Orange Rose: enthusiasm and desire. Also, a way to express admiration and attraction with an underlying message of passion and excitement. In romantic implications, it rivals the red.
Round and round Cedric turned them as they danced around rotunda to a song only, he heard. Not once did he look away from Sofia who met his gaze and matched every step, remembering her many, many dance lessons;
'It is important to remember when you dance, the gentlemen must remember that you are taking upon yourself not only control of every movement but the trust of the lady in your hands. She trusts you not to make the wrong move, not to drop her, or lead her into a bad turn! You become the most important thing to her when you dance! Ladies when you dance you must be willing to give control to your dance partner. If you try to control it yourself, you have no trust and no trust leads to disaster! It can lead to trip-ups, torn gowns, stubbed toes! Just relax and trust you're your partner knows what he is doing and won't drop you!'
Sofia remembered these lectures clearly. They normally were followed up with James dropping his assigned partner on their heads, Sofia being on the receiving end of one such mishap once. But this wasn't James and it surprised her how well Cedric moved them about. His hand was firm on her lower back, never deviating or showing any signs of failing to guide or give support when needed. The hand gripping hers was relaxed and only ever pulled when he led her into another turn. There were times he would want to stop for a bit and drink, but he would start back up again and Sofia, though tired, humored him.
She sipped wine as well, emptying a single cup herself and soon was being spun around in a giggly fit.
Eventually, Cedric couldn't spin any more for fear of making himself sick and instead encouraged Sofia to put her arms around his neck while he wrapped his arms around her waist and rocked back and forth.
"Ceedric…I mean Lord Ceedric…" Sofia giggled, and Cedric frowned but didn't stop their slow dance. "What was the hand thing you had been doing with the suiters?"
"Hand thing?... I held their hands…" He stated not really getting what she was talking about and she smiled.
"I know what you did… But it was the way you did it… What was it?"
Cedric brought their movements to a stop and stepped back and took both Sofia's hands in his palms and held them up. He swayed a little more than he had been before and his eyes were rimmed red. A sign he was on the edge of a breakdown, but he held it all in amazingly.
"You can tell a lot about a person by their hands alone… For example, the indents on your right pointer and middle finger indicate you hold your quill at a steep angle with a tight grip when writing… You have numerous calluses and little scars from working with your wand, knives for ingredients, paper, and even a slight burn right her… A hot liquid of some kind I assume. Either from a potion or even plain cooking. The rune marks also hint at the type of magic you use, and it surprises me you don't cover them up like most of us do…
"To push the observation further your hands are so clean, soft, and your nails are well cut and polished… If I didn't personally know you, I would say you were studious and a hard worker while ensuring you take good care of yourself… Kind, soft, loving, hands… A kind soft loving heart…" He explained and frowned once he pulled his hands away and let Sofia's hands drop. "Most of those girls… The royals and nobles had nothing but soft hands… No hard labor had marked them other than their little prick marks from their precious needlework, and the others showed either nothing but hard labor with no care or little care at all… Yes, they may be kind and hard-working too but how can I bring myself to show interest in a woman who fails to show care for herself or fails to understand hard work."
He moved away from Sofia and stood beside one of the rose bushes, studying its blooms with his back to Sofia. She heard the sound of the leaves on the bush rustling as Cedric plucked a rose free.
"One such lady that I danced with tonight was a very good example… I would describe her as being as beautiful as a red rose… Elegant like one too… But what she said and how she acted did not match her hands. She behaved like the nobles and wore that mask with such skill I actually considered maybe she would be perfect… But her hands were dry, rough, and burned in places. If it wasn't for her lack of magic, I would have assumed her to be an Alchemist… Maybe a metal worker of some kind?... It doesn't matter now."
"I am sure you will find what you are looking for one day," Sofia said he returned to her with the bloom in hand. Her heart felt like it was leaping into her throat as it finally hit her what was happening. Reasoning that it was only happening because he was drunk enough that he didn't know what he was doing.
"… Perhaps…" He said before holding the white rose up and she watched the petals turn from ivory to yellow to a fiery orange. With a slight smile, he kissed the petals and held it out for Sofia to take. She blinked, looking between him and the flower before backing away from them both. He watched her back away, watched her as she curtsied and quickly wish him goodnight before leaving.
Cedric stood there watching until she was gone and looked down at the flower. He chewed his lip, trying to make sense of just happened. His head was hazy and there was a pain in his chest he didn't understand. It almost burned and he hated it with a passion.
He tossed it onto the table beside the empty cup and strode away, fists clenched.