Asural, Desmond, 10416 P.C.

A month passed. Annabella was glad to finally get rid of her crutches, as it allowed her to get more involved with Todd's training. Benjamin, Stephanie, and Annabella all invested their time into helping the Deliverer better himself, each of them teaching him different skills. Stephanie was a natural with archery, in which she was also an exceptional teacher, and she also taught Todd some basic hand-to-hand combat as well. Annabella ran him ragged with her lessons in weaponry, focusing highly on his ability to wield a sword properly. Benjamin oversaw the rest of the training. Out of all the weapons, Todd seemed to catch on fastest with the throwing knives — a skill, Annabella noted, he had picked up from the little girl who had arrived at the RS shortly after them. Jessica, or Jessie. Annabella hadn't gotten on with the girl as fast and as easily as Todd had — the two had become nearly inseparable — but then, Annabella rarely got on with people.

Todd did, though. Easily. Every day, the place seemed to be getting brighter, as Todd's infectious smile was spreading. Most of the children had caught it already. Annabella, however, refused to bend. It was trivial, useless, and a fleeting distraction. She couldn't afford to be distracted.

For instance, Annabella had to keep herself focused. The girl, Jessie, was admittedly unnerving her. She was an expert in throwing knives, and she even gave Annabella a run for her dignity in fencing. She also flew through the obstacle course like a bird — she made everything seem effortless. She had to have been trained her whole life to be as good as she was, and yet she didn't bear the dragonmark. She hadn't been a Trainee. Annabella puzzled over it for hours, not having the nerve to ask the girl the truth about it. Somehow, Annabella's confidence seemed to fade around Jessie, and she hated the feeling. How and where did this girl get her training? She was better than Annabella had been at that age.

Jessie wasn't even Annabella's greatest concern — someone else had been paying Todd a dubious amount of attention. Annabella had not missed Colette's frequent visits and sudden fascination with Todd. She was clearly infatuated.

Annabella loathed the girl. She could still remember how things had been when she first arrived at the Refuge Sanctuary. Colette had been the only girl her age, and the two had not gotten along. While Annabella preferred to keep to herself and stay out of sight, Colette loved the limelight, always directing attention to herself every chance she could. Maybe that was why Annabella found Stephanie's company so much more refreshing — Stephanie was not an attention-seeker like Colette was. In the years Annabella had been scarce, Colette seemed to have gotten worse, still attention-seeking but with a much haughtier attitude. Annabella would have called her a prissy girl, but it wasn't as much as an insult as she would have liked it to be. Colette was still skilled in combat, she just had the uncanny ability to fight in a skirt and high-heeled boots. Which, to Annabella, was annoying.

Impressive. But incredibly annoying.

It was a restful day. The cafeteria was already mostly empty although the lunch meal had started not even an hour before. Most of the kids had run off to the TR room or the library or somewhere else much more exciting than the dreary, echoing room they always ate in. The walls were grey, the floor planks of wood, the table and benches also crafted out of wood. Annabella had never enjoyed time spent in this room, and yet her companions were not leaving.

"I refuse to smile," Colette crowed loudly, her arms folded across her chest, her chin in the air. Annabella wanted to throw up. While Todd's smile had become infectious to those around them, Colette had taken advantage of the new fad by loudly and blatantly refusing to do it. Todd took the bait hook, line, and sinker, and every time Annabella turned around he was trying to get Colette to smile in some way or another. Couldn't he see she loved the attention and that it was all just a show? Even so, Annabella was surprised Colette hadn't been wooed into it already. Todd was incredibly persuasive.

Annabella managed to keep her food down. She caught Stephanie's eyes. The other girl was sitting across from her, her back to Colette as she braided Bethany's hair. Together, Stephanie and Annabella rolled their eyes. Annabella was glad she wasn't the only one who hadn't bowed to Colette's whims.

"You still haven't given me a logical reason not to," Todd argued. He sat beside Annabella, his arms on the table as he leaned toward Colette. He had changed over the past month — he was beginning to look a bit more mature. His face had lost that innocent, boyish look, and one of the kitchen ladies had trimmed his hair so that it didn't hang in his eyes or stick out in the back anymore. He was visibly stronger as well, due to the hard training, but instead of sliding back into the dark mood he had possessed in the early days of his training, he seemed to be growing all the more charming with each passing day. His mischievous smirk was forever branded in her mind — it came out often, both frustrating and intriguing her. He had turned into a force to be reckoned with, but not in the way she had expected of the Deliverer. His physical strength and fighting abilities still needed a lot of work, but his mind was sharp. Persuasion and out-of-the-box ideas — that was their Deliverer.

Colette tilted her head, pursing her pretty pink lips — where had she even gotten lipstick from down here? "Must you always have a logical explanation?"

"Oh, naturally. Men always do." That comment came from Jessie, who sat on Todd's other side. Her smirk pulled at lips a natural deep pink Colette's makeup — raspberry stains, maybe? — could never attain. Annabella had to admire the silky way the girl conducted herself, as if every move and motion were one with refined grace. She carried herself with an ease few girls her age had mastered, and her speech was no different. Soft, but not fragile. Genuine, but not naive. Those young eyes had seen wars. Annabella knew the telltale signs — she saw them in the mirror.

"We do not," Todd scoffed, while Colette's lips twitched ever the slightest.

Jessie pounded her hand on the table. "Aha! You smiled!"

"I did not," Colette replied scornfully. "I told you, I'm not going to."

Annabella was getting a headache. "Can we talk about other things for once?"

Colette frowned at her. "Grumpy much."

"Shut up." Annabella knew to ignore the girl's taunts, but today she was being excessively irritating, which in turn made Annabella excessively irritable — or maybe it was the other way around.

Todd snapped his fingers. "I have it."

"Have what?" Colette asked.

"A way to make you smile."

Annabella groaned. "Oh, please make it stop."

Colette ignored her. "You do, do you?"

Todd pushed the bench back, creating a loud scraping noise and nearly throwing Annabella off balance. She covered her ears and glared at him, but he didn't seem to notice. He made his way past Jessie and walked around to offer Colette his hand. "I challenge you to a duel, fair maiden."

"A duel?" Colette eyed his hand as if she expected him to hit her with it.

Stephanie didn't look away from the braid she was creating in Bethany's hair. "He's asking you for a dance."

How did she know that? Annabella stared at Stephanie. The girl had said it so lightly, like dancing was a normal, everyday thing. It was no such thing.

"A dance?" Colette asked in surprise.

"Yes, a dance." Todd still held out his hand. "Do you accept the challenge?"

She studied his hand for a long moment before grabbing it like Annabella knew she would. "Fine. But I don't know how."

"That's the point," Todd said, pulling her away from the table so that they had some room. "I'll teach you."

Annabella stared at him for a moment and then turned on Stephanie with narrowed eyes. How had she known what Todd was doing? Stephanie had changed in the past month as well, she realized. Her hair had been trimmed and was now rather short – a pixi cut, Colette had called it. At least it was no longer sloppy. Stephanie wasn't as tense as she used to be, and the kids around them seemed to have accepted her as one of their own, often asking her to duel with them or show them a different skill. She actually involved herself, something Annabella hadn't expected of the young ex-soldier. It seemed like everyone around Annabella was changing and growing in ways she hadn't expected.

Stephanie looked up. "What? He's been teaching me."

Todd teaching Stephanie how to dance? Annabella hadn't expected Todd to be the type to dance, and yet as she watched him she began to see it. He was clearly well-versed, showing Colette the steps with light-footed ease. She didn't recognize the dance, but she soon saw his ploy — the dance had several awkward moves, such as each of them spinning behind the other with their hands clasped above their heads. Colette was an expert in walking in heels, but the dance revealed her clumsy side. More than once she stumbled and would have fallen if Todd hadn't caught her. The whole scene was comical. Jessie, Stephanie, and Bethany were all reacting accordingly, laughing and snickering at the duo, and in hardly any time Colette was halfway to the floor, caught only by Todd's arm as she fought a fit of laughter. Todd had won the duel. He laughed as well, and the sound of it sent shivers through Annabella. All of it was unsettling to her, creating a dark pit in her chest she couldn't ignore.

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She hated it.

Turning her attention away from the others, she tuned out the noise and focused on studying the braid Stephanie was weaving Bethany's hair into. It was a strange braid, one Annabella had never attempted before on her own hair.

Before she could ask Stephanie how it was done, Todd said her name. She gave a start, looking over at him. He stood at the end of the table, watching her.

She cleared her throat. "Yes?"

"Do you dance?" he asked.

Oh, no you don't. She opened her mouth, ready to turn him down in her coldest voice possible.

Colette sat down hard on her bench, her face flushed. "Dancing is forbidden, so of course Annabella wouldn't—"

"Actually, I do." As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she knew she was in trouble. The truth was, Annabella did know how to dance — and she couldn't resist shoving that fact in Colette's pretty face. The other truth was, she hadn't actually ever done it, and she had sworn she never would. She could remember it all too vividly. She had seen it herself, the way they swayed, the way they moved about in the most graceful fashions. Hypnotizing. An ambience had rested on that room, music lulling the participants with a sense of false ease.

The roof had collapsed on them that night. Smoke, fire, and hell had awoken. Although Alexander had insisted she remember the steps, she had never allowed herself to dance with him. She had only ever watched as her brother danced alone.

"Really?" Todd was offering her his hand. "You should show me what you know."

"No." She folded her arms.

"She's bluffing," Colette said, giving Annabella a scowl.

"I'm not bluffing," Annabella replied sharply.

"Then why don't you show us?" Jessie asked.

"I don't want to."

Stephanie looked over at her. "It's fun, Annabella."

"I don't care."

"You do," Colette commented. "Your cheeks are getting red. Are you blushing?"

"No!" Annabella slammed her hand down on the table. "Shut up, Colette!"

"She is," Jessie said. "She doesn't want to dance with Todd."

Annabella shifted her burning gaze to the younger girl, carefully avoiding Todd's eyes. "It has nothing to do with Todd!"

"You're getting defensive, Annabella," Stephanie commented.

Annabella turned on Stephanie, ready to attack, but Todd spoke up quickly. "Annabella, relax. The rest of you, stop. If she doesn't want to dance, I'm not going to make her."

Colette studied her nails, unfazed. "I still think she's lying."

"I'm not a liar!" Annabella ground her teeth, knowing they wouldn't believe her unless she showed them. She cursed out loud; Stephanie frowned at her and covered Bethany's ears. "Fine. Fine! I'll show you." She climbed off of the bench, ignoring the rising heat in her cheeks as Jessie whistled and clapped her hands — the annoying little brat. Annabella grabbed Todd's hand, yanking him away from the table to the spot he and Colette had danced.

Todd looked a bit flustered as he faced her — were her cheeks as red as his? "Ah, okay," he began. "What dance do you know?"

She frowned at him. "I don't know the name."

"Oh."

"Because she doesn't actually dance," Colette called out to no one in particular. Annabella shot her a devilish glare.

"Alright," Todd said under his breath — was he getting annoyed at the girl's comments too? "Here, you probably know two-step. It's the most basic dance." He took her right hand in his left and placed his hand on her back. She copied him, her breath hitching at his closeness. She had forgotten how being this close to a boy felt. But then, she and Luke had never danced.

"Okay, now with your right foot." He paused as she stepped back. "We go to the side."

"I'm pretty sure we go this way."

He smiled briefly, his cheeks still flushed. "Okay, not two-step, I see. Here, I'll follow you. Show me what you know."

She obeyed, closing her eyes and picturing Alexander dancing alone. She found that she knew the steps like an old friend even though she had never performed them herself. It was as if she had been made to do this.

"I think we're waltzing," Todd commented after a few more steps, and she opened her eyes to look at him. He was stepping with an ease she hadn't expected of him, even more fluid than he had been with Colette. She let herself hold his gaze, nearly breathless as she began to follow him. He took the lead effortlessly, pulling her along in a dance more graceful than she had anything she had ever experienced.

"Who taught you?" she found herself asking. Something told her that there should have been music, but there was nothing but silence. She didn't even bother to see what Colette's face looked like at this point. There was no one but her and Todd. Something in the back of her mind screamed at her to run, but she couldn't find the will to. Her fascination with this strange boy was eating her alive, and she was only now ready to admit it.

"My mom," was his response. "She and my dad loved to dance. She made sure I knew every dance she did."

"My parents did too." The words came out unbidden. She knew they were true, she just hadn't ever admitted it before. She was also acutely aware that she had never mentioned her parents before.

His response was to be expected. "Your parents? Where are they?"

They're dead. It would have been the easiest response; however, Annabella had just convinced them she wasn't a liar, so she wasn't about to put that in question again. "I don't know." Short, simple, and direct enough that she knew he wouldn't push it.

He didn't. "Your dad taught you?"

Annabella had momentarily forgotten that they weren't alone. His words, though, reminded her of that fact. She was aware of everything. Colette's icy gaze on them, Todd's hand on her back, his other hand in hers. The distance between them. Or lack thereof.

"No." She could have ended the answer there, but she wanted to make sure Colette didn't twist the story later. "Motch stole me from my parents when I was four."

"Motch took you?"

She forgot that he didn't know. It seemed to be common knowledge to everyone else. "After Motch took the Immortal One's throne, my father sided with him. My brother and I were able to stay with them. Until they fell from Motch's good graces. He took us."

The roof fell that night.

Todd searched her eyes solemnly. "And your parents?"

"I don't know."

He glanced away. She let her own gaze fall, studying the fabric of his t-shirt. Somehow, they never lost momentum, dancing on, thoughtlessly moving their feet in secret rhythm with each other. She hadn't thought that dancing with him would be such a comforting thing. In fact, she felt secure. As if she belonged. As if this were normal.

It wasn't. Annabella broke away without another thought, turning her back on him and walking away briskly. "There you go," she said coldly, passing Colette as she made a beeline for the door. "I can dance."

"Annabella, where are you going?" Stephanie called, but Annabella ignored her. She didn't even dare to look over her shoulder. As soon as she reached the door, she bolted. She ran down the hallway as fast as she could, limping on her bad leg, cursing the burn in her eyes. Alexander's form danced in her mind, alone, always bidding her to join him. She wished she had.

Then she'd know if this fluttering feeling in her chest was normal or not.

She dashed around a corner, nearly colliding with Benjamin's broad form coming from the opposite direction. He caught her by the shoulders, his brows furrowing in concern. "Annabella, are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She gulped in air, struggling to compose herself.

He narrowed his eyes but didn't push the matter. "I need to speak with you about something urgent.

His tone didn't sound as urgent as it did disquieted. She calmed her breathing, pushing her thoughts and feelings aside — much easier when there was another matter to focus on. "What is it?"

He gestured down the hallway. "Come with me."