Raven and Rue // Lindensea 1

Chapter 19: At the Stroke of Midnight

When it was time for the ball to begin, Princess Alice led the other ladies and Pip down the red carpet of the great white and gold marble staircase. Bernard stood at the bottom, as if eagerly waiting to see Pip again, and he looked up as Pip began descending.

Alice had touched up Pip's face, redone his hair, and added a fine mist of luxurious scent over him, and he felt that he really was looking his best. He tried to glide down the stairs as elegantly as the beautiful Alice, and managed quite well. His shoes were rubbing the back of his heels though.

Bernard was gazing at Pip as if a heavenly vision approached him, and was ready to take Pip's arm as soon as his foot left the last stair.

"Would you care to dance, Miss LaMidnight?" he asked, a faint smile upon his lips.

"Shouldn't you ask Princess Dorothea first?" Pip asked. "She's your guest."

"Father doesn't dance, as you know, so Dorothea obligingly said she would sit with dear Cousin Peter for the duration of the ball, and keep him company," Bernard said, gesturing to them.

King Peter was comfortably seated on a red velvet sofa with his metal foot on a little velvet stool. Princess Dorothea sat on one side of him, and her pretty lady-in-waiting Lady Sybil on the other.

 Both ladies were ready to fetch King Peter hot coffee, or iced water, or anything he desired, and their conversation seemed very lively, for King Peter was chuckling into his beard, and Princess Dorothea was actually smiling at whatever Lady Sybil was saying. She had a nice smile when it finally arrived, and often looked at Lady Sybil as if glad to have a real friend with her.

"You see, she is quite content where she is," Bernard said. "So won't you join me for the first dance, Miss LaMidnight?"

"I would like that very much, sir," said Pip demurely, and then Bernard swept him into his arms, so they were the first people on the dance floor. Even when Pip was wearing high heels, Bernard still towered over him, which made him feel very dainty and fragile.

The Royal Lindensea Orchestra struck up a lively tune, but Pip slipped in his shoes almost immediately, and looked embarrassed, because a few people tittered.

"They polish this floor far too much, it's an absolute hazard," Bernard said solicitously. "With your permission, Miss LaMidnight, I will hold you a little closer for safety."

"Thank you sir, I think it might be for the best," Pip smiled, beginning to feel more at ease.

Bernard gathered Pip to his chest, holding him gently, but very firmly, taking Pip's hand. Pip was glad to be wearing white kid gloves, which covered his little paws, roughened and scarred by working in the kitchen.

"Do you enjoy dancing, or get many opportunities to dance, Miss LaMidnight?" Bernard asked hesitantly.

Pip flushed. He did like dancing, but the wild flings around the hall he'd done with his parents, or the merry madcaps the kitchen staff had in the common room to let off steam had done little to prepare him for the ballroom. He had danced with boys as well as girls, but never backwards, and never in high heels.

"I love music and dancing," he said timidly, "but I'm not used to this style, and not sure what to do."

"Well, ladies have the advantage in this case at least," Bernard said. "The dancing is all my responsibility, you have only to follow my lead. Relax and let your body move with mine ... That's it ... You're doing very well, Miss LaMidnight."

Pip found if he stayed loose and supple, it was easy to follow Bernard's lead, just as he learned to move with his horse when riding. And as with riding, dancing gave him a wonderful feeling of freedom, of being fully in his body while at the same time, skimming above the floor like thistledown on the wind.