Sabera’s Dinner Plan

Sabera’s Dinner Plan

Another Invidia story by AMI MEITSU

A/N: This is actually a story about Invidia’s mother, Sabera, and takes place in the 2180s when Invidia’s just a baby. Also the song Voice in the Dark is copyright to whoever wrote it.

Voice in the Dark!

Yami no ~FORIA~

Shinju no kizuna ubae

Voice in the Dark…

Sabera sang as she walked around the room with Invidia. She was having trouble getting her to go to sleep, and singing usually helped. She sang and rocked the two-month old baby as she moved, which seemed to be working well. So, she layed Invidia down in her crib and continued to sing as Invidia smiled and softly cooed at her.

“You like mama’s voice, huh?” Sabera asked as she leaned on top of the bars. She knew she wasn’t going to get an answer, but she liked talking to the baby.

Invidia didn’t say anything, of course, but she was falling asleep. Sabera smiled and put a light blanket over her daughter as she slept, then, she lightly kissed her on the head.

“So, she finally went to sleep?”

“Hm?” Sabera turned around to find Zordar behind her. “Yes, finally.”

“I know, she’s hard to put down sometimes.”

“Who would think that such a cute little girl could cause so much trouble?”

“I know, but I love her.”

“I think we know you love her.” Zordar said as he and Sabera left the room, Sabera with a baby monitor in hand. Zordar had often suggested that she should just keep it on her hip or something, but that was hard to do with the long-sleeved black dresses she liked to wear.

“Anyway, I’ve been meaning to talk to you.” Sabera looked at him as they came into their sitting room and sat together on the couch.

“Hm?”

“I want to throw a dinner party.”

“What? Why?”

“Well, we haven’t had a reception in a while…and I’ve been wanting to have a formal dinner.”

“If you want a formal dinner, then I can just take you out.” Zordar pointed out.

“No, I want it here, Please?” Sabera looked at him with wide eyes, it was cute…and also extremely hard to resist.

“Fine.”

“Thank you! I love you.” They kissed and Zordar held her for awhile, enjoying the peace and quiet while Invidia slept.

A rare peace these days since Sabera spent most of her time with the baby, who began crying a few minutes later.

“I just put her down!” Sabera whined.

“I’ll get her.” Zordar got up and went back into Invidia’s bedroom. “What’s wrong now?” He asked as he picked her up.

Invidia just kept wailing…

“Oh, please shut up…here…” He picked up her pacifier and stuck it in her mouth, it usually helped, but this time she immediately spit it out and continued crying.

“Let me see.” Sabera took her. “What’s wrong with Mommy’s little princess?” She listened closely to her cries, and looked her over, it was then that she realized what it was. “She needs to be changed, and it’s your turn.”

“What?”

“Your turn.” Sabera hissed as she handed him their daughter, she had already done it three times that day and it was definitely Zordar’s turn, mostly because she had plans to make. She left before he could say ‘no’ and went back into their bedroom, there, she grabbed a pen and a small black pad and began writing. Her thoughts were sketchy at the moment but she had some plans in mind, including food, a few guest, and even some of the décor. She talked to herself as she wrote. “That won’t do, we’d have to buy a whole new table cloth…but it would look better…and…”

“Talking to yourself again, Lady Sabera?”

“Hm?” Sabera looked toward the door, her servant Nadeshiko stood in the doorway. She shook her head. “Nadeshiko, you make it sound like I’m always talking to myself.”

“I was just kidding, I mean, when you’re really busy you do talk to yourself sometimes. Or you talk to the baby.”

“And what’s wrong with that? Plenty of mothers talk to their children. And this way she can learn to talk, she recognizes me too.”

“And Zordar?”

“Who cares?” At that both women laughed. “No,” Sabera said. “She recognizes her Father too…even if he’s pretty bad at trying to get her to stop whining sometimes…”

“He just doesn’t get it, does he?”

Sabera shrugged. “I don’t know. Hey, are you just going to stand there or do you want to help me?”

“Help you with what?”

“I’m planning a formal dinner, it’s been so long since we last had a reception, I want another one.”

“Why?” Nadeshiko asked.

“Because…” Sabera moved from her position on her stomach over on her back. “Receptions are fun, I like fancy dinners with candles and such…”

“Isn’t it better if you just have a dinner for two like that?”

“Maybe…but I want more people, not a lot, just some…but it’ll take a lot of work…”

And it did. Sabera spent the next few days running around and planning, everything just had to be perfect, it took longer than she planned though, as, she still had the baby to take care of, who, at the moment wouldn’t stop crying.

“Come on Princess, Mama needs to work, please shush.” Sabera said as she held Invidia in one arm and wrote with her other hand, she was in the dining room with a couple different papers around her. Papers that included plans for food and guest, and catalogs for a new tablecloth…

Invidia continued to cry and Sabera dropped her pen, she finally figured out what was wrong.

“You’re hungry, aren’t you? I mean, I just changed you and you don’t want Sabera-bear, or your pacifier…” Sabera then put Invidia down in her baby carrier and went into the kitchen.

“Lady Sabera, what is it?” One of the chefs asked, he thought something might be wrong with the lunch they were working on.

“I need a bottle, Invidia’s hungry and she won’t stop crying…”

“Here…” One of the interns presented her with a bottle a couple minutes later. “And I already checked it, so just give it to her.”

Sabera nodded and left, as soon as she did, she checked the bottle again just to be sure, sometimes they didn’t check it right. She found it to be fine, so went back over to her crying daughter and picked her up. “Shush Honey…” She said. “Here…” She presented Invidia with the bottle and she took it. Sabera sighed as she sat down with the baby; it was always easier to feed her that way. People often asked why Sabera didn’t nurse her, she never seemed to answer, but it was that she couldn’t. Her doctor suggested bottle feeding her with a special substitute formula, mostly because of Sabera’s health issues, it was hard to explain…But Sabera didn’t mind, it would’ve been hard to feed her that way anyway, since her wardrobe mostly consisted of long dresses.

“Having fun?” Zordar asked from behind.

“What?” Sabera asked.

“You seem tired, that’s why I asked.”

“I’m just working too hard I guess, and she doesn’t help sometimes. I mean, I love her but babies are just hard to deal with at times.”

“But they’re so cute, aren’t you Princess?”

Invidia didn’t pay attention; she was too focused on the bottle.

“She’s ignoring you.” Sabera teased.

“Oh, so she’s been taking lessons from her mommy? Ignoring me when it’s relevant, just to be funny?” Zordar teased back.

“Shut up! I am not that bad.” She said as she took the now empty bottle from her daughter and burped her.

Invidia smiled at her parents and held her hands out to her Father.

“Aw, she wants her Daddy…”

“Is that true? Do you wanna see Daddy?” Zordar took his little blue-clad baby from Sabera, who had a tendency to dress Invidia like her in blue and black long-sleeved dresses. And if not that, she wore little sailor dresses or just clothes in colors like blue, black, and red. Sabera claimed that those colors looked better on her with her black hair.

“I hope so, I have work to do… can you please take her?”

“Sure.” Zordar looked at Invidia as they walked off. “Let’s leave Mommy alone for awhile, okay Princess?”

Sabera smiled as she continued to work on her plans, which were almost done, all she really had to do was straighten out the menu and the guest list and compare prices for a few items, but she didn’t bother with the guest until she was with Zordar later in their sitting room.

“So…” She started. “This is what I have so far, but I didn’t want to continue without your approval.”

“Well, who are you inviting?”

“Just a couple of the high ranking generals and their families, then there’s your parents and mine. Oh, and some of the royals from the planets we’ve treated with and of course Captain Vicara and his little girl Rossana.”

“I don’t like her…”

“Zordar! She’s just a four-year-old girl!”

“Yes, but just the way she acts…I think she’s a little spoiled…”

“She just as innocent as Invidia!” Sabera snapped. “She never did anything to anyone, and where do you get off judging a little girl?!”

“She’s evil, Sabera! You haven’t seen the way she messes with us during staff meetings! You’re too busy with that damn baby! She’s not the whole world you know!” Zordar snapped back.

Sabera looked at him with tears in her eyes and Zordar immediately felt guilty. He didn’t know what he had been saying, he was just mad that Sabera didn’t understand.

“Oh, Sabera don’t cry.” He hugged her. “I didn’t mean that Honey, you just don’t understand and it makes me mad that you won’t listen.”

“So?! You don’t have to bring Invidia into this! She’s just a baby! Of course I have to tend to her! I am her mother!”

“I know…And like I said, I didn’t mean that…It’s okay…just invite who you want.”

Sabera nodded and moved out of his grasp. “Good, now if you excuse me I have to go check on ‘that damn baby’”

Zordar sighed; she was not going to let that go for awhile. And she didn’t, she kept bugging him for the next week until the night before the dinner when he had finally apologized and ‘made it up to her’ just to get her to be quiet, and so she wouldn’t be mad during dinner and make him look bad, which she had done before just to get back at him.

“Now…you promise you’re not going to make me look bad?” Zordar asked the next afternoon, as they sat on the couch together, just relaxing.

“I promise, now do me a favor…” Sabera said, she lay with her head in his lap.

“Yes?”

“Go check on Invidia, and bring her down so we can feed her and get it out of the way and get ready for dinner tonight.”

“Why do I have to do it?”

“Because I said so.”

“Fine…” He moved Sabera and got up, but just as he did Nadeshiko came in.

“Don’t worry; I got her, here…” She handed a smiling Invidia to Sabera. “When I went to see her she was already up and laughing.”

“Aw, you’re a happy Princess then, aren’t you?” Sabera said as she lightly tickled her.

“She’s not gonna be too happy when she sees all the people around her at dinner.”

“I made sure not to overcrowd it, and you know I do my best to stay away from the big crowds, I wouldn’t wanna scare my Princess, now would I?”

Invidia just gave her one of those blank stares she always had.

“I don’t think she understands.” Nadeshiko pointed out.

“What did I tell you before about me talking to the baby? I like it and it’ll help her learn how to talk.”

“I wish I knew that when my daughter was a baby.”

“By the way, how is Shamura?”

“She’s fine, just turned six last week. And she told me to thank you for inviting us to dinner, but I think she’s just happy because she wants to meet Invidia.”

“Everyone wants to meet my heir.” Zordar said. “And I still remember when she was first born everyone thought she was a boy.”

“You were the one who wanted a son.” Nadeshiko pointed out. “It just carried over to everyone else, and after hearing it they fully believed you’d get a son.”

“You should’ve seen the look on his face when the doctor said ‘do you wanna meet your new daughter?’” Sabera laughed.

“Hey, you knew what I was expecting.”

“And look how it turned out, your shock turned into love…and how can you deny her, she loves you…” Sabera held Invidia out to Zordar and Invidia held her hands out to him. In her language it meant ‘hug daddy!’

“Sorry baby, you can’t stay with Daddy, you have to get a bath…”

“And so do you.” Nadeshiko said.

“I know…Come on sweetie, it’s bath time…”

“Me?” Nadeshiko looked confused.

“No! The baby!” Sabera walked off into the bathroom, where her bath servant Rima was waiting.

“Is she joining you again?” Rima asked sweetly when she noticed Invidia.

“Of course, she needs to get ready for dinner too, right honey?”

Invidia just smiled and giggled like she always did and Sabera handed her to Rima so she could get her undressed.

“It’s easier this way anyway, so I don’t have to take a bath then give her one.” Sabera explained as she stripped down herself and got in the bath, Rima put Invidia near her in the little floating inner tube she had, so that Sabera didn’t have to hold her or worry about her in the pool-like bath she had. Sabera gave it a little spin and Invidia squealed happily.

“Aw, you like this don’t you? Being in the bath with Mama.”

Rima chuckled silently, Sabera was always sweet when she talked to Invidia, it was a change from the serious demeanor she often had around others. This motherly demeanor was cute, and definitely showed a whole other side of her.

She gave Invidia another spin before starting to wash her, then she carefully gave her to Rima to be dried and began to wash herself, after Rima ran more hot water into the bath of course.

Invidia squirmed as Rima tried to work with her, she liked the bath a lot, but Rima often had trouble drying her, Sabera too.

“Sabera, she won’t stop…” Rima said.

“Just keep trying, and be careful with her, okay?” Sabera told her. “But if she won’t stop then get her Father to do it.”

“Zordar!” Rima called.

“Not now!” Sabera said as a blush crept up on her cheeks, she meant for Rima to call Zordar when she was done, not when she was still in the bath.

“What?” Zordar asked when he came in. “Do you want me to give you a bath?” He teased as he stared at his wife.

“No! And stop staring!”

“This, coming from the woman who wants to get naked in bed every other night?”

“You’re the one who won’t make love to me when I’ve had more than enough time to recover!” Sabera snapped.

“I just did last night!” Zordar snapped back.

“You were just trying to make things up to me, even if it felt really good…” Sabera blushed as she said the end of the sentence.

“You two can fight about your sex life later! Zordar, take your daughter, she’s being squirmy!” Rima gave Zordar his towel-clad baby, who seemed to calm down when her father held her.

“Sabera…” He said. “Her hair is just so soft and it smells nice…how do you do it?”

“Lots of baby shampoo and love of course…” Sabera replied. “Now get out of here so I can finish washing up and get dressed!”

Zordar left and Sabera quickly got done and ready, so she could dress Invidia for dinner, which was starting early, at five o’clock so that Sabera could bring Invidia before her bedtime. She came into the room just as Zordar finished dressing her.

“This is the right dress, right?” He held Invidia up, she wore a short-sleeved red velvet dress with lace on her collar and a little on the end of the sleeves. With it she wore little black mary-jane style shoes and white baby socks.

“Yes, but you forgot the bow…” Sabera went over and put a little red bow in Invidia’s hair, to which she smiled. Invidia liked it when her mother put small bows in her hair, but, she didn’t like huge bows or the frilly dresses Zordar’s mother often put her in. She’d fuss, or roll around on the floor while trying to pull the bow out.

“Now there’s my pretty Princess…”Sabera cooed as she picked Invidia up and out of her Father’s arms. “Now let’s go downstairs, I’d say that they’re probably waiting for us already.”

Zordar nodded and followed Sabera down into one of the foyers that was near the dining room, where, several people (including Nadeshiko) were waiting. They all seemed to turn when Sabera and Zordar came down, and there were whispers of ‘how cute’ and ‘look at her’ when they saw Invidia. And, as soon as they touched the ground they met up with Captain Vicara and his own daughter Rossana, who wore a blue velvet dress.

“Milady, you look lovely.” He said as Sabera presented her hand and allowed him to kiss it.

“Thank you, Captain.” She said.

Rossana looked up at Sabera and Invidia, Invidia who was in a better dress than she was, Rossana’s parents didn’t buy her lacey clothes…but that was only because she didn’t like lace, either way Invidia was always dressed better than her. “Spoiled baby!” she said.

“Yes, very spoiled baby.” Zordar said, it was true too, Invidia had a million different outfits and toys, and her room was even specially decorated in dark red!

Sabera ignored them, and moved through the crowd, greeting people as she went and Nadeshiko came up with a little girl holding her hand.

“Hi, Shamura,” Sabera said.

“Hello, Lady Sabera.” She greeted her just as her mother had taught her.

“She’s been telling me that she wants my job when she grows up.” Nadeshiko said.

“You want to work in the Palace?” Sabera asked sweetly.

“Yes.”

“Aw, you’re so cute…”

“Can I see the baby?” Shamura asked.

“I told you she just wanted to see Invidia.”

“It’s okay, that’s why most people come to visit anyway. Here…” She knelt down and let Shamura see Invidia.

Invidia just stared at Shamura.

“She’s so tiny…” Shamura took her hand. “And her hand is a million times smaller than mine!” She leaned into Invidia’s face before Sabera could warn her. “And you are so cute! I love you…”

It was then that Invidia began to cry.

"What did I do?” Shamura looked worried.

“Nothing, she just doesn’t like people other than me or Zordar in her face, you’re fine…” Sabera bounced Invidia a bit and when she calmed down Sabera gave her a bottle, so she wouldn’t have to feed her during dinner. She the sat down, just enjoying the evening, this special evening she had planned…which was already off to a good start.