Ah... this goes from the beginning of the Midwinter ball to the a little before the end. Or that's what I plan it. I might just change it. A little mushiness; don't worry, nothing TOO cheesy or mushy. I'm not a cheesy or mushy person. Or I don't think I am. Actually, I'll let you start reading. Enjoy!
REMEMBER TO REVIEW AFTER YOU READ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Talking outloud"
'Thinking'
~Mind-speaking between the Tris, Daja, Briar, and Sandry~
*~*~*~*Flashback*~*~*~*
~~~~~~Scene change~~~~~~
(Author's Notes)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for this pointless plot. All characters used in this fanfic belong to Tamora Pierce. All the places probably belong to her too. Oh, and all the stuff that goes in her books is hers too. Anything else that even remotely relates to the books is Tamora Pierce's. So there. Now you can't sue me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Winter Sunshine
By smileypal4eva
Chapter 4: Save the Last Dance
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
the ballroom...
The herald stepped aside as the large doors leading into the ballroom opened again. "Announcing the arrival of his Grace Duke Vedris IV of this realm of Emelan, and his great-niece Lady Sandrilene fa Toren!" he said, bowing as the two nobles came in. Sandry smiled, emotions completely contained except in her eyes, and curtsied gracefully to all the guests. Duke Vedris gave everyone a deep bow, and the two descended down the stairs.
"My dear, I don't recall you meeting Francis fer Geriav." Duke Vedris nodded to a handsome young man with raven-black hair, dark blue-green eyes, and a muscular build visible through his clothes. He couldn't be over twenty. 'Perhaps eighteen, possibly nineteen,' Sandry mused, her blue eyes flicking quickly over the stranger. "It's a pleasure to meet you, my lady," Francis bowed and kissed Sandry's fingertips. "The please is mine, Francis," Sandry automatically replied, curtsying to the stranger. "If you'll excuse me, I must see to some of my guests," the Duke said, and left the pair.
Sandry gulped. She'd hoped the duke would stay with her, but obviously not. "Would you care for a dance, my lady?" Francis held out a gloved hand. "Of course. And please, call me Sandry. I don't like formalities very much," Sandry confessed in an effort to ease the awkwardness as she placed her hand in his. "Of course, Sandry. Then you must call me Francis. I don't like formalities much either. It requires too much stiffness," Francis sighed, smiling with ease. 'He has a nice smile, though. And friendly too. Maybe this evening won't be too bad after all.'
Francis led her to the center of the ballroom, where several couples had already started dancing. Francis, with an energetic beat to his step, started leading Sandry through the lively waltz. Sandry laughed when Francis swung her. "You're quite the dancer, Francis!" Sandry gasped, holding tightly onto him.
"Well, I ought to be! My parents made me take dancing lessons with a teacher. A teacher!" Francis and Sandry swung about the dance floor, all the while laughing and relaxing. Sandry saw Tris dancing with Pasco, and Briar talking with Daja about something or other. Every now and then, Sandry would shoot a glance around the ballroom to see what Briar was doing.
~So, having fun, duchess?~ Briar asked, amused. Daja joined in on the conversation. ~Yeah, you look like you've relaxed a lot since this afternoon, when you helped us get ready,~ Daja commented. ~Is Pasco a good dancer because he's just good or is it because of his magic?~ Tris asked. Sandry laughed to them in her mind.
~Yes, I'm having fun now, since Francis fer Geriav & I dropped formalities. Being formal is just too... nerve-racking is probably the word. I've never liked formalities. And I don't know. Yazmin says that she isn't sure either, so we'll just have to go with the fact that Pasco likes dancing and he has magic with it.~ Sandry then turned back to her partner, and they danced some more.
When that song ended, musicians struck the tune of a romantic ballad. Francis sensed Sandry's nervousness at dancing with him to a slow song. "Why don't dance one more time anyway, Sandry? Then I'll let you mingle with your other guests," Francis invited. "...Sure." Sandry and Francis just sort of walked tiny steps around in circles for a while, and then Sandry spoke up. "I hope you aren't expecting a romantic relationship, Sir Francis." Sandry said. 'I feel so guilty. I love Briar, not Francis, and here I am, having the time of my life while Briar just stands over there watching. Hopefully Sir Francis didn't get the wrong idea.'
Francis just shook his head. "I've already held my interest in someone else. Although I would like to be friends. You're different from all the other nobles I've met so far, when my father brings me to social functions. You don't sit and flirt, whilst looking like the perfect doll. You laugh, and you have a sense of humor." Francis said, to Sandry's relief. Suddenly, someone tapped Francis' shoulder. He turned around.
"May I have this dance with Lady Sandrilene?" Another noble bowed to Sandry. "Yes, of course, if my lady consents." Francis shot a glance to Sandry, who pasted a fake smile to her lips and nodded. "Of course." As the unbelievable long song stretched to cover a long hour, Sandry was interrupted with her current dancing partner several more times for dances, and she became distressed. ~If I hear someone say 'May I have this dance' one more time I'm going to scream!~ Sandry almost mind-shouted to Briar.
~Now, you wouldn't want to do that. That would ruin your image. How about this; you don't scream, and if you save me your last dance, at midnight, then I'll give you a surprise. You'll be happy then, I promise,~ Briar said, his voice fainting away. ~Now, I have to get back to talking to this mage at the same time, or else I'll befuddle something and look like a silly bleater. ~ Sandry said goodbye, and turned back to her dancing partner. 'They're all so stiff and boring,' Sandry couldn't help thinking. All of the men were so intent with trying to impress her with whatever they were talking about, they didn't think for a moment that Sandry wasn't interested in the least.
'Well, there's only a few more hours until midnight,' Sandry thought uncomfortably. She wanted to yell and say "Leave me alone!", but that would be very unladylike. So, Sandry continued faking her pleasure at dancing with complete strangers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Briar watched wistfully from his corner as Sandry whirled around with dancer after dancer. "Lady Sandrilene sure is a pretty one, isn't she?" someone said from behind Briar. He spun around. One of the men Sandry was dancing with earlier - was it Francis fer Geriav? - had come up right behind him, and he hadn't even noticed!
After hesitating a moment, Briar answered. "Yes, she is. Sandry's great." Briar watched as Sandry shot a glance over at him, and winked to her. The smile on her face immediately brightened his spirits. "I'm Francis fer Geriav," the noble said, holding out his hand. "Briar Moss," Briar shook hands with Francis.
"You know, you're lucky to have her," Francis said, just as suddenly as when they had first spoken. Briar raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And how exactly do you figure I 'have her'?" Briar asked. "It's very obvious, my friend! Whenever she thinks I am not looking, she steals a glance at you, and you are both already very close to each other. You are part of that mage quartet, from Winding Circle, correct?" Francis looked at Briar, who was just about the same height as him.
"Well, that's true. But I'm not sure of her feelings yet. What if she's just bored?" Briar countered. He wanted to believe she liked him, and returned his feelings, but just stealing little peeks every now and then did not seem to count as acts of love.
"That, Briar Moss, is something you must figure out. I only met her this evening; you've known her for years and years," Francis said wisely. "Not years and years; only six years!" "Six years to my few hours? That does seem like an awful long time, no?" Francis opened his palm, and a small blue fire appeared. "You have magic!" Briar exclaimed.
"Yes, I am."
"Have you trained at Winding Circle, or at Lightsbridge?" Briar asked, interested.
"Actually, I've only trained my magic a little. You see, I'm the only son of my parents, who are both dead. I rule my lands with the help of His Grace and with the help of those who live with me. I could not leave for years to train my magic. However, a traveling mage one day stayed in my home for an exceptionally big winter, and he taught me the basics and how to control my magic, in exchange for shelter and food. My magic can also make designs, and burn things." To demonstrate it, Francis beckoned to Briar to follow him onto the balcony. The only light after they walked into the crisp night air was two big candles, set in two holders next to the entrance back into the ballroom.
Outside, Francis opened his palm again, where there was a slightly bigger ball of blue fire. He let it float upward, and then he closed his hand and twisted it, opening his palm with a drift of fingers. The blue flame tightened, then expanded in a shower of light, opening like a sunflower. He split the flame in two, and directed them to the candles. The blue fire continued burning happily, making patterns of light in their wake. Francis and Briar stayed outside for awhile, content to just talk about magic, when Briar noticed a change in the fire.
"The flame's turned white!" Briar exclaimed, pointing. It was true, the fire that was burning in the candle had become white. However, there were little sparkles of blue still in the flame. "My magic changes colors every now and then, usually to white. Occasionally to green. When it does change colors, there's always flecks of blue sparkles in the flame, and then after awhile, this starts happening."
"What starts happening?" Briar asked, confused, before he realized something. Blue and white sparkles were falling slowly but merrily around them, mingling with the pure white of the snow. "That's great..." Briar said, stretching out a hand to catch some of the sparkles. After a few moments, there was a small amount of liquid in his palm. He looked questioningly at Francis, who shrugged.
"It must be reacting with the cold of the air, those sparkles. Usually they just disappear." Briar frowned at the liquid. It immediately rose in a fine thread and twined around his finger. "You can do magic with that?" Francis asked incredulously. "No. I'm just testing it right now," Briar said absentmindedly. He thought of a vine plant. The thread twisted and became a small vine, splitting in half and twisting around the two candle holders. Briar heard the bell clang for midnight. "I should go inside now. I promised Sandry a dance at midnight," Briar said, waving goodbye. He turned away.
Francis just kept looking at the vines and at Briar's retreating back. "The boy's got more than good looks and magic about him," Francis commented to his sparkles. As if in answer, they sparkled even more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~So, milady, ready for our dance?~ Briar's voice echoed through Sandry's mind. ~Yes, I suppose. And please hurry. This man, all he can talk about are his clothes!~ Sandry shot indignantly back at him. ~I'll take my time, duchess, but I'll hurry. If only for your sake.~
Sandry's partner stopped abruptly. "Yes, and what do you want?" he asked coldly of Sandry's soon-to-be new dancer. "I'd like a dance with Lady Sandrilene fa Toren, one of my closest friends, if you please," Briar said politely, bowing gallantly. Before Sandry's current partner could say anything, she discarded his tight hold. "Of course, Briar! Let's dance, shall we?" And with those seven words, she grabbed a hold of both his wrists and pulled him away.
Just as Sandry was about to say more, the musicians started another romantic song. Sandry froze, her thoughts reeling back to Briar's kiss. "I'm sorry if I mad you uncomfortable earlier. But I'll tell you more about why I did what I did later, so why don't we just dance now? If you like, we can just stay friends." Briar said, wrapping his arms around Sandry's waist.
Without really meaning to, Sandry cringed inside. 'No! I want to be more than friends!' a part of her mind was yelling, over and over again. She pushed those thoughts away and smiled, encircling her arms around his neck. "Alright, friends we'll be. For now, anyway."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pasco tapped Evvy on the shoulder. She was just watching everyone around her, eyes wide with amazement at all the furnishings and all the expensive things. She turned around warily. "Would you like to dance? I've been meaning to ask for awhile, but Briar stopped me and we talked about some things."
Evvy's eyes widened further. He was asking her to dance with him?
"Yes, if your look betrays your thoughts, I am asking you to dance with me, but I'm not willing to stand here all night waiting for your answer," he snapped kindly, sounding more like the Pasco she had met only a week ago.
"Of course! Let's go." Evvy said cheerfully as he led her to the dance floor. "Look! Our teachers are dancing together!" Pasco pointed. They could see Briar and Sandry with wide smiles on their faces. They were both laughing, with a giggle from Sandry every now and then.
"They should get together. Briar obviously loves Lady Sandry a lot." Pasco commented as they started to dance, his voice odd. Evvy snuck a glance up at his face. He was staring down at her! Evvy looked back down quickly, and changed the subject. "They should get together, I agree. I mean, Lady Sandry loves Briar a lot too. She's always telling me some stuff about him that I didn't even know about, and I've been traveling with him for two years!" Evvy said.
At the same time, the two looked at each other. Then they looked anywhere else except each other, their faces red.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sandry and Briar watched the entire ordeal. "You know, those two like each other, and they don't even know it," Sandry commented lightly, giggling. "Kids," Briar said, shaking his head.
Briar steeled himself. He wanted to ask her onto the balcony, and talk about things. Specifically, he wanted to spill all his feelings out, and make them known. More directly, anyhow.
After waiting about half and hour for the right moment, he found the perfect chance. The musicians were ending their song (again). "Why don't we go to the balcony? The air is much crisper out there."
When they got outside, Sandry gasped in delight. "Look at the snow! It's sparkling blue and white!" She exclaimed softly. "Yeah. Francis was showing me his magic earlier. This is what it did." Briar told her. Sandry just walked around some more, and then she turned around and smiled at him. "This is a wonderful surprise! Although I don't think you had known it would turn out this way. If Francis hadn't gone over and talked to you - " Sandry closed a fist lightly, and the drapes behind them closed shut, weaving into each other. She opened her fist, springing out her fingers, so that if anyone looked at the closed drapes, their interest would spring elsewhere. If anyone approached, they would turn and walk somewhere else. " - what would your surprise have been?"
Briar gulped. 'Here I go!' "Well, I'm not sure if you'll be happy or not... but I'll tell you anyway. Ever since I left Emelan two years ago, all I could think about was you. At first, I thought I was just homesick. But I didn't think about Tris or Daja or Discipline as much as I though about you, so then I concluded it must have been love. When I came back, and I saw you again, I knew I was right.
"Remember the night I arrived? You had that nightmare, and I came in and stayed with you until you fell asleep? That was what convinced me." Briar took a deep breath. "It's alright if you don't return my feelings. I just wanted to make them known." He mumbled quietly, his gaze turning to the ground.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sandry almost gasped. 'He does love me...' she realized. And then, when she thought about his words, she knew that she loved him too.
"Briar...?" Sandry ventured softly, reaching a hand out to touch him. Briar looked up, catching her sky-blue eyes in his gray-green ones. "Yeah?" Sandry walked closer to him, then hesitated. 'Oh, just be bold for once! After all, you know he feels the same way!' a part of her mind positively screamed at her.
Sandry made up her mind, and reached both arms around his neck. Pulling his head down, Sandry kissed Briar intensely, making sure her feelings for him were crystal clear.
With that all sorted out, Briar quickly hugged Sandry's slim body against his, kissing her back. All of about two years worth of love spilled out in that minute-long kiss between the two. When they parted, both just gazed at each other. Sandry was the first to recover from her shock.
~You're a great kisser,~ she commented, easing her lips onto his again.
~Well. You know I'm great at everything,~ Briar teased.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Remember, review!!!!!!!! I love checking reviews! It's so nice when you look at all those wonderful comments about your story, don't you think? So worthwhile. Anyway, thanks for reading!
Oh, and this is not the last chapter yet!!!!!!!!
smileypal4eva
REMEMBER TO REVIEW AFTER YOU READ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Talking outloud"
'Thinking'
~Mind-speaking between the Tris, Daja, Briar, and Sandry~
*~*~*~*Flashback*~*~*~*
~~~~~~Scene change~~~~~~
(Author's Notes)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for this pointless plot. All characters used in this fanfic belong to Tamora Pierce. All the places probably belong to her too. Oh, and all the stuff that goes in her books is hers too. Anything else that even remotely relates to the books is Tamora Pierce's. So there. Now you can't sue me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Winter Sunshine
By smileypal4eva
Chapter 4: Save the Last Dance
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
the ballroom...
The herald stepped aside as the large doors leading into the ballroom opened again. "Announcing the arrival of his Grace Duke Vedris IV of this realm of Emelan, and his great-niece Lady Sandrilene fa Toren!" he said, bowing as the two nobles came in. Sandry smiled, emotions completely contained except in her eyes, and curtsied gracefully to all the guests. Duke Vedris gave everyone a deep bow, and the two descended down the stairs.
"My dear, I don't recall you meeting Francis fer Geriav." Duke Vedris nodded to a handsome young man with raven-black hair, dark blue-green eyes, and a muscular build visible through his clothes. He couldn't be over twenty. 'Perhaps eighteen, possibly nineteen,' Sandry mused, her blue eyes flicking quickly over the stranger. "It's a pleasure to meet you, my lady," Francis bowed and kissed Sandry's fingertips. "The please is mine, Francis," Sandry automatically replied, curtsying to the stranger. "If you'll excuse me, I must see to some of my guests," the Duke said, and left the pair.
Sandry gulped. She'd hoped the duke would stay with her, but obviously not. "Would you care for a dance, my lady?" Francis held out a gloved hand. "Of course. And please, call me Sandry. I don't like formalities very much," Sandry confessed in an effort to ease the awkwardness as she placed her hand in his. "Of course, Sandry. Then you must call me Francis. I don't like formalities much either. It requires too much stiffness," Francis sighed, smiling with ease. 'He has a nice smile, though. And friendly too. Maybe this evening won't be too bad after all.'
Francis led her to the center of the ballroom, where several couples had already started dancing. Francis, with an energetic beat to his step, started leading Sandry through the lively waltz. Sandry laughed when Francis swung her. "You're quite the dancer, Francis!" Sandry gasped, holding tightly onto him.
"Well, I ought to be! My parents made me take dancing lessons with a teacher. A teacher!" Francis and Sandry swung about the dance floor, all the while laughing and relaxing. Sandry saw Tris dancing with Pasco, and Briar talking with Daja about something or other. Every now and then, Sandry would shoot a glance around the ballroom to see what Briar was doing.
~So, having fun, duchess?~ Briar asked, amused. Daja joined in on the conversation. ~Yeah, you look like you've relaxed a lot since this afternoon, when you helped us get ready,~ Daja commented. ~Is Pasco a good dancer because he's just good or is it because of his magic?~ Tris asked. Sandry laughed to them in her mind.
~Yes, I'm having fun now, since Francis fer Geriav & I dropped formalities. Being formal is just too... nerve-racking is probably the word. I've never liked formalities. And I don't know. Yazmin says that she isn't sure either, so we'll just have to go with the fact that Pasco likes dancing and he has magic with it.~ Sandry then turned back to her partner, and they danced some more.
When that song ended, musicians struck the tune of a romantic ballad. Francis sensed Sandry's nervousness at dancing with him to a slow song. "Why don't dance one more time anyway, Sandry? Then I'll let you mingle with your other guests," Francis invited. "...Sure." Sandry and Francis just sort of walked tiny steps around in circles for a while, and then Sandry spoke up. "I hope you aren't expecting a romantic relationship, Sir Francis." Sandry said. 'I feel so guilty. I love Briar, not Francis, and here I am, having the time of my life while Briar just stands over there watching. Hopefully Sir Francis didn't get the wrong idea.'
Francis just shook his head. "I've already held my interest in someone else. Although I would like to be friends. You're different from all the other nobles I've met so far, when my father brings me to social functions. You don't sit and flirt, whilst looking like the perfect doll. You laugh, and you have a sense of humor." Francis said, to Sandry's relief. Suddenly, someone tapped Francis' shoulder. He turned around.
"May I have this dance with Lady Sandrilene?" Another noble bowed to Sandry. "Yes, of course, if my lady consents." Francis shot a glance to Sandry, who pasted a fake smile to her lips and nodded. "Of course." As the unbelievable long song stretched to cover a long hour, Sandry was interrupted with her current dancing partner several more times for dances, and she became distressed. ~If I hear someone say 'May I have this dance' one more time I'm going to scream!~ Sandry almost mind-shouted to Briar.
~Now, you wouldn't want to do that. That would ruin your image. How about this; you don't scream, and if you save me your last dance, at midnight, then I'll give you a surprise. You'll be happy then, I promise,~ Briar said, his voice fainting away. ~Now, I have to get back to talking to this mage at the same time, or else I'll befuddle something and look like a silly bleater. ~ Sandry said goodbye, and turned back to her dancing partner. 'They're all so stiff and boring,' Sandry couldn't help thinking. All of the men were so intent with trying to impress her with whatever they were talking about, they didn't think for a moment that Sandry wasn't interested in the least.
'Well, there's only a few more hours until midnight,' Sandry thought uncomfortably. She wanted to yell and say "Leave me alone!", but that would be very unladylike. So, Sandry continued faking her pleasure at dancing with complete strangers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Briar watched wistfully from his corner as Sandry whirled around with dancer after dancer. "Lady Sandrilene sure is a pretty one, isn't she?" someone said from behind Briar. He spun around. One of the men Sandry was dancing with earlier - was it Francis fer Geriav? - had come up right behind him, and he hadn't even noticed!
After hesitating a moment, Briar answered. "Yes, she is. Sandry's great." Briar watched as Sandry shot a glance over at him, and winked to her. The smile on her face immediately brightened his spirits. "I'm Francis fer Geriav," the noble said, holding out his hand. "Briar Moss," Briar shook hands with Francis.
"You know, you're lucky to have her," Francis said, just as suddenly as when they had first spoken. Briar raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And how exactly do you figure I 'have her'?" Briar asked. "It's very obvious, my friend! Whenever she thinks I am not looking, she steals a glance at you, and you are both already very close to each other. You are part of that mage quartet, from Winding Circle, correct?" Francis looked at Briar, who was just about the same height as him.
"Well, that's true. But I'm not sure of her feelings yet. What if she's just bored?" Briar countered. He wanted to believe she liked him, and returned his feelings, but just stealing little peeks every now and then did not seem to count as acts of love.
"That, Briar Moss, is something you must figure out. I only met her this evening; you've known her for years and years," Francis said wisely. "Not years and years; only six years!" "Six years to my few hours? That does seem like an awful long time, no?" Francis opened his palm, and a small blue fire appeared. "You have magic!" Briar exclaimed.
"Yes, I am."
"Have you trained at Winding Circle, or at Lightsbridge?" Briar asked, interested.
"Actually, I've only trained my magic a little. You see, I'm the only son of my parents, who are both dead. I rule my lands with the help of His Grace and with the help of those who live with me. I could not leave for years to train my magic. However, a traveling mage one day stayed in my home for an exceptionally big winter, and he taught me the basics and how to control my magic, in exchange for shelter and food. My magic can also make designs, and burn things." To demonstrate it, Francis beckoned to Briar to follow him onto the balcony. The only light after they walked into the crisp night air was two big candles, set in two holders next to the entrance back into the ballroom.
Outside, Francis opened his palm again, where there was a slightly bigger ball of blue fire. He let it float upward, and then he closed his hand and twisted it, opening his palm with a drift of fingers. The blue flame tightened, then expanded in a shower of light, opening like a sunflower. He split the flame in two, and directed them to the candles. The blue fire continued burning happily, making patterns of light in their wake. Francis and Briar stayed outside for awhile, content to just talk about magic, when Briar noticed a change in the fire.
"The flame's turned white!" Briar exclaimed, pointing. It was true, the fire that was burning in the candle had become white. However, there were little sparkles of blue still in the flame. "My magic changes colors every now and then, usually to white. Occasionally to green. When it does change colors, there's always flecks of blue sparkles in the flame, and then after awhile, this starts happening."
"What starts happening?" Briar asked, confused, before he realized something. Blue and white sparkles were falling slowly but merrily around them, mingling with the pure white of the snow. "That's great..." Briar said, stretching out a hand to catch some of the sparkles. After a few moments, there was a small amount of liquid in his palm. He looked questioningly at Francis, who shrugged.
"It must be reacting with the cold of the air, those sparkles. Usually they just disappear." Briar frowned at the liquid. It immediately rose in a fine thread and twined around his finger. "You can do magic with that?" Francis asked incredulously. "No. I'm just testing it right now," Briar said absentmindedly. He thought of a vine plant. The thread twisted and became a small vine, splitting in half and twisting around the two candle holders. Briar heard the bell clang for midnight. "I should go inside now. I promised Sandry a dance at midnight," Briar said, waving goodbye. He turned away.
Francis just kept looking at the vines and at Briar's retreating back. "The boy's got more than good looks and magic about him," Francis commented to his sparkles. As if in answer, they sparkled even more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~So, milady, ready for our dance?~ Briar's voice echoed through Sandry's mind. ~Yes, I suppose. And please hurry. This man, all he can talk about are his clothes!~ Sandry shot indignantly back at him. ~I'll take my time, duchess, but I'll hurry. If only for your sake.~
Sandry's partner stopped abruptly. "Yes, and what do you want?" he asked coldly of Sandry's soon-to-be new dancer. "I'd like a dance with Lady Sandrilene fa Toren, one of my closest friends, if you please," Briar said politely, bowing gallantly. Before Sandry's current partner could say anything, she discarded his tight hold. "Of course, Briar! Let's dance, shall we?" And with those seven words, she grabbed a hold of both his wrists and pulled him away.
Just as Sandry was about to say more, the musicians started another romantic song. Sandry froze, her thoughts reeling back to Briar's kiss. "I'm sorry if I mad you uncomfortable earlier. But I'll tell you more about why I did what I did later, so why don't we just dance now? If you like, we can just stay friends." Briar said, wrapping his arms around Sandry's waist.
Without really meaning to, Sandry cringed inside. 'No! I want to be more than friends!' a part of her mind was yelling, over and over again. She pushed those thoughts away and smiled, encircling her arms around his neck. "Alright, friends we'll be. For now, anyway."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pasco tapped Evvy on the shoulder. She was just watching everyone around her, eyes wide with amazement at all the furnishings and all the expensive things. She turned around warily. "Would you like to dance? I've been meaning to ask for awhile, but Briar stopped me and we talked about some things."
Evvy's eyes widened further. He was asking her to dance with him?
"Yes, if your look betrays your thoughts, I am asking you to dance with me, but I'm not willing to stand here all night waiting for your answer," he snapped kindly, sounding more like the Pasco she had met only a week ago.
"Of course! Let's go." Evvy said cheerfully as he led her to the dance floor. "Look! Our teachers are dancing together!" Pasco pointed. They could see Briar and Sandry with wide smiles on their faces. They were both laughing, with a giggle from Sandry every now and then.
"They should get together. Briar obviously loves Lady Sandry a lot." Pasco commented as they started to dance, his voice odd. Evvy snuck a glance up at his face. He was staring down at her! Evvy looked back down quickly, and changed the subject. "They should get together, I agree. I mean, Lady Sandry loves Briar a lot too. She's always telling me some stuff about him that I didn't even know about, and I've been traveling with him for two years!" Evvy said.
At the same time, the two looked at each other. Then they looked anywhere else except each other, their faces red.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sandry and Briar watched the entire ordeal. "You know, those two like each other, and they don't even know it," Sandry commented lightly, giggling. "Kids," Briar said, shaking his head.
Briar steeled himself. He wanted to ask her onto the balcony, and talk about things. Specifically, he wanted to spill all his feelings out, and make them known. More directly, anyhow.
After waiting about half and hour for the right moment, he found the perfect chance. The musicians were ending their song (again). "Why don't we go to the balcony? The air is much crisper out there."
When they got outside, Sandry gasped in delight. "Look at the snow! It's sparkling blue and white!" She exclaimed softly. "Yeah. Francis was showing me his magic earlier. This is what it did." Briar told her. Sandry just walked around some more, and then she turned around and smiled at him. "This is a wonderful surprise! Although I don't think you had known it would turn out this way. If Francis hadn't gone over and talked to you - " Sandry closed a fist lightly, and the drapes behind them closed shut, weaving into each other. She opened her fist, springing out her fingers, so that if anyone looked at the closed drapes, their interest would spring elsewhere. If anyone approached, they would turn and walk somewhere else. " - what would your surprise have been?"
Briar gulped. 'Here I go!' "Well, I'm not sure if you'll be happy or not... but I'll tell you anyway. Ever since I left Emelan two years ago, all I could think about was you. At first, I thought I was just homesick. But I didn't think about Tris or Daja or Discipline as much as I though about you, so then I concluded it must have been love. When I came back, and I saw you again, I knew I was right.
"Remember the night I arrived? You had that nightmare, and I came in and stayed with you until you fell asleep? That was what convinced me." Briar took a deep breath. "It's alright if you don't return my feelings. I just wanted to make them known." He mumbled quietly, his gaze turning to the ground.
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Sandry almost gasped. 'He does love me...' she realized. And then, when she thought about his words, she knew that she loved him too.
"Briar...?" Sandry ventured softly, reaching a hand out to touch him. Briar looked up, catching her sky-blue eyes in his gray-green ones. "Yeah?" Sandry walked closer to him, then hesitated. 'Oh, just be bold for once! After all, you know he feels the same way!' a part of her mind positively screamed at her.
Sandry made up her mind, and reached both arms around his neck. Pulling his head down, Sandry kissed Briar intensely, making sure her feelings for him were crystal clear.
With that all sorted out, Briar quickly hugged Sandry's slim body against his, kissing her back. All of about two years worth of love spilled out in that minute-long kiss between the two. When they parted, both just gazed at each other. Sandry was the first to recover from her shock.
~You're a great kisser,~ she commented, easing her lips onto his again.
~Well. You know I'm great at everything,~ Briar teased.
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DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Remember, review!!!!!!!! I love checking reviews! It's so nice when you look at all those wonderful comments about your story, don't you think? So worthwhile. Anyway, thanks for reading!
Oh, and this is not the last chapter yet!!!!!!!!
smileypal4eva
