- Chapter 4 -
It's like being between a rock and a hard place, Theo thought as he considered the loose-fitting suit he wore. Wearing nobleman's clothes only seemed to make the ugliness of his features stand out. Yet wearing his own drab clothes would make him look out of place among the others at the ball.
"Okay, I'm ready."
Theo looked up. Jane stood just outside the door to her dormitory, wearing an emerald green dress. Her choice of attire was fitting, its simplicity only serving to highlight her natural beauty, the emerald shade a humble accent to the pure white skin of her hands and throat. Though the dress was not revealing, the general curves of the body beneath were impressive enough. Her hair had been washed and smoothed to a pristine tone, with a lock from each side set to rest against the front of a shoulder in a fetching manner. All in all, Theo was surprised that he could still think of her as the girl he knew.
"You look nice," he said. He thought he saw her wince at this remark, but a moment later he wasn't sure.
"You're one of the ones Varmo assigned to come 'ready' to the ball, huh?" Jane commented, glancing at the staff strapped to his back.
Theo fidgeted. "Well, I didn't tell you before, but I'd volunteered to be a sentry before you asked me to take you. Only way I could get out of it was to be an armed attendee instead. Does it bother you?"
She shook her head, smiling. "Actually, you look very dashing."
Most of the girls remaining in the dormitory lingered in the back, either getting ready for the ball or waiting for their escorts. He noticed Amasia approaching Jane from behind, however, and the instant the word "dashing" left her lips, the centaur took hold of her shoulders, startling her.
"I bet she spent a whole shift practicing that compliment in front of a mirror," Amasia giggled. "Now you be good, Theo. Jane's under the mistaken impression that you're a gentleman, and we wouldn't want to return this dress to its owner full of wrinkles..."
"Hey!" Jane gave her a good-natured shove. "Buzz off."
"Bored with waiting for your escort, Amasia?" Theo asked.
"You see?" Amasia pointed at him, grinning triumphantly. "I told you he's no gentleman."
"I was just making conversation..."
"Ignore her," Jane said, taking his arm and pulling him from the dormitory. "I thought you knew Amasia."
"I do. Not that Amasia, though."
"So... how did the meeting go?"
He shook his head as they turned a corner. "None of them were willing to help."
"I'm sorry." A pause fell. "For what it's worth, I'm up for whatever you have planned."
"Thanks, but you can't help." He sighed. Shouldn't be talking about this. I want her to just enjoy herself. If she knew what I was planning to do tonight... "Can we talk about something else?"
She nodded. "You're right. Tonight's going to be really fun." She tilted her head back and let out a dreamy sigh, allowing Theo to guide her along. "I feel like we're walking into some fanciful story. You know, common people changed into nobles for one night. Thank you so much for taking me."
"It's nothing." He wiped a hand through his hair, feeling nervous sweat forming on his forehead. "Actually, I feel guilty that I didn't take more time getting ready. I'm going to ruin your whole appearance."
Jane gave him an angry glance. "You look fine. I'm going to this ball to have a good time - not to strut my stuff."
Then why did you fix your hair like that?, he thought sourly. "Sorry. I... I know you better than that, I guess."
"Darn right!" She poked his cheek playfully, her mood abruptly brighter. "Now no more doom-and-gloom! Promise."
Theo chuckled. "Okay, okay. I promise."
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The ball was already getting into swing by the time they arrived. Jane spotted Vyra, a spear strapped to the frilling trimmings adorning her hindquarters, among a half dozen or so of her friends on the ballroom floor, all of them moving with their partners to the rhythm of a lively gamun. The music streamed from an eight-man band at the back of the ballroom. A girl of no more than 12 years played violin, a dwarf and a centaur collaborated on the dualcello, another dwarf played lute, two centaurs played recorders, and Irinod blew into a krumhorn. The remaining player, a human, worked an assortment of percussion, occasionally switching to a fretted instrument with over a dozen strings. Everyone(even, somewhat ludicrously, the musicians) was dressed in the clothing borrowed from the nobility's vacant quarters. As they walked in, a voice called out, "Lady Jane, escorted by Sir Theo!" She beamed with delight.
By unspoken agreement, they watched from the sidelines for the rest of the gamun. Jane saw Varmo dancing with a short, angular kyantol, and pointed him out to Theo.
"I guess it's good image," he remarked. "Him enjoying himself with the rest of us."
Jane nodded. "He definitely isn't interested in the lady."
The dance finished, and Vyra left her partner to visit them. "Hi guys. Ready to juxtapose your grace and elegance against the rest of this crowd?"
"What do you think?" Jane asked with a brief laugh.
"You certainly make an appealing visual combination," Vyra said, giving them a critical eye. "Are you as fluid in your dancing as in your fighting, Theo?"
"Actually, I was just about to let Jane go find a dance partner," Theo said, taking a polite step away.
Jane threw a look of appeal at Vyra, and her centaur friend came to the rescue. "Don't be ridiculous. You brought Jane here as a favor; she at least owes you the first three dances."
"It's no big deal..."
"Perhaps not for you, but this is a public event. Do you want to make it look like Jane is shamelessly snubbing you?"
"No... but I don't want to force her..."
"No forcing needed," Jane said brightly, seizing his hand. "I'd be very happy to share a few dances with you." She attempted a look that would say "or better yet, many dances."
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To her pleasure, Theo took on the dancing with solid enthusiasm, guiding her with a deft and gentle touch. Her heart swayed with the melody of the music. At his lead, they glided through each motion with a sure and vibrant step, no matter whether the tempo was fast or slow.
As they came towards the end of their third dance, Jane remarked, "You're really good. I've been getting jealous looks from some of the other girls." She grinned mischievously. "Want to see how jealous we can make 'em?"
Theo smiled back, but with no reciprocal hint of collusion. "Thanks for the offer. But I'll let you go dance with who you want after this."
"Maybe I want to dance with just you all night."
He laughed at that, and she cursed herself for not being more firm.
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Vyra took a breather from the dance floor. Centaurs were not as suited to dancing as the other races present, and forcing their limbs to follow the wayward, complicated steps with any sort of grace was exhausting. Nearly half her fellows had volunteered for guard duty, but Vyra enjoyed the challenge and dignity of dance.
Donlie stepped up beside her and cleared his throat. "Think he's gonna do it?"
She followed his gaze, ending at Theo. But... "With regard to Jane, or to Varmo?"
"Varmo. Theo's not dancing with anyone now, but he doesn't look like he's preparing to make his move."
"Wait... you think he plans to do it here!?"
"Where else? He told us he's tried to see Varmo several times, and was sent away every time."
"True." She considered. "I doubt he would renege on his own plan. What is he waiting for, then?"
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Jane took being ditched in good grace. She had wanted to mingle a bit anyhow, and she took the opportunity to try out a few of the other guys on the dance floor. Besides mixing things up a bit, it let her fantasize that she was being approached by a number of suitors, and choosing Theo from among them.
After three or four dances, though, she began to get irritated that Theo wasn't asking her to dance with him again. To make it all the more infuriating, he wasn't asking anyone to dance. He just stood on the sidelines. A girl approached him at one point and seemed to be dropping hints, and Jane's heart tensed. But his response was not encouraging, and the girl wandered off.
Damn him. If he'd rather stand there by himself than dance with me, then forget... No! I'm not giving up! I'll just keep looking his way, and maybe -
"Care to dance?"
She almost jumped; the previous dance had just ended. This is getting ridiculous. Turning to the young man, who she did not recognize, she smiled politely and said, "Sure. Can you wait here for me a minute?"
He nodded. Pushing through the various gathered folk, she searched the room until she spotted Yeesha seated in an isolated corner. She swallowed, hastily prepared a vague speech, and approached her. "Excuse me, Miss Yeesha?"
The mage turned to her and frowned. Clearing her throat, Jane went on, "Um, hi. I'm Jane. I… I really think it's cool, what you did for Cypress. Um, I was just wondering if you could do me a favor. You see the boy standing by himself over there?"
Yeesha looked, and nodded. "Theo, isn't it?"
"I'm trying to get him to ask me to dance. Could you run interference for me after this next dance?"
"What?" Yeesha frowned more deeply than before.
Pinching nervously at her fingers, she clarified, "If anyone but him looks like he's going to ask me to dance, you take him."
A smile of amusement briefly passed Yeesha's lips. "I'm only one woman, you know."
"I know, I know. But can you at least... try?"
The mage was silent for a moment. "Why are you asking me? I don't know you."
"Well... because you're a hero." She shrugged awkwardly.
"...I'll do what I can."
"Thanks."
The next dance seemed to last an hour, and not only because of her anxiousness to be with Theo again. To ensure that her current partner wouldn't ask for the next dance, and to discourage anyone who might be watching, she made a concerted effort to be as clumsy and awkward as possible. She overdid it a bit, she feared, when she "accidentally" stepped on the end of his long cloak.
When it was over, her partner quickly retreated, and Jane contrived to be as close to Theo without looking suspicious. She immediately began making a show of looking helpless and lost, as though desperate for someone to ask her to dance. A young man moved toward her. Yeesha stepped in on cue.
Watching as Yeesha successfully baited the young man, Jane wished custom would allow women to ask men to dance. The rule made things simpler and smoother, she realized, but the hoops she was having to leap through to get her hands on Theo were simply ridiculous. He still wasn't making a move towards her, and to her dismay she saw another prospect approaching.
Thinking fast, she noted that by lucky happenstance she was between Theo and the other boy. She vented a threatening glare at the newcomer, knowing that Theo wouldn't be able to see it. He backed off. The musicians were just readying their instruments to begin again when Theo at last stepped up. "May I have this dance?"
"I'd love you to," she smiled back at him, inwardly sighing with relief.
The song began. It was a slow piece, with just the right touch of romance to it. As they began moving to the melody, however, Theo said sternly, "You really need to learn to put yourself out there more if you're going to get people to dance with you."
That was too much. "Don't tell me what to do," she snapped. "Who are you to talk, anyway? That girl was crawling all over you, and you didn't ask her."
"...I thought you might need me."
"Oh, I see. You're ragging me for the 'failure' that you expected."
"Why are you so angry?" he asked, a bewildered expression on his face.
"Because you're being a jerk!" she shot back, barely keeping her voice below attention-getting volume. "I said I wanted us to have a good time, and you're just raining over everything."
"What do you want me to do?" he demanded.
"First of all, you're supposed to hold me closer. This is a slow dance. You've got so much space between us that people are going to think one of us has some disease."
He obediently adjusted his hands such that their torsos nearly touched. Jane carefully laid her head to rest on his shoulder. She allowed her eyelids to close, letting out a relaxed sigh. "That's better."
"Okay... that was first of all, you said. What's next?"
"Next is you stop talking," she said gently.
"Oh."
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Varmo frowned. "That upstart servant is stirring up trouble again."
"Yeesha?" his dance partner said, turning her head to look behind her. "It looks like she's just dancing to me."
"She is, but there was something suspicious about her movements. She had a covert look in her eyes."
"You're not afraid... that she might do something to you, are you?"
Varmo turned his eyes upon her and smiled. "My lovely, I hold no fear for what any man, woman, or beast might do to me."
She let out a quiet giggle, and pulled herself in closer to him. Varmo allowed the matter of Yeesha to slip to the back of his mind. He wasn't really interested in women yet, but it fascinated him how a powerful position, some genteel patter, and a touch of flattery could win them over.