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"Claire, what's the matter?" my mother, Melia Francois, asked me as I stubbornly protested continuing my dance lesson. My instructor, a once professional ballroom dancer of lower nobility status, looked pleadingly at my mother as she strode toward us, beautifully curled blond hair bouncing behind her.
"Miss Claire is having some uhhh... slight difficulties with today's lesson, Lady Melia," explained Lady Bertra of the House Torrance. She was not particularly old - in fact, she was most likely younger than Mother. She was a world-renowned dancer, having performed even for King L' ausseil himself on his birthday just last year. A tragic accident during a recital for a foreign diplomat, however, left her leg permanently injured. Not even the Church clinics, with their nuns whose healing magic far exceeds the skills of most water-attribute magic users, could help her recover proper usage of her right leg. Not that any of that mattered to my young self.
"Why do I need to learn from someone who cannot even dance anymore?" I whined.
"Claire Francois, you apologize to Lady Bertra this instant," Mother scolded firmly.
"But, Mother- "
"That's enough, Claire."
I begrudgingly said sorry to Lady Bertra, but my sour mood only worsened from there.
"Lady Bertra, please help yourself to some of the refreshments that Lene prepared. She may be young, but she is rather quite capable," Mother said with a slight lilt in her voice after I apologized. Lady Bertra excused herself, taking that for the brief dismissal that it was. Mother then looked at me sternly before her eyes softened a little. "Come with me, my love."
I followed her to a bench against the wall furthest from the door. Looking at one of the luxurious mirrors that were mounted on all four walls of the dedicated dance room, I couldn't help but notice the stark difference in our heights. Though she wasn't the tallest woman in the kingdom by any means, Mother always held herself high, her mere presence towering over others and demanding attention- whether she intended to or not.
After she sat down on the bench, Mother took me by surprise when she lifted me off of the ground and laid me on the remainder of the bench with my head in her lap. "Tell me what's wrong, Claire," she gently prompted. "This is more than just not liking your instructor."
She saw right through me. Honestly, I had no qualms over Lady Bertra teaching me, but rather I had issues with what I was being taught.
"I cannot dance well," I grumbled after a minute.
Mother stroked my hair tenderly, with all the love a mother could have for her child, waiting patiently for me to continue. I tried to explain as best I could that I simply could not command my body to move the way I was supposed to, which frustrated me to no end.
"How will I find my perfect partner if I cannot dance well?" I asked, tears welling up in my eyes. "You and Father dance together all the time, at parties and even at home by yourselves," I continued. "At this rate, how will I be able to dance with my partner?"
"My heavens, does my sweet little Claire already have her eyes on someone?" Mother asked with a teasing glint in her eyes.
"Wh- I- no! I just mean for the future!" I sputtered in a way that was unbecoming of a lady. I couldn't help it, though, as the thought of a silver-haired young boy with crimson eyes came to mind.
Giggling at my flustered state, she pointed at our reflections in the mirror wall across from us. In a firm voice, Mother said, "My love, you are Claire Francois, daughter of Dole and Melia Francois. I know that you are destined for greatness and are utterly capable of doing anything you set your mind to. You must never forget that. You have a duty to yourself and others around you to do your best and to never give up."
"'A duty...'" I repeated.
"Yes, as a noble, there is a sense of pride and decorum by which you must conduct yourself."
"...decorum?" I asked, not understanding some of her words.
"It means that you are expected to be polite and respectable. And beyond that, you must present yourself properly such that your fellow nobles see you as a shining example of how a noble ought to be," Mother explained. I didn't realize at the time that we were talking about more than just the importance of dancing. "As for your concerns, I can only pray and hope that your heart be captured by someone who loves you just as much if not more than your father and me. You will find someone with whom you will desire to dance with forever."
She continued to reassure me for a few more minutes, stroking my hair as she did so, until I had properly calmed down.
~•~
The commo- Rae looked exhausted. I felt bad for pushing her so much, but I couldn't help it. At this rate, how will I be able to dance with Rae? I knew such thinking is rather selfish considering the whole reason why we were dancing in the Harvest Festival to begin with. I knew we were doing all of this for Lady Yuu, but I just couldn't help it. This might be my one and only opportunity to dance with Rae without worrying about the difference in our status, where we were not a noble and a commoner, but just Claire and Rae.
As I stepped off of the stage we were practicing on, I immediately began to devise my plan of action for my predicament. When I returned to my dorm room, I asked my roommate Catherine if I could borrow her sewing kit. I knew she had one because of her commoner roots. She looked at me oddly, as if I had grown another head, before reaching into her closet to get her kit. Before handing it to me, she said, "Candy first please."
I sighed and reminded her the importance of dental hygiene before handing over a piece of licorice and grabbing the kit in exchange. A moment of silence fell upon us as I began to work at my desk. Catherine kept staring at me.
"I know you want to ask, so go ahead," I said, briefly glancing in her direction.
"I already know it's for Rae," Catherine replied.
"Wh- I- no! ...well, yes, actually. How did you even know?" I asked, bewildered at being caught right away.
"That much was obvious. Sewing is a commoner thing; I don't think there's anyone else you would actually get your hands dirty for like that except Rae," Catherine said knowingly. "What I want to know is what it is you're making exactly."
"I am crafting a vest embedded with weights so that we can build up her strength and stamina better," I answered her as I was finally able to pull the thread into a needle. I can do this, I reassured myself.
"Oh, is that so? My, my, Claire, I did not know your relationship has reached that intimate, carnal stage! And so quickly at that! I suppose I cannot blame you for wanting to ensure you have a partner who can keep up with you," Catherine laughed, obviously teasing me. I blushed, my pale face turning a deep shade of red as I understood her implication.
"I do not know what nonsensical drivel you are going on about, but you best get your mind out of the gutter," I replied, but Catherine was not done with her teasing. Ugh, she can be just like Rae sometimes.
"My sweet, innocent little Claire- she is no longer!" Catherine dramatically bemoaned. I threw a pincushion (no pins in it, of course) at her general direction, not turning around lest she see my flustered face. She laughed even harder as I heard it hit her.
"You stop that now! If you must know, it is for the dance we are performing for the Harvest Festival. Rae is having a difficult time with the physical demands of the dance so I wish to help her train," I said, returning to my task at hand.
"Ah, so I take it the plan for Lady Yuu is still on," Catherine said after she had calmed down.
We discussed Lady Yuu's predicament as my beginner hands worked at the material before me. My mind wandered to Rae, whom I couldn't help but worry for as we go through with our schemes. I vehemently protested everything, of course. I knew what it meant to Lady Yuu, but I simply could not condone anything that could possibly bring harm to my Rae.
~•~
"Who would've thought things would turn out the way they did, Miss Claire?" Loretta asked in an amused voice with a hidden layer of something I couldn't quite pinpoint.
Pepi looked at her knowingly before grabbing Loretta's hand and intertwining their fingers. I couldn't help but think that I wasn't privy to some piece of information.
"Ignore her, Miss Claire. Please just know we are nothing but happy for you and the co- pardon, you and Rae to have your happily ever after together," Pepi congratulated. We were at mine and Rae's wedding reception, and the festivities were in full motion. Being surrounded with our dear loved ones to celebrate my dearest loved one and I has sent me over the moon.
"Fret not, Pepi. I actually share in Loretta's sentiments even if just a little. Honestly, Rae managed to claw and crawl her way into my cold, stubborn heart somehow," I said, agreeing with Loretta. "Also, should I not also be congratulating you two for finding love in each other?" I continued, as I gestured to their joined hands. It was then that I realized as well that for some reason, Pepi held her violin in her other hand.
"Pepi, why do you have your violin with you?" I asked curiously, wondering if she perhaps felt she needed a weapon of some sort for today.
"Oh! Uhhh that's because I-" Pepi stuttered as she attempted to hide the instrument in question behind her back. Before I could press her any further, I startled and let out a small yelp as I felt a hand slide onto my shoulder. I quickly turned around and all tension left my body as I realized it was none other than my beloved Rae.
"Rae! You gave me quite the scare," I complained.
"Hahahaha, sorry, Miss Claire, that was not my intention. But I did love that noise you made just now! Think you can make it for me again later?" Rae asked, waggling her eyebrows suggestively.
I blushed.
Embarrassed that she would say something so vulgar and brazen before my two closest friends, I quickly turn back around to tell Pepi and Loretta to please ignore Rae. I was met with nothing but an empty space where they previously stood. Perplexed at how and why the two disappeared so quickly, I turn back to Rae to scold her.
"You cannot just say those things in public, Rae."
"Sooooo does that mean I can make such requests when we're alone?" Rae asked, leaning in close to me and whispering the last word in my ear.
I blushed even harder.
As I moved to slap her shoulder, Rae, in a rare show of reflexes, caught my hand and brought the back of it to her lips.
"Come with me, my love," she said softly, leading me to the dance floor. I briefly get a sense of deja vu as I instinctively followed her. I would blindly follow her to the ends of the earth, to everywhere and anywhere.
A soft tune began to play. I turned my head left and right until I caught sight of none other than Loretta at a piano accompanied by her Pepi on the violin. I looked at Rae once more, squinting my eyes.
"Did you three plan all of this?" I asked, but Rae simply shrugged, pulling me in closer to her. I wrapped my arms around her and we start to sway to the music. We stayed like this for a little while, our surroundings quieting down. I wasn't sure if it was the crowd stopping their chatter to watch us or if it was just me zoning everything else other than Rae out. The song my two best friends were playing came to an end, and right as I was beginning to feel as if it wasn't enough time, they began to perform another song, one with a slightly faster tempo.
With a smile, Rae asked, "May I have this dance, my wife?"
"Shouldn't you have asked that before we actually started dancing?" I retorted, my face heating up at how she addressed me.
"Ah, but I was just so drawn to you that I had to start dancing right that second."
Before I could respond, she guided my hands to a proper starting position akin to the ballroom dances that I was accustomed to. The surprise I felt must have shown clearly on my face as Rae answered my unspoken question with one of her own, "Do you remember a Lady Bertra?" Tears welled up in my eyes as I understood the implication behind her rhetorical question. I could not believe it. It was as if my life had come full circle.
"So, Miss Claire, my beautiful wife, will you be able to dance with me?"