The great hall of the Saint-John manor fell into a silence so profound that the crackle of the hearth-fire sounded like thunder. Every gaze was fixed on the arched doorway. A herald did not need to announce him. His presence was its own fanfare.
King Oren Evercrest: (Enters, his stride measured and inexorable) Good people of the Saint-John holding. Be at ease. Tonight, we celebrate not a subject, but a survivor.
(He was a mountain of midnight-blue velvet and silver thread. Behind him, his queens processed like a living tapestry of power)
Queen Althea, the First Consort: (Takes her place at his right, a statue of serene diplomacy) Her smile was perfect, yet reached no further than her lips.
Queen Isolde, the Second Consort: (Stands to his left, her eyes sharp as cut amethysts) She surveyed the room as if calculating its net worth.
Queen Rhea, the Third Consort: (Stands slightly behind Isolde, her posture radiating youthful vitality) She looked at Aurelia with genuine, bright curiosity.
King Oren: The strength of our realm lies not only in its armies and its harvests, but in the courage of its people. The courage shown by Saint John to give his portion of mining rights to Our family for the benefit of the Kingdom.. the loyalty shown by Aurelia's father, the good Baron, in serving his crown. Let this night be a testament to that courage. Let the celebration begin!
(The hall erupted in applause. Aurelia, at the center of it all, curtsied deeply, her heart a trapped bird. The King's words were honey, but his eyes, when they briefly met hers, it felt like He is looking for something.)
Baron Saint-John: (Leaning close to his wife, Lady Octavia, his voice a low, urgent rumble) See it? The King himself. And the First Prince, Cedric, stands with his mother, Althea. This is our moment.
Lady Octavia: (Whispering back, her fan fluttering nervously) Time for what darling?
Baron Saint-John: Inform Aurelia. The first dance. She must claim it with Prince Cedric. No other partner. It will be a signal. It will tie our house to the future crown. Our status will be secured for a generation. Go. Now.
(Lady Octavia moved through the crowd like a ghost, her face pale. She found her daughter adjusting a bracelet, surrounded by chattering friends.)
Lady Octavia: (Taking Aurelia's arm, pulling her aside) Aurelia. Listen to me. Your father insists.
Aurelia: (Frowning) Insists on what, Mother?
Lady Octavia: The first dance. It must be with him. With Prince Cedric. It is not a request. It is necessity.
Aurelia: (Her stomach plummeting) Cedric? Mother, I… I barely know him. He looks at me like I'm a new horse in his stable.
But I have promised you that i will dance with him and try to be friends with him
Lady Octavia: (Her grip tightening) I'm sorry baby ..just one dance and then you can do whatever you like for the rest of night .. thankyou for being so understanding
(Before Aurelia could say anything else, the musicians struck the first, soaring chords of the opening pavane. The dance floor cleared. All eyes turned to the royal party.
Prince Cedric: (Detaching himself from Queen Althea's side, a bland, practiced smile on his face) He walked toward her, every step an expectation.
Aurelia: (Her heart screaming a name he could not hear) Daniel.
(She had no choice. She placed her hand in Prince Cedric's, her skin cold against his. He led her to the center of the floor. The dance began—a complex, formal series of steps, advances, and retreats.)
Prince Cedric: (His voice smooth, rehearsed) You are as graceful as the stories say, Lady Aurelia. Stories about your beauty can't be justified after seeing you with my own eyes i can tell
Aurelia: (Forcing a smile) Thank you, Your Highness. The kindness of the crown has been a comfort.
( But her mind was not in the gilded hall. It was in a dusty, well light Room of House Maid's Son )
Daniel: (His hand warm on the small of her back) And then you turn here. Like this. It's just a pattern, Aurelia. Breathe.
Aurelia: (Laughing, stumbling slightly) I'm terrible at patterns. I prefer… improvisation.
Daniel: (Spinning her gently, his hood down in the privacy of the room) Life rarely follows the steps we rehearse.
They had danced then, not to musicians, but to the rhythm of their own breathing. His lead was not commanding like Cedric's, but an invitation. A question. Her body had remembered the feel of his, the solid safety of him, the hidden power that thrummed beneath his simple clothes like a contained storm.
Prince Cedric: (His voice piercing the memory) Your attention seems… elsewhere, my lady. I trust the entertainment is not lacking?
Aurelia: (Blinking back to the present) Forgive me, Your Highness. Dancing with this Land's Prince is quite overwhelming.
(As Cedric guided her through a stately turn, her eyes swept the periphery of the room. She scanned the rows of faces, the servants standing stiffly by the walls, the shadows behind the pillars. She looked for a familiar slope of shoulders, a glimpse of a familiar face , a pair of eyes that saw her, not a political asset.
Where is he?
I know he said he can't be here does the King's and other Noble's presence scared him this much ...
Prince Cedric: The mines will be a great boon for your family. My father speaks highly of your father's… efficiency.
Aurelia: (Her reply automatic) The Baron seeks only to serve the realm.
(She thought. Her father sought advantage. Cedric sought a connection to future wealth. And she… she sought the person who wants nothing to do with politics mines status..abeing around him it feels like he is genuinely cares for her as Aurelia not the baron's daughter Aurelia saint John
The dance required her to release Cedric's hand and take the hand of the next lord in the forming circle. For a moment, she was free of him. Her gaze, desperate and searching, flew to the high, narrow servants' gallery overlooking the hall.
There. A flicker of movement.
A figure, cloaked in the deep gloom of the gallery, stood perfectly still. One hand rested on the railing. She could not see his face, but she knew the shape of his silence. Daniel.
Their eyes met across the sea of glittering nobility. In that split second, the pompous music faded. The weight of Cedric's hand returning to hers vanished. There was only the electric thread of connection between the gilded dance floor and the hidden dark.
Then, a steward passed in front of the gallery entrance with a tray, and the shadow was empty. He was gone.
Prince Cedric: (Reclaiming her, his tone slightly edged) You are a distant partner, Lady Aurelia. One might think you'd prefer to be elsewhere.
Aurelia: (Looking up at the prince, a new, cold clarity in her eyes) One might think correctly, Your Highness.
( The music swelled to its final, triumphant note. The dance ended. Aurelia curtsied, Cedric bowed. The applause roared around them. She had fulfilled her duty. She had danced with the future king.)
But as she walked back to her parents, her skin still crawling from Cedric's touch, her soul remained in that dusty small room, spinning in the arms of a secret. And her eyes, once more, drifted to the empty servants' gallery, holding the memories of her Dancing with Daniel..for her the real dance was already done there in Daniel's Room not Here in the Main hall