The First Waltz

"Haah..."

While Blow's Straight was sweeping the whole of the hall, Danvers sat at Rebecca's table and stared at Skadi, far across the room, grinding her teeth as if she could not bear the sight of her.

It had gone on that way through the entire banquet. At last Rebecca's patience ran out. She lowered her voice.

"Danvers. Go in first."

"No, my lady. I'm sorry."

"Then don't let your feelings show."

The voice she used with Danvers was colder than usual.

Rebecca was not a woman who said unkind things. For her to go that far meant she was truly angry, and Danvers, catching herself too late, swallowed against a dry throat and bowed her head.

"I'm sorry, my lady."

"Senior Yulia already took you to task over this last time."

"But—"

"There's history between us."

"..."

"Even so, Skadi has done nothing wrong to you."

"But—"

Say what she might, the fork in Danvers's hand only trembled harder.

Rebecca looked at her in frustration and let out a sigh.

"Go inside."

"My lady..."

"I don't want to be angry with you, Danvers."

"I'll go in. I'm sorry, my lady. I'm sorry for showing you such a disgraceful side of myself."

Only when Rebecca looked away did Danvers leave the hall.

Once she was gone, Rebecca drew a long breath and let her gaze travel slowly around the room. She had been more brilliant than anyone when she entered, and yet now she sat alone at the table, stranded. She did not want to blame her, but Danvers had soured the air all the same.

Danvers had been with her since she was old enough to understand the world, and she cherished Rebecca far too much. Seen kindly, it was loyalty. Seen unkindly, it was overprotection. Rebecca had never thought of it as a problem, but lately she was no longer sure—because at some point, people had simply stopped coming to her first.

She held her tongue.

Far off, Skadi's bright, unguarded smile came into her eyes. Whenever she looked at her like this, a sting rose in Rebecca's chest, and these days she was beginning to understand that the ache was envy. Skadi seemed so much freer than she herself, who carried the North on her back. The commoner children who kept their distance from her at school went to Skadi without a second thought. Even now Skadi was laughing and talking with Yulia Edfolk—the very Yulia who was standing for election at Rebecca's side.

If Father were to see this...

She smiled bitterly and drained the sparkling water in front of her. The tightness in her chest eased, if only a little.

"It tastes good."

"I'm glad you like it."

Startled, Rebecca looked up. Blow stood there with a smile.

"Blow Deblique."

"Hearing the princess say so, I find a little more confidence in my own work."

Rebecca, who had been staring at his easy joking, swallowed a sigh and spoke.

"What is it, Blow Deblique?"

"There is something, yes. But we're classmates. Do we really need a reason just to talk?"

"...No. We don't. You're right, Blow Deblique."

"You seemed curious, so I'll start with the business. I came, first of all, to apologize to you, Princess."

"For what?"

"You heard what I said to Danvers earlier, didn't you? She's yours, so I thought it might have put you in a poor mood."

"..."

"I came to say I'm sorry for that."

"You have no cause to be sorry. Danvers is the one who—"

The words tightened her chest, and Rebecca pressed her mouth shut.

Blow took the seat beside her as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Princess. There was also that time I lost consciousness because of Greig."

"Yes. There was."

"Thank you for coming up to me then."

"I only did what had to be done, as a student council officer."

"Well. All the same."

"You make it sound simple."

Blow shrugged.

"Is there any reason a thank-you has to be difficult?"

"A sound point. I think I was being shortsighted."

An awkward silence settled between them, and Rebecca took up the Straight again. Blow watched the glass a moment, then asked, lightly,

"Princess, is the sparkling water to your liking?"

"Quite."

"As much as elderflower?"

Rebecca went still.

Elderflower—the flower of the North. Since coming to Caipol she had scarcely heard the name, and the sound of it alone was enough to call homesickness up in her. She set the glass back on the table and asked in a voice that shook.

"How do you know of that...?"

"I happened to be treated to it a few times."

"Where?"

"Barbarians did the work on my potion shop and the restaurant."

"Blow Deblique."

Rebecca laid a hand over her heart and bowed her head to him.

"As one who stands for the North, I give you my thanks."

"You've a stubborn streak. I was only making conversation."

"The barbarians all live hard lives, don't they. Because of the way they look."

Her tone had turned earnest. Blow considered a moment, then leaned slightly toward her.

"Princess, would you come to my table?"

"..."

"Senior Yulia is there. I saw earlier that you were getting on well with Herbena, too."

"Skadi is at your table, is she not."

"Skadi reads a room quickly."

"..."

Rebecca hesitated, then slowly shook her head.

"No. I ought to go in. I'll only pay my respects to the princess."

"Come along first, and after that do as your heart tells you."

Blow smiled and rose.

"Shall we?"

Rebecca wavered, then followed him.

When he reached the table, faces that had already been bright grew brighter still.

"Blow Deblique!"

"Young master! Where did you go?"

"Just a walk."

"Straight is causing an uproar right now! A walk?"

"Well... 'bestowing an air of mystery.'"

"You really do say nothing but strange things, every single day!"

Jane's mouth went flat at once. Beside her, Yulia looked up at him with a smile.

"It's all right, young master. I went around and introduced it."

"Thank you, Princess Yulia. The truth is, I went because I was counting on you."

"I trust you had your reasons."

"Of course. There was a reason."

"Is that so? I wonder what it was..."

Interest lit Yulia's face, and Blow pointed to Rebecca, who was coming slowly toward them.

"I brought a guest."

"Rebecca?"

Yulia looked faintly startled. The others stole glances at Skadi, who had gone rigid.

Rebecca, drawing near, offered a gentle bow.

"I've come to pay my respects, Princess Yulia."

"Your respects?"

"Yes. I was about to take my leave."

Yulia studied her, seemed to think a moment, then quietly took Rebecca's hand.

"Rebecca, it would be a waste of that dress to leave now."

"..."

"Wouldn't it be better to let such a beautiful dress be seen a little longer before you go?"

"Princess..."

"Stay through the ball, and we'll go in together. Rebecca."

Rebecca looked at Skadi, who stood there dithering. Before anyone else could speak, Blow lifted a glass of Ropert Rose.

"Everyone, take a glass. Senior first."

"Oh my, young master. And the order is...?"

"By age, of course."

"That's too much, really...!"

At that, both Rebecca and Skadi broke into small laughs, and the air that had briefly frozen began to thaw.

They touched glasses. Skadi and Rebecca were offering each other an awkward greeting with their eyes when Rachel Campbell at last stepped up onto the dais.

"All right! Looks like everyone's eaten their fill. Now let's go enjoy the ball."

Cheers burst through the hall, as if the room had been waiting for nothing else.

The ballroom occupied the top floor of the Edfolk estate in Caipol, a space ordinarily used as a restaurant.

Called a masterpiece of the Edfolk, it had the virtue of looking down over the city from the highest story. True to Caipol's name as a city of commerce, lights glittered here and there, and yet darkness lay over the whole, so that the night sky and the stars that kept watch over it seemed to have come all the way down to the earth.

Everyone stood with a glass in hand, taking the sight in. Yulia had stepped away to help Rachel with the proceedings, and in her absence Blow's table had settled a little apart from the floor where one could dance. The banquet he had prepared was over, and he wanted nothing more than to drink a glass in peace.

"Come on, a round for everyone!"

Straight had succeeded, and inquiries were pouring in about the tomatoes and the pizza besides. With that weight set down, nothing restrained him.

"Young master, aren't you drinking a bit fast?"

"Herbena, you have no idea how much I fretted over this."

"I do! I do... I'm worried, that's all."

Herbena pouted, half afraid she was being compared to Jane again, and Blow answered her at his ease.

"You think this much would get me drunk? You know how much beer I put away every day just keeping pace with Skadi."

"That's true, but..."

"Then take a glass yourself."

"If you're the one pouring."

Ropert Rose rose once more in his hand, and one by one they received a glass.

Rebecca murmured to Skadi.

"You drank that much with that Blow Deblique, every day?"

"...Well, it just sort of happened. Yes."

"Hmm..."

Skadi quietly avoided the eyes fixed steadily upon her.

A little later the orchestra that would play came in and began to tune. A few who had already chosen partners for the evening were trading heated looks. Through all of it, Blow Deblique went on emptying his Ropert Rose without a thought in his head.

"This is all right, isn't it, Jane?"

"Yes. It's light, so it suits me, but..."

"Why so timid all of a sudden?"

"It's Ropert. You said you wouldn't drink it, young master."

"And then it all fell apart the day of, thanks to you."

"Are we telling that story again?"

"I intend to tell it until I die."

"..."

Herbena, watching them, chuckled.

"That was on you, Jane."

"Herbena, even you..."

"Well, it was."

She touched her glass to Jane's, who wore a prim, sulky look.

Before long the tuning in the hall ceased, and onto the empty floor couples gathered, one pair, then two, hands joined. Skadi, who had been dithering all the while, came up to Blow.

"Blow."

"Yeah? What, want a drink?"

"I'll drink later."

"What's this? You, turning down a drink."

"With me..."

Skadi's lips parted and closed. Blow tilted his head. Jane, at his side, gave her a nod, and seeing it, Skadi found just enough courage to speak.

"Let's dance..."

"Hm? What was that?"

"A dance... let's do one song."

"Dance? Didn't the handsome men of the capital ask you? With them..."

"I've never learned how, so it's a little..."

"Yeah? Then there's no helping it."

"Y-you mean it?"

"Yeah. I mean it."

Only then did Skadi let out a deep sigh of relief. Around the same moment, a minuet announcing the start of the ball began to ring through the hall.

A little later Yulia, her preparations finished, joined the table and beamed at Blow.

"Young master! You don't have a partner, do you? Then with me—!"

"Ah, Princess. It's Skadi's first time. She asked me to show her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a little."

"What?"

"Right?"

At his question Skadi, her face red, barely managed a nod.

"Mm..."

"They'll put a waltz on, and I can teach her then. Just until then."

Yulia gazed at him, lips pressed tight, and then, with some difficulty, smiled.

"Young master."

"Yes, Princess."

"The next one has to be with me."

"It would be an honor, Princess! Not as if anyone else is going to ask me to dance."

"You could be the one to ask, couldn't you?"

"Ah, I'm drained to the bone just now. I haven't a thought in my head."

While Yulia smiled at that, Herbena's face was far from pleased. At this Black Bridge Gathering, she was his confidant, and the difference in station meant she could not ask him to dance. Vaguely irritated, she fiddled with her hair for no reason at all, then filled her own glass to the brim with what remained of the Ropert Rose.

Jane, seeing it poured until it nearly overflowed, stared at her with wide round eyes.

"Herbena?"

"What?"

"No, the drink..."

"I just feel like drinking. Right now."

Soon the distinctive pulse of a waltz filled the hall, and Blow held out his hand to Skadi.

"Let's go."

Only when she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠saw the offered hand did it finally feel real. Skadi barely stilled her trembling and took it.

"Okay..."

"Don't tense up so much."

When the two stepped out onto the floor, every eye turned naturally toward them. Skadi, tight with nerves, felt again as she had when she first entered the hall—as if she could see nothing at all in front of her.

"What do I do, I..."

"Excuse me a moment."

Blow set a hand at her waist as if it were nothing, and lifted the arm of the hand he held. Skadi flinched, then, as the others did, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠laid her hand on his shoulder as naturally as she could manage.

"Good. Just like that. Read me, and follow."

"What does that even..."

"Follow me in the large movements, and in the small ones, move as if you're doing the opposite. That should do it."

"I don't understand..."

"You will once you try."

He moved his feet slowly, so she might feel the beat. Skadi thought of nothing but not stepping on him, and little by little she followed. The moment their bodies drew flush, Blow whispered at her ear.

"You're doing well."

"..."

"Does flight magic have anything to do with coordination? For a first time, you're better than decent."

He said it while gliding them clear of a couple sweeping in. Skadi, startled for an instant, answered in a small, careful voice.

"You've... danced quite a lot, haven't you."

"First year. I just went here and there."

At the voice murmuring in her ear, the tips of her ears colored.

Before long her feet had grown a little surer, and only then did she truly realize how closely she was pressed against him. Her shoulders drew in. She looked up at Blow, and his hand patted her waist, gentle.

"Hard going? It is your first..."

"No. No, I'm all right."

"Just until this piece is over."

She moved again as he led, and soon she was like a fish that no longer notices the water. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠line of the music, the people passing at her side—all of it receded from her mind, until she met the eyes of Blow, looking warmly down at her.

This rapture, this pounding of her heart—surely she would remember it for a very long time.

A little later the music stopped. Applause rose, and the hall grew briefly noisy with talk. In the midst of it Skadi, her whole face red, looked up at him and barely found her voice.

"B-Blow."

"What?"

"..."

She could not make herself say that she wanted to dance a little longer.

"Thank you."

"This is nothing. Come on. Let's go drink."

Blow let go of her hand as if it were nothing and started back toward their seats with her. Yulia, who had been waiting for nothing but the end of the music, rose quietly from her chair.

Someone tapped Blow on the shoulder.

The moment Yulia saw who it was, her face all but cracked in two.

"Princess Rachel? What—"

"This one's with me, Blow Deblique."

"What? Next I was supposed to— Yulia—"

Rachel Campbell snatched his hand before he could even finish.

A waltz rose once more through the hall, and Yulia stared after them with murder in her eyes.