Dream of the Red Chamber

The blonde girl who had been doing Lanâ€s nails returned, along with another, much more glamorous blonde who Lan immediately recognized must be the owner of the spa. The Chinese girl could not help but stare at her as she walked into the salon, her eyes tracing the girlâ€s curves from her head to her feet, aided by the close-fitting garments that the woman wore. “Oh…sheâ€s not disturbing me,” Lan said quietly, not wanting the slightly crazy but largely friendly woman to get in trouble.

The Chinese girl sighed, smiling at Amy as the American sat back down across the table from her and picked up her hand to finish the manicure. But the gorgeous woman with the British accent—just seconds after chiding the oddly-dressed visitor for disturbing Lan—would do exactly what the other had done, coming up behind Lan and beginning to compliment her on her beauty. Lan blushed, and shrank into the chair a little, feeling a little outnumbered and exposed. If she was going to be exposed, though, at least it was among such nice people. “I…feel great,” she said. By the time Allison had begun to speak of her ‘exquisite materials†and grabbed Lanâ€s jaw to gently turn her head to the side, Lanâ€s face was as red as a cherry with embarrassment. “I…I…heh, ah, thank you,” she stuttered, at a loss for words as she looked into the eyes of the British woman.

Allisonâ€s next comment—about how Lan was like a flawless little flower—was both highly flattering, and a little scary for the Chinese girl, as it seemed as if the woman could be talking about not only her appearance, but her virginity, as well. But this gorgeous Brit couldnâ€t know anything about that, Lan assured herself. She had no reason to be concerned with being exposed on anything other than a physical level. That was, it seemed, all that these women were concerned about. That thought managed to assuage some of her worries.

“I am from southern China,” Lan confirmed, when Allison asked. When the next question was about her hair color, Lan did not struggle so much with her answer—she had had to give it many times before, both at home in Guangzhou and here abroad. “It runs in my family,” she explained. “This sort of grayish, dusty, half-blonde color…I know my grandmothers both had it, and one of my grandfathers did. Both my parents and all of my siblings, too. It gets…noticed.” She paused, then added: “Do you…really, uh, think itâ€s…striking? I…donâ€t like it that much.”

"Oh, darling, yes!" Allison placed her hands on Lan's shoulders. "Don't ever be afraid to be noticed. Flowers are to be seen, it's what makes them special, and you are ill-equipped for hiding. You're quite tall, as well, aren't you?" She stepped back. Allison was nearly six-foot in her heels, and while Lan may be tall for a Chinese girl Allison would still tower over her.

"You seem so tense, darling. Can I interest you in a massage? Our specialist does excellent work, though I would even be willing to take care of you myself."

Violate slithered away when Allison suggested to get some tea. It was something she enjoyed quite thoroughly and she hoped Allison had something delicious brewing. She also thought it might be nice for Allison to have a few moments alone with their little Chinese doll. An adorable girl and ripe for her own brand of tormenting. It would be quite a good thing.

She found her way to the where a small kettle kept warm. She turned it on and quickly it was brought to a boil. After steeping the tea laid out for the day, she set a cozy upon a silver tray, filled three perfectly ornate cups and set them on the tray. she carried the tray out and marched towards where Lan sat and Allison doted. The Chinese girl would find the scent of jasmine as familiar as anything she'd ever smelled in her life and Violate had to muse at the coincidence.

When she was next to the two, she bent down and pushed the tray forward like she was a servant. "Fufu, please drink." She said, waiting for Lan to take the cup before offering the tray to Allison, flashing her coy looks and communicating with her using only silent and discreet eye contact.

'This one is perfect' She would say with her gleaming soft, smiling lips.

Lan shivered when Allison placed her hands on her shoulders. No matter how much these two exotic, elegant women touched her and complimented her, she wasnâ€t sure she could get truly comfortable with so much interaction coming all at once. She would do her best to seem at ease, however, though these efforts yielded little success. “I…I guess.” She paused for a moment, swallowed hard, then continued: “I, umm, am tall, I suppose. I w-was tall in China…back home, anyway, I guess.”

Lan was a little bit surprised when Violate returned and bent down to offer her a cup of tea off of the tray. She took a deep whiff, instantly recognizing the scent of Chinese-style jasmine tea. “Oh!” she gasped, grabbing the cup and nodding her head respectfully to Violate. “Thank you,” she said softly, raising the cup to her lips and taking a small sip. She did not notice the silent message Violate communicated to Allison behind her back. She was still uncomfortable, but did not suspect anything was amiss.

The Chinese girl would set it down on the table just before Allisonâ€s offer of a massage, and it was a good thing the cup was out of her hands, because Lan twitched a little when she heard what the glamorous British woman had to say. “O-oh,” she gasped. “Umm…a massage? From…from you?”

Allison smiled warmly. "I'm quite good."

By that point, Amy had moisturized and massaged Lan's hands, beautified her cuticles, cut and filed and polished her nails and painted them with a perfect, glass-like layer of rich purple paint. "They just need to dry..." She said, without taking her focus off the finishing touches on the last nail.

Allison gave Violate a look. Vi always wanted to play, and after a fashion it became rather a tiresome. She had no respect for Allison's business. Every time she visited the spa, she found a client that she just had to have. What about Allison's business? She'd worked very hard to establish the place as a choice destination for people of means and taste. Violate did not seem to understand that her reputation was at stake.

Still, Allison could hardly resist.

"Tell you what," she said, as if she were about to give Lan a lavish gift. "I can show you the rooms, and you can have a stay in whichever one you like." While they were hers to give, they were of considerable value. The rooms weren't booked strictly by the hour or by the treatment, but one could expect to pay close to one hundred thousand yen in order to get comfortable in one.

She finally picked up her tea cup from the tray after making Vi wait. She held the cup up and breathed the delicate scent of the tea. "I'd hate to think of any of our guests being so... tense." She explained.

Violate was definitely feeling a bit antsy. Lan was practically begging for abuse from the two women and Vi knew that Allison knew and Vi also knew that Allison liked to do things here way. Even after standing in an almost statuesque manner until Allison took her tea cup. Vi didn't mind Allison's petty streak one bit. The little victories that she liked to enjoy. the hatter woman would allow Allison to take conquest after conquest on such a small scale. Vi preferred the long game herself and with someone like Allison, that long game could definitely have need for overtime. but she was nothing if not calm and patient. Unlike Allison's nervous little client.

Violate did the same when she was finally able to take a sip from her tea. She inhaled the deep aroma and carefully sipped the hot tea. It burned her tongue in just the right ways and she smiled at the taste. It was as delicious as Allison, or Lan or a walk through her garden.

"Fufu, you should take the lady up on her most generous offer. Dear Allis' rooms are the most exquisite in the city. You will simply die once you've immersed yourself in one of them, fufu." Violate tipped her head and looked at Lan's nails. She then held out the tray for Amy to take. If she was finished, she could certainly do other things. Even though the woman wasn't her servant to command, it was the least Vi could do. "if such fine work can be done on your hair and nails, think of what could be done to the rest of you." She grinned happily. She could hardly contain herself.

Violate strolled off away from the other three and strolled towards the doorway, chuckling to herself as she sipped her tea. She's already had such pleasant fun and she hadn't even had to pull out one of her toys. It was just too marvelous.

Lan turned her head back to Amy when the American girl announced that her nails were finished. Lan looked down at them, and a small, genuine smile flashed across her face. They really looked nice. Amy did good work, and she seemed like such a nice, pleasant girl. Lan had enjoyed her very brief company, and would be sure to tip her well for her services. Of course, the other two were nice, as well, but they were just a tad overbearing, and such forwardness usually only succeeded in unnerving the shy Chinese girl.

She turned back to Allison when the girl offered to let her choose one of her rooms. Lan was intrigued, but also a little terrified. “I…I really only came in for my hair and my nails…” she explained quietly, even as the boisterous, oddly-dressed Violate was extolling the virtues of “Dear Allisâ€s” rooms. “But…I guess I could do a massage.” She would pick up her teacup, taking another sip, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. She closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, then looked back up at the lovely spa owner. “S-so…after tea?”

"Brilliant," Allison said with a smile. "Oh, don't worry about the tea. Bring it with, if you'd like, but there are better things in store for you. I want you to be comfortable, darling. This place is as much yours as it is mine."

Allison helped the young Chinese girl to her feet and led her back through the oak doors to the hallway behind them. The rich, red wood underfoot, the finely woven and intricately patterned rug that ran the length of the hall, the high ceiling and the sparse decor on the walls both modern and anachronistic, all combined to provide a sense of clarity. There was the faint scent of cherry blossoms and raw wood, and, as the doors swung shut, it was almost totally silent. The only sound was the dull thump of Allison's heels against the rug as she strode down the hall.

On either side of the hallway were two doors, each set back at the end of a short offshoot that offered no clues as to what was on the other side. Allison led the girls to the middle of the hallway and stopped. She turned on her heel to face Lan and gestured to the doors on either side.

"Now, darling, tell me about yourself. Where would you like to be? Where do you feel safest?" She asked with an inscrutable little smile. She avoided looking at Vi so that the spark in her eye wouldn't catch.

“Oh,” Lan breathed, looking down at the teacup on the table in front of her. She supposed there was no reason to wait, if she could bring the tea with her—her nails were almost dry, and would certainly not be a problem by the time she had gotten settled in for the massage. “Okay.”

She let herself be picked up from her seat, grabbing her cup of jasmine tea with one hand and giving Amy a little wave goodbye with her other. As they made their way into the back of the building, where the upscale salon transformed into a luxurious spa, Lan could not help but marvel at how fancy it all was. Though she came from a wealthy family herself, she had lived for the last four years in relatively ordinary apartments, first in Hong Kong and, more recently, in Tokyo. It had been a while since she had walked through a corridor like this.

When they got to the junction, where to the left and right stood closed, mysterious rooms, Lan thought that Allison would guide her into one of them. Instead, the owner stopped right in the middle of the hallway and asked Lan to talk about herself. The Chinese girl blushed, and swallowed hard. “Umm…okay,” she began. “I, uh…I feel safe in quiet spaces. Uh, warm colors…I r-really like libraries, b-but I know that doesnâ€t make a difference here.” She gave a little, hesitant laugh. “Just…calm and quiet, I guess. I r-really like this cherry blossom scent, so if a room smells like that…” She trailed off, not sure what else to say.

Vi stalked quietly behind the two as Allison lead Lan off to her ornate backrooms. The were exiting but for Vi, she could see much the same thing at her own house of residence. Though the style was much more distinctly... German. It still held the same fundamental qualities. Still, she liked being back here although she'd never been as a client.

She'd never come as that. It reminded her too much of the story of the barber who found himself alone and shaving his former tormentor. As he recounted the tale of his own torture and how easily one slip of the razor could end that very same man's life. Vi did not like the thought of being in any position but the barbers. And if she was going to play the tormentor, she certainly wouldn't want Allison holding the razor. No, she got as much fulfilling satisfaction from her current position within the spa as a patron might after a deep massage. And she wouldn't have to pay a dime.

Vi listened to Lan's words and chuckled quietly to herself. "Fufu, a you lass after my own heart." She said. "I do so quietly enjoy turning a page or two in the comforting silence of my garden. With naught but the gentle rustling of the plants and their sweet, sweet aromas, fufu." She hoped that might encourage Lan a bit. And she had meant it sincerely. It wasn't often that happened with Violate but sometimes it mattered not to speak a little, white truth.