Carry On Dancing

A Songfic

Prequel to "Next Time"

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, Tamora Pierce does, and Savage Garden owns the song. Yadda, yadda, yadda….

Keladry of Mindelan made her way to a dark corner of the courtyard, where the king and queen were having a royal ball out in the moonlight. She was trying to elude Neal. For some crazy reason he wanted to dance, Kel had no idea why. She found a stool and dragged it conspicuously over to her corner. Roald of Conte, the heir to the throne, noticed her making herself at home in the corner.

He didn't know why, but lately he had been noticing Keladry more and more, and not just as a fellow knight-in-training. He had the sudden impulse to go over to her, but he curbed it. She was seeing Neal now, and Roald knew that he could become incredibly jealous at times.

After Roald had been sitting there watching Kel for a while, he made up his mind. He was going to go over there and make Kel dance with him. One dance wouldn't do any harm.

The moonlight...
Shines down interstellar beams
And the groove tonight
Is something more than you've ever seen
The stars and planets taking shape
A stolen kiss has come too late

Kel didn't know what she thought she was doing. Why she had accepted Roald's offer to dance, she had no clue. Neither did she know why he had offered in the first place—he knew Neal's temper when he got jealous as well as she did.

In the moonlight
Carry on, keep romancing
Carry on, carry on dancing
In the moonlight
Carry on, keep romancing
Carry on, carry on dancing

You're never safe 'till you see the dawn
And if the clock strikes past midnight
The hope is gone
To move under...

But nothing mattered now. Kel was weightlessly floating, whirling, spinning, twirling. She was mesmerized by her partner's endless blue eyes boring into hers. Any thoughts of Neal flew out of her head as fast as she whirled in Roald's arms.

The moonlight
Carry on, keep romancing
Carry on, carry on dancing
In the moonlight
Carry on, keep romancing
Carry on, carry on dancing.

Neal turned from where he was talking with Cleon. The big redhead had his eyes focused on something behind Neal. Neal picked out what he was staring at in a second. It was Roald and Kel, dancing together. He never took his eyes off the two, even after the music ended. They were seemingly oblivious to everyone and everything around them. They walked to the edge of the courtyard and stood talking. Neal moved closer to where they stood.

Move. Closer. Passion. Stronger.

There's a magic only two can tell
In the dark night
Ultraviolet is a wicked spell
The stars and planets taking shape
A stolen kiss has come too late

Suddenly Roald had his lips on Kel's, and they were sailing through space, flying higher than the stars.

Neal recoiled. Just what did they think they were doing? This wasn't a free-for-all! He strode angrily over to them. They pulled apart quickly, looking ashamed. Neal had fire in his eyes, glaring at both of them. "Just what did you think you were doing," he stated coldly.

In the moonlight
Carry on, keep romancing
Carry on, carry on dancing
In the moonlight
Carry on, keep romancing
Carry on, carry on dancing

Moving on... Moving all night