A/N: Did I mention there was going to be a bit of incest? Mostly implied, but still present. Squicked yet?

Eternal Vow: The Mummer's Dance

Narrator: Miyako

"And so they linked their hands and danced 'round in circles and in rows, And so the journey of the night descends when all the shades are gone." Loreena McKennitt - The Mummer's Dance

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Since my hair was not pulled back into any sort of hairstyle, as many of the other girls at the dance wore theirs, it flowed freely out as I twirled in Mantarou's arms. He stopped me so I would not get too dizzy and slid his arm around my waist once more, resting his hand on the small of my back. I glanced over Mantarou's shoulder at the table my friends had claimed as theirs and smiled secretly when I caught the gaze of several pairs of eyes.

Daisuke was pouting at me. He knew what I was up to because I had told him my plan the night before, and he thought I was being unfair. However, Daisuke had a certain obligation to me, as my best friend, which dictated that he would never judge me for anything I happened to instigate, get myself into, or fuck up, whether it be purposefully or by accident, and so he quickly turned his cheek and ignored the trouble I was obviously causing, sipping on his drink and shutting his eyes as if to block all of us out.

Yamato was frowning critically. He could tell what effect I was having on his younger brother with this display and he shook his head as he turned away from us. He had never understood how important having complete control over the attention of these boys was to me.

Taichi's face was blank, but I could see the crease in his forehead that showed he was a little disgusted with me. He thought that playing mind games was one thing, but using your brother in a sexual or romantic way to fuck with the minds of people who genuinely liked you was just downright wrong. I didn't truly care what his opinion of me was anyway, so I brushed the looks off.

Hikari looked as if she were about to have a fit. After all, it was her birthday party, and she probably had expected all of the attention to be focused on her for at least tonight. She had probably been hoping that, for once, I would not be the gorgeous girl in the spotlight that the boys were inexplicably drawn to, but, rather, she would be. Hikari still needed to learn the lesson that one earns her spot in the limelight through vigorous practice and the obtaining of the skill of seduction, a skill which is not easily merited when one is so young.

Ken appeared to be either half-asleep or bored out of his mind. His eyes trailed on me every few minutes when he looked up from the candle burning in front of him to look around the dance hall, and I noticed that when he allowed his eyes to focus on me for longer than necessary, he smiled a peculiar smile which resembled a smirk he used to wear often. I, of course, was one of the very few who knew about his secret obsessions, his "dark side", and his perverted quirks. He probably enjoyed watching me taunt the other boys as if I were holding a porno mag on the end of a string which I yanked out of their grasp at the last second.

I slid my arms around Mantarou's waist and buried my head into his chest, closing my eyes and breathing deeply as his scent filled my nostrils. I sighed and opened my eyes slightly to peek at the last one.

Takeru was furious. His eyes were boring holes into my brother's back as we danced across the floor, holding each other close, gliding in unison with a grace that could only be produced by two who trusted and loved each other. I watched as he gripped his fork in his whitening hand and glared with such ferocity that I almost felt compelled to stop dancing with Mantarou, for fear that Takeru would stride across the dance floor and beat the crap out of my older brother if we carried on for another second too long.

Mantarou and I continued dancing in this intimate manner until the song ended at last, signaling all dancers to rush back to their seats for a few moments' rest. Mantarou and I separated and began walking back towards the tables without so much as a glance at each other. He began walking towards the table my family was seated at and I headed towards my friends' table.

I was greeted with stony silence when I sat down in my chair. I reached for my cup of fruit punch, which was located near Daisuke's elbow, and daintily took a sip of it as I crossed my legs underneath the table. I waited a few moments for anyone to speak, but none did. I glanced up at everyone as if to challenge them to say anything to me, but no one was looking at me. I smiled to myself when I saw that I had yet again won.

"Well, this is a nice party," I said cheerfully, sipping my punch again.

"Yup," Daisuke responded, glancing at my hand to acknowledge me and then sipping his own cup of punch.

The next song to come on was another one that I enjoyed dancing to. I turned to Ken and asked him to dance with me. Taichi scowled at me and Yamato cleared his throat. Ken gave me a dry look and replied, "You know I don't dance."

"It was worth asking you just once more, my sweet," I said silkily.

Takeru bristled. Yamato sighed. Daisuke covered a laugh with a cough.

"In that case, I'll go and get some more punch," I announced, shaking my empty cup gently. "I'm fresh out."

I rose and began looking around for a waiter with cups of fruit punch. I spied one lurking in a corner on the end of the row of tables and began walking after him briskly. I glanced over my shoulder once towards my family's and friends' tables. My mother was chatting amiably with another woman at the table, my sister Chizuru was sulking because no one had asked her to dance, Mantarou was poking at his food dispassionately, and my other sister Momoe was staring off into space, slouching in her chair with a drugged look on her face. My friends had begun talking again, not as tense now that I had left the table and Takeru wasn't glaring murder at anything anymore.

I looked towards the waiter once again and held a hand up to signal to him. I finally caught his attention and sighed deeply as he made his way towards me, carrying his tray of drinks balanced on one hand.

An odd sensation curled uncomfortably in my stomach. I suddenly felt very lonely.