"The guests are going to talk."

Maite never did like dancing.

In fact, if she tried, she's certain she could count the number of times she went to a ball willingly with just one hand. Any other instances were beyond her will and Alicia was always quick to remind her of their grand and daring escape from the baile de debutante[1] that the Duchess of Alba threw in honor of her granddaughter when they were just diecisiete[2] in Madrid.

But even then, even with her staunch dislike of dancing and her habit of escaping from stuffy parties, a part of her thought that maybe there were lines she shouldn't cross and parties she definitely shouldn't escape from.

"They'll hardly notice."

Andrés shot her a cheeky grin as they navigated the dark corridors of the servants' hall, stumbling slightly (whether it was because of the dark or because they've had a little too much to drink between them, she didn't know).

"Really? You think the guests—nuestros amigos y familiares[3]—won't notice that the bride and groom are suddenly missing from the recepción de la boda?"[4]

Andrés gave her a silly grin and she couldn't help but return the smile.

She laughed as she almost tripped on the long lace of her white wedding gown and her husband stopped to pull her into an embrace as he leaned against the wall, wanting to kiss her.

But when she leaned forward to meet his lips, her dress was caught on something—probably a stray nail or a shard of wood—and when he pulled her towards him, she couldn't warn him fast enough. The fabric ripped loudly and their eyes widened. It took all of her willpower not to laugh.

"¡Cuidado, cuidado!" [5]

Maite examined her dress with the little moonlight that filtered down the skylight and pursed her lips to stop herself from laughing unreservedly and look at Andrés the least bit stern. "There's no way I can go back looking like this."

Andrés gave a breathy laughter as pressed himself against the wall when a door opened—Don Emilio, the new maitre, was frantic as he had two of the waiters (Jesús and Antonio) search for the missing bride and groom who were supposed to be returning for the reception.

"All the more reason for us to get away, no?"

She fought a smile and tried to school her face into a more serious, curious look.

"Where are we even going?"

Even after all the time she spent running around the hotel and its grounds like an amateur detective to find a way to free Alicia from her marriage to Diego, she still found new places every now and then. Her favorite discovery was the salón de espejos[6] in the back (thankfully untouched by the damage of the bomb), where the walls were covered in artisanal Venetian mirrors that caught the light streaming in through the windows—it was magical in the morning, where not an inch of the room was left in darkness, but in the afternoon light, when the sky was a soft orange with a touch of the darkness of night? It was a breathtaking sight.

Naturally, as someone who grew up in the hotel, Andrés knew all about it. He had been the one, after all, who took her to the hall of mirrors and proposed to her there on the brink of twilight.

And now, he was promising her a new discovery, a location she had yet seen—he swore it was a favorite of his as a young boy.

"I used to go there when I was young," Andrés said conspiratorially as he tried to jimmy the locked door that led to the gardens. "You know, we even played hide and seek there."

She stifled a triumphant laugh when he finally unlocked the door after she fished his master key from his pocket and dangled it in front of him. Dios mio[7], she shook her head, estaban muy borrachos[8].

"Who? You and Alicia?"

"Uh-huh," he nodded with a smile before a fond look passed through his face as they took a turn in the garden only to find the entrance to a large hedge maze. "And Don Javier, too. And even Señora Sofia a long time ago."

Maite paused for a moment, her chest feeling tight with a surge of affection for her husband. She knew his relationship with his other siblings were strained, but she was glad that, at some point in the past, there were happy memories.

And she vowed, then and there, there would be more happy memories in their future.

"We used to play until it got dark. My mother and Doña Teresa would scold us, worried out of their minds trying to find us… but we couldn't bring ourselves to regret it."

"Por qué?"[9]

She meant no disrespect to Doña Teresa, but Andrés' mother frightened her more and she wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of her ire. Maite wondered just what exactly was so wonderful about this place that made whatever consequence bearable or worth the trouble.

"Because of fireflies," Andrés said with a genuine contentment that made her tug on his arm and squeeze his hand. "It's like seeing a thousand stars come down from the sky and dance around just for you."

She smiled at her husband. Mi marido[10], she thought giddily. "It must have been magical."

"It was," Andrés said, pulling her into another embrace, his lips lazily slanted against hers, a smile curling on the ends of their faces.

Maite was never a believer of fairytales, of happily ever afters. But if she were to make just one single exception to the rule, this would be it.

It had to be what fairytales are made of. That was the only possible explanation for the happiness she felt and the love she had for her husband. It was so much of a fairytale that she even heard music.

Andrés pulled away, his lips slowly being pulled to a frown of confusion. She was about to ask what was wrong when she realized it, too.

She wasn't just imagining the music.

Andrés led her through the hedge maze, the music getting louder each step they took as the winding corridors unraveled. Soon, there was faint light growing brighter as they reached the middle of the maze.

The middle of the maze was just as magical as Andrés said it would be: the tall walls of the hedge maze made it look like a part of a different world, a sprawling oak tree encompassing the clearing grounds, and the hundreds of fireflies that looked like the stars have descended from the skies.

She couldn't help but smile and Andrés stifled a laugh. "It looks like we're not the only ones with the idea to run away to the garden."

She spied at the two dancing to a music that locked them in a world of their own. "Si,"[11] she agreed with all the solemnity in the world. "El jardin esta ocupado."[12]

Andrés gave her one last kiss before leading her away from the clearing. They'd have to find a better hiding place to dance the night away. After all, Julio and Alicia were already dancing there first.

Translation footnotes:
1debutante ball
2seventeen
3our friends and relatives
4wedding reception
5careful, careful
6hall of mirrors
7my god
8they were very drunk
9why
10my husband
11yes
12the garden is occupied