Author's note: Aha, the fluff is back! :D Hee hee, I love shy Eirika... 3
Eirika opened the little, decorated box that lay in the street muck. In the deserted, ransacked village, she saw the littlest bit of prettiness. The princess heard something click inside the box, and flinched, fearing a trap, but she opened her eyes at the noise of a quiet music box.
Inside the box were figurines of a couple dancing, which rotated with the music. Eirika picked up the box, and then sat, with it on her lap, on the curb. The music box played softly to her as she watched the dancers. They had been painted by hand, painstakingly, it looked like. The porcelain looked so different from the rough wood of the box, it was intriguing.
The song reminded Eirika of a song she'd danced to as a little girl—when she was just starting to learn the waltz. She'd danced with Seth, she remembered, and smiled. The princess put the box on the ground and stood up.
She moved gracefully- left, right, down, back, twirl, left, right, down, back, lean- on her own, indulging herself to a daydream of dancing with the Silver Knight again. The music box played on, chiming with her steps, as Eirika danced alone in the mud and muck of the street.
A voice said quietly, "Princess Eirika, you're looking rusty. Have you been practicing lately? Your late father would scold you."
She spun around to look back at the speaker and saw Seth. His eyes smiled, but the rest of him was stoic as usual. She stuttered, "Um—I… I have to go!"
Eirika sprinted as quickly as she could in the other direction. The music box started to slow down and faded out, leaving Seth standing in the street on his own. He reached down to pick up the fragile box, and turned the crank, making it play again. He too recognized the song, and smiled, sitting down to listen to it.
After a few moments, he stood, looked around vaguely, and started to move in a pattern, slowly. Left, right, down, back, spin your partnet, left, right, down, back, lean…