Levi x Reader || One Shots And Short Stories

Worlds Apart: Flattery

You were stressed, to say the least. Tonight's charity ball was less than five hours away, and you had been sentenced to waltzing hell by Prince Levi himself. This morning, Sasha had hastily woken you up for breakfast. After that, you were whisked off to the recreational facility with a dance hall. For the last three hours, with only one fifteen minute break, you have been learning how to master the Viennese Waltz and the Slow Waltz.

It was not as though you did not understand why this was necessary; if you didn't master at least one of the dances, you would not only humiliate yourself, but Levi as well. You did not want to incur the prince's wrath for bumbling around like a giraffe on skates but you there was simply no way to learn all the steps in time to either dance. That was not even mentioning the fact that both dances required a substantial amount of grace and arm strength. You had no idea that keeping your arms up and completely leveled for a long duration would be so tiring; your shoulders were going to hate you tomorrow.

"C'mooon, (F/n)," said Sasha as she came up to give you a drink of water. "You're going to be the world's biggest fool if you don't learn something."

"Sasha," warned Cristoph just as you stuck your tongue out playfully at your friend. Sasha laughed sheepishly while the butler turned to you with a soft expression.

You held up a hand. "Please don't try to placate me, Cristoph."

A gentle smile crossed his features. "I understand your frustration," he said. "But you are doing quite well for someone who has never taken a formal dance class before. I expected to be reviewing the most basic steps more frequently than I have been. I must insist that you give yourself more credit."

You scoffed, despite his kind words, and took a giant gulp of cool water. "How am I going to manage this in a ball gown?" you asked desperately. "I guarantee I'm gonna trip over it."

"That'd be hilarious," laughed Sasha. Again, Cristoph shot her a warning look but the young girl missed it since she had been facing the other way.

"His Highness made sure that your gown would be easy to dance in," he said to ease your worry. "It would actually be classified as an evening gown more than ball gown."

"I've seen it," chimed in Sasha. "It's stunning. Better than the other one you had on when you met the king and queen."

Cristoph nodded in agreement. "Indeed, it is a beautiful dress. I am sure you will pleased with it," he said. "However, the gown aside, we must continue practicing. I can only help you for the next two and half hours before I need to make my own preparations for the ball."

You groaned while you were absently rotating your ankles. Cristoph insisted that you learn the dance in heels similar to what you would be wearing that night. Of course, you saw the logic behind it, but that did not negate the fact that your feet were practically whining at you for mercy.

"Fine," you said after a long moment. "Let's do this."

Cristoph turned to Sasha, waving an up pointed finger in a circular motion. "Slow waltz. Please take it from the top."

Sasha nodded and promptly pressed play on the audio system she was sitting at, pleasant waltzing music reverberating throughout the hall. Cristoph approached you and held out his hands so that you may take them. With a roll of your eyes, you placed your right hand in his and your left at his shoulder.

"Level your arm, miss," the butler said, tapping your left arm. You obeyed him and bent your arm properly before you outstretched the other to light clasp his hand.

Waltzing required such long strides, which was difficult when Cristoph had long legs to begin with. Trying not to tangle yours with his while you both moved across the floor was the most challenging. In truth, you picked up the most basic steps quickly enough, and even learned a few of the more intermediate steps, but the aspect of grace became a more pressing concern. Cristoph kept nitpicking about how stiff your movements appeared, but you pushed through it.