murmurs Virgil. "I wanted to see it."
"Oh, you will," says Lucien lightly, and I turn to glare at him.
"That is not up to you," I argue, but he chuckles, and leans forward to take my gaze.
"You were plenty willing to learn. You'll do anything as long as it gives you something to do."
"Not anything," I reply sourly. Feeling everyone's amused gazes on me, I try to finish my food as quickly as possible.
"Stop staring, all of you," I say, shooting them all a sharp glare.
"How could we not, with an outfit like that?" teases Adrian.
"Shut up!" I retort, but Virgil cuts him off as well.
"Not all of us are so easily pleased, Adrian," he says.
"What, not your taste?"
"That's not what I meant-" begins Virgil, but Dante replies as well.
"It isn't to my taste either," he says.
Virgil gives an exasperated sigh. "It's not about taste. I'm not interested in looks alone."
"I see," says Adrian, nodding understandingly, and Virgil looks pleased. "You like roleplay." Virgil's cheeks turn a little pink in shock.
Dante speaks up again. "You know, I'm sure she would be willing to do that for you."
I feel their pointed gazes on me again and hurriedly shovel more food into my mouth. Virgil's gaze is especially uncomfortable. Next to me, Lucien chuckles and pats my head. "Relax, little bird. It'll be a few days yet before that happens."
"That doesn't make me feel any better," I reply, and finally finish the last of my food. "Get me out of here," I grumble, standing up. "I can't stand those looks from you people."
On the way back to his room, Lucien is practically humming with satisfaction.
"Glad to see you're finally in a good mood," say wryly as I take a seat on his bed. "Now could you give me proper clothes to wear?"
"These are plenty proper," he says, climbing over me. "They're fit for a princess."
I push at his chest. "You know what I mean. And what princess would be caught wearing so little? I just need something comfortable to sleep in. I don't think my dress is dry."
"Hmm, alright," he says, getting off me to go to his closet. I'm a little suspicious at how easily he agrees, but I take the shift he gives me and change behind a curtain.
He's already in the bed when I emerge, covers pulled up and all. But once I start climbing in, he immediately pulls me to him.
As soon as he pulls me flush to him, I realize something. "Lucien?"
"Yes?"
"Are you naked right now?"
"You know the answer to that, don't you?" he hums into my ear. "Relax. I won't do anything."
"You better not," I reply doubtfully. "I won't hesitate to burn even your most sensitive areas. In fact, I would relish it."
"I won't, I won't," he chuckles. "I'm just tired of wearing clothes to bed."
"It was one night!" I argue, and he shrugs in response.
"One night too many. Just sleep. I'm not interested in doing anything to you anyway."
I give in. "...Alright."
I slowly relax until sleep finally overtakes me.