There is a certain kind of behavior expected of the strong when they found themselves stymied or otherwise facing difficulty. It had been passed down from the time of myth and even before. It had separated those undead who went hollow from those who rose up and retained their minds and memory, what had allowed someone like the Bearer of the Curse to become the Ashen One who finally usurped the first flame into the Dark Soul.
Some would claim it was the drive, the tenacity, to git gud, to refine their skills to such a pinnacle that with but a sword, a flask of mythical Estus, and knowing the right moment in which to roll away from danger, one could slay the gods, the dragons, and the world itself, even if the path was full of suffering.
Some claimed it was cunning and intelligence to disdain the pride that led one to think one must git gud, and arm themselves with staff and the knowledge of the ancient soul arts, battering down the foes in ones path with the strength of their will and focus, until victory was achieved and one stood upon the corpse of their foe, feeding upon the power of their soul to become even stronger.
Some would claim it was the honesty to acknowledge to recognize the supremacy of speed over strength, learning to wield their weapons dexterously instead of as blunt instruments of force, ignoring the prideful who disdained such as being casul, the lowest of the low.
At the heart of all of this, however, was the same truth, no matter what path of strength one followed. That victory was only achieved by an unrelenting will, one that was ready to die again and again in pursuit of the victory to be achieved. The willingness to plunge into the door of fog again and again and face the battle within, not allowing anger or despair or frustration to overcome you, to make you turn away from your goal. This was the truest strength, without which strength and intelligence and dexterity and quality of armaments and armor were nothing. The courage to be prepared to die, and afterwards go beyond death.
Some might wonder if there was not another path. If instead of facing such am implacable foe, could not one simply get around them to achieve one's goal? Such was, of course, foolishness. Might as well ask for the mythical ability to jump, said to have been mastered by the most deadly of warriors of the time of myth, of which the jumping of today was but a pale, laughable shadow that more often than not got one killed. The world was not so perfect that one could afford to just ride away from their problems and find another path that way. If one did not meet the foe head on, one will remained barred from true victory, rending one's ambitions merely foolishness as they are forcibly put to rest from cowardice.
It was probably in that spirit that the Third Prince, and indeed, all of Katarina's suitors, continued to throw themselves at her like hunters after a blood-starved beast, or the Choir seeking after ever stranger knowledge that beckoned them so sweetly, filling them with wild curiosity
"Eh? Your highness? Why are you here?" Maria's squire said as the prince walked towards them.
"Ah, my dear Katarina, it should go without saying: to act as your dance partner." He said it as if it was supposed to be obvious.
"Eh? But aren't you busy with work?" Squire(!-!-!-!), that was actually a salient point!
"This is also an opportunity for me to refresh myself. Surely would not mind?"
"Of course not, your highness," Maria said. "Having someone to partner with my squire would be quite convenient for her lessons."
The prince looked surprised for a moment, but smiled. "Yes, exactly Lady Maria."
Maria nodded. "However, if you do not cease distracting my squire and myself, we will not be able to hear the lesson." Indeed, the instructor in charge was already calling for people's attention, and people were surrounding them while trying to leave a space for the demonstration. Maria intended this to be a lesson for her as much as for her squire, since she was not very familiar with Sorcieri dances. She only knew dances from Cainhurst, and somehow she didn't think that the Mamushka and Mazurka would be acceptable to dance in Sorcier. "Come squire, let's go where we can hear the instructor."
"Ah, yes, Dame Maria!"
Maria glanced back to make sure that her squire was indeed following her, and then walked towards the wall of people. Fortunately, or unfortunately if you were Lady Mary and Sophia, the Third Prince followed as well, and as soon as people noticed him, they backed away, giving them something of a staggered path to the front of the crowd where they would hear the instructor. From the intent and mildly desperate looks of some of the people also there, Maria wasn't the only one who was ignorant of how to dance, or at least needed a refresher.
"You look absolutely beautiful," the Third Prince whispers beside them.
"Your highness, I'm happily engaged, and you're not my type," Maria whispers right back. "Please be quiet, my squire has trouble paying attention to lessons as it is."
Fortunately, Maria hadn't missed much. The instructor's lesson was easy enough to understand, and as equally brief. While some of those seemingly less experienced or lacking in confidence seemed panicked about the scarcity of instruction, as someone with experience at dancing, Maria knew instructions could simply be that simple. It was the individual variation of the dancers that made dancing seem complicated to an outside observer, making them assume planning and required form in what was simply taking advantage of the nearest free space to progress on the dance floor.
As the instructors tells them to pair up and practice, Maria turns in time to see the Third Prince pulling her squire towards himself, whispering something in her ear. "Your highness, that's not the proper form for this dance. Step back, you're too close, and position your hands properly please."
That got a withering look from him. "Lady Maria, I do know how to dance, you know."
"Excellent. Then I'm sure you know exactly where your hands are to be placed. My squire, do you know the same?"
"Uh, yeah. You hold hands with the right and put your left hand there… " Her squire reached out to place her off-hand on the prince's shoulder.
"Lower, my squire, lower. No, that's too low. Your arm needs to be comfortably positioned so that it's relaxed, and your hand rests where it neither needs to reach or will be too low. Yes, like that. You know the steps, correct. All right, begin. One, two, one— your highness, what are you doing? That's far too close, step back. My squire is never going to learn how to dance if you keep doing it wrong. I thought you said you knew how to dance?"
"You remember I'm a prince, right?"
"I thought you knew how to dance, your highness?"
"Shouldn't you be more respectful, then?"
"You can take it up with my liege when you have dinner with them, your highness."
"Um… Dame Maria? Your highness?" Katarina said. "Can we got back to dancing now? My arms are getting tired…"
Maria nodded. "You are correct, my squire. All right, you two. Start again. One, two, one, two… "
Thankfully, the Third Prince behaved properly this time, maintaining his distance and arm positioning. He and Katarina began to move to the steps of the dance. Her squire misstepped for the first few beats, but very quickly managed to find her footing. As Maria had heard, Katarina had taken dance lessons before, and while she didn't seem enthusiastic at the prospect, a part of her did know the steps. Maria moved with them, following their steps to familiarize herself even with her lack of partner, watching carefully to assess her squire's skill level.
"Lady Maria, do you have to move like that?" the Third Prince asked as he tried to lead Katarina into a turn.
Maria moved smoothly, her feet following the steps of the dance, keeping her position relative to the other two. They were moving a bit fast, and in a rare moment she missed the height of her previous life. Having long legs would have made this so much more graceful. "Like what, your highness?"
For some reason, the prince sighed. "This is going to be like the carriage, isn't it?" he muttered. "I meant, do you have to hover like that? It's very obtrusive."
"Of course," Maria said, maintaining her position as the third point in a triangle. "This is a lesson. I have to asses my squire's capabilities, and I can't do that from far off. My squire, how do you feel?"
"Um, I'm fine?"
"Do you think you're familiar enough with this dance?"
"Oh? Uh, I guess… I can do it well enough, I suppose…" She didn't sound very enthusiastic.
Maria nodded. "Very well. Complete this dance and rest, and we will move on to the next steps. As with all skills, you need to train your muscle memory even if you think you already know that you're doing."
"I will parry with that sword someday!"
"Of course you will, my squire. For now, however, you dance—your highness, stop moving so close, you'll teach my squire bad habits!"
