Before I entered the building, I opened my spatial ring to find the tournament dress I had removed. The building exuded a sense of history, a history that I would have knowingly insulted if I strode into the room in leathers, crusted with blood and grit.
I didn't have time to shower, but a quick cycle of water and air removed most of the detritus from my recent battle. I stripped myself of my armor, before re-equipping the dress, happy at that moment that Elves didn't have issues with nudity. Granted, it would have been seemlier to have changed somewhere more private, but since Yvonne had not given me the opportunity, I refused to ignore the aura this building exuded because of squeamish sensibilities.
No matter how much I hated wearing this dress as armor, that distaste was more about functionality than style. The dress itself was beautiful, a masterpiece created by an artist of Flowing Water Sect. My issue with it had nothing to do with fit or design.
I wasn't feminine enough to conform, to fit a standard of beauty that believed that appearance was everything, but this was more about culture than couture. My problem with the dress revolved around functionality, and in this instance it was functional.
[Tessenjutsu] required a fluidity of movement, a dancelike quality that required my legs and arms to be as unencumbered as possible. I'd had Yvonne create form-fitting leather armor exactly for that reason. The folds of cloth stored in the spatial pockets could be released to billow and obstruct my opponent instead of entangling me as I pirouetted, tumbled, and used acrobatic leaps in tandem with the Tessen.
"I'm sorry," Yvonne apologized, "I should have given you a few moments to clean up and change. I would explain why I failed to give you time to attend to your ablations, but you are about to find out for yourself."
She still stood with the door to the tearoom opened, her arm still extended inviting me to enter. I tried to ignore what she had hinted at, but it was impossible. There was someone in that room that she either respected immensely or feared greatly.
I took small comfort in knowing that Elder Shadow was also inside waiting. He and Elder Tye had manipulated events and me for some purpose I still failed to understand. They wanted me as a member of this new Sect. I hadn't reconciled the dichotomy between the support and aid they had given me over the past year, and the knowledge that that aid may have been given as a means to manipulate events that had led to this moment.
As I moved to enter the room, a man and woman that had been waiting just inside, exited. Each taking a position to guard the door. Their obvious position flanking the door was meant to ensure privacy.
The room I entered was bereft of furniture or people. The proprietor had cleared the building to allow the discussion that was about to take place to be done in private. There were a few bamboo screens, elegantly created with historical pictographs of Elvish accomplishments strategically placed around the room.
They had been placed more to hide the minutia that a business that was involved in the sale of tea might find. Stacks of teapots, cups, saucers, chafing dishes that held the accouterments that meshed will with tea, as well as tins of tea leaves stacked along shelves waiting to be offered to customers were hidden behind the elegant screens.
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The owner used the space with a nod towards Feng Shui, expertly directing the ambient Qi to enhance the serenity and peace that was the focus of the establishment. Feng Shui masters were often skilled array masters, the technical proficiency of one translating well to the artistry of the other.
Elder Shadow was seated upon a cushion, to the left of a woman, both of them sitting patiently at a Chabudai. The oriental atmosphere of the tearoom, the furnishings, even the Biwa that was being plucked by an accomplished musician fit well with the narrative that this building was trying to create.
The woman, sitting stiffly next to Elder Shadow, exuded both power and dignity. She was dressed in an expensive kimono, obviously crafted with silk, perhaps the same type of silk that had been used to create the dress of armor I was wearing. Where my dress was muted and understated, pale blues and whites, her kimono was an explosion of colors. A black background serving as the canvas for a riotous scene of pink and white cherry blossoms.
She had her hair piled high, with ornamental chopsticks used to hold the bun in place. Lips were brightly painted red, the color glaring against the contrast of Oshiroi. Why she had decided to adopt the look and appearance of the Geisha, was not mine to ask, but it did have me wondering about how close some of Earth's cultural traditions had translated into this world.
I wasn't sure how I should act, so I would take my cue from Elder Shadow who was sitting, knees bent so that his body could rest on his feet, waiting patiently for the Lady to speak. And Lady she must be I surmised. Not Queen or Empress, but perhaps a Concubine or highly placed attendant.
Whoever the woman was, she was examining me with a direct intensity that I was attempting not to emulate. I was so distracted that I jumped in surprise when Yvonne took my elbow to lead me to the table. Clasping my arms tight at my side, I copied Yvonne's bow to the woman, bending at the waist, my hair falling forward as I kept my eyes firmly downcast. She and I held that position until the woman spoke, releasing some of the tension that had filled the room.
"Thank you, Yvonne," she said after giving us permission to rise, "I will have words with your Patriarch after today's events. If you could inform him that I will be looking for him after the banquet."
Yvonne inclined her head graciously, acknowledging the request, before backing out of the room. She didn't perform another bow, but she had been clearly dismissed and moved hastily to leave me to my fate. Even though I would have done the same, I still smothered a quick burst of resentment when I realized that I was expected to stay and brave the lion.
"If you could pour, dear," the woman said motioning for me to join her and Elder Shadow at the Chabudai.
Tea wasn't something I had enjoyed in either world. I knew enough about to know that the English and Japanese had made a ceremony over the practice. A ceremony that Genesis had gifted me with when she gave me this body.
What was more worrisome was why I had been expected to act as the host? From the available porcelain cups, tea leaves, and the pot of boiling water, it was evident that I was expected to perform the abbreviated version that included only the thin tea ceremony. As I sat, with my legs folded under and to the side, I stiffened my back, reaching forward with my left hand to hold the sleeves of the dress back and out of the way.
I had all of the knowledge that Jai would have been expected to learn before I stepped into her life, and I was relieved to find that I could perform the duty of the host without completely embarrassing myself. The ceremony I was performing wasn't comparable to the full Kaiseki ceremony that served as a meal, but it was still steeped in tradition, grace, and elegance.
A soft breath of relief from Elder Shadow was all that was needed to acknowledge that my movements were correct, that I had embraced the elegance of the ceremony, and even if the tradition I was familiar with wasn't the exact same as the woman before me, my actions were acceptable.
I couldn't question why this Elven Lady was so besotted by Oriental dress and ceremony; our station wouldn't allow for it. I was just thankful I hadn't entered this room reeking of blood and sweat dressed in my form-fitting leathers.