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Andrew was sitting in the dining room when the sound of doors being flung open alerted everyone in the room. In came Emma Woods, the Gardener. She let out a bright smile as she clapped her hands together in a way to get everyone's attention, not realizing everyone's attention was already on her. After the dining hall was completely silent, she began to speak.
"Hello everyone! I have some exciting news for you all today!" she started. "Tonight we are going to have a hunter and survivor party!"
Everyone stared in complete shock and silence. She couldn't be serious, right? Wrong. Her smile grew bigger as she continued.
"All the hunters and survivors will be subjected to join the great dance that Miss Nightingale is hosting tonight in the ballroom! Make sure you come or you might get in trouble!"
After the news was told, Emma left and the dining hall went back to their usual talk. This time bringing up the dance that would be happening tonight. Andrew sat in his chair, thinking about how bad of an idea this was. Hunters and survivors in the same room? It just sounded like a super bad idea that he did not want to be a part of.
He let out a breath of air that he didn't realize he was holding and got up to return to his room. He wished he could just stay in there and not participate, but he really did not want to get in trouble, so he just had to mentally prepare himself for it.
Then there was the sound of doors being slammed open again. The Gardener had returned. She beamed as she looked at everyone in the room again.
"I have some extra news everyone! If you want to help decorate the ballroom tonight, then you are allowed to! You don't have to come though if you don't want to!" Then she left again.
Andrew stared at the doors and even he knew that he would not be attending that.
A few hours later and the hallways were bustling with survivors and hunters as they all made their ways towards the ballroom
Inside were tables filled with snacks and beverages to which anyone could eat to their heart's content. There were beautiful, silky banners hung around and the marble flooring shone brightly.
Andrew looked around and just decided that it would be best if he just sat down. He didn't need to dance. All they needed was to attend so they didn't get in trouble. And that was what he was doing. He didn't even want to bother anyone into asking for a dance and he was too much of a coward to ask anyone for one in the first place.
Then came a loud voice asking everyone to be quiet. It was of course, Emma Woods again. The smile she gave was as radiant as ever as she prepared to announce something else.
"Alright everyone! I got news from Miss Nightingale that we will be having a dance! You have to participate or you'll get in trouble!"
And this was when Andrew froze.
You had to dance or you would get in trouble? But who would even dance with him? His mind was running crazy with these thoughts as the countdown began to find yourself a partner. The Grave Keeper closed his eyes and reached out to dance with Luca, but Luca had already chosen Victor as his dance partner. As the numbers got lower and lower, Andrew's attention was brought over to a hunter with long, black hair who also didn't seem to have a partner. So he reached up and grabbed tightly onto his hand, which surprised the hunter, but not for long because it was time for the dance to begin.
The dance was awful. Andrew had no idea how to dance and the hunter was so awfully tall that it was making the dance even difficult to do. But he tried his best. And so did his partner who was the hunter, the Violinist.
He seemed to really like the musical piece that was being played and it was like his body was a part of the rhythm. Andrew, still not entirely sure of what he was doing, just went along with the flow of the dance and the hunter.
Shortly after, the dance was over and the Grave Keeper was very glad about it. He could finally go back to his room! But the hunter stopped him on his way out.
"My name is Antonio. What is your name?" the Violinist asked the survivor.
"It's Andrew…" the Grave Keeper replied before heading towards the doors.
"Andrew… Well it was nice to meet you and to have this dance with you." Antonio told him.
"Y-You too…" Andrew replied.
And so ended the night with a hunter and survivor bonding.