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Luciano and Vince were down by Viennese Waltz Lake, racing paper boats. Most people found the young prince annoying, but Luciano found him refreshing (though he would never admit it). He was one of the only people in the Flower Kingdom who didn’t talk about the ball non-stop.
“Yeah!” Vince cheered as his paper boat crossed the finish line. “I win again!”
“Hmph,” Luciano grunted. “My paper boat is too soggy. I’m going to make a new one.”
“You’re just making excuses. But fine, go ahead.”
Luciano reached for a new piece of paper, but the one he picked up wasn’t like the others; it was thicker, weightier, and it had a different texture. Upon closer examination, the paper was embossed with gold, and the wax seal of the Garadium Kingdom was pressed into it.
It was a letter from his father.
How did this even get in the pile? Luciano thought as he opened it.
The letter inside the envelope was written on simple ivory stationary, in black ink. The letter was pretty standard, containing a greeting and answers to the questions asked in Luciano’s last letter, but there was one thing on it that stood out:
The registration to the World Dance Competition was closing soon, and he’d have to leave tomorrow if he wanted to enter.
“Vince,” he said, not tearing his eyes away from the letter. “I’m gonna take off.”
“Aww, what?” Vince asked, pouting. “So soon?”
“Yeah. There’s something I gotta do.”
“Okay. Want me to take you where you need to go so you don’t get lost?”
“Of course not! I won’t get lost. I never get lost!”
“If you say so.”
Eventually, after many hours of wandering through the Flower Kingdom ( not lost , as he told many people), Luciano arrived at Rumba Beach. He sat down on one of the rocks along the shoreline, watching the ocean’s waves roll onto the shore to the beat of the Rumba, and he thought about what his father’s letter said.
The World Dance Competition, where only the best of the best dancers were allowed to enter. Luciano knew he’d be able to win it easily...but that was only if he entered, which was a big if .
Luciano had no motivation to dance. He’d been taking lessons daily since he was three, and he entered every competition that he could. He enjoyed it for a while (and he still enjoyed it now), but when he turned ten, he started to tire of dancing. When he turned eleven, he stopped taking lessons. When he turned twelve, he stopped entering competitions.
No matter how many times his father tried to coax him back into it, Luciano would not start dancing again.
At least, that was until he came to the Flower Kingdom.
Luciano didn’t come to the kingdom to enter the ball, unlike most everyone else who was currently visiting. He was here on other business, and the ball just so happened to coincide with his visit. He thought he’d just stay and watch the other competitors...until he saw Princess Sabrina dancing in the Dance Hall. Her technique was awful, and her timing was off, so when she asked him to dance with her, he had to take the chance to correct it. However, she was so bad, he stopped in the middle of the dance, but she managed to convince him to do it in full (and that was not because he hated seeing her cry).
After that day, the two had danced together multiple times, and Luciano could feel her getting better and better. She always asked him to be her partner after they danced, and he was really considering saying yes due to how much she’d improved (and not because he was crushing on her). But he hadn’t yet.
She was wearing him down. Eventually, he would say yes to her offer, and then he’d have to enter Ball in Saint-Lyon. But if he was going to get back into dancing and start competing again, the Ball wouldn’t be the place to start. No, he’d have to enter the World Dance Competition and prove he was still the best at dancing.
Just then, he heard a voice call to him. “Luciano!” it said. It was Princess Sabrina, coming to talk to him.
He knew what he had to do. As soon as Sabrina had said whatever she needed to say, he’d arrange a boat trip back home.
He would enter the World Dance Competition.