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Somewhere, in the enormous crowd of people approaching this estate, is my husband and I am determined to find him before the night ends.
I sit at my mirror toying with silver band of my wedding ring anxiously. Behind me, an old servant woman with nimble fingers continues to comb through the (H/C) locks that she's already turned into strands of silk. Swiftly yet delicately, as if too much force will cause it all to fall out, she parts my hair and begins rolling locks into an updo to give off the illusion of curls. When she's finally finished with me, her delicate hands pick up a decorative comb from a small box on the vanity. The silver piece is encrusted with diamonds and rubies, gleaming brilliantly when any type of light touches them in the right spot.
Her wrinkled face looks at me through the mirror and she smiles. Silently, I thank her before checking myself over once again. My red lipstick is lined to perfection to best defined the Cupid's bow of my top lip. A large necklace comprised of only diamonds, a gift from a noble whose name and face I don't remember, sits elegantly on my neck. My gown is a (F/C) color made from the finest of fabrics - a gift from my mother.
She has spared no expense on tonight. Our guests include nobles from all over Wall Sina and from Mitras. Also in attendance will be the commanders of each branch of the military as well as some of their soldiers.
Standing, I move to go out onto the balcony. Down below, horse-drawn carriages pull up to the manor and the rich get out dressed in their finest of clothes.
It could have been thought that they were attending a dance being held by the king himself.
"He'll be here," a deep voice soothes from behind me. Turning, I am greeted by the sight of my brother dressed in his freshly pressed uniform consisting of white pants and a button down shirt with a brown jacket. Covering his feet are a new pair of boots that I had made for him. On that jacket, he proudly bears the Wings of Freedom.
I smile to myself and leave the stone bannister, joining him back inside. "To think that technology has been invented that we can nearly fly, yet we still lack dress uniforms."
"How often are we invited to such…pompous events?" He asks me, taking my gloved hand. He ties a corsage with red roses and white buds to my wrist before bringing his lips to my hand.
"Annually," I answer with a bit of an attitude. Going back over to a mirror, I take one final look before staring at my brother. "I think I'm ready now. Let's go."
Without another word, Sebastian offers me his arm and we quickly move down the dark hall. The closer we get to the grand staircase, the louder the sounds of musicians making final adjustments to their instruments grows. They will be playing up here tonight when the doors to the ballroom open and the guests enter. Of course, the nobility shall make their entrance first, followed by Commander Nile Dok and the Military Police before Commanders Pixis and Smith enter with their men. The last to arrive shall be my mother with me following behind.
Then, I shall see my husband.
"What time is it?" I ask Sebastian, taking a seat on a bench outside of my mother's dressing room. He adjusts his jacket before clasping his hands behind his back.
"Eight twenty-four. You have six minutes until your guests will start coming in."
"Of course. Please go and make sure they've everything in order downstairs," I ask him. Nodding, he takes his leave down the back stairway.
With six minutes left, I have time to go over my list once more. Three names have been written down by the Commander-in-Chief himself. These three individuals have information that they shouldn't regarding one of the branches of military. More than likely, it is the Scout Regiment. Regardless, the three men here shall meet untimely deaths at my hands.
This time, perhaps, I will try something new with them. Maybe this time, I'll torture them first.
I could yank their teeth out one by one until they're completely toothless. I could cut each of their limbs off and force them to eat them. I could give my men a treat and let them feast on them.
Or I could just as easily hole them up in a wall and let them starve to death. That'd be less messy and no one could ever find out.
"(F/N)," the soft voice of my mother speaks. Only then do I notice that the doors to her rooms have been open. She stands before me in a wine colored empire-waisted gown with a square neckline and puffed sleeves. Golden rings adorn each of her gloved fingers on her right hand while her wedding band is the only sort of jewelry to grace her left.
Quickly rising, I nod my head to her respectfully as she looks over me appraisingly.
"How careless of you," she purses her lips together, snatching my paper off of the bench I had been seated on. Without so much as glancing to see what had been written, she hands over the document to one of her maids. Not requiring any instruction, the woman goes back into the dressing chamber and tosses my note into the fire.
"You look absolutely breathtaking," mother suddenly smiles, taking my hands in hers.
The beautiful sounds of violins, flutes, and many other instruments fill the hall. The way that they're playing informs us that the ball has officially begun.
Offering my arm to her, we start down the hall to the stairs. Looking over the bannister, I see a sea of guests waltzing about with flutes of champagne in hand. Most, if not all, of the military members line the walls behind the columns away from the waxed wood of the dance floor. Though I see many heads topped with a brilliant blond color, I do not find the person in particular that I am searching for.
Stopping at the top of the steps, my mother turns to face me. Her expression is quite serious.
"I know that Zackly has you working tonight, but do not forget to enjoy yourself as well. This is all in your honor, after all."
"I won't. Thank you, Missus Howard," I attempt a smile. Right now, I've more important things on my mind than enjoying myself.
"Good. Then I should inform you," we start down the stairs, "that your first dance tonight will be with Lord Hans Wilmot's son Ulrich. He is a widower and about your age."
Before I have the chance to respond, we are greeted by applause. Unfortunately for me, I hadn't noticed how quickly we'd moved down the stairs.
"I'd love to, but I-"
"I'll have none of that!" She sharply whispers with a smile, gently pushing me forward to the awaiting noble.
As if I'd been involved in court affairs all of my life, I curtsy as he bows. Extending a hand to me, I smile and take it and am whisked away onto the floor. One hand continues to rest in his while the other rests in between his shoulder and shoulder blade.
As we waltz across the floor with more couples, I resist the urge to look around for my husband. The thought crosses my mind that he may perhaps be hiding from me.
"It is quite unfortunate that we've never had the opportunity to formally meet. You're very beautiful," the man starts to make conversation. I force myself to put on a charming smile, despite wanting nothing more than to tear myself away from him.
"Thank you, your grace. You are quite a charming individual yourself."
He smiles more, twirling me. I take the opportunity to look around, but only spot cadets Jean Kirstein and Rose Romano before I'm facing my dance partner again.
As the waltz draws to a close after a few minutes of spinning and gliding, I curtsy once again.
"Welcome back, Lady (F/N). I do hope that we see more of one another," he bows once again, leading me off of floor before walking away.
Purposefully, I stride over to them with the intention to steal one away and question their superior's whereabouts. Just as I am about to close the gap between us and speak, a hand swiftly takes mine and pulls me back into the throng of dancers.
"Hm. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were looking for a certain soldier of the Scouting Legion," the young voice of Nile Dok teases. Distaste fills my being as I start to dance with the Military Police commander. He takes full advantage of his two and a half centimeters of height over me - peering down with a smug smirk on his face.
"Commander," I address formally, wanting to remind him of his position under me. "What if I had been? I do, after all, have a husband who is a member of the Scout Regiment. The Commander, to be precise."
Briefly, we exchange partners with the couple to the left of us before each lady spins back to her former partner and we are together once again.
"Nothing," he answers innocently, bowing to me as I curtsy for him when the dance ends. Taking my hand, he leads me back off to the side. "I would just know that you did not complete our Premier's task and likely had no intention of completing it at all."
I laugh lightly in pure amusement. Plucking the offered flute from his hands, I take a long sip, savoring the velvet-like liquid that bubbles on my tongue and engulfs my mouth before easing down my throat.
Missus Howard truly did spare no expense on tonight.
"Would you like to take the assignment off of me? If you're worried about it not being completed, I don't mind passing it off and keeping my hands clean."
"Of course not. Unlike you, (F/N), I have a reputation to uphold. The last thing I need is to be accused of-"
"I beg your forgiveness," I interrupt, the conversation inappropriate for our location, "but I forgot to ask about your wife. How is Marie?"
He clears his throat and straightens up, as if in her presence. "Marie is well. She has a slight cough, but did send her regards."
I smile insincerely, looking around as I sip more champagne. Memories from nearly twenty years ago flood my mind. At one point, when I had been in the Training Corps, I'd hated Marie. At the time, both my husband and Nile had been in love with her. Of course, when he chose the Survey Corps over her, that was the end of that.
The cellists begin the next suite with four rifts before a clarinet joins in. Due to the difficulty and brilliance of the dance, only the nobles from Mitras and a few others remain on the floor to participate.
I pretend to smile as I continue to drink until my glass is empty. Men and women continually approach to offer invitations and greetings, trying to gain my favor. Ever since the incident in Trost District and the population discovered that I could control certain titans, the citizens of Wall Sina have been split into two groups: those who fear me and those who try to earn my favor in order to receive personal protection in case of a breach.
Of course, to keep up appearances, I encourage this. My once private home in the Ehrmich District is now more like an office with an open door policy.
"Dance with me," a suave, yet authoritative, voice demands from behind me. With every ounce of my willpower, I force myself not turn around and keep my expression neutral so that he cannot enjoy the satisfaction in believing he's caused my giddiness.
"Forgive me, but I'm not accustomed to being spoken to by a subordinate in such a manner."
"If I don't dance with you, then I will round up my men and we will be returning to Wall Rose," he speaks almost indifferently, taking my upper hand away from me.
Unable to resist the urge to flash a quick smirk, I gently toss my hand up onto his shoulder as he grasps my other as we waltz out onto the floor.
Considering myself doing him a favor - as I doubt he fully understands that he is about to make a mockery of us both - I slow down my movements to flow just right with the music, though he insists to dance at the proper pace. Intrigued, I follow his lead as our arms perform their own sort of pas de deux.
Never breaking eye contact, I'm swallowed into his dreamy blue orbs. Heat courses through my veins, sending waves searing through my body. A dirty mixture of love, fury, and lust fills my body. At this moment in time, every emotion that I've ever felt towards him engulfs me. I feel the original adoration and love for him that I had in the beginning of our relationship as well as the hatred and anger of the end.
Our breaths become labored as we continue our waltz. Lifting me while continuing to slowly turn, he steadily lowers me. Our lips, ever so slightly, brush past one another with a burn of fire.
A spark of burning desire.
Parting, we continue to glide across the floor. Our arm movement, which is arguably the most important part of the dance, remains impeccable as they tangle and disentangle elegantly. Becoming more simplistic as we near the end of the dance, we increase our speed with the acceleration and crescendo of the music.
Never once does he, the man with no prior lessons or experience with dancing, falter.
Twirling me, he pulls me into his embrace when my back is to him. Only then do I realize that the music has ceased and our dance is over.
As well as the fact that we were the only two people dancing.
Applause fills the hall as we clap for the chamber orchestra. Forcing myself to pull away from my husband, I storm past a large group of nobles standing at the large oak doors. Turning on my heel, I glance back at my husband who is still standing at the edge of the dance floor tall and poised.
My lips slowly curl into a smile and I reach my hand out for him to follow, gaining looks and whispers of disapproval from all of my fellow aristocrats.
With our fingers woven, we walk out of the ballroom together to continue our dance in a more private setting.