Below was a slightly larger stage where the Duke was dancing with a stunningly beautiful woman. Contrasting his dark outfit, she was in white with accents of yellows and pinks. It was designed in a way where when she moved it looked like swaying flowers. It went well with her bright yellow hair, not blonde. Everything about her looked… unnatural for some reason.
There were two more stages below theirs, with more nobility dancing with partners as others waited their turns to interrupt. Platforms were floating from the sides of the stage, bringing dancers on and off the stages. No one was dancing except those on the stage.
Elias led me over to one of the platforms, and to my dismay we went to the stage beneath the Duke. He whispered, “Don’t look at them, look at me.” His words came as I had started to turn to look at everyone else.
I hissed a response, “I’ve had a week of practice, what the void are we doing?!”
He raised an eyebrow, “Void? Never mind. Just follow my lead, and head forward.” When the platform stopped, I clasped his hands and he led us out onto the stage.
As we moved, my heart pounded, and I put my entire focus into keeping in step with him. I was right about being able to keep up, but it was close and I could tell Elias was matching his pace to something I could keep up with. We spun and twirled in a way that brought us towards the center, and then across to the other side. The other couples on the stage taking center stage more often than we did.
“You grip my hand any harder, you’re going to break something.” He joked, though I did make an effort to loosen my grip. The music slowed and we moved closer together. He put his arm around my waist and I tensed. It didn’t go lower than my mid back, though. I mimicked his placement and we moved with the music.
“For only a week, you’re keeping up surprisingly well.” He was smiling as he looked down at me.
I rolled my eyes at him, “I keep stepping on your feet.”
Elias laughed, “And the people down there can’t see that, can they?”
“Can we get down now?” I grumbled, eyes shifting to look out among the crowd. I spotted Toren and Deacon talking off to the side. Germaine was on a lower stage, dancing with Aria. I didn’t see the other one anywhere.
“One more song.” There was a glint of mischief in his eyes, “Want an excuse to not do anymore?”
“More than anything.” I narrowed my eyes, “What did you have in mind?”
We discussed his plan and I immediately didn’t like it. It made the insufferable Marquis laugh, but he managed to convince me it was the fastest way, if not the most delicate. The idea still made me feel gross, but I eventually agreed.
So, as the next song started, his hand roamed lower and firmly rested on my butt.
I grabbed it and raised his hand up, and it was a good thing he’d told me what was going to happen ahead of time, or I’d have hit him right then. When it happened again almost a minute later, I glared at him and he just responded, “Not yet. Wait for the end.”
When the song finally ended, we got to the part I actually hated in the plan.
He leaned down and kissed me.
To which I responded by stepping back and slapping him hard enough to stumble back. The force seemed to surprise him, but I only got a glance as I stormed off. Even knowing it would happen, I felt violated. I had thought I’d be able to handle it better, but I was genuinely upset.
I got on one of the platforms to a muttering crowd, wiping my mouth with my sleeve and spitting to the side. When I got down, I went straight to Deacon, “Where’d you find the drink?”
He and Toren were both staring at me like I’d just grown a second head. The bard regained his composure soon enough and guided me towards another room. When we got out of sight, I couldn’t help but cringe at the lingering feeling on my lips.
“You okay?” Toren asked, putting a hand on my shoulder. I shook it off and he didn’t try to press for an answer.
Deacon got me a drink, and I drained the glass without pause. I held it out and he hesitantly poured another, looking at Toren in concern. “Dan- uh, Lady Danielle. You may wish to slow down.”
I only took a sip and sighed. “Prick.”
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“Ouch.” Deacon deadpanned.
“Not you.” I clarified, the alcohol doing it’s job and making me feel better, even if it wasn’t calming me down as much as I’d hoped. “Elias.”
Toren’s looked both confused and concerned, “I know Deacon and I were suspicious, but I was surprised when he…”
I shuddered, “His plan so I didn’t have to dance with anyone else.”
There was a stunned silence, and then Deacon burst out laughing. I glared at him and he started laughing harder. Toren wasn’t amused though, and asked, “Are you okay?”
I took a drink before responding, “I will be. I wasn’t expecting to have that… emotional of a reaction. I think I hit him harder than I probably should have…”
“Pretty sure you’d have knocked one of the lesser nobles out with that.” Deacon said between fits of giggles as he calmed down. “I heard that slap over the music.”
“Everyone did.” Toren nodded, “You said it was his plan? You discussed it?”
I nodded, “Again, I thought I’d be fine with it, even if I didn’t like the idea…”
We stood in silence for several minutes, Deacon keeping an eye out for anyone coming close. Eventually, I was able control myself enough to stop shaking. Whether it was from disgust or anger, I didn’t know, but it didn’t matter. I didn’t have time to be emotional. “Toren, did you figure out where the node is?”
“You mean the crystal? Yea, it’s up the stairs at the entrance hall. I even went to see it while you were making rounds. Few guards, which makes sense. It’s public access, hardly anyone would be interested in it.” Toren explained.
I frowned, looking towards the direction I knew the entrance hall was. “Think it’ll make a scene if I leave?”
Both of them looked at each other before shrugging. Toren sighed, “I’ll have to stick around since I’m here. Some colleagues found out I showed up and now I’ve got meetings to attend.”
“Oh yea, what’s that about?” I asked him, staring at him like he was a puzzle that needed solving, “Director?”
He actually blushed, “Right… um… it’s a bit of a long story. Probably not the time.”
Deacon reached over to pat me on the shoulder, only to stop at a glare from me. “Right, sorry.” He nodded in Toren’s direction, “He’s right though. If we want to get out of here without any more issues now is probably the time. The door to the entrance hall is closed, so we’ll be noticed leaving, but they won’t see where we go after.”
I finished the drink and set the glass on a table, “If the door is closed, how does anybody sneak around?”
“Because no one cares.” Toren replied. “They’ll make guesses, but no one will actually check. After what you just did… I don’t think anyone is going to question you leaving.”
Sighing, I motioned for Deacon to proceed. “Let’s go then. I hate all the staring and pretending to be nice. Let’s get this done and go home.”
He left the room first and I followed soon behind. It felt like everyone was looking at me as many were stealing glances and whispering to their neighbors. The dancing on the stages hadn’t stopped, but the top two levels were now empty. I did my best to keep my head down and followed Deacon, even if I could feel my cheeks heating up.
When we got past the door to the entrance hall, I let out a small sigh. It was empty, even if I could hear the sounds of people talking down the hall leading towards the lift up. Toren looked around and nodded, “I think this is where we part ways for the night.”
“Are you going to be alright getting home?” I asked, concerned since I hadn’t thought that part of the plan through.
He smiled and nodded, “I’ll be fine. I’ll walk in the worst case, but one of my associates should be able to accommodate me.”
“If you’re sure…” I wasn’t confident leaving him here, but he seemed like he thought he could handle himself. “We could wait at a nearby inn for you, or something.”
The old man smiled, “Despite my appearance, I can take care of myself. There’s no need to worry, Dani.”
I considered his words, but realized I wouldn’t be able to change his mind. “If you’re sure… gramps.” I smirked up at him.
He let out a bark of laughter and shook his head, heading down the hall. “Hurry up now. You don’t want to get dragged back in there for another round, do you?”
Deacon and I looked at each other before nodding. We turned towards the stairs leading up to the balcony that looked over the entrance hall. There was a guard at the top, but he was leaning against the wall, head down. As we got closer, there was a faint snoring sound. Deacon rolled his eyes and opened the door next to him.
Once through, there was a short hallway that lead to a surprisingly bland room, considering the decor of the rest of the place. The whole place was just undecorated stone and rather small, about the size of one of the lounges we’d been in or seen as we walked past. At the back was a little alcove with a large oval shaped crystal with multiple facets. The whole thing glowed with barely contained power.
Beneath it was a small dais that the bottom end of the crystal rested. It looked made of metal and had a number of small metal tubes running from the dais to the crystal. As I stepped closer to it, I noticed the tubes were what held it up, attached to the crystal.
“Huh, thought it’d be bigger.” I said, looking at Deacon to confirm.
He shrugged, “They come in different sizes. I’d guess the bigger ones are to show off.”
Looking around the room, I didn’t see anything amiss. There were some alcoves that held shadows, but the light from the crystal provided just enough to keep them visible. Deacon did a quick walk around the perimeter, checking the place out before he nodded, “Should be fine.”
I returned the nod and stepped up to the crystal, putting my hand on it’s smooth surface.
I focused on