Utena stood uncomfortably in the middle of the livingroom. She was being fitted into her dress uniform as quickly as possible, with Juri's able assistance. And occasional commentary. "You're face looks awfully white," Juri remarked, a impish smile on her face. She had seen Utena run out of the bedroom earlier and Juri had a pretty good idea what she had seen there. "I'm fine," Utena said, jolted back to reality by Juri's question. Her mind had been dwelling on what she had just seen, no matter how hard she tried not to. In her command voice she asked, "Juri, is there anyone attending tonight I need to be aware of?" Juri instantly was back into her second-in-comand mode. "There will probaly be three we need to watch for," Juri said as she helped Utena into her dress coat over the white shirt and pants, "Ruka, Saionji and Kanae." "I've heard of Ruka," Utena admitted. Juri tensed, though Utena didn't understand why. "He's a profesional duelist," Utena continued, "fighting for money. He tricks you into challenging him, he chooses to fight to the death, and kills the target." Juri nodded. "He was also a former guard," she said to Utena reluctantly, "and we have some... history between us." Utena looked at her with a raised eyebrow, but she doesn't elaborate. "And the others?" Utena asked, desciding not to press the issue. "Saionji is noble born, and he was caught attempting to rape a serving girl here. Wakaba, in fact," Juri said grimly. "The Princess expelled him from court, but he bought the title of another lord and was able to return. He's been keeping his nose clean since then, however." Juri sighed softly, "Kanae was Akio's last betrothed, before he was finally exiled. She hates Anthy with a fiery passion, and would kill her herself if she thought she could get away with it." "Great, just great," Utena sighed. "Are the guards ready?" "I've got the extra people in place," Juri assured her. "I doubt they would risk such a public move, but we're ready if they try." Before Utena could say anymore, Anthy stepped out of the bedroom, a sweet smile on her beautiful face. The long white dress swirled around her, but she kept one hand on the bodice, holding it in place. "I sent my maid on an errand," Anthy said, smiling at them, "so I was wondering, could one of you lace me?" She turned, revealing the open back of her dress and not incidentally the top of her pink panties, right up her corsetted back, amd all the way to her lacey bra. Both Juri and Utena gulped audibly in the nearly silent room, before Utena managed to croak out "I'd be glad to help." Anthy pulled her long hair up out of the way and Utena gently grasped the lacings up her back, pulling them tight. She secured the laces up at the neck, and Anthy quickly turned in her arms. "Thank you so much, Utena," Anthy said, smiling up at Utena's face. She went up on tip-toe and softly brushed her lips across Utena's own before retreating with an impish smile to her bedroom. "Way to go, Utena," Juri said to her with a broad grin on her face. She began to softly whistle a popular wedding tune. "Don't you have some guard duties to attend to before the party?" Utena asked Juri pointedly. Juri grinned at her and sauntered off, but not before stopping and straightening Utena's uniform. Utena and Anthy stood at the Great Hall's doors, pausing there a moment. Utena nervously adjusted her dress uniform's collar, and said to Anthy nervously "I've rarely been to court diners. Can you keep me out of trouble please?" Anthy smiled up at Utena, her long gown sweeping gently around her. "I'll do my best," she said with a gentle smile. She nodded to the guard standing there, and he pushed the doors open. "Princess Anthy Ohtori," the pageboy anounced loudly, "and her companion, Captain Utena Tenjou!" Every eye in the room turned to them, and Utena had to fight the urge to glare at the poor page. There weren't too many people in the ballroom, only about fifty or so. Utena found herself tracking the movements of several of them, and was pleasantly surprised to notice a friend in the crowd. Juri wore a man's suit, and cut a very fine figure indeed as she made her way over to them. At least, many admiring ladies of the court seemed to think so. "Anthy, Utena, so glad you could make it," Juri said, smiling charmingly. "I keep forgetting you're a noble lady," Utena said softly, recieving several glares from several young ladies who wanted to talk to Juri. "I'm certain my family wishes they could forget," Juri answered her wryly. "But my father couldn't get away from some problems at his western holdings, so..." she shrugged. "Are any of my brother's cronies gracing us with their presence?" Anthy asked Juri quietly. "Kanae, Saionji and Ruka, as we expected," Juri answered softly, discretely pointing out three figures standing close together. Anthy nodded, then looked up at Utena, "I'll introduce you, of course." She rolled her eyes, "They're such lovely company." "Juri's told me about your brother's allies, but why do you allow...?" Utena started to ask. "There's no solid proof they were involved with any of my dear brother's plots," Anthy said with a small, weary sigh. "And they are far too well connected to exile or try to question them." Utena made a face, "I understand." She sighed a little, adding "You know, I really hate politics." Anthy smiled up at her, "Doesn't one of your philosophers say 'War is merely an extension of politics.' Utena?" Utena looked down at her admiringly, "You have been reading my books again, I see. Should I be concerned?" Anthy blushed a bit, remembering a more rique novel she had been browsing through. "We will need to circulate," Anthy said softly, blushing a bit harder under Utena's admiring gaze. "Juri, could you keep your eyes open?" Utena asked her. "Of course," Juri said with a respectful nod. "The guards are also in position, as you ordered." "I noticed a few very familiar looking pages," Anthy said smiling. "I take it some of the more presentable guards are doing double duty?" she whispered. Utena smiled impishly, as a very busy Tsuwabuki ran by them in a pageboy outfit, carrying a full tray of drinks. "All clear," he reported, and then moved off in response to the waves of a very drunk lady. Utena noticed that the general response to his presence in any of the small crowds seemed to be a cheerful 'he's so cute!', something that no doubt irked him to no end. A line quickly formed, and Anthy shook hands and smiled as she moved down it, Utena watching warily as she stood at her side. She endured the speculative gazes she recieved, instead concentrating on her three potential threats. Saionji sneered coldly as he shook Anthy's hand, his long green hair flowing down his back. Ruka watched the crowd coldly, weighing each member of the crowd for their potential threat. His eyes crossed Utena's, and it was like the crossing of blades. Kanae, her pale green hair falling limply into her eyes, continued to drink glass after glass of spirits, as if to dull some long carried pain. Each paid their respects under Utena's unforgiving gaze, and if they had any pointed comments to make, they wisely decided to keep them to themselves. They then moved to the dinner table, where many local dishes were being served. "Anthy," Utena said softly, "do you have a food taster?" The Princess grimaced slightly and asked quietly "Is that really necessary?" Utena was quite impressed by Anthy's ability to softly speak without apparently moving her lips! Her comments came right out of a unmoving, charming smile! "Sorry," Utena said, not very apologetically, "but I think it's needed." The guard at the dore spoke up, announcing another late arrival "Mage Takatsuki Shiori, Late of the Skybolts and the Kethry/Tarma school!" Shiori still looked a little pale, but it offset her dark colored gown perfectly, her hair teases and styled to fall over her shoulders. The scanned the room like a huntress looking for her prey, smiling when she saw it at last. Juri stood rooted to the spot as the vision of beauty walked slowly through the crowds towards her...
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