Chapter 2: Darkon
The next several days brought even more excitement and bustle to the town as the other contestants started to arrive. Many different kinds of people accepted the invitation, warriors, princesses, centaurs, amazons, and a few well-known merchants. Unfortunately, few people were thrilled when hearing of Darkon's arrival. The warlord himself was entering the contest, taking time out from his busy schedule of pillaging and plundering the villages on the east coast.
"Why is he here?" Hercules asked Salmoneus once Darkon's men started entering the town making their presence fully known to everyone.
"Well, Darkon is a celebrity. Everyone knows of him," Salmoneus tried to explain.
"Yeah, because they're afraid of him," said Iolaus.
"Hercules even you could understand, I can't discriminate between people who are liked and disliked," Salmoneus said trying to use of Hercules' own good nature to persuade him. "He promised not to try anything to interfere with the contest. Besides, can you just imagine how many people will show up to see the fearsome warlord ballroom dance? People will be talking for ages about it! Not to mention want to remember it by buying some souvenirs."
"It's hard to take the word of a warlord. He isn't exactly known for playing nice with others."
"It does make sense though, Herc," Iolaus said reluctantly. He didn't like it anymore than his friend did, but he knew Hercules would want to be fair. "Darkon knows that on a battlefield he and his men would never stand a chance up against you, but here there's a level playing field. He can beat you at a different game."
"I never thought about it that way. I guess you're right. Let's just keep an eye on him and his men. I don't want them causing these people any trouble."
"Yes, of course."
Salmoneus agreed too. As much as he liked the attention the warlord brought to the festivities he didn't want to put the other contestants at risk, and if Darkon ruined the contest there would be no profit. He had already placed the deposit down for production on the souvenirs. Of course, he also vowed not to be responsible if Darkon caught the pair spying on him. He couldn't bear to think of what Darkon and his gang was capable of doing to a poor, defenseless man like himself.
Once all the contestants finished arriving and got situated with their rooms at the inn, they were instructed to meet in the Main Ballroom. The town magistrate gathered everyone around to discuss the rules of the contest. Darkon remained in the far corner with a few of his men and a slender dark-haired woman dressed in a long dark red dress.
"I want to say thank you all for being a part of the first ever 'Dancing with the Stars' in the lovely town of Rhumba." Everyone applauded, except Darkon of course. "Now the next several days will be very busy for all of you. You are allowed to pick a dance partner of your choice. They cannot be a professional dancer; however, they can have some prior dance knowledge. Each couple will be learning two dances. You will have two days to learn each dance with an instructor. You will also have your own rehearsal time before the contest at night. You will each draw for what dances you will perform. This way we keep everything fair to everyone. Now all routines have already been approved by the counsel. You will be able to do one lift, and one lift only, during one of the two routines. We want to keep everyone's abilities equal. We don't want the stronger men simply holding up their partners through most of the song and not dancing. So your instructors have already chosen which routine will have the lift. You don't have to do the lift, but it will increase your points if you do. If you do more than one lift, you will suffer a heavy penalty. Also the lift cannot exceed the count of three. Again we don't want to keep people in the air forever. So, with that we will start calling couples to come up and draw for their dances. Good luck everyone."
"Oh, and before you leave," Salmoneus butted in and started to pass out scrolls to everyone. "I need everyone to sign these release forms. Nothing much, just as a precautionary so we can use you all to make mon-," he stopped short once spotting the look on Hercules' face. "I mean so we can use all we can from you to help the children. Yea, for helping the children."
The magistrate motioned towards a teenage girl with blonde curls and a light pink dance dress with a large glass jar with folded pieces of parchment in it. She stood beside him and he called the first couple to draw their dances. The piece of paper stated the type of dance and the instructor teaching it. One by one couples started drawing dances. Hercules and Althea were called sixth. Both looked at each other in anticipation, wondering what they would get.
"Ladies first," Hercules said as he gestured toward Althea and the jar. Althea looked nervous as she timidly placed her hand in the jar and picked a piece of parchment. She looked at it and read aloud.
"Contemporary with Lady Mia," she looked nervous and shrugged. That would definitely be a new style of dance for the two. Hercules reached in next and pulled out another slip of parchment.
"Samba," then he added with a big grin, "with the Widow Twanky."
"Oh yea! That will be so much fun to work with her again. I can't wait!" she said excitedly as she jumped a little.
"Ok, take your parchments to the woman over there and she'll tell you where you'll be taking your lessons. Good luck you two," the magistrate said.
They headed over to the table and gave the woman their slips of parchment. She informed them that they would meet with the Widow Twanky first to learn the samba at her studio on the outskirts of town. After two days, Lady Mia would meet them at Twanky's studio and teach them the next two days.
"We wanted the contestants to be as comfortable as possible and not run you around to different studios. The instructors will rotate around to you. This way there's no confusion," the woman stated.
"Great thanks," Hercules said.
"Ooooooh Hercules this is amazing! We get to work with Twanky again! This is great!"
"I'm sure she'll be happy to see us too."
"Yeah, I've never done samba before but it sounds fun."
"I think it's the contemporary that I'm more worried about. What is it?"
"Oh I've seen it around. It's kind of like lyrical, very expressive, sometimes like interpretive dance."
"Oh, good," Hercules said trying to hold a smile. Oh great. I'm going to feel like an idiot. Iolaus definitely won't let me live this down.
Darkon and his partner, Eviana, were one of the last few couples to be called. They chose the Paso Doble and the Waltz. Darkon certainly had the arrogance to pull off the Paso Doble without any problems, but seeing him perform the waltz would be something to see. Salmoneus was ecstatic knowing it would bring in a full crowd. The competitors spent the rest of the day preparing for lessons which would start the next day. At night they all vowed to put competition aside to spend time together. They played a few games of charades and made lots of jokes about the dances they were going to do. Though in the back of everyone's minds they were sizing up their competition. Hercules was thought to be a front runner since he's won in Rhumba before, though they were sure he would have trouble with contemporary. They were sure Meleager the Mighty would have a little trouble with his dances because of him being older. He was also still recovering from an injury from a few months back. Tyldus, the centaur king, was hoping he wouldn't have too much difficulty performing and everyone was thankful that Falafel was only dancing and not cooking. Darkon, of course, decided not to partake of the festivities. He spent most of his time around his men and when around the other contestants he remained quiet only saying a few words if necessary. Luckily, his men camped outside the town so the other contestants could sleep without alarm.
When it started to get late, everyone departed for their rooms. Iolaus was reluctant to leave the young redhead he was flirting with. He practically floated off to his room after she kissed him goodnight on the cheek. Hercules then followed after him saying goodnight to Althea and she headed back to her home.
As he reached his room, he noticed Darkon out of the corner of his eye. Darkon was looking around apprehensively and quickly slipped down the stairs at the other end of the hallway.
Great. What is he up to now? I'll make sure to have Iolaus keep an eye on him, if he's not too distracted. He went into his room and got ready for bed. He had to admit he was thankful for having a room to himself, especially if Iolaus continued to flirt. He was curious what the next few days would bring, but he hoped it would be pleasant. Seeing the couples together made him wonder about himself, how it would be to dance with someone who was more than a friend. Maybe one day.