His grin widened and he bowed surprisingly gracefully. “I mean that I would love the honour of a dance with you, my Lady Nalia.”
Aw, he's quite sweet really. Bet he's been practising that line.
It was no use, though. Edwin was pushed authoritatively onto the dance floor. In the back of his mind, he could sense Nalia’s laughter.
Serves edwin right. …Ah yes, Nalia thought, later on, her thoughts spinning slightly with the wine, It’s been fun. How odd, that she could enjoy herself this much when there was the threat of the rakshasa hanging over her. Perhaps it was because it was so certain they’d beat them, she thought with the surety of too much alcohol. Yes. What could a group of silly creatures with stripy faces do to them?
Best stop drinking now unless she wants to end the evening by passing out on the dance floor...
The night was over. What a shame, it had been so much fun. Nalia sighed, and put down her drink. The servants would clear up the mess, which was just as well, since she was rather tired. It never occurred to her that the servants might be tired as well.
Well there's probably a fair amount of left over food and booze, so the servants might not mind that much. Especially if Nalia and Delcia go to bed and leave them unsupervised.
“Nalia, a final dance?” Edwin said, offering her his hand, a slight smile on his lips. He looked as if he had drank rather too much, too- his eyes glittered and his face was rather flushed.
hmm, would Nalia's drunkenness affect Edwin through the familiar link?
Of course, Nalia thought dreamily, Our whole life is a dance. She marvelled at the depth of this thought, and realised that she had the makings of a great philosopher. It was so true- she and Edwin, they circled each other, dancing through time while the Gods laughed at them from up on high. They met others briefly, and then they were on their own again, continuing the great dance called Life. But they were always together, her and Edwin. Her familiar, her best friend. He really was quite handsome, actually, when he wasn’t scowling. This dance was making her feel dizzy. She wondered, briefly, if there was any of that wine left, then tried to remember what she had been thinking about before. Ah yes, Edwin. Life. He was very attractive, in fact. His arm was around her waist, and it felt so right for it to be there. She looked up at him and smiled. He blinked in startlement at her sudden gaze, and smiled back, his gaze slightly unfocussed. She pressed herself longingly into his side, enjoying the warmth, the feeling of need, of yearning. How long had she felt like this about him? Always, of course. No, that was not right, her slightly addled mind said. She had originally disliked him intensely, but she had simply not known him well, then. She had been such a fool, but the wine made it all so much clearer. His arm seemed to hold her tighter for the last part of the dance. The musical dance, that was, not the one of their lives. That would continue…forever.
LOL! Better write all this philosophy down, Nalia, because it's going to seem a lot less clear in the morning...
But there was no way they could stop now; the Dance of Life swept them on, reaching a crescendo, and then finally dying away, leaving one lingering, bittersweet, note.
Awwww! Very nice scene. Just hope Nalia wasn't so drunk that she forgot about the Talk that Delcia gave her the other day.
