The princess shouted "Music" and the orchestra began to play a calm song, some musicians using the opportunity to fine-tune their instruments. It would warn everyone that the ball was about to begin and give them time to assume their positions.

Aidan took Pearl's hand, Dawn lent hers to the King, and both couples moved to the center of the room. The first dance was theirs alone. If Claire had a fianceé or if her brother Crown Prince Lucien was present, they would take the floor as well.

Coordinating both sides was hard, but Dawn kept the Butterfly Step spell active. Remarkably useful. All she had to do was to let Helios lead her around. She had absolutely no experience in dancing the female part.

Aidan took Pearl for a spin in the ballroom. The petite girl was a plume in his hands.

"I'm impressed, milord. Your foresight was spot on." The princess broke the silence.

"I just played my cards defensively. And I owe it to you. 'A dagger in every shadow, a poison in every goblet.' was really true."

"You flatter me. What about the third part?" She asked with a playful smile.

"That was a lie. There is no enemy in this smile. Or in yours, I hope." He smirked back.

"Oh, absolutely. I'd not dare to harbor enmity toward the person with thrice as much mana available as the second one present, especially when the second one is an archmage." She joked.

"And in the end, it is just about power. I'm disappointed."

They paused the conversation for one especially difficult transition. Even more for Aidan, dancing in two places at the same time.

"Dizzy, milord?" Pearl asked him after Dawn did a sharp spin.

"Yes. Helios spun me too hard."

They did another move and Pearl broached a subject with hesitation.

"Tell me, Aidan. Is that marriage proposal still valid?" She asked, half serious.

"Negative. You missed your chance, Pearl."

Aidan thought for a while, looked at the crowd watching them dance, then he opened his heart.

"I'm doing it tonight, Pearl. I can't delay it any longer."

She was puzzled. What was he doing tonight? They switched places and she saw the person Aidan was looking at. She threw her head back with unbridled mirth, causing Aidan to blush.

"It is about time, I must say. You have my blessings, milord. Even though you rejected me today, my vows are of happiness to you two."

"I didn't reject you. And don't make those doe eyes. I know you were just playing."

The music reached a slower part and Pearl closed in. She asked with a hushed voice.

"Hypothetically, if I demanded you to marry me back at that village, would you?"

"I always fulfill my word. You know that."

Pearl crossed eyes with Dawn and stuck the tip of her tongue out briefly, out of Aidan's sight.

"You are spending too much time with Cythrel," Aidan replied immediately.

They danced a little more and Pearl asked again.

"Didn't you expose too much of your hand today?"

"Maybe. But I still have some trumps hidden. It was eating me inside to throw insults at you."

She stepped on his foot. "This is for the bandages."

"Fair enough. Are we forgiven for insulting you?"

"I'm benevolent." She giggled.

"I like you, Pearl. Not romantically, but I like you." He missed a step. "I'm sorry. The King is breaching a sensitive subject, I'll have to focus on the other me."

They danced silently. Pearl watched her dance partner go through a series of faces, not all of them dignified. She could only wonder what was going on with the other couple. She held Aidan's hand tight.

The song ended and he bowed to the lady as it was custom. As they walked back to the edge of the ballroom to switch partners, Aidan stopped to talk.

"Pearl, remember what I said about keeping my word?" His tone of voice was grave.

"How could I ever forget, milord. What is weighing on your heart?"

"I need a favor." He spoke as if confessing a crime.

"Anything. Just ask." She replied, worried.

"If I falter, if my weakness prevails, can I count on you?"

She pulled him by the shoulder and looked deep into his eyes.

"Of course. We are friends, until the end of times. This I swear. I'll lend you my strength anytime you ever need it."

"Thank you. I might need it."

Pearl grasped his hand tightly and handed him over to Sora. She looked behind and saw the King at a loss looking at Dawn going up the stairs to the royal balcony.

Astromelicus found her and waved. She curtsied at the Archmage signaling her will to dance with him. As she went on the second dance, she could only wonder.

'What happened between Dawn and the King?' Pearl wondered.

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Back halfway through the first dance, the King spoke.

"Quite a stunt you pulled there, my daughter," Helios told his dance partner. "I'm proud that you could find the assassin."

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. It was my duty to protect my guests." She answered meekly.

"Was all of this staged? Ever since the trial?" Helios' voice was equally impressed and surprised.

"Yes, of course. Pearl is my best friend, there is nothing in this world that could drive a wedge between us." She looked at the King's eyes and smiled.

Helios saw his wife in the face of the girl and became rather wistful. He could relate to the girls' experience. There was nothing better to forge long-lasting friendships than relying on each other in the field.

"Great, great. Claire told me you have an idea to open a trade route with Gohar. Can you elaborate?"

"Not now. Not here. This is a moment of celebration, working is forbidden. Can't you just enjoy the company?"

"Yes, I can. I'm glad to see you back, Lumina. It pained me to see you recover slowly over the last year."

Dawn sighed. She wasn't Lumina. All the torrent of feelings, all the thoughts she had flooded into her. Dawn had to disappear to give room for Lumina. Her mood soured.

"I'm sorry, your Majesty." The sadness was palpable. "You will see Lumina soon enough. I'll give my place to her."

"Dawn, it is fine to be yourself. Do you have to go back to being Lumina?"

"I'm afraid yes. I'm going to disappear, for it is my duty to restore Lumina."

She made a face, sadness and hopelessness Helios had seen several times. That was the gloomy face of someone that had already died inside. The face those condemned to die made when all hope of living was gone.

"Can't you just stay as Dawn? Isn't it fine? Why do you have to disappear? You can stay as Dawn as long as you can be happy. Isn't this your dream? Live it."

Dawn looked at the King's smile and silently thanked him for his efforts. It was a forced smile, like a commander telling a dying soldier he would be fine. There was hope in that smile, fleeting but still shining.

"This is Lumina's body. I'm just a tenant. I have to get her back in here. For that, I must go. You want your daughter back, don't you? To hear her call you 'father' again, your Majesty?"

Helios didn't answer. He delved deep in his thoughts to find an answer. They went through the dance steps mechanically.

"Don't vanish. I can see you want to live this life. You'll still be my daughter even if you renounce your birthright and go out to travel the world. Let Lumina be a thing of the past. If she comes back on her own it is fine, but if you want to go on, do it. I can't bear to see you this sad."

It was at the same time what Dawn wanted to hear and what she didn't want to hear. Her mind was set on separating Lumina from her male half and placing her back in this body. Then they would merge the two fragments back to make Aidan whole again.

"Please don't tempt me, your Majesty. My heart is set even if it pains me." Tears formed on the corner of her eyes. "Lumina is coming back."

"Can you answer me one question honestly?" She nodded. Dawn was not in the mood for talking but she would indulge the King. "Do you, Dawn, want to vanish?"

"What sane person would want to vanish? Of course, I want to live. But this is not my life, not my body to do as I please."

"Please keep in mind that whoever you are, I'll still love and support you, my daughter. Even though I don't understand."

"No, you don't understand. Even so I'm honored that you care, father."

Dawn blushed at her slip. They danced the little time left of the song in silence.

But in the back of her mind, a dark thought took root.

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The music ended, partners exchanged. Dawn yielded the King's second dance to Claire and declared she needed a rest. She hurriedly climbed to the private balcony of the royal family and sat there, quiet. This was not the time to divide their attention.

Aidan handed Pearl to Astromelicus and took Sora's as his partner for the second dance.

He held the squirrel-kin closely. They were dance partners for a decade already, the intimacy shared by them evident. The orchestra started another song and they soared.

"I did it, Sora." He spoke with pride about his accomplishments that same night, trying to mask the gloom of his conversation with the King.

"Yes, you did. I'm impressed. But how did you know?" About the assassins, Sora meant. But between them, they could almost read each other's mind.

"I didn't. I just played my pieces beforehand to cover the terrain. But they were bold enough to interfere with a military trial." Would they leave a dinner party alone? Was the question he left unspoken.

"I guess you have a point. Was it all staged?" And why didn't you include me in the fold as you did with Cythrel? her eyes asked.

"Cythrel improvised her part. Elves know magic and she saw me reinforcing the glass." I didn't even make previous arrangements with Pearl.

They went through a difficult part and paused their conversation. Sora glanced up at the royal family's reserved balcony where the guest of honor was sitting out right now.

"Why isn't Dawn dancing?"

"I wanted to focus all my attention in me here with you. Sora, I..."

She sensed he was about to talk about an important subject. Sora interrupted him. "Can I speak first?" She asked, unusually bashful.

"Sure. What is on your mind?"

"Back when you dueled, I meant to give you my favour. But before I could find a good opportunity Pearl intruded on our talk."

"Yes, she was a real showstopper." When she invaded the carriage. He looked at his companion's eyes. "Why don't you give it to me now?"

"Can I? Should I?" Her eyes were wavering.

"Of course. I ruined the dinner party already, what could possibly be worse now?" He made a callous joke.

Sora stomped Aidan's foot. Her eyes were seething.

"I changed my mind. I'm worse than ruining a royal dinner party, I guess." She pouted.

Aidan pulled her waist even closer, making their bodies touch. He slowed down the pace of their dance.

"I'm afraid, Sora. I might lose myself after we recover Lumina. Even now I am not whom I used to be. I might change again, I might die. But do you know what my worst fear is?"

She felt his warmth, she could hear his heartbeat over the music with her sensitive ears. It was beating fast.

"No. Would you tell me?"

He gazed into her amber eyes. The eyes he knew so well. They were ferocious, wild eyes. The eyes of a warrior. But he could see much more than this external demeanor. Soft, kind, unyielding eyes. Aidan felt paralysis setting in. Irrational fear threatening to numb his tongue, stiff his limbs. He took a deep breath and decided to let it out.

"I am afraid I might die without telling the woman I love my feelings." He blurted the words out, barely pausing between them.

Sora stuttered her next move but they resumed dancing silently, still clinging to each other. She could feel his heartbeat soar and hers too. She could see the fear in his face. Sora leaned her head and brought her lips close to his ear.

"Then you should go, find this woman and tell her your feelings. I'll support you as always. And if she rejects you, then she is not worthy of you. You are a wonderful person, Aidan. I know that woman would never reject you. Be brave. Say the words to her." - 'say the words to me, please' she was screaming inside.

He leaned his head and they touched cheeks. His recently shaved face felt smooth and warm. Sora felt like she was melting with expectation.

"I'd have no one else to be my life companion than you, Sora. There is no one else I want to hold this tight. I want you, Sora."

It was there. The moment she yearned for, the moment she hoped to happen. The ballroom felt magical. The other dancers blurred into dark spots in Sora's eyes. Nothing else mattered.

Discreetly, he raised the hand holding her waist and moved it away from her back, hidden by her bushy and wide tail. No one else would see what Aidan was doing. His hand dove between the long and thin strands of fur and Sora felt her spine tingling. He was parting her fur and reaching for her special spot. She was trembling. Aidan didn't stop and found the tail amid the tufts of fur. His fingers touched the sensitive organ and she shuddered. He dove further and grabbed it, firmly. She felt her whole body tense. No one before had touched her like that. Not even her parents. The tingling sensation was almost too much for her to handle. She stood there, immobile.

"I love you, Sora." He whispered in her ear. "I'd rather die than live without you." The line commonly said in the courting rituals of the beast-kin.

Sora couldn't answer. The feeling of having her tail touched for the first time was too much for her. She gripped his shoulder in a vain attempt to take some weight off her failing legs. But she had to give an answer. By her people's tradition, she now had to either kill Aidan or marry him.

The choice was easy.

"You caught me." She whispered in his ear, too shy to move away, break their cheeklock, and look in his eyes. "I'm yours from now until the end of the time. But could you let go?" - 'I'm afraid my legs will give in and I'll become a messy heap here on the dance floor'

He released her tail and returned his hand to her waist. Sora was just this time glad there were no other beastkin in the whole ballroom. There is no way she would endure having another beastkin picking up her scent right now.

The song approached its end, the rhythm slowing to a lull. They finally found the courage to look at each other's eyes. They knew what they would see but instead found an entirely new meaning in these familiar eyes.

She saw his eyes, a cozy fire burning in them.

He saw her eyes, glistening and reflecting the crystals in the chandelier.

The song ended. The ballroom vanished, the world belonged to them alone.

They kissed.