The following day, after we had tea in the garden with some delicious flaky pastries with honey and Sadiq was constantly teasing Heracles who was standing next to our table under the gazebo, sweating a little from the heat of the summer and the fact that he was wearing a black suit, Ayşe insisted that I did a little demonstration of the dance skills Sadiq always bragged about in the ballroom. I was a little nervous, as I hadn't been dancing properly for a few months, only in my bedroom, but Sadiq said that it was no problem and hired some musicians for an hour. He might have sensed my discomfort and put a hand over my shoulder. We had just finished doing warm ups and there was about half an hour before the musicians arrived and Ayşe was in her bedroom "getting ready for the big performance" as she said.

"My sister won't eat you, Vanya. You have danced in front of the Imperial Court!"

"It was part of the Imperial Court, not the whole court"

I pointed out and he chuckled, kissing me in the lips. Then, the doors of my bedroom were opened and Heracles entered holding a large, black suit bag in his both hands. Sadiq motioned for him to come in and he closed the doors behind him before depositing the large suit bag over the bed where we had been sitting.

"What is that?"

I asked. Sadiq smirked and clapped his hands twice, motioning for Heracles to leave, which made him fume in anger and slam the doors behind him when he left. Sadiq chuckled and opened the suit bag, revealing a purple belly dance outfit with golden arabesques at the sides of the pants and gold coins-like sequins attached to the hip belt and the cleavage of the short vest, of which gold chains were hanging, giving it a loose flowing effect. I was mesmerized by the sheer beauty of it as I admired it.

"Oh my God, this is beautiful!"

Sadiq wrapped his arms around my middle and whispered in my ear hotly, making me blush. I could hear his smile through his voice.

"It is for you. Your new dance outfit"

I turned around with my eyes wide as plates and Sadiq laughed at my excitement as I began to bounce up and down in my spot, clutching the outfit against my chest. I left it on the bed and hugged Sadiq tightly chanting in his ear "thank you, thank you, thank you" in a whisper. Sadiq separated from me and looked up at my eyes with a fond smile on his face.

"Try it on"

I was so excited, but then felt the tips of my ears heating up as I realised that Sadiq was still standing in front of me and had practically asked me to undress in front of him. Even though he had already seen me naked when we had made love, I was still not very comfortable with that.

"Could you, um, t-turn around, please?"

Sadiq chuckled and kissed me in the lips tenderly before turning around as I asked, allowing me to remove my light clothing. Reluctantly, I had given up on wearing my usual outfit and coat due to the heat of the Ottoman summer, so I was only wearing a white shirt unbuttoned at the top and white slacks that Sadiq had bought for me, seeing as I only had heavy winter clothing. I tried on the pants first. They were so comfortable and loose – not tightened at the ankles – that seemed like pyjamas, and then the vest. It only covered my upper torso, leaving my midsection exposed, but I didn't mind. I had danced with less than that my first time. I told Sadiq to turn around and he looked at me up and down in awe.

"You look so beautiful I could ravish you right now"

Sadiq said as he grabbed me by my hips and began kissing my neck, making me give breathy moans once in a while. He was pushing me towards the bed when the doors were suddenly knocked on and he pulled away reluctantly and heaving a big sigh.

"What?"

He asked annoyed and I giggled at his reaction. Heracles voice came from the other side and I could hint a smirk on his tone, seeing as he had interrupted something important for Sadiq to talk to him that way.

"The musicians are here... Sadiq bey"

Heracles referred to Sadiq mockingly and walked away. Sadiq removed his hands from my hips and we both straightened up. I smoothed my new vest and twirled around a few times in the middle of the room, hearing the clinking sound of the coins in my hip belt and cleavage, but I suddenly thought of something that made me stop twirling happily and looked at Sadiq with worry in my eyes.

"Sadiq... what if I had lost my skills. I haven't practiced in a while"

Sadiq approached me and put his hands on my shoulders, looking up at me with fond eyes.

"Vanya, you are an inborn dancer. You won't ever lose your skills, you will do just fine... and if you don't, which I don't think, my sister will not judge you. She knows you are just my student, not my teacher"

Sadiq's words managed to calm me down and I thanked him with a peck on the cheek. I turned around to leave the bedroom when Sadiq gave me a pat on my backside, making me gasp in surprise. He laughed as we made our way to the small ballroom, where the musicians and Ayşe were waiting. Draped over my shoulders I had the General's veil and I couldn't help thinking back of him. This dance would be my last tribute to him. Ayşe's eyes widened when she saw me come in, obviously impressed by my outfit and the beautiful veil I was carrying.

Sadiq stood next to his sister, who was sitting in a chair in one side of the brightly illuminated room, provided by the warm sun entering through the tall windows. I inhaled deeply as I turned around, facing the opposite wall and the windows which showed the flowery garden, and the musicians began to play that wonderful music that made my hips move all by themselves whenever I heard it.

I started to sway my hips in time with the drums at the same time I traced patterns in the air with my hands just as Sadiq had taught me in my first lesson. I put one of my arms up in the air and with the tip of my finger I traced all the way from my hand to my shoulder, turning around as I continued to make my hips "vibrate", as Sadiq would have said. I began to twirl around holding my veil up and then got down on my knees, discarding the veil delicately on the marble floor, which was cold against my bare feet and was a relief from the heat of the house. I leaned back enough so my back was flush against the floor and began with my floor-work, tracing with my hands imaginary patterns. Ayşe and Sadiq began clapping, I got up in one swift motion and began doing the snake dance, which seemed to surprise Ayşe very much, as her eyes were wide as plates. When the music finished, I lifted my arms up in the air and tilted my head back in a triumphant pose.

Ayşe got up from her seat as she clapped and approached me. Sadiq kissed me on the cheek and the musicians looked at us weirdly. Ayşe put her warm hand over my shoulder and looked up at me.

"That was fantastic! No wonder you are my brother's favourite student"

I blushed a little, as I had never heard that from Sadiq, but I took it as the best of compliments from both of them.

"Thank you... I don't mean to be rude, but I'm a little tired and..."

I trailed off and Sadiq interrupted me with a wide smile on his face.

"I know the perfect place for you to relax"

His smile didn't falter and I could see that familiar twinkle in his eyes. Something told me that there was going to be sex in whatever he was thinking... and I wasn't up to say no.

Oh my God, it's so hard to wire the dance sequences, but I hope you like it. Review, if you please!