A Waltz
Enjolras woke slowly the next morning. The house was quiet as he dressed and made his way downstairs. It must have been well passed noon as the sunlight streaming in downstairs was strongest through the western windows. He made his way slowly to the dining room, curious if Melodie or Arielle were still at their midday meal.
He was a little disappointed to not see either of them at the table but was thankful to see someone had left him a plate of food on the sideboard. He grabbed an apple and roll to go and went to search the rest of the house. As he walked past the library, he began to catch the faint strains of music echoing from down the hall. The music was soft and cajoling, calling him to its source. He stuffed the last bit of bread in his mouth and chewed quickly as his feet carried to the final door in the hall on the left.
The sight that greeted him as he softly knocked and swung the door open caused Enjolras to smile. Arielle was seated at the harp plucking delicately at the strings, her eyes shimmering with happiness as she watched her sister across from her.
Melodie sat at the pianoforte, eyes glazed in concentration as her fingers glided delicately over the keys. Her neck arched gracefully as she followed the flow of the music coming from her fingers. The tune wasn't one he was familiar with, but it's calming influence had him resting against the door jamb and breathing more easily than he had in months. The sunlight entering the room caught in the mirrors and crystals that decorated the space and gave an almost ethereal glow to the women sitting before him.
"Enchanting, aren't they?" A warm voice murmured in his right ear. Enjolras couldn't help but cast a smile to Fabian, who now stood beside them.
"Has Arielle always played?" He asked in a return whisper. Fabian shook his head rather sadly.
"No. There were times where she would enter this room and approach the instruments and seem ready to play, but then she would merely sit and stare at them. Now I know why." He finished with a nod towards Melodie.
The tune came to an end and both men happily applauded. The women blushed and smiled as they rose to greet them. Arielle and Fabian said not a word, just merely melded into each other, smiling contentedly. Enjolras reached out a hand toward Melodie as she slowly approached him. Her eyes were soft and still a bit hazy, but her smile was the one he had begun to recognize as the one she reserved just for him.
"I didn't know you could play." He said as her hand slid into his own. She held herself a little bit away from him, but smiled none the less.
"It feels like it's been years since I've actually been able to play in peace, but I still seem to have something of a knack for it." Her smile became a bit cheeky, but as she glanced toward her sister and brother-in-law, her gaze softened.
"We both needed to play today though. Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent."
"And what feeling is that?" He asked as he drew her closer to his side. She rested her head against his shoulder and sighed before looking up at him. Her gold eyes were brighter than he had ever seen them and seemed to hypnotize him.
"Happiness." She murmured. "Pure, unadulterated happiness."
Glancing to see that Fabian and Arielle were well and thoroughly entranced in each other, Enjolras placed a quick kiss against her curls.
Melodie's eyes closed languidly, obviously content where she was. Enjolras too, felt a sort of peace settle in his soul. Today there was no darkness, no fear, just happiness. Pure unadulterated happiness as Melodie had said.
He was a damn lucky man he decided.
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Melodie felt the warm bubble of happiness in her chest expand as she watched the pleased look fall on Enjolras's face. She wished desperately for the power to freeze the moment.
Here in this time, she had something she never thought she'd have again.
Family.
A home.
A man she loved desperately.
Everything her girlish heart had once desire above all else.
Everything she thought had been taken from her years ago.
How she so desperately wished she could hold onto this feeling for the rest of her life! The warmth of the summer sun, the feeling of Enjolras's solid presence at her side, the absolute sense of love coming from her sister … nothing could possibly compare to this.
"Do you dance Monsieur Enjolras?" Her sister's voice filtered into her bubble of serenity. Melodie blinked owlishly at her sister, trying to follow her road of thought. Enjolras chuckled at her side.
"Much to my mother's amazement, I do in fact have that skill Madame, though it may be a bit rusty."
Arielle smiled gleefully and move to the harp again, Fabian close on her heels.
"Arielle …" Melodie gave a half-hearted warning.
Her sister waved her hand impatiently at her, focusing her attention on Enjolras instead.
"Never fear sir, for a skilled learned once stays with us forever. Sometimes it just needs a bit of polishing." She winked at them and motioned them out to the open floor. Enjolras rolled his eyes, but smiled good naturedly none the less. He attempted to tug Melodie out with him but she made herself root to her spot. She knew her eyes were wide with frantic panic but she didn't care.
"I don't dance." She couldn't. All she would see was …
"Ridicule! You're a superb dancer. Papa made sure of that." Her sister was frowning at her, but her focus was on Enjolras.
"Melodie?" His voice was soft, full of questions. She shook her head frantically at him before mustering up her voice again.
"Jehan." The name brought up images.
Jehan singinging with gusto as he twirled girl after girl around the Mussain as the band played a lively tune.
Jehan stopping out of breath in front of her scowling face and bowing extravagantly to her before pulling her into the dance.
She finally breaking down in a smile and applauding.
She and Jehan, dancing as though nothing in the world could stop them, stop their joy.
Swirling colors, breathless laughter …
"Come back to me Melodie." Enjolras's soft command startled her back into awareness. Her eyes sought his. The stormy blue was gentled by the concern and tenderness he seemed to reserve only for her.
"Make this about us. Nothing else matters right now." He whispered. Melodie swallowed hard and nodded jerkily. He smiled crookedly at her and bowed, every inch the graduate of the Academy. She breathed deeply and sank into a curtsey.
"Lovely." Her sister's voice sounded far away, so focused as she was on Enjolras. "What shall it be? A minuet? A quadrille perhaps?"
Enjolras shook his head. A thread of heat entered his gaze as he stepped forward and pulled her into his arms. Melodie felt slightly light headed at him paying so much attention to her in front of company. His gaze darkened and he pulled her closer still.
"A waltz, s'il vous plait." Melodie briefly caught the look of delight on her sister's face before Enjolras swept her up in the graceful steps of the Viennese waltz.
In no time at all, they had found their rhythm and before she knew it, she was encased in the warm bubble of Enjolras's presence. With the music and the light, it felt as if they were the only people in the room.
No, it felt as if they were the only people in the world.
Enjolras held her tenderly, yet underneath the perfectly correct posture and the graceful curve of his arms, she felt the thrumming's of desire emanating off him. His hands at her back and the heat of his gaze made her heartbeat quicken tenfold. She could practically taste the yearning between them on her tongue.
It tasted of cinnamon and copper and everything she'd ever wanted.
He was everything she'd ever wanted.
God help anyone who would come in between them now.
