"Master Thomas, I, uh, have been looking over our finances. And, um…" Sebastian began.
"Is something wrong?" asked Thomas.
"No, nothing at all. In fact, we have a rather large surplus. And with all the worry about the war, and Valentine's Day coming up…?"
"Should we spend it? We have taken in a lot of talent we could hire. I'm sure everyone would enjoy it."
"Er, yes. Exactly!" Sebastian dabbed away sweat from his brow, a smile struggling to part his jowls and largely succeeding.
"Then it's set!" Thomas said. "We'll host a ball for Valentine's Day evening."
The days past and in the hour before the ball was to officially start, the largest room in Budehuc was already filling with people. Early on, Thomas had gotten a timid suggestion that not everyone would know how to dance. He took this to heart, realizing he knew little himself. At the head of the room Nadir strutted back and forth, eyeing the crowd. He had an eye for acting talent. If any one of the people in front of him showed promise, there might be a ballet intermission for the next play. Nadir grinned broadly beneath his mask. Dare he hope to learn he could put on a musical as well?
"Two lines, everyone!" Nadir clapped twice, and made a sweeping gesture of his arms to either side. "Leaders to my right, followers to my left."
Everyone gathered into their lines. On one side stood Sgt. Joe, Hugo, Sasarai, Rody, and Bazba. On the other was Belle, Ernie, Dios, Peggi, and Lucia.
"Now, everyone pair up with the person across from you." Nadir instructed.
Mel shuffled to the side, switching places with Ernie.
Nadir demonstrated the basic step and looked over each of his students critically.
"Smoothly, Sgt. Joe, smoothly! Even when you are stepping backward!"
"My legs aren't built like that!" Sgt. Joe quacked angrily.
Bazba nodded seriously in agreement. Nadir was unfazed. "Excellent, now leaders switch places. It is good practice to change partners over the course of the evening."
All went well until Nadir brought turns into the mix. Then there was no avoiding the lashing of Lizard Clan tails, causing the other students to have to skip out of the way. Dios bumped his head against Sasarai trying to bend backwards to go under his leading arm.
Then, the real party began.
Nei, Toppo, and Shabon had hardly began playing when they stopped suddenly. A hush fell over the hall as if all the air had been sucked out of it. Four figures strode in, none of them welcome. The Destroyers.
"No need for weapons, we are coming in peace tonight." Albert announced, holding up his arms in a gesture of surrender. Luc, Sarah, and Yuber did likewise behind him.
Caesar choked down the bite of cheesecake he had just taken. The crowd parted around him as he strolled up to his brother.
"Maybe I'll believe you. If only because Yuber's with you but no one's dead yet. But why?"
"You can take a night to forget about a conflict that is very nearly finished. So can we. Think of it as a reunion of former allies, but only for tonight. Look, Luc has even brought a peace offering."
Luc pulled something large, rounded, and blue from behind him and wordlessly placed it on the table in front of Sasarai, looking for once more triumphant than morose.
"My war hat!" Sasarai exclaimed. He turned it over. After fifteen years not a stitch was out of place, but there was something stuffed inside. Sasarai pulled it out. "And my backup hat! So it was you who took them all along!
"Of course. Happy Valentine's Day, brother. Hope they still fit over your big head and thick skull." Luc smirked.
Slowly the music started back up, and for lack of any further surprises the party continued as usual. Luc sought out Viki. She was still resting from a disturbingly aerobic dance earlier with Kenji.
"Remember when you invited me out to a picnic?" he asked.
"Yes, like it was just last week. Though I guess it's been fifteen years. You said the weather was bad."
"I did. But," Luc extended his hand, "It's a beautiful night tonight, isn't it?"
As Luc lead Viki to the dance floor, Sarah frosted over at her table.
"Your love has hurt you, hasn't he?" Yuber purred, leering at her. Even bloodless wounds pleased him. "She has hardly aged a day in fifteen years. Neither has he."
Sarah's pale face blushed red. Yuber tipped his hat towards her politely.
"I'm not wearing this suit for nothing. Surely if he can make some amends with the enemy for a moment, you can spare some politeness to an ally."
Sarah grit her teeth but placed her white hand in Yuber's cold one. He spirited her away in a flash.
Yuber was more frightening on the ballroom floor than on the battlefield, Augustine thought. An absolute devil, he was in a fight. He danced like one too, the way he was leading that woman about in such an exquisite, controlling embrace, her chest firmly against his, her arm clutching Yuber tight as his thighs slid against hers in a tango. Augustine twisted the ends of his moustache. It was all very vexing.
"I take it you do not yet have a partner? And yet you are the very cut of a gentleman tonight. More 'Adonis' than 'Augustine.'" Gordon said as he approached, placing his glass of champagne on the nearby table.
"Gordon." Augustine smiled, his heart beating hard against his rose brooch, "I could say no less of yourself. You are Ganymede in the flesh. It would be an unnecessarily dreary evening for us both if we don't take advantage. Shall we?"
"Of course, good sir." Gordon took Augustine's hand and kissed it, "Let us join the soiree at once."
"Do you lead or follow?"
"All things in equal measure are the recipe for a full life. Though as this song is half-over, I must insist we share the next."
Joker tipped out a bottle of champagne into his glass, but it was empty. So was the second. Elaine passed him a third, which had enough for half a glass. She rested her chin back in her hand, leaning close over the table while she glowered at the dancers.
Nash pulled up a chair and flipped it around so he could rest his arms against the back while he straddled the seat.
"I'd hate to have Geddoe drag you to your room again, Wang. Slow down a bit; the evening's young."
"Why aren't you dancing?" Joker asked after a while. His old name had gathered a layer of dust on it and was slow to recollect.
"Well, the missus would be angry if she caught word, for one. For another, she says I have two left feet."
"You were fine when Queen picked you up." Elaine mumbled sourly. She had been keeping track. Queen had been travelling across the floor with all the grace suggested by her alias. Only Chris and Jeane were more in demand among the women.
"Well, she caught me off guard." Nash rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. "At least it wasn't our Silver Maiden. The old bat would never let me hear the end of it."
There was a sound of a tumble, and Joker snorted champagne out of his nose. Elaine laughed as Joker clapped his hand over his sore nostrils. Hortez VII had crashed into Estella and Rody, bringing them and his dance partner Emily to the ground in a pile. It had to happen eventually that night. No one could ever say the individual steps were wrong, but somehow Hortez managed to travel against the flow of the dance floor all night and Estella was like a headstrong roving landmine.
When midnight struck, Thomas was watching the last dance from the balcony. It was a waltz. A waltz for peace between Harmonia and Zexen and Grassland. A waltz for peace between runes and men and destiny. Below him Luc and Sarah had collapsed against each other in a slow dance. Borus had found his last song in the arms of Chris. Aila had finally cornered Hugo. Geddoe had his arms locked around Joker's shoulders while Ace held the drunk by the knees to heft him up to a bed somewhere. Thomas yawned. It was all a lot of work but turned out relatively seamlessly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cecile approach. Really, he heard her far before he saw her. Like Thomas, she was treating the party as a duty. Hers was as captain of the guard.
"You didn't join in at all?" Cecile asked.
"No, but it was nice watching everyone smile." Thomas admitted. The midnight bells continued their slow toll.
"Though it's sad, isn't it? You're the master of the castle. You should have spent the day with someone."
"There's still time left. We haven't had the twelfth bell yet." Thomas leaned in and kissed Cecile on the cheek, "Happy Valentine's Day."