The week until the ball was the longest and shortest week of either of my lives. My mind and heart raced so hard I couldn't tell the difference between giddy excitement and looming panic attacks. Anne and Nessa looked…harrowed.

The time does eventually pass, though, and all too soon (it took so long!) I find myself standing in the middle of a ballroom, passing furtive glances back and forth across a sea of faces I neither recognized nor cared to learn. In the game I imagine Ophelia would have been focused on building more connections with these people, maneuvering the social ladders of nobility and flexing her abilities on these low-stake targets.

I, however, have no need for any of that. My eyes aren't on the prince, or the emperor, or worrying about social status. Whether I end up marrying Viktor and lifting him into the ranks of nobility or whether I have to abandon my birthright to spend a life eking out a living with him, I'll be happy so long as he's with me. And I know he feels the same.

And so…I keep looking back and forth, across the sea of strangers, for the one face I know.

…finally, he arrives.

It's unfair to call him breathtaking, because that fails to explain how he looks any different from normal. No, he's much more than that.I recognize his outfit immediately - it's what he wears during the student dance event in the game, near the end of his route. In person it looks much better than his sprite did. His hair is gently curled and put up into a ponytail, and one of the flowers I'd sent him as his 'admirer' is styled prominently in his hair.

I can't find any words to speak, to draw his attention, so it's for the best he spots me on his own.

The crowd parts like he cut his way through a solid mass. His eyes lock onto mine. Every muscle in my body feels locked in place, frozen by that gentle, searching gaze. I find my gaze trailing over the shape of his body as he draws closer, taking in the gentle flow of his long jacket, and the sharp angles of his collar.

I inhale sharply as his eyes meet mine. He gives me the barest hint of a smile.

Even more than in the game, when it was just pixels, or a character in an illustrated image, the sight of him looking at me this way makes me feel weak and fuzzy inside.

In that moment, he stops a mere foot or so from me. I can barely breathe.

After a moment - was it a moment? an instant? an hour? - he bows.

My face flushes and I hastily curtsy in return. I almost trip.

Girl!!

The plan is not to become the injury girl that just faces cataclysm when he's present!

When I glance up, his lips have curved up into the gentle hint of an amused smirk.

The faintest, breathless giggle slips from my lips and I bury my lips into the back of my fingers. He looks so cute!!!

The sound of his gentle, melodic laughter sends a shiver up my spine and I tremble with suppressed glee at the sound.

"You look ravishing this evening, Miss Ophelia."

The moment I hear his voice, my blush flares brighter. His deep, rich tenor, so well-suited for speaking, it makes my knees wobble to listen to it. "Y-your compliment honors me, Doctor."

His head cocks to the side, his smile teasing. "Does it now? Perhaps I will have to find ways to offer you more compliments in the future, then."

Oh boy. I swallow nervously, pressing my palms into the curve of my dress to distract me. The sound of Viktor's chuckle fills the air around me. "If I might be so bold, might I steal you away for a dance?"

A dance with Viktor!!! I want to yell. Scream. Possibly run around the city like a madwoman. I just barely contain my excitement into a polite, "Oh! Well, of course."

He smiles, stepping forward and extending his hand, palm facing upward.

My gaze flits between his beautiful eyes and that welcoming, inviting hand, and my cheeks heat up as I tentatively slide my hand into his. His warm fingers close around my palm and I feel heat rushing to my face.

Embarrassed and giddy, I follow as he guides me to the dance floor. I have to stop myself from pulling him closer. Instead, I let him move into proper dancing posture. I watch his hands closely as he places my left hand on his shoulder and clasps his other against my other outstretched, placing his own hand upon my waist.

We're so close together now I can barely breathe, the feeling of his hands on my body igniting sparks throughout me.

As he pulls me in, the gentle music of a waltz starts. I'm grateful the waltz is so slow, because I don't know if I could manage this in a quicker song, given how flustered I am. I let out a small breath and let him lead the dance, stepping in time as he leads me across the ballroom.

"Do you dance often, Viktor?" I ask, trying to calm down by forcing my voice to be at a steady, conversational tone.

"No, not at all."

I open my eyes in surprise to find he's giving me a shy smile. "I, ah, had to ask one of the other doctors I know who'd had some experience for advice."

"Really?" I smile brightly at the mental image, squeezing his hand and resting my own on his shoulder. "How did that go?"

"Quite terribly."

Viktor's gaze dips low, avoiding eye contact, as if embarrassed to be talking about it. But despite the casual delivery, his voice is heavy with meaning, and his cheeks flush the sweetest shade of pink.

"Oh?" I giggle softly. "Please, tell me all about it."

He hesitates, as if unwilling to share anything too personal, but my encouraging smile helps him continue.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"It...ah, began with me explaining myself to him and the situation. That I had been invited to attend a ball. At that point, I believe, he mistook the type of ball I was referring to and assumed that I had been invited as the guest of a noblewoman who wishes to marry me. Of course, I had to explain to him that you had only invited me in the hopes I might use this as a networking opportunity to further my career and had not suggested the intent to woo me."

My cheeks are hurting from the force of my smile. Did I ever even imply such a thing? My sweet VIktor is so unassuming...!

"I think he found me...cute, I suppose. He teased me for the rest of the conversation, to the point I doubted his advice at all."

"I'm certain his advice must be invaluable, since you stand here before me with grace and poise, even if you found it lacking," I murmur.

Viktor's eyes lift up to meet mine, his hand tightening over my side, and a sudden realization hits me.

This is the first time I've held him close, his body against mine. The warmth of him seeps into me, my nerves crackling and burning as my breathing becomes uneven.

"...Perhaps. It...is true that I'm less nervous dancing with you than I had expected, somehow."

His voice is quiet, and I swear I can see the faintest tinge of red in his ears, beneath his neatly coiffed hair.

"I'm glad!" I sigh, resting my cheek on his shoulder, looking at him with half-lidded eyes. "I confess...I'm enjoying your company. Dancing like this, being with you..."

He chuckles softly, turning to smile at me. "And I yours. It's quite pleasant to find myself enjoying something like this...much as I might have disliked it otherwise."

The confession warms my heart and I close my eyes, taking in the moment as I sway in his arms, clinging to him more tightly, as if he could disappear in an instant.

The last notes of the music fade out, and we separate from one another with a tinge of reluctance. My cheeks still hurt from the force of my smile, but as I glance over him, I can't help but notice the little changes in his expression.

His eyes dart away, looking to the side for a moment, as if he can't bring himself to look me in the eyes. His lips are parted slightly, as if he has something more to say, but hasn't yet spoken.

"...Viktor?" I murmur.

His eyes snap back to mine, and I can see a tinge of apprehension in them. "W-would it be rude of me to...invite you for a stroll on the balcony, for a little fresh air?"

I bite back my excitement and giggle as politely and demurely as I can muster. "Not at all!"

Viktor lets out a breath, relief in his voice.

We step out into the cool night air, and the change from the crowded, humid hall to the cool outdoors is refreshing. It's a full moon tonight, the white light illuminating the gardens around the mansion. Viktor's gaze is drawn to it. He rests his hand on the banister, a wistful expression on his face.

"It's so beautiful, isn't it?" he whispers.

"Yes, very..." I reply, but I'm not looking at the sky, I'm looking at him.

Viktor nods his agreement. "The moon has a sort of...melancholy beauty. But...if I'm to be honest, the stars are much more lovely."

My gaze returns to the sky and I scan the horizon, spotting the little dots of light. The sheer number of them is breathtaking.

"Oh wow...that's so many..." I whisper, unable to resist my curiosity. "Could you tell me about the stars? I had tutors and books and lessons, but I could never memorize their names."

"You're not missing out on much with those old dusty tomes," Viktor teases, a hint of playfulness in his tone.

He looks back at me, the barest hint of a smile curling his lips. "But, of course. The stories of the stars are ancient. Long, long ago, in a time when all the stories of mankind were young and still being created, people still looked to the night skies and found solace and comfort in them. They could find friends in the shapes, and find solitude in the infinite stretches of black. Each of the constellations holds a story. It is said that long, long ago, humans walked amongst gods, and sometimes they fought, and other times they loved. Their love for one another was so great that some fell so deeply in love they became forever entangled, like two vines intertwined on the same tree. For that reason, one of the oldest legends of the heavens tells the tale of a beautiful human man who was so in love with the beautiful goddess, that they promised to meet, eternally, under the glow of the brightest star, so that the man, in his love for the beautiful goddess, could gaze upon her beauty as long as possible."

I have a pretty good memory, and I find myself hanging off of every word he speaks.

Soft green eyes turn to me, and I instantly recognize that joyful look of his - how much he enjoys being able to share knowledge like this. "The legend goes that this man loved the goddess so much, and she him, that she chose to become human for him. But tragedy struck this foolish goddess."

A slight frown tugs at my lips, and I lean in with a hushed, "Why?"

"It is said that when he gazed upon her human form, the beauty of her so great it brought him to tears, he had been poisoned by the jealous god who created him."

My eyes widen, but before I can ask him what happened next, Viktor continues his story.

"But it's no ordinary poison. The poison was crafted so that, as soon as it touched the man, it made him forget everything. His family, his friends, his home. Most importantly of all, it made him forget the one he loved so deeply that he had come to share this secret meeting place with her. The poison, so foul, so wicked, sought to keep him from her."

"How dreadful...!" I gasp, unable to suppress my outrage.

Viktor hums his agreement, but there is a calmness to his voice. "Yet, for all of this, the most beautiful aspect of this myth is that the goddess refused to allow it to take away the man she loved, no matter the cost. Even though the other gods chastised her for it, she knew that even if the man forgot her, and everything that once made him whole, her love for him could never be broken. Her power was insufficient to save him, however. For she had given all of it up to be human with him. She could not cure his mind or his body."

Dimly, I'm aware of this story - it was mentioned quite briefly as the romantic myth that the girls in the magical academy in the game loved - but I've never heard such details before. I feel almost like I'm in a trance, listening to Viktor tell this story to me in person.

"Her love for him was a force that stretched beyond the power of the gods." He says, as his gaze turns back to the star in the sky. "Beyond this very world. As he laid dying in her arms her cries formed a beautiful song that brought all those who heard it to tears. She declared to the universe itself that she wouldn't live a moment after him, and it was true. The moment that his final breath passed, she also collapsed."

I shudder, and shake my head, struggling to resist tearing up over a simple myth. "That's...terrible..."

He smiles and gently touches my chin. "...The stars thought so as well. And so they caught up her soul and the soul of her lover and tied their lives to the stars. Just as every day the stars die and every night they return again, so also do the lovers return. So long as their stars remain in the sky, each time they two will die they are reborn again. And each time they find each other once more, eventually, and fall in love again."

I stare at Viktor's face. His soft, handsome features cast in a pale silver from the moonlight, smiling at me like a work of art.

I know, without a doubt, that he believes the myth, every word. The truth is written clear on his face. I reach out to him, putting my hand on top of his as he leans in closer.

"Don't cry..." he whispers, a note of pleading in his voice, his hand cradling my cheek as his thumb brushes at the moisture gathering at my eyelids.

"I won't..." I let out a ragged exhale, leaning into his touch, the warmth of him sending a spike of pleasure through my veins.

Viktor looks down at me, his head bowed slightly, the backlight of the moon casting a shadow over his eyes.

His fingers trace a soft path up my cheek to tuck a stray strand of hair behind my ear.

I can feel the heat in his gaze. I can taste it. Even more than that, I can hear the way he exhales slowly, deliberately. A wave of fire seems to pass from my heart to the tips of my toes. I step towards him.

My mouth parts. "Viktor..."

Before I can say more, the door bursts open and there my sister is, clucking and bustling, reaching out for me for some...silly noble thing.

I glare at her as she whisks me away, leaving Viktor alone on the balcony. I...I was just about to kiss! We were so close to kissing!!!

I barely glimpse Viktor smiling in amusement at the balcony before I'm dragged hopelessly away into frustratingly pointless social duties for the rest of the night.