a/n: *groan* midterms. ... chapter 15!
Disclaimer: i keep telling people that i don't own FFVXIII. :D
"Oblivious Fate"
By: rorudesu-chan
*
*
*
*
*
Chapter 15: Dance Practice
*
*
Graceful music filled the atmosphere of Regius' dance studio as the cotillion participants practiced their eleventh step of the dance. It was one of those warm Tuesday afternoons where one would gravely wish for a tall glass of iced tea. More of the ice than of the tea.
But a drink was quite unreachable at the moment as the cotillion dance instructor threatened to cancel break time if the young sovereigns couldn't properly demonstrate the correct move for step eleven.
"Ladies! Ladies!" It was the high pitched French tone of the dance instructor, Marceau, calling the attention of the all the participants thus putting the dance to a halt. "Twist on your heels and turn swiftly to your right! Not left! That will be followed by….?"
"The boys' right arm wraps around our waists…" A chorus replied was echoed by the young female monarchs.
"Wrong!" Marceau exclaimed. "The boys' left arm wraps around your waists! There is a huge difference between 'right' and 'left' ladies!"
As the girls moaned in annoyance to Marceau' naggings, the boys sighed heavily as they literally felt the weight of their shoulders bringing them down.
The students were observably pissed off as much as the instructor was. And as the number of their takes increased, their chances of having a break time slimmed down.
However, a certain pair might just be on their way to the studio's door for a well-deserved break.
"Alright! Stop!" Marceau cried out, pushing the stop button of the boom box. "We don't seem to be getting anywhere as of now. The guys are doing a remarkable job! But the girls…" He nodded his head disappointingly. "If you can't learn from mua, you might as well learn from tua."
The French dancer pointed his thin framed arm towards the female student in the last row. Her blonde layered tresses stood out as it was a perfect complement with her partner's charcoal shaded spikes.
"Mademoiselle Fleuret! I want you to demonstrate the eleventh step for the ladies' part."
"Of all the other participants, he picked you." The Prince teased.
"It's a called a compliment, Noct. It might be best for you to have something like that in your vocabulary." Stella frivolously answered back.
Though it has already been five days after he and the Ambassador had their get-to-know-each-other meeting, things still seemed quite new for Noctis. But even with that, Stella felt contented that she was able to make the Prince be at ease in a way.
His left hand that was not completely swathed around her slim waist—a couple of millimeters or so—gently retreated. Meanwhile, Stella's left rested upon his right hand. The warmth that had gathered between their clasped palms released into the air as Noctis slid his hand off hers.
The Prince smirked and watched his dance partner make her way to the front where Marceau stood waiting.
As Stella felt quite overwhelmed with the fact that the dance practices were going well so far, she had also hoped that this day would end without any worries.
But it seemed that the day would end with the Ambassador seeing the bizarre images again.
She saw it all once more—the father and his daughter and the storybook. She felt within her, the fear that engulfed the joyful expressions on their faces.
The images banged inside her head, whacking itself in such swift movements.
As painful as it was for her to bear, Stella kept walking and never did she dare to stop right in the middle to turn and run away.
Her blue irises looked down on the floor and she noticed that a pair of dancing footwear was right across her black leather school shoes. Stella tilted her head up and realized that her feet had brought her before the cotillion dance instructor.
Marceau had a questioning expression as he wondered why the female student slightly wobbled her way to the front.
"Mademoiselle…? Are you alright?"
"…yes, I am." Stella replied with a weak grin.
Marceau was about to instruct her to properly demonstrate how to turn to the right, after the previous move. But before he could even dart his eyes away from her, she suddenly fell to the ground.
"You know, Noctis…" A female sovereign with a curvy figure approached the Prince with a flirtatious smile upon her glossy crimson lips. "If you and I were partners, we could've had our break time an hour ago."
"But we're not classmates." Noctis coolly answered back. "And quite frankly, I barely know you."
The girl coiled a lock of her wavy hair around the tip of her right finger. "Don't think so negatively. We've known each other since the first day of high school. I was the one seated behind you in homeroom class, remember?"
"Not really."
"Ugh." Her eyes rotated in disgust to Noctis' straight answer.
Out of nowhere, a manly scream resonated within the walls of the studio. The sovereigns quickly flocked to the front as they curiously wondered what had happened.
"What was that?" The Caelum son jerked his head to the crowd and asked.
"Hmm…." The wavy haired girl used her height and tiptoed herself upwards to see what had brought the commotion.
"Oooh! I think it's that Fleuret girl." She gasped. "Looks like she's down for the count…"
Before the girl could turn around and mock Noctis of having such a frail girl for a partner, the Prince suddenly disappeared from her sight. Her out-of-jealousy remark became unspoken.
Questions swarmed around as the sovereigns clustered together. Seeing that the students have formed a crowd, the dance instructor exclaimed in panic, "Students! Move away! Stay back! Give room for the air to come in!"
The cotillion representatives did as they were told. And as they all stepped back, one of them did the opposite.
Marceau cried out to the boy who rushed immediately to the scene. "MonsieurCaelum! What do you think you're doing?!"
"What happened here?" Noctis calmly inquired.
"I don't know, Monsieur Caelum!" He alertly responded. "She just fell all of a sudden!"
The Prince bent down on one knee and he leaned an arm upon the other propped leg. With his free arm, he scooped up his partner whose body lied on one side of the floor. Stella's back rested above his sturdy hold. Noctis looked at her, knowing what to do next.
He reached for a spot on her neck with his index and middle finger and waited for a few seconds.
"She's out cold, that's all." The Prince said, after feeling a thumping beat beneath her skin.
The rest of the students felt relieved that none of them had done anything to cause the Ambassador's mishap.
Noctis removed his fingers from her neck and glanced at Stella before he tilted his head to the instructor.
Marceau brought down his phone from his ear and grinned at the Prince with assurance.
"Not to worry, Monsieur Caelum! The school nurse is on her way."
The heir nodded as he understood the instructor's words.
*
*
*
*
*
a/n: CLIFFIE!! XD hope you'll stay put for the next chap! tell me what you think! Review! Comment! Criticize! Thank you so much for those who'll review. :)