Chapter 25 – Yuki’s Own Party

*** Yuki, morning of the party***

I felt her mana go off again. Hell it was going off all last night. How does a slave manage to get that much I'll never know. Classes don't give a base level of mana or abilities for each person. Some hidden talent levels and how you use the class determine what it provides and how much. Her talent must be immense to have earned so much mana in just four classes. I hope she doesn't get her next class till after she is free. Mistress has likely ruined the best healer of this generation; no need for it to get any worse. I bet her tits will grow a lot to match the mana she has if she gets an actual class. They'll probably be the size of the queen's.

Walking up the stairs, Mistress let me know about the party she is going to. It's probably to warn me that Alzi will need help tonight. I can't believe she takes a pregnant woman to those depraved things. Some of Alzi's worst nights are from those.

I'll give her a massage instead, I think. Hopefully, she doesn't come back hurt. She's had some scary nights after them. I think she blocks out the worst ones, just remembering the normal parties. I've had too many nights where I had to force her mana to circulate to keep her alive. It'll be a problem for later; right now, I need to focus on my performance.

Today, I'm in gold. Standard robe style. Silver accessories instead to contrast. Black flowers decorate the robe. I'll need a lot more makeup today. I guess it is good I can't see Alzi today. The orphans would have a heart attack trying to get it all on if I went to lunch. They have just got the base coat on now. Some cream color. White faces aren't in anymore, so they pick a more natural tone if a full face cover is needed. Next is my eyeliner, a deep purple, almost black color. Then, the eye shadow, which is gold. They add some specks that are silver into it. Standard red lipstick.

They pull my hair into three buns behind my head. Each bun gets a silver hairpin. I wear small, simple earrings. I don't get any jewelry for my fingers or wrist. It gets in the way of my playing. A gold necklace with a ruby jewel finishes my jewelry.

Finally done, I check myself in the mirror. My white tails clash with all the gold, but I didn't choose this color. The girls bring my shoes, which should be called stilts. Six-inch heels. They do have a two-inch platform, so my foot only changes four inches, but it's still hard to walk in. I've had Alzi walk in them before. Her classes are genuinely bullshit to let her walk in them like they are enchanted warrior boots.

I can't wait to teach her how to correctly use mana. She'll have every girl playing in the palm of her hand with her aura and touch correctly activated. Who knows what her new class will give her. At ten, she'll get an upgrade, and then the last fifteen levels hide an unknown number of skills and upgrades. The nobles would be addicted to her even if she chopped their arms off. Soon, I just need to wait a year more. I've been waiting for eighty years already; one more won't kill me. Unfortunately, Mai will likely just be a concubine, but Alzi and I will make sure she is loved. Mai being unable to read will keep her from being a proper wife in any high noble marriage. She could be suitable as a helper to Alzi or me. Hate to push her into that role, but nobles are cutthroat with their harems.

Shoes tied up, I begin the dangerous walk downstairs. Nobody can help me due to the stupid rules. 'Must be pure,' what a joke. I know most of the top girls are getting themselves rammed at the parties before they go on stage, but people will fall for any trick if you set it up well enough or just shout it loud enough.

Today, I'm performing for a private party. I'm not sure who the party is for. It isn't the one the brothel owners are holding. Mine is just outside the border of the red light district in the noble entertainment district. I think it has a tunnel to sneak in brothel girls, I never have to go through them, but Alzi has described a building very similar to it before with a strange path to get there. This time, I'm just playing, no dancing or poetry. I have three songs to play.

"Good, you're here, Yuki. Come on, are you sure you've got everything?" Ariawyn asks when I reach the first floor. She leads all the nonsexual or dancing entertainment and primarily helps me with my appointments.

"Yes, are we starting to walk?"

"Yes, the parade band is here."

"They sent one of those? This is going to take like an hour longer to get there."

"Stop complaining. You go last, so we've got plenty of time."

"Fine, lead the way." Parade walking is the worst. I have to saunter down the street, small slow steps. It is beautiful to see it done correctly. Only four girls here can do it correctly. The rest can only make it a block before they have to cheat. Alzi could probably do it after an hour of training. The only part of the body that moves is the legs. They make a slow semi-circle for each step. Toes point out until the foot is ready to accept your body weight. Your upper body should look like it is floating across the street. The road the four leading brothels are on has a perfect lane for us to walk. The rest of the way there is twice as hard, the streets are uneven and heavily cracked. However, the noble district should have decent roads to walk on.

I get in position and wait for the band to start. It is just two drums. One marks each step, and the other plays songs to the beat.

Soon, the drum plays out the pace. I'm okay with it, so I step out with my left foot first and begin my long, tiring journey.

A small crowd is on the street to watch. I ignore them, keeping my head straight. After two hours, I make it to the edge of the red light district. On each street I went down, a new crowd formed to watch my walk. I'm now on my last road through the noble's distract. Just ten more minutes, and I'll be done with this shit.

I take my last step, and the drums stop. I turn to my left and walk normally inside the building.

"You made good time. You even did the walk perfectly down this quiet street. The princess chose well. Come, I'll show you to the staging area. Do you need to fix your makeup?" the building manager says to me.

Ariawyn answers for me, "No, her hair and makeup are still perfect. Going to the warmup room is good."

Ariawyn doesn't ask about the princess being here. She kept me in the dark about that. I'll have to have a stern talk with Ariawyn about not telling me important information. Now I wonder if the princess is here for a fun night out or business. If it is business and I was chosen by the princess directly, I may have a problem. She may just want me to perform at a more official party, which would be fine, but it'll be annoying if she asks me to be her showgirl. I've turned down a Queen before; I'm not about to settle for a Princess. Mistress will pressure me to leave if she finds out, though. The money she'll get from that trade deal would be annoying. If this is just a fun night, then all will be right in the world. I'll have to play and see if I get any proposals after.

The warmup room is large enough for several dance groups to practice at once. A few small groups are scattered throughout the room. I find a corner and start tuning my instruments. I'm playing five instruments tonight through the three pieces. My tails are more than beautiful. They can play drums and strings just as well as my hands.

It takes an hour for me to finish tuning all the instruments. Both the dancing groups leave during this time, leaving just me and the other band in the large room.

"Yuki, the next act is playing a dance tune but has no dancers. Would you be able to fill in?" The building manager asks after telling the other group to move to the stage.

"Yes, she would be happy to do more for the princess." Ariawyn once again answers for me.

"My shoes?" I ask. I'm not Alzi. I can't walk, dance, or run any shoe I put on.

"You've done it before."

Those were a full inch shorter, and I still nearly fell. But I can't say no here; it'll make it worse if I have to say no to the princess later. "Fine." Well, this sucks. Deep breath, and I follow the band out onto the stage. I set up in the middle and realized they never gave me the song. I'll have to wait a few bars. The musicians are still getting set, so I look into the crowd. It seems like a business meeting. Not many people fill the floor. I spot the tiara marking the princess. A woman actually sits above her. A duchess is here. Someone is aiming for the throne. That explains why I can't hear what they are saying. I won't be dragged into this one, so I can relax and enjoy my time.

The first note comes. From a drum, slowly a few more, finding a leisurely pace to go. I start with some simple steps, not sure what the song is still. Finally, a tone is given from a string, and I figure it out. It's a sad song. Strange song for a business meeting. But I'm just here for the dance. I'll be doing a lot of slower turns. Keeping my body low and curved. It is a long song about a failed war general. It has a second part with 4 more movements about redemption, but the first part is more popular as a warning to not get overconfident. The Duchess may have requested it for the princess in her journey to the throne.

I bow with the musicians and leave the stage. I have one more act before I have to go on.

"Good job on the dance, but you could have waited a second for me to tell you the song," The building manager says. A girl holding some paper walks on stage behind me. This is the strangest entertainment for a business meeting I've ever seen. Poetry would require them to all stop and fully listen to her performance.

"I could have. But it worked out fine. You talk about the princess but not the Duchess here."

"There isn't a Duchess here.."

"Then the Queen is here. Only a Duchess has the chance to sit above the princess, so don't play the stupid game with me."

"I wasn't told about a Dutchess being here, just the princess." She answers. Anger about the incomplete guest list is visible. She walks off, likely too cool off before I go on.

Poetry doesn't take long, so in a few minutes, I walk out onto the stage and start setting up in the middle. I only need two of them for the first song, but I get them all set up so I don't have to do it between songs.

The first song is a silly little dance song. I like how it gets people more engaged with my performance.

The second song is about the same length, five minutes. It's fast-paced and fun. It's about a beautiful valley in the northern part of this country. The last one is a multi-movement piece. It has three movements about the life of a maid. The maid loves her lady and tries to sleep with her. The three movements are what you expect with a happy-ever-after story. The maid and her lady welcome a child into the world and show everyone their love.

Once complete, I put my instruments away, give a deep bow, and walk off stage.

"Well done. The princess has asked you to join us for a quick conversation," the manager says, Ariawyn behind her, nodding her head, so I accept the request.

"As Her Highness wishes." Hopefully, she is just impressed with the performance.