Please note that I do not own Moves Like Jagger or any other songs mentioned, nor am I affiliated with Maroon 5 and I do not possess any of their rights.

Chapter 21

Time passes in a blur of flashing lights and electronic music, live performances mixed in with songs blasting from the speakers. The music envelops my body and entrances my soul, my heart pounding along to the beat. The world vanishes, leaving me wrapped in a cocoon of dance and song. Faces flash by, the Prince, Saterina and Paae, the occasional Cantir or Queen crossing my path, but I barely notice them and lose myself in the music. Crowds push and press around me, but my own bubble of happiness engulfs me, and I lift my hands to cheer the ends of songs, to sing along to others I love, to praise the Queen for the gift of such a party. Why they're up doesn't matter anymore. My pulse races, my movements smooth or sharp but never-ending, my mind blissfully ignorant of all responsibility.

This is my element, here in the music. The moment I hit that stage and sing, the world will be perfect, but I'm also happy here in the dancing, grinding crowd. After a while, young men begin to surround me, ask me to dance, but I accept no offers and flow on the waves of the chords.

After a while, my muscles grow stiff and sore, the effects of the Faerie wine worn off from all my action, and I groan sadly. Saterina appears out of nowhere and drags me off of the dance floor, shoving curious Fey aside as she leads me to the refreshment table. Paae waits with a full cup of something, tapping her feet nervously on the floor before spotting us and sighing with relief. "Thank goodness, you're finally back! I was starting to worry that you weren't ever coming off of that floor."

Saterina frowns. "She probably wouldn't have if it weren't for her medicine wearing off," she says tensely. "You need to stay focused, Arrietty. That crowd is the perfect place for an assassin to stab you and vanish without a trace."

I sigh and lower myself into a chair, wincing at the stiffness of my muscles. Paae hands me her cup, and I gratefully sip the wine, already feeling my body strengthen. "Well I'm not dead, am I?" I ask, gesturing to myself. "Besides, if anything strange happened, I would have noticed."

Saterina smirks. "Oh really? Like how you've been dancing since last night and that you're due to perform with the prince in about an hour?"

Faerie wine sprays from my lips, and I leap to my feet as Paae grabs the cup to make sure no more of it spills. "YOU SAID WHAT NOW?" I nearly scream, tugging nervously at the hem of my dress. The sparkling silver rode up a little too high on my legs. How did I not notice that?

Paae nods sheepishly. "We tried to get you sooner, and so did Jadir and Cantir, but you wouldn't stop dancing. You've been lost for about a day and a half."

I climb on my chair, licking my lips from the overdose of wine, and glance around at the crowd, but I can't make out faces through the bright lights of the stage. "I should find the prince and see what we're performing," I shout down over the noise. "Do I need to change?" Paae shakes her head. "Not for the prince's number, he usually likes pop songs and that's a good dress for those. I don't know for your solos, it depends on what you'll sing. You've got two songs, you know." I gasp. "What?"

Saterina nods. "The Queen was so excited by your reputation that she gave you two songs. So what? Extra performing time for our talented little artist." She glances around. "I think I see the prince. Come on, let's go make sure you talk to him. Because you need to."

Paae blushes and follows us as we take off, striding with confidence around the square field. The great tree looms over us all, Fey and goddess alike, its leaves aglow with lanterns.

Suddenly, a loud gasp runs through the crowd, and Fey begin pointing and staring at the door of the castle. The three of us turn around to see what all of the commotion is about, and because of our side view at first I only see the royal servant and the guards.

Then my team walks through the corridor dressed in battle gear, Kaldur leading them as all of them scan the room without moving their heads. Searching for me.

I let out a tiny squeak and dive behind Paae, who takes her cue and nudges Saterina. The two of them run up to greet my team while I take another shot of Faerie wine to support myself. With all the dancing and the lack of food and the strength of the wine, I feel pretty light-headed, and suddenly all my cares disappear and I continue to walk in the direction of the prince. I can see Jadir's dark head bobbing above the crowd, and I follow it, swaying slightly as I walk.

Tapping his shoulder, I grin as he turns around and laughs. "There you are! My mother and I were getting worried that you would miss your cues."

I give him a fake curtsy and a coy smile. "No chance, my dear. Singing is my passion and I'm not about to miss a chance to do it." He grins and hands me a cup of Faerie wine, which I try not to drink too greedily. "That group of teenagers has really caused quite a stir. Mortals don't usually come to our world. Are they friends of yours?" he asks calmly. I sigh and nod my head. "Yes, they're the team of apprentices I normally work with. They had orders to come find me if I was gone for more than three days, and since it's been that amount of time, here they are."

Jadir scowls. "That's no fun. They're taking you away and we haven't even performed our duet yet!" I laugh and take another sip of wine. "Don't worry. They won't even see me until we're onstage in front of everybody. I'm a good hider." I wink at him and he blushes slightly. "Speaking of which, what song are we singing?" I ask curiously, fighting the urge to turn and see if any team members have spotted me.

He finishes his wine, then shrugs and glances at the ground, his shyness returning as he sobers up. I guess Faeries recover from their own wine a lot faster. "I was unsure. I thought perhaps we could perform something pretty popular but a little old…perhaps Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5, do you know the group? They're actually quite popular down here."

I nod eagerly and continue sipping my own wine, unable to stop drinking the wonderful juice. It slides down my throat like liquid heaven. "Yes, I love that song! You take the male part and I'll take the female featurette?" He grins and nods. "That sounds perfect, milady."

A small yell goes up behind us, and I risk turning around to find Robin pointing in our direction and tugging on Aqualad's shirt. I set down the cup and straighten my skirt. "Time to go!" I say cheerfully. "Got any secret passages into backstage? I think we're on pretty soon."

Jadir nods and grabs my hand. "This way," he mutters softly, cutting a path through the crowd while taking regal responsibility and quietly ordering all he passes to block my team from reaching us. The crowds obey and clog the gap behind us as quickly as we make it, slowing the team down considerably. "Some can fly," I warn him, and he smiles. "Not to worry. We'll arrive by the time they're able to get into the air."

We rush under the great tree and he points to a gap under the roots. "After you," he says politely, and I smile, planting a drunken kiss of thanks on his cheek before sliding down into the tunnel.

He arrives soon after me, face deeply flushed from the kiss. "The blond member of your team looked quite disappointed when you kissed me," he says nervously. "Is there any sort of connection between you two?"

I think quietly for a moment before nodding. "I suppose there is. We've always been very close friends, but I…have feelings for him. I don't know if he feels the same way."

The prince nods. "That would explain his aura- and yours," he says calmly. I tilt my head, gazing curiously at him, and he shrugs. "You both radiate very strong emotion when you see each other," he explains. "It's really quite strong. You must be very much in love with each other if it's so plain in your auras."

My heart stops, then beats too fast. Could Jadir be telling the truth? He seems nice enough, and I doubt he would lie to me, but I can't be sure. Does Kaldur really care for me the way I do? The very thought of us being together sets my mind afire.

I realize I've been staring at the floor a little too long. I glance up, shifting my focus back to the real world, and find Prince Jadir staring intently at me. I brush my hair away from my face and clear my head as well as I can. "I'm not the only one in love," I say teasingly. "I saw the way you and Paae looked at each other in the halls. The two of you are clearly crazy about each other."

He blushes, and I giggle at how similar it is to Paae's reaction to him. "You can tell?" he mutters sheepishly. "I'm madly in love with her, I'm afraid. She doesn't know though, and you absolutely may not tell her. I'm a prince and she's a maid, anyhow. Life just doesn't work that way. My mother insists that I marry a princess or goddess of some sort to bring power to the family."

I pat his knee reassuringly. "Would you like some thoughts? If you ask me, it's your life, not your mother's. You can do whatever you want, and if you love Paae, don't try to hide it. Be plain. Show her that you love her…or you may lose her for good."

His eyes shine, but with hope or fear I can't tell. "Do you really think so?" he whispers. I nod encouragingly. "Absolutely."

He smiles. "You should do the same, then. Though I doubt your young man will be leaving you anytime soon."

A strange buzzing comes over an intercom system, and he pulls me to my feet. "Come. We are the next performance." I obey, taking a microphone from a Faerie helper as we reach the wings, and watch as my newest Fey ally rushes out into the bright white lights of the stage.

Showtime.