Updates may be slow from now on, but I hope you enjoy this!

"Liana? Can I please come in?"

Liana paused, frowning at her reflection in the mirror as she brushed her hair. She had been specifically instructed by Susan to keep her afternoon free, so she had planned to write letters in the morning and take the night shift at the Houses of Healing. Sighing as she realized that she would never stay on schedule as long as Lucy had something to say, she quickly allowed her admittance. "Yes, Your Grace."

Completely ignoring the formalities, Lucy opened the door and peered inside. "I don't suppose you know of any married women, preferably old enough to be my mother and as ugly as hags, interested in giving dance lessons?"

Liana raised her eyebrows as she watched Lucy close the door behind her in the reflection of the mirror. "Those are incredibly specific conditions."

"I know," Lucy shrugged helplessly. "Honestly, Edmund is just being difficult. He says it'll look too improper."

Liana resisted the urge to laugh as she understood Lucy's statement and hurriedly turned away from the mirror before the young queen could see her expression. "I thought King Edmund was an accomplished dancer."

Lucy snorted and hoisted herself up so she could sit on top of Liana's writing-table. "He's the only one of us who can't dance. Wasn't it obvious?"

"I don't know. I've never attended a royal ball," she put down the brush and hurriedly braided her hair. "I suppose it should be obvious, I've heard he never dances at any event. It must be quite annoying to manage."

"Quite annoying," stressed Lucy. Huffing, she folded her arms across her chest. "Well, I really don't know what I can do, and the ball is in two days."

"What brought about this sudden need for him to learn to dance? He's managed fine for quite a few years."

The expression in Lucy's eyes flickered. Absently, Liana wondered if the young queen was trying to hide something from her. "Its just that I think this has been going on long enough," Lucy shrugged.

"Well," Liana sat down at the table Lucy was sitting on and slowly screwed the cap off of her bottle of ink as she looked at Lucy thoughtfully. "There's always the obvious choice."

"What's that?"

She shrugged. "I could teach him."

Lucy's smile brightened. "You could?"

"Don't look so surprised. I know how to dance a good deal better than King Edmund, I'd wager," she rolled her eyes.

"But do you think it's a good idea?" Lucy gestured to her face. Liana turned back to look at herself in the mirror. "I really don't want Edmund to cause a scene. I know you don't like talking about it."

Liana shrugged. Her bruises had healed extensively in the past week and aside from the slight discoloring on her right temple, where she had evidently been hit harder, her face was back to normal. She turned back to Lucy. "I'm not going to put the salve on this anyway; it's obviously not something that will go away this easily. I'm sure he won't notice. Besides, you and Susan are too busy as it is, and I already live here. I ought to make myself useful."

"You're a darling!" Lucy clapped her hands with glee and jumped off the desk. "I'll go tell him, he'll be so relieved its you and no one else. When can you start?"

Liana blinked. "Oh, well, I suppose I can clear away some time this afternoon."

"Splendid!" Lucy grinned and bounded out of the room; she ran like a gazelle. Liana smiled fondly as the door closed behind the young queen, not noticing the look of mischief in her eyes.

!

"I sincerely hope you didn't have to trick her into anything," frowned Edmund. "I rarely see her these days as it is."

Lucy rolled her eyes, though inside she was twirling with glee. "I doubt Liana is foolish enough to be tricked by me. She offered her services."

Edmund shrugged as he picked up a training sword from the rack. "I don't know. It seems awfully mean, Lu. She won't be at the ball and yet I'm asking her to help me dance."

Lucy's face fell. "Why won't she be there?"

"There's a certain class that attends these events," explained Edmund as he tested the weight of his weapon. "Now, though opinion will vary depending upon whom you ask, the general idea will remain that Liana does not fit into that class of society."

"She's a noble!" protested his sister.

"She's a refugee, Lucy. Just because we're friends with her doesn't mean we can change her position in society."

Lucy stared at her brother in amazement, her eyes lighting up in understanding as he put down the training sword and reached for his own. "Edmund, that's exactly what it means!"

"What are you on about?"

"Nothing, at least not yet," exasperatedly, Lucy ran a hand through her hair and grabbed her dagger from next to her. "I'm going out. Just remember, you have practice with her this afternoon. Go to her room before lunch."

"Which brings me back to my original point; are you sure you didn't trick her into this?"

Lucy huffed as she made her way to the exit of the armory. "Don't be late!"

!

Edmund nervously fiddled with the clasp of his sword as he made his way towards the end of the living hall, where Liana's rooms were located. He had cornered Susan earlier in the day and had demanded to know why she couldn't teach him to dance. His suspicions had arisen when she had seemed willing enough to help him, but as soon as he mentioned that Lucy had asked Liana to do it, his sister said something about a dress-fitting and had promptly walked away.

Normally, Lucy was full of mischief and daring, but she wasn't stupid. She understood politics and diplomacy better than even Peter sometimes. She knew it was important for them to make good impressions on foreign dignitaries at such events. So she had been the one to insist that he learn how to dance. At first, Edmund had assumed it was her political side talking. Now, as he knocked on Liana's door and got ready to see her for the first time in over a week, he knew he was wrong.

Liana's voice carried outside faintly. "Who is it?"

"Its me," Edmund answered, then immediately berated himself for not specifying who he was.

Liana didn't seem to be confused. "Its open!"

Edmund steeled himself and opened the door, stepping inside quietly. Liana sat at her writing desk, her back to the door. She was furiously scribbling something onto a piece of paper. Edmund shut the door and leaned against it, folding his arms across his chest. Liana finished whatever she was doing and stood up, turning around to see him. She wore a pale blue dress without her usual Healer's sash and her hair was in a long side-braid. It hid one side of her face slightly, but he wasn't complaining; Edmund couldn't help but smile when he saw her. It was hard not to.

"You're awfully cheery for someone who's about to learn how to dance for the first time," she commented genially as she came towards him.

"It's difficult not to be cheery today," said Edmund. He was being honest; he had been looking forward to seeing her for days, but he didn't want to hint at it too obviously. He saw Liana's slight confusion, but she still smiled. Instinctively, Edmund held out his hand for hers. She gave it automatically. From her face, he knew she expected a hand-shake. Instead, he quickly pressed his lips to her knuckles and then lowered their joint hands. He certainly wasn't going to let go.

Liana blinked, caught off guard. However, she didn't comment. She gestured towards the door with a nod of her head. "Shall we?"

"By all means," Edmund opened the door and allowed her to precede him out, then firmly clasped her hand again and rested it on his arm. Once again, she didn't comment, but she didn't try to pull away either.

They talked of all sorts of things on their way to the ballroom, where Susan had told him to practice. It was supposed to be empty; decorating was not to begin until the next day. It was a short walk, but by the end of it Liana was almost hysterical with laughter over a story Edmund had told her about a bar-fight he had had in a pub in Archenland.

"Stop laughing!" said Edmund finally, though by that time he had joined in. Liana had never laughed so freely in front of him; she was actually clutching her free hand over her mouth to control her giggles. "It's embarrassing, Liana."

"I'm sorry!" she worked to straighten her face as he pushed open the doors to the ballroom and they entered, footsteps echoing. It was deserted, and when Liana finally turned to face him, she was calm, though still smiling. "All right, King Edmund, where do we start?"

"We start when you stop using my title."

Liana rolled her eyes. "Fine. Edmund, where shall we start?"

Edmund grinned. He then proceeded to explain to her the three types of dances he would be expected to do, how he would be expected to do them and how many times. Liana listened attentively, casually walking around the room as he spoke, and when he was done speaking, she held out her hand.

"First things first," she said. "Tell me how you start."

Edmund frowned in confusion. "What?"

"How do you start a dance?" Liana raised her eyebrows at his continued confusion. "Edmund, it's the middle of the ball, the music has started, I'm standing here alone and you want to dance with me. How do you go about it?"

"I should ask you?"

"Very good. How will you ask me?"

"May I have this dance?"

"Will you stand twenty feet away from me when you do?" her lips twitched.

Edmund promptly came forth, made an exaggerated bow and held out his hand. "May I have the honor of this dance, my lady?"

"You may," when he looked up, Liana was biting her lip to control laughter. She took his hand. "Now, we walk onto the dance-floor," she led him towards the middle of the room. "You put your right hand on my waist and hold my right hand in your left hand. Understand?"

Edmund scrunched up his nose, but complied. Liana's waist was much slimmer than he had at first thought; his whole hand almost encompassed it. He resisted the urge to let his hand roam. "I'm sure I won't have as much fun with this at the ball as I'm having now."

Liana rolled her eyes. "I'm sure, but you have to be closer, Edmund. I don't bite."

Edmund raised his eyebrows and pulled her flush against his chest. He smiled wickedly at her sudden blush; she was either very easily embarrassed or very attracted to him. However, at the moment she just seemed confused. He tried to lighten the mood. "This would be the ideal time to kiss you, if I had dishonorable intentions."

His words seemed to snap her out of her embarrassment. She looked up at him, eyes glinting with mirth and annoyance. "Less flirting, more dancing. Now, if I take a step back you take a step forwards. Follow my lead."

Edmund complied. Liana was a good teacher. He saw now why Lucy had been so insistent on being her apprentice. She was patient and had an incredible poker-face. No matter how many times Edmund stepped on her foot, she didn't even wince. He tried to look at her, but it was difficult. He knew she had to be feeling it every time his boot pressed against her toe through her thin slippers, and yet she still didn't complain. All she did was tell him to stop looking at his feet. After about five minutes, she stopped.

"Follow the beat now," she clicked her tongue thoughtfully and then nodded, obviously still thinking. "All right, lets' try this. One," she took a step back. "Two," she moved to the right. "Three," a step to the left. "And four," she came back to her original position. "Now, we do this faster and in different directions. Keep following my lead."

Edmund grimaced. "I feel like I'm about to crush your feet."

"You're not."

"Still, I don't want to hurt you."

"That's very kind, but that doesn't mean we're stopping," she rolled her eyes. "Take off your shoes."

Edmund frowned. "Can I-"

"You can dance barefoot," she said crisply.

Edmund shrugged and slipped his feet out of his boots. He clasped Liana's waist again and allowed her to lead. Her quiet murmurs of "one, two, three four," became faster and then slowed again when he lost the beat and halted. She didn't stop speaking, however, and Edmund managed to catch up soon enough. He was surprised to find that it was quite easy to dance.

Liana allowed him to remain lost in thought, but once she was sure he had gotten the hang of the beat, she began to hum a tune. "You're not horrible, for someone who doesn't know the first thing about dancing," she said casually when he raised his eyebrows at her. "Let's see if you can keep in time to the music. Try leading now."

Another five minutes passed, and then Liana smiled.

"Well?" asked Edmund. They had stopped moving, but he still hadn't let her go and neither had she.

Liana looked up and caught his eye. "You're a fast learner," she removed herself from his arms and began walking towards the doors. "It's time for lunch. We'll continue this in the evening."