Sin: Path of Poison

Chapter 22 Part 2

I had nowhere keep the outift, so I took off my robes and put the dress on. It was fairly simple, a red bodice with barely any fabric that hung off the shoulder. The bodice was low cut, a black strip of fabric held the two sides together a short distance above my cleavage. The bodice was purely red at the top but darkened as it went down, it was completely black where it stopped just above my knees. Two black straps fell down near the chest, the tips were red. Luckily there were black shorts built into the dress, Torch didn't think to grab the matching undergarments. I pulled the other robes over top. It wasn't noticeable that I was wearing two outfits.

The scent of my dress wasn't heavy, another reminder of how long it'd been since I was last in my rooms. Torch had traces of my scent, which meant he'd been frequenting my room as promised. I wondered how he'd found out about this to begin with, likely spies delivering Silver or Angst information that he overheard.

There was a sudden knock on my door, I went out to watch the show with the others. I was in line to be the fourth performer, we started in the order we were chosen. Three of the women had decided to change clothing, borrowing something from the normal performers. The first two danced, each elegant and beautiful. Typical dances that were expected of the middle and high class, even I had been taught these. The third woman played the dizi, her melody was well received.

It was finally my turn. I could feel Torch hiding near a window downstairs to listen in. Thinking back, it'd been a long time since I performed publicly. Angst had entertainers perform for him nearly every night, but I rarely came to watch. Very few in our guild could say they'd even seen me play. I carefully wrapped some borrowed finger picks on my fingernails.

Two men brought out a low table and placed a beautifully carved guzheng on top. While it wasn't of the quality I preferred, it wasn't poorly made either. Considering this was an establishment meant to entertain, there was at least a certain expectation. After they placed a small stool, I walked into the middle of the stage and gracefully took a seat.

I closed my eyes and allowed my mind to calm. My fingers moved across the strings skillfully, pulling at the hearts of the listeners. I began to sing, my voice was clear and full of emotion, accompanying the sounds of the instrument. The audience was completely silent as I let the melody dance in the air. The lyrics sang of a love that was lost, treasured memories full of regret now, the person was gone. The final chord struck, the sound lingered in the air as everyone strained to listen, holding on until it was completely inaudible. Everyone in the building stood to clap as I walked to the side of the stage where everyone else stood.

The woman next in line to perform shook her head in embarrassment, afraid to follow my performance. Despite the hostess's best attempts, the remaining women apologized profusely but declined to go to the middle of the stage. Although the crowd seemed disappointed that there would be no more contestants, none seemed to encourage the other woman to try their best.

I was asked to come out on stage again to receive another round of applause as they proclaimed me the winner. My reward was a delicate necklace made of gold. The entertainment was cut short due to all the forfeits. The normal performers came out to fill up the remaining time. The performers insisted on dancing, the musicians accompanying them played in groups of three. Nobody was willing to be the target of scrutiny after my performance.

Several people tried to stop me along the way back to my table, inviting me to sit with their group instead. I walked away from their offers and politely dismissed them. I smiled happily as I returned to the table while also channeling my energy outside to figure out where this group of annoyances were hiding. There were several dishes of food sitting untouched, I chose a couple things to try.

The others stared at me oddly. Did I do something wrong? I glanced at Lei to see if he had an obvious answer, he stared blankly back at me with his mouth slightly open. I looked down at myself, wondering if my robes had shifted, exposing the other dress. I couldn't see any obvious oversights. Deciding to ignore them, I continued to eat. The only one at the table who was doing so.