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Her fan flicked gently as she danced, clearly unfazed by all of the noblemen watching her. Shizuka's lips formed a subtle smile, one invisible to her audience, as she took the careful steps in the slow dance. Her liquid-brown eyes flicked up often to observe her crowd and she took note that Katsuhige was not among the men watching. A soft sigh escaped her lips as the music created by a fellow Shirabyoshi came to a close and she flicked her fan shut, tucking it safely away. All of the men smiled appreciatively as she approached them, seating herself lightly on an availible cushion.

She exchanged greetings with a few familiar samurai nearby, who wished to inquire why she had not unsheathed her sword during the dance, and who all received pleasantly polite answers. Shizuka was well-known as a beauty in the Heian court, but it was also said that her heart was cold; as frigid as the snow. Men somehow didn't seem to interest the composed and poetic woman, it was said. She would recite pretty words if asked, and she could dance like no other woman, but when left to her own devices with men, without one of her comrades, simple conversation seemed an impossibilty.

She now murmured a poem softly in Chinese, the language of the men of the court, her eyes assessing the looks of pleasure that the beautiful words drew from the men around her, even those who had a reputation for a harsher attitude. She had talent, a few whispered, but at times one has to wish for a bit more in the way of individual feeling.

Shizuka only looked to the unfamiliar man momentarily and was certainly about to turn away we he continued speaking directly to herself, forcing her to allow her gaze to remain upon him. "I--" He cut her off, leaving her in a state of confusion. She listened to him, feeling her curiosity piquing as he spoke. He certainly was eloquent, but at the same time demanding with his speech. Not many men could manage that sort of thing with their words. Shizuka now stared at him, transfixed rather than annoyed at his view of things. Now it almost seemed too simple to make conversation with this noble.

"Chinese is lovely written." She murmured hesitantly, ignoring the many men with their attention now rooted on both she and the nobleman. "And... it is a very eloquent language; so sophisticated, but..." She paused, composing her thoughts without taking much note of her surroundings. She was acting both normal and human as she tried to get her thoughts to this intriguing stranger. "Japanese is my language. Perhaps I'm biased as a woman, but Japanese is a language that holds much more in the way of understanding to me." She finished somewhat lamely in her opinion.

"But Chinese is our language as of now, so we must use it to our advantage. Now, if I may ask your name...?" The Shirabyoshi managed a wan but visible smile as she set her eyes yet again on the nobleman before her. He was certainly... different.

Shizuka found herself flushing in pelasure at the compliments under her makeup as she watched the man fixedly. He was extremely charming as well as beautiful and it was slightly unnerving. Most of the crowd that had been watching her dance were now carrying out casual conversations of their own; idle speech. She brushed a hand lightly through her hair before folding her hands unobtrusively into her lap.

"Mikado-sama..." She murmured the name formally, her brown eyes fixing on the friendly man's face as she memorized it. "I--well, no... His Majesty has not." She replied, looking slightly crestfallen, although it was not likely that her full expressions translated through her mask of makeup. "There are plenty of Shirabyoshi that I'm sure he feels would be better choices in my stead. Like.. Akane Mori, for one." She nodded to herself, as if confirming this.

She was oddly comfortable speaking with the man she thought was Mikado and she was slowly relaxing her stiff posture, little by little. A small, unconcious smile was also forming on her lips. How long had it been since a man had spoken to her that wasn't solely interested in taking her into another room and removing her robes? Not that she was so sure Mikado wouldn't; she didn't yet know him that well, but her intuition made her rather sure that the man before her would do no such thing.

He was respectful and complimentary without crossing the line. Someone she could honestly just converse with, which was a comfort in itself. Usually true talk was saved for well-known friends, such as Miharu.

It was Sachiko's duty, for this night, to make certain that every cup was kept full. Those who made a habit of studying such things had long since noticed that free flowing drink kept the audience at any performance happy, even if they didn't always remember the details of the night's event in the next morning's light.

So it was that she carried a tray with several bottles of sake on its surface. She moved with as much of the grace she was learning as she could, each step a rolling one so as not to jar the vessels together, to add no unwanted music to that which accompanied the Shirabyoshi's dance. She kept her eyes downcast, as was appropriate, and would not speak unless directly asked a question.

But she could and did invite herself into the spaces between shoulders to refill cups even if the drinkers made no sign that they would like more. Which was how she found herself at Reizei's shoulder, insinuating herself silently at his side, one hand stretched out to tip the bottle and pour sake into his cup. Her silent mantra played over and over in her mind: Not too slow, not too fast, don't touch, don't spill.

Reizei frowned at Shizuka's sudden change in composure, looking bothered by this. It was foolish to so easily show one's flaws like this. In a way, this woman wore her heart on her sleeve and it clearly forced them both into states of discomfort in which an awkward silence ensued. Shizuka was a beautiful dancer and a good conversationalist up until she took something the wrong way, it seemed.

And so this was how Reizei ended up glancing to the maid himself, smiling to the girl. "Thank you." He murmured politely, his eyes lighting with sudden interest. "Are you training to be a Shirabyoshi yourself?" The inquisitive emperor asked, tilting his head lightly to the side as he observed the young girl. He offered a small smile to Shizuka when he glanced to the shirabyoshi, making sure it was slightly apologetic.

He honestly wanted forgivness from the woman. She was fascinating, really. He wanted to experience this masquerade for all that it was worth and upsetting a shirabyoshi wasn't a part of the plan.

Shizuka blinked, slightly taken aback as Reizei suddenly started chatting with the maid. This was rather unusual behavior, as maids were meant not to be noticed. They were expected to be apparitions of sort who refilled one's drinks and did chores that no one ever really noticed.

She flicked her fan out, automatically hiding a small smile at the maid's behavior. It was amusing to the woman, to say the least. She faintly recalled her years as a maid, in which she'd been carefully obediant and polite at all costs. It had been a relief to move up in rank and to become a student after all of that, especially the maltreatments a maid could receive from rude samurai or nobles.

"Mikado-san, perhaps it is best to leave her to work." Shizuka murmured, a hint of amusement showing through in her tone as she regarded the small girl.

He wanted her to...stay? To talk to her? Sachiko was so startled that her gaze flickered up again, first to the man, and then to the woman on his other side. This man really wanted to talk to her? She could guess that the dancer laughed behind her fan. She'd be talked about for certain, now. The maid who couldn't just disappear.

She dropped her gaze again and tugged her tray tighter into her lap, so the sake bottles wouldn't tip while she knelt there, trying to think of any reason why this man might want to speak to her. Still, if that was his desire. "Then I will stay, ue-sama, as you wish," she told him, though the most he was going to see of her again was her profile.

"It is not often that a maid would have anything of worth to talk about, ue-sama," she told him quietly.