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“Do you know how to dance?”
Jedah turned to face Elise, his eyes curious. “Come again?”
“You know. Dance. Like… like a waltz or something?”
There was a moment of silence as Jedah thought it over. “I’ve never felt the need to learn,” he finally replied. “Nor have I had the time.”
Elise hummed in thought, tapping a finger against her cheek. “Well,” she said slowly, “what if I taught you how?”
Jedah once again looked Elise over. “You don’t strike me as the type to know how to dance.”
“I contain multitudes, Jedah.” Elise smiled. “Besides, you need some down-time. I’m sure you know that.”
Jedah looked out of the window behind him, the twin moons of Majigen beaming light through the glass. “… a momentary distraction wouldn’t hurt,” he supposed to himself out loud, before turning to Elise. “Very well. Come.” He walked past her, his footsteps eerily silent-- something Elise was accustomed to. She followed close behind him, before matching his pace and walking alongside him.
The ballroom was as vast as it was stunning. Tall windows, flanked by massive memento mori statues, lined the room, moonlight beaming through the windows on the eastern wall, falling onto the mosaic floor. In the middle of the ballroom floor was a rather large mosaic skeleton with a scythe and hourglass, pursuing some kind of priest. Even the chandelier wasn’t immune to the macabre tastes of the Dohma family, being made entirely of bones. The candelabras and chandelier were all lit with a snap of Jedah’s fingers, the candles ablaze with an eerie blue light. He turned his head to look down at Elise, a stern yet gentle expression on his face.
“Take the lead,” he said, his voice similarly firm, yet gentle.
Elise stepped in front of Jedah. “In a ballroom,” she began, “the common start to a dance is to bow to your partner.”
Jedah almost winced. “ Bow? ”
“It’s a courtesy thing, like a handshake.” Elise bowed first, a curtsy. “Now, you.”
Jedah hesitated, but bowed in return, swallowing his pride. When he looked up again, Elise had her hand extended towards him.
“Is this part of the dance?” he asked, carefully taking her hand in his.
“Yeah.” Elise led Jedah to the moon-touched dancefloor, before closing the distance between them, putting her right hand in his left, guiding his other hand to her shoulders. Jedah felt his face redden a little, breathing in deeply to try to return his face to his usual hue.
“What is it?” Elise looked up at him, before smiling. “Come on, we’ve been this close before.”
“It’s nothing,” Jedah replied hastily. Almost immediately after he said that, he felt a nudge on his left foot and, looking down, saw Elise’s foot nudging his. “Ah.” He moved his foot back, taking the cue from Elise on when to stop.
“Just follow my movements for now,” Elise muttered. “We can work on proper footwork later.”
“Of course.” Jedah looked down at his and Elise’s feet, following her slow lead. Back, side, slightly back again, repeating, slightly picking up the pace with each repetition of the closed change.
“You’re getting it,” Elise chimed in, beaming. “We’re going to do a natural turn, next. Alright? Just follow me.”
Jedah nodded, uttering a sound of understanding. Elise carefully led him, facing diagonal wall, starting with her right foot forward, then her left foot to the side, closing in her right and left feet, before mirroring the movements. Jedah was learning fast, as if the dance unlocked some memory from long ago, and he took the lead, going from the natural turn back to the closed change. A smile graced his features as he looked to Elise’s stunned face.
“I thought you didn’t--” Elise began.
“I think I remember some of this dance,” Jedah said, cutting her off. “This ballroom used to be full of people, once upon a time. I would watch them dance when I was younger, and I always wanted to join them, but I never had a partner to dance with.” He moved his hand from Elise’s shoulder to caress her face. “Until now.”
It was Elise’s turn to blush, but she couldn’t look away from Jedah even if she wanted to.
“Thank you, Elise,” he whispered, before gently kissing her on the lips.