Chapter 5:
House of Gold
Soon after, arrived Lady Charlotte, who was an older, albeit still in great shape, dignified woman. She was accompanied by her assistant, doubling as a pianist during their dancing sessions. Usually there was also a tall boy named Thomas, who was Oriana’s partner, but for some reason he was nowhere to be seen this time.
- Oriana my dear. I’m so sorry for running in late. - With a spring in her step and a bounce of her neck-long, curly red hair, Lady Charlotte approached the Princess and greeted her with her usual kiss on the cheek.
The first time this happened, the Princess was taken aback by such disregard of personal boundaries, but over the past year she grew to understand that a lot of Lady Charlotte’s quirkiness comes from her Alderan roots and so, she reciprocated the gesture.
- There’s no need to apologize, Lady Charlotte. I don’t mind at all. Where is Thomas?
- Oh - Lady Charlotte pressed her wrinkled hand to her forehead with a dramatic flourish - My poor excuse of a husband got the crazy idea that apparently, a true man needs to know how to hunt, so he took Thomas and went for an overnight hunting trip. That Old Goat forgot, however, that the only thing he is capable of hunting is a roasted chicken during dinner time, so not only did they come back empty handed, but somehow, they ended up shooting each other! Apparently, both took the other for a boar. - Lady Charlotte waved her hands with a “Can you believe it?” expression. - Thankfully, both my idiot husband and Thomas are equally bad archers as hunters, so in the end, they suffered just superficial wounds. The bad news is that Thomas was shot in the foot, so he couldn’t join us today. We will have to manage without the poor bloke.
After dealing a few more blows to her husband’s reputation, Oriana and Lady Charlotte began the lesson. Be it because of the sudden absence of a partner or because of the exhaustion caused by the interaction with a certain someone, Oriana had a lot of trouble following the teacher’s instructions.
- Elbows up, Oriana. Back straight. No, don’t look down. No. Stop, stop. This won’t work. - Lady Charlotte pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling that one of her headaches was looming on the horizon. She looked around the hall, thinking of the best way to approach this roadblock. Suddenly a tall and slender silhouette entered her vision.
The Commander was standing by the door with her arms crossed behind her back, minding her own business, when she noticed Lady Charlotte staring at her with a dangerous shine in here eyes. No matter what idea Oriana’s teacher came up with, Valeria was certain she didn’t want to be a part of it.
- Why didn’t I think of it sooner? Commander, would you kindly fill in the role of Oriana’s partner for today’s class?
- Me? I’m sorry, I don’t think I should. I’m just a guard.
- Nonsense. I’m certain Oriana won’t mind, either. Will you, deary?
The Princess knew she didn’t have a choice, so she just shrugged.
- See? Now come quickly. There’s no time to waste.
- I… I can’t dance.
- HA!!! - Oriana’s voice resonated throughout the ballroom. Everyone looked at her with a dumbfounded expression. It turns out the price for this brief victory was her dignity.
Lady Charlotte snapped out of the confusion and dragged Valeria to the dance floor.
- Would you look at that, even our Perfect Commander has something she can’t do. Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you. - The Princess assumed the starting pose with a smug expression on her face.
Lady Charlotte gave a sign to her assistant and soon, music filled the hall. The Princess and the Commander started dancing. At the beginning they kept stepping on each other’s toes or running into each other, but as the time went by, their moves became more harmonious.
- See? It’s not that difficult once you get the hang of it. Give it a year or two and you might get half as good as I am, and then you can even try some advanced moves like this. - The Princess stepped away, made a graceful turn and came back to face the Commander.
- Be careful, you’re going to slip.
- Haha! That’s what a newbie like you might think, but a professional like me would never… - just as Oriana was singing praises to her unmatched talent, a tiny bit of her dress got under her heel, causing her to slip - professionally - and lose balance. She didn’t even have time to react when her body started falling to the floor.
Right before her head met with the polished oak parquet, an arm wrapped around her back, stopping the fall.
The Princess opened her instinctively shut eyes and met a pair of moon-like silver eyes, gazing at her from under long, white eyelashes. Before she knew it, she was lost deep in their cold allure.
She felt like time had stopped. She couldn’t move, couldn’t look away. Valeria’s face was like a magnet, pulling her in, taking over her thoughts, her wants. It was as if Goddess Maxima herself chiseled every inch of it, turning her into an irresistible piece of art, made to be desired by anyone who looked at it. The only thing that distinguished her from a sculpture were her soft pink lips, so close to her that she could feel Valeria’s warm breath on her skin. A sudden thought appeared in her head. If she kissed them, would they taste as sweet as they seem?
- I told you.
Hearing the Commander’s voice, Oriana was brought back to reality.
With her senses returning, she realized in what a peculiar position they were, so she quickly let go of Valeria’s neck, which her hands were enveloping tightly up till now.
The Commander took it as a sign that Oriana regained control over her body and was able to stand on her own, so she pulled both of them back.
The Princess could feel her face and ears burning red. Her heart was pounding in her chest like it was trying to escape.
- That was a surprisingly well executed dip. Color me impressed. - Lady Charlotte, who was observing entire situation from the sidelines, clapped her hands. - Unfortunately, it seems like we have run out of time, so we will have to end it at that for today.
The student and the teacher said their polite goodbyes and wished each other happy Dawning, after which both groups went on their ways.
----
Just like on their way to the ballroom, the Princess and the Commander went the whole way to Oriana’s room in complete silence, only briefly interrupted by parting words once they reached their destination.
The Princess closed the door and threw herself on the bed. She hid her face in the sheets and screamed, kicking her legs like an angry toddler.
Once she let out all of her pent up frustration, she finally calmed down. Even after all this time, the Commander’s warm touch still lingered on her body. Even though she was avoiding looking at her the whole way, she could still see her annoyingly good-looking face every time she closed her eyes. And deep down she still wanted to know what would it be like to kiss her.
- Bastard. Are you going to invade my thoughts now, too? - Oriana’s voice sounded angry and her face made a sour expression. Her heart, on the other hand, suddenly started beating much faster.
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