Prophecies and Lies

Chapter Six: The Dancing Heart

Don't you think it's story-time? I think so. After all, we're travelling with Terrance, are we not? ;)

Anyways, I just came up with this story on the fly, and I rather like it, though I think it's a little short. What do you think? I could prolong it a little bit perhaps, make it a bit more interesting... anyway, just say what you think in the comments. Help me improve it ^^.

Enjoy.

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          “Once upon a time, somewhere in a village, far way from here, there was a girl that loved to dance. From the day she walked, she had been dancing to the most beautiful music, to ballads, to symphonies, or even to the music she heard in her head when nothing else was playing. Her parents, a man and woman of nobility, did not condone this behavior of course—swirling around like that, it was not befitting a girl of her statue. But she danced; whenever her parents weren’t around, she danced. In the house, on the marketplace, in the middle of the street if she had to; without shame, she danced.

          “Unfortunately, her father wanted her to stop. And his way to accomplish this was hiring a teacher; surely a scholar would get these strange ideas of dancing out of her head. This teacher, an old and smart man, tried his best to get her to sit down and learn Greek and Latin and how to add and subtract and how to run a household and how the kingdom came to be.

          “But the girl wouldn’t learn. Though she tried to—she really wanted to!—she just could not get rid of the songs in her head. It wasn’t her fault. She tried to sit still, but couldn’t help but tap her feet as she listened to her teacher explain about politics.

          “Eventually, the old man noticed her duress, and he searched for other topics, anything that might interest her. But nothing would stick. He ended up teaching her how to waltz—that, she did learn.

          “But her father’s plan had failed.

          “Of course, that was not the end of it. Her mother had a plan as well; when she was of the right age, the girl was presented with a boy, a handsome and clever boy of another wealthy family of the region. They were to be married in due time.

          “See, it was the mother’s hope that her daughter would learn to behave herself properly, and this boy that was absolutely perfect for her had but one flaw: he could not dance. He had no rhythm and did not like music at all. Hopefully, he would tame the wild-dancing girl.

          “But he couldn’t. Although he liked her very much, he could not get her to like him back. She thought he was a bore, a dull boy with whom every conversation would be about politics or money. He didn’t dance—that told her everything she needed to know.

          “She told her parents she didn’t like him, but they did not listen; they wanted her to marry him nevertheless. ‘Or you’ll bring shame upon the family,’ they said. After all, every time the girl spun around, it was an insult to the household. She didn’t dare to argue with them.

          “But her heart longed for something different, someone else. She wished for some prince to step in and swoop her away, to save her from this fate. He did not come though, this man of her dreams. No matter how much she prayed for him, he did not appear, and the day of her wedding grew closer.