Disclaimer: The Vision of Escaflowne is owned by Sunrise and Bandai Entertainment. No copyright infringement is intended by this not-for-profit story, although the author would like to point out that this doesn't mean that others can freely copy this text and claim it as their own!
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Carenza sat on a fragile gilt-and-velvet chair, wishing she had never come to the ball. Her earlobes still stung from the piercing, and she felt an irrational urge to scratch the gold wires from her flesh, like a cat with a troublesome flea. To make things worse, Prince Folken had been dancing with either Marlene or Eries all evening, and it would soon be time for the children to go to bed and leave the grown-ups to their drinking and gossiping.
She couldn't blame Folken, of course. He was the guest of honour and the obvious partner for the two princesses, but it was sickening to see how Marlene fawned over him. If only she knew what Folken had said about her, that afternoon...Carenza hid her smiles behind her fan.
'Hello, sis!' Dryden plumped himself down on the next chair, which creaked in protest. 'Share the joke?'
'I, er, was just thinking how much Princess Marlene looks like a doll in that lacy gown,' Carenza smiled.
Dryden grinned back and twirled one of his own dark curls around his finger in imitation.
'She does too. That Prince is all right, though. Allen says he's stuck up, but I think he's just shy.'
'Allen?'
'The boy dancing with Eries. His family have an estate in the country, but they're in Palas for the season so they were invited to the ball.'
Carenza craned her neck to see the dancers better. For a moment her view was obstructed by a tall man in military dress, then he stepped to one side and she spotted Eries and her partner. The middle princess looked very pleased with herself, and who could blame her; this Allen was a very good-looking boy, with fair shoulder-length hair and delicate, almost girlish features. He seemed to be about the same age as Eries; a possible match? Don't be silly, she told herself. In all likelihood Eries is destined for Folken - which will upset Marlene no end. Only a duke for her, and mousy little Eries gets the prince.
Dryden yawned loudly. Carenza looked more closely at him and tutted. His face was flushed from more than just the heat of the crowded ballroom.
'How much punch have you had, brother?'
'Only two cups. Allen says-'
'It sounds to me like this Allen is a bad influence on you. What would Father say?'
Dryden made a rude noise.
'He's too busy sucking up to all the nobs to notice anything I do.'
'He is the king's advisor, it's important that he keeps an ear to the ground. A bit of flattery elicits more gossip, that's all.'
Dryden shrugged.
'Why don't you go and wash your face?' Carenza sighed. 'That will keep you awake a bit longer.'
Her brother pulled a face but headed for the washroom.
'Carenza?'
She looked up. It was Prince Folken. Her mouth went dry.
'Your highness. H-how nice to meet you again.'
'May I have the pleasure of the next dance?'
'With me?'
'Unless you already have a partner? No, don't tell me, I'm too late-'
'Not at all,' she said hurriedly before he could back away. 'My card is...quite empty...' As I am sure you know if you have eyes in your head.
He held out his hand and she took it, hoping that he could not feel her trembling. By all the sea dragons of Asturia, please do not let me faint on the dancefloor. Though then he might have to catch me...
They took their places, and the orchestra began to play a lively air. For a while Carenza could think of nothing but the complex dance steps - one, two, and cross to the right, curtsey to your partner, and three, four, back to the left - until she saw Marlene glaring at her from across the room. The eldest princess was dancing with a middle-aged man; when they spun around she could see it was her own father. Meiden Fassa smiled unctuously and whispered something to the princess, who smiled back in a way Carenza thought most unbecoming in a girl young enough to be his daughter.
'Do you normally say so little to your dancing partner?' Folken asked as they passed one another.
'I prefer to stay silent and be thought a fool, than speak and prove it so,' she replied. I should have taken my own advice the other day, she added privately, then I would not be so tongue-tied now.
He raised an eyebrow, but they were now too far apart to speak without shouting. The set moved round, and Carenza danced briefly with the other gentleman in their foursome.
'We could always make small talk,' he said when they were close again.
'If you insist. So, are you enjoying the ball, your highness?' she asked.
'Oh, yes. It has given me plenty of opportunity to get to know the princesses.'
'And how do you find them?'
Folken bit his lip, his garnet eyes twinkling, and mouthed something at her. Loulo.
Carenza's eyes widened, then she burst into hysterical giggles, which she hastily masked as a coughing fit. Folken escorted her away from the other dancers, beckoning a servant.
'A glass of water for the lady, quickly!' He leaned closer to Carenza. 'I'm so sorry,' he whispered. 'I did not expect to get quite that reaction.'
She fanned herself frantically, uncomfortably aware of being stared at by half the room. Damn it, I cannot seem to spend more than a few moments in his presence without making a spectacle of myself.
'I think I had better go outside and get some fresh air,' she murmured.
'Wait for me?'
She looked up at him questioningly.
'I can't come outside with you,' he said, 'not with everyone watching. I'll join you in a while, once this has all blown over.'
Carenza nodded. She watched him walk back into the thronging company, where he was just in time to be persuaded to take the floor with Marlene once more.
She waited on the terrace for three dances, gazing out across the city to the distant moon-kissed sea. Several times she roused at a scrape of booted foot on paving, but each time it was only a grown-up couple at their own tryst. Of course he wouldn't come; the princesses held him captive in there. Assuming that he hadn't been teasing her...No, he had not seemed the cruel type. She swallowed hard past the lump in her throat.
'Carenza?'
She whirled, trembling. Folken stood there, his hair silver in the moonlight.
'Are you all right? You look very pale.'
Me, pale? she thought. You must be confusing me with your golden-haired princesses.
'I'm just a bit cold, that's all,' she said aloud.
'Here.' He began unbuttoning the formal military-style jacket. 'I'm rather hot after all that dancing.'
He removed the jacket and draped it around her shoulders. The high collar was rough against her cheeks, and smelled of him. He slipped an arm tentatively about her waist, and she leant against his shoulder. For a long time neither of them said anything. What was there to say? He was a prince, destined to marry a princess; she was a merchant's daughter, destined to marry for her father's profit.
'You will write to me?' he said at last.
'Would it be proper? If you are promised to someone else?'
'I'm not promised to anyone yet.'
Her heart skipped a beat.
'You're not?'
'Not officially, at any rate. Apparently Princess Marlene is already spoken for, and King Aston thinks Princess Eries is a little too young for a formal engagement. He wants to wait a year or two.'
'But that means you will be, eventually...'
'Eventually, yes. But eventually I'll be king too, and a king needs his sources of intelligence. Who better than the clever daughter of one of the cleverest men in Asturia?'
She turned to look up at him, and he bent his head to kiss her gently on the lips. After a long moment she drew away.
'This is all just hopeless, isn't it?' she whispered.
'No, it's never hopeless. Remember that.'
He kissed her again, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. The jacket slipped from her shoulders, but lost in his kiss she didn't even notice the evening chill.
'I really ought to be going...' she said at last.
'I thought that was my line,' he replied, smiling.
'I'm sorry. It's just that it's getting late, and Dryden really ought to be in bed-'
He released her gently.
'Little brothers, eh? Nothing but trouble.'
She grinned and stretched up to kiss him on the cheek.
'Goodnight, my prince.'
'Goodnight, sweet Carenza.'
Reluctantly she turned away and headed back to the ballroom. Some of the courtiers stared as she wandered past, her head in the clouds, but she didn't care any more. He kissed me...
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Author's Note: Yes, this chapter is a shameless pastiche on any number of ballroom scenes from Jane Austen. But I don't think there's an anime/Austen crossover section on FanFiction.net :)