Emily sighed as she sat on her window seat, a darkness in the air and a chill as though wind was rushing in told her that The Outsider was near "What do you want?" She asked him without turning around
"A friend cannot visit a friend?" He said
"You consider us to be friends?" She asked with a little chuckle
He ignored her question and sat beside her "You seem to be upset about something"
"It's so.. silly" She said, staring out the window "Every year The Empress gets invited to The Boyle Ball and it's customary to reject the invitation... but" She waved her hand through the air listlessly
"You would enjoy attending this party?" The Outsider asked
"Don't tell anyone" She said, smiling "I know it's silly, but I've never been.. I mean, I was... but I didn't get to experience it the way I should have, Never had a dance there"
The Outsider touched her hand "You do not need to attend a ball to have a dance, Emily Kaldwin"
Emily smiled "Are you asking me?" He stood took her by the hand
"I suppose I am" He said
Emily looked around "I think we're going to need some music" She crossed the room to her audiograph player and slipped in a musical piece she was rather fond of
Emily walked back over towards her friend, He keeled in front of her, gently taking her hand and placing a soft kiss on it "May I have this dance, Your Majesty?" He asked, looking up at her
"Why of course, my good Sir" She said, He stood and Emily placed her hands on him, one against the side of his neck and one resting gently on his hip as they slowly started to dance to the beautiful music filling the room, It had been a long time since Emily had enjoyed a dance this much but with every movement it felt as though she and he were one, so in tune they were not only with the music but with each other, The dance felt like they were speaking a new language, one that nobody could understand except for them - They were the only two people in the world
Emily felt closer to him than she had ever felt to anyone at any other time in her life, As though he were a part of her very soul, She stared into his deep eyes "I'm not sure I've had this much fun in a long time" She said smiling "I didn't expect you to be this good at dancing" He responded by gently dipping her towards the floor and pulling her back against him, even closer than she was before, She inhaled deeply, her eyes locked on his - Her hands against his body, his hands touching her skin, They were intertwined and Emily felt herself falling deeply into the moment, He could certainly feel her warm breathing against his skin, he looked into her eyes just as deeply as she looked into his, she felt the entire world fall away from them as she was merely inches from his lips, They were so close to kissing that she could almost feel his soft lips against hers when without warning he twirled her away as the music stopped.
Emily exhaled, staring at her dance partner and feeling the pounding of her heart against her chest "I believe that's enough fun for one night" He said, a small smile playing over his mouth as he disappeared into nothingness, a trail of black smoke lingering where he had stood.