And the dancing ensues

“Now that we all have food and drinks in us, I declare this moment the beginning of the ball. Dance till your hearts are content and your feet can’t keep you straight,” the king announces.

The adults take a step back from Arti and me, making space for the children of nobility to take their chance at a dance with the princes. Some parents even push their children to hurry up. I am standing about ten meters away from Arti and I see noble children starting to make their way towards him. The first to reach him was a girl a little older than us. She was wearing a long flowing green dress. My attention got pulled to the side as I noticed a similar situation happening in front of me. The first girl to reach me was also older than me but not taller. She was wearing a sky-blue dress with frills. She had tanned skin and long wavy auburn hair.

“Greetings, Your Highness. My name is Salomise Strengust. I am the oldest daughter of Duchess Strengust in the Kingdom of Markadia. Would you do me the honor of having this dance with me?” the young lady curtsies and speaks.

I smile suavely and say, “It would be an honor, my lady.”

We proceed to the dance floor and the music begins. I begin dancing with the lady. My moves are smooth and elegant. Dancing lessons paid off. Once the song ends, Lady Salomise curtsies again, thanks me for the dance and steps away, making way for the next dance partner. I don’t have to wait long before I am approached again. I dance non-stop for the next two hours. My partners changed after each song. Some even asked for a second dance. While dancing, I observe the room. People of all ages and appearances dance around me. I caught glimpses of Arti from time to time. He too dances with different partners. Just like in my case, there is a line of girls on the edge of the dance floor waiting for their chance to dance with us. In the beginning, I saw Mom dancing with our father, but they separated as soon as the song finished. With the song having just finished, I release my current dance partner and give her a short bow. She curtsies smiling and leaves. Before another partner can approach me, I step off the dance floor. I need to take a break, but not before having one more dance. I found the person I was looking for.

My mom was speaking with a couple of noble women. I approach them and address my mom. “Would you do me the honor of having this dance with me, Mother?” I ask and extend my hand to her.

The noble women smile seeing this. So does my mom, but the brightness of her smile eclipses that of her conversation partners. “I would love to,” she says and takes my hand.

We make our way towards the dance floor. While walking, I look my mom over. She is wearing an elegant dark blue dress that goes well with her dark blue hair, which is done in a braided bun. She has a tasteful amount of make-up and golden earrings.

We reach the dance floor just as the next song begins. One hand on her waist, the other holding her hand, we dance. She looks much happier than when she was dancing with her husband. I have been noticing this for a long time, but there seems to be no love between them. They sleep in separate bedrooms. Our father even sleeps on a different floor than all of us. I will ask Mom at some point, but not tonight.

“You look beautiful, Mom,” I say, without fearing that someone will overhear us thanks to the music.

“Thank you, sweetie. You look quite dashing yourself,” she says smiling at me. “How are you doing? I bet you are tired from all the dancing.”

I sigh, “Yeah, it is too much dancing for my taste. I haven’t even eaten anything yet. I am starving.”

“That’s not good. You need to take a break,” she says with concern.

“Trust me, I will. Just wanted to have a dance with my lovely Mom before I did,” I smile.

“With a charm like that, I am sure a lot of girls will go home having fallen in love with you,” she giggles.

“Nah, this charm is only reserved for you, Mom,” I smirk teasingly.

Mom rolls her eyes but keeps dancing. I change the topic. “Did you know that Sabrina got engaged?”

“I did. How are you feeling about it?” she asks looking me in the eyes.

“What do you mean?” I reply, looking away.

“Oh, don’t you start with that. I am your Mom. And I have eyes. It is clear you have a crush on her,” she says.

“Sure, but it is just that. A crush. Nothing more. She is a grown woman and I am a child,” I say. “At least she is happy. With Erik.” I spit out the name of the wretched thief.

Mom laughs at that. “She is happy, but, if you ask me, I don’t think he will be able to handle Sabrina. She is very sweet and kind, but energetic. She needs someone who can handle her. From what I know, Erik is a bit too soft for her. She needs someone tougher. But we will see how it turns out.”

We keep dancing until the song ends. When Mom was about to step away I kept my hold on her. “One more dance. Some of the ladies got to dance twice with me. It would be unfair if you didn’t as well.” She smiles at that and we keep dancing for one more song. When it finishes, we separate and go in opposite directions. She to her table, and I was in search of a table to sit at and finally eat something.

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