The Love That Bonds Us

Chapter 9 : The Waltz

Both Arianna and I elbowed him sharply. He could be so melodramatic sometimes.

Iduna simply chuckled sweetly, and turned those big blue eyes on me, "And it's nice to see you again Agnarr, perhaps nicer if I'd seen you earlier today."

I gave a sheepish grin, "Sorry about that. I didn't realise you were here as I was trying to avoid all the mayhem."

"By mayhem he means me." Arianna added as a side comment.

I quirked an eyebrow at her and she grinned teasingly back.

"How are you enjoying the ball Ladies?" Frederic asked, changing the topic in his usual fashion.

"It's been marvellous." Iduna answered, sounding almost breathless all of a sudden.

"Iduna got to dance with Prince Nuru-Baako of Durtoriabi." Arianna grasped the girl's shoulders excitedly before turning to me, "You remember when we first met him and his family, don't you Agnarr?"

I squeezed my eyes shut against the memory of myself tripping flat on my face as I ran forwards to greet the young visitor, but I was unable to hide my smile, "Don't remind me."

Frederic layed a hand on my own shoulder and went on, "Ah yes, Prince Nuru-Baako. A fine gentleman, charming and fetching. Knows how to talk to young Ladies."

He wiggled his eyebrows and Arianna scoffed, "He's got a gift Frederic. A gift you clearly don't possess."

"Come now 'Anna, that is simply not fair. You know I was cursed as a baby and therefore cannot charm young women such as yourselves with my words. My dancing however," he grabbed Arianna's hand and attempted to spin her around, almost causing her to trip, "is another story."

She pushed away from him and the two girls laughed.

Frederic winked at me and I slapped his arm again.

"Speaking of dancing, I believe it's time for another, no?"

I was suddenly aware of the steady increase in the intensity of the music and caught on to what my best friend was implying.

"I do believe you're right Fred." Arianna said, glancing at me slyly.

Frederic offered his arm to her and she linked her own as they stepped gracefully onto the dance floor, leaving Iduna and myself to stare at the floor awkwardly.

My foot scuffed against the wood as I tried to think of something interesting to say. Could I possibly risk asking her to dance?

Fortunately, my mouth seemed to know exactly what to say even if my head didn't, and I looked up to see Iduna pressing her fingers together in complicated patterns.

"Care to dance Miss?"

She looked up, startled, her naturally big eyes widening even more and her lips slightly parting before she spoke, "You want to dance with me? But are you even allowed to dance with me? Shouldn't you be dancing with a Princess?" all the questions burst out of her, making her sound insecure and anxious.

A mischievous and reassuring grin stretched across my face, "Perhaps I was given those instructions, but you weren't initially on the list and besides, where's the fun in playing by the rules?"

I offered my hand and to my immense relief, she (hesitantly) took it and I guided her into the crowd of couples taking the stance for a Waltz.

We earned a few skeptical and suspicious glances, but I ignored the stares and focused completely on Iduna.

"Oh, I should tell you, I really don't know how to dance." Iduna said hurriedly, as our fingers laced together and I placed a hand on her waist, pulling her closer; I hadn't noticed before that her cheeks were sprinkled with a handful of freckles. The whole thing was just so surreal and it was setting my stomach all a-flutter.