Dark Dance

My sisters and I gathered in the Great Hall for breakfast the following morning. Sam had been at the castle for seven days. He calmly ate his eggs and hotcakes. He caught my eye as I entered the room, and a smile ghosted across his lips. The door flew open with a bang and our father strode brusquely into the room. He settled himself into his seat at the head of the table, and surveyed us silently for a few moments.

"So the handmaidens have informed me that it was not just your shoes, but your dresses as well that were damaged beyond repair this morning." We said nothing. Father arched an eyebrow and turned to Sam.

"Well, Mr. Embry? Have you anything to tell me?"

Sam's eyes flickered to mine, as though he were asking my permission. I felt Priscilla's glare on me, but I nodded anyway. Sam rose.

"Yes, Your Highness. I have the answers you've been seeking."

My father looked taken aback. "Do you now? Well, then. On with it."

"Your lovely daughters were bewitched, Sire. The mirror in their bedroom was truly an enchanted doorway. It led through three forests, and then a ballroom. Every night, the princesses were beckoned through the mirror to dance with twelve princes."

"Why would there be twelve princes in my daughters' mirror?"

"Well they weren't really princes, Your Highness. They were actually very old, very dangerous warlocks. Long ago they tampered too deeply into dark magic, and harnessed the power of natural disasters. They became, essentially, living manifestations of these disasters. Centuries ago a witch cursed them, locking them in a cage past the three forests. But after time the curse grew thin, and the warlocks were able to start gaining back their powers, both over nature and over their surroundings. They made the forests and cage look like magical places, and tricked your daughters into dancing with them in an attempt to woo them. They needed your daughters to fully break the spell and come completely back into their powers. They were going to bond with the princesses, turning them into their thralls. Princess Judith and Princess Leila discovered this, and when the warlocks realized they were onto them, they dragged all the princesses through the mirror, trying to trap them there and force them to undergo the bonding. They would all probably be dead now if it hadn't been for Judith and Leila's bravery and quick thinking."

The king's eyebrows had shot up so far they fairly disappeared into his hairline. He waited for one of us to deny it, but we all just kept our eyes trained on our plates.

Finally he said, "and how did you manage to find all this out, Mr. Embry?"

"I've traveled far and wide since I left the Fleet," Sam explained. "At one point in my wanderings I rescued an old woman from highway robbers. As a thanks, she gave me a magical pendant, to warn me of danger and spells meant to do me harm, and she also gave me a cloak of invisibility. That's how I was able to follow the princesses through the mirror-portal unseen. And thank the dragons for that, because that's how I was able to slip into the mirror when the warlocks dragged the princesses through."

For a long while Father sat there, taking all that in. Finally he wiped a hand tiredly over his face. He turned to Judith.

"Judith, you've always been headstrong, but you are the eldest, and you've never been in the habit of lying. Is this all true?"

Judith met Father's eyes and nodded slowly. "Every word of it," she said softly. "And we probably wouldn't have all made it out of there alive if not for Sam," she added.

"Very well. Mr. Embry, it seems I owe you a great deal. You solved the mystery that countless others could not, and it seems you played a rather large role in saving my daughters' lives. As was stated in the decree, you may choose any of them to marry. Have you already made that choice?"

Sam's deep green eyes stared straight into my soul as I sat there, heart pounding.

"Yes, Your Highness," Sam said, his voice strong and deliberate, his gaze never wavering from mine. "I believe I have."

"It certainly seems that way," Father said with a slight chuckle, glancing at me out of his periphery vision. "Would you prefer a more elaborate affair, or-"

"I think something small and soon would be preferable, with all due respect, Your Grace."

"I figured as much."

I smiled so hard my cheeks hurt.

* * * *

I had never given much thought one way or the other to my appearance, but on the day I married Sam, I couldn't help but admire my reflection. We were wed a mere two weeks after we defeated the warlocks. I wriggled in my seat, trying to make my numb butt come back to life as my sisters fawned over me. Roselyn tended to my make-up, while Savannah and Terra had selected the dress and shoes and Christina and Adelaide both worked on my hair. The others simply sat around in our room, finishing their own last minute primping and gushing about how wonderful weddings were. Even Priscilla had nothing snide to say other than, "I can't believe my youngest sister is getting married first."

Savannah and Ryan wouldn't be wed for another several months, since they were planning a huge wedding, and so far I was the only one who knew that Cortez was going to whisk Judith away to Kopalnia and make her his queen. She had opted to keep the news hush-hush for a little while. I stared wide-eyed into the mirror as Roselyn applied rosy blush to my cheeks, a dewy pink gloss to my lips, and eye-shadow in varying shades of pink across my eyelids. She started with a deep rose, then applied paler and paler shades until it was nearly white at the top, beneath my eyebrow. Christina and Adelaide wove pale green and pink roses into my curls after they had curled my hair even more and sprayed some shimmery gold glitter all over it. Then they pulled some of it back into a braided crown, making one small braid down my back and letting the rest flow freely. Savannah did my nails, painting them with a deep magenta polish, and decorating the ring fingers with small white roses. Pink pearls surrounded in tiny crystals winked in my ears, and a delicate crystal rose hung around my throat.

The dress itself was cream colored silk covered in pale pink lace. It had a subtle V-neck collar, and the long sleeves billowed out from my wrists. The shoes were simple white satin heels with pink jeweled bows. Finally my nails were dry and my hair had been fixed just right. My sisters ushered me up, and Judith came forward to fasten my veil. The fabric was gauzy and, of course, pink. It trailed all the way to the floor and several inches behind me. Judith's own silvery hair was pulled up into a tight, braided bun and she looked regal in her pale blue silk gown. My mother had fiercely insisted that all my sisters dress in the same color, so I had chosen the sky blue, sleeveless dresses that were gathered up in loose ruffles on the side. Judith smiled at me, her eyes dancing as she handed me my bouquet of green, cream, and pink roses. I grinned back. It felt like I hadn't stopped grinning since Sam had told Father he wanted to marry me.

We hurried through the halls to the expansive garden where the wedding was being held. My sisters all wished me luck and filed out in a line ahead of me. I could already see my mother and and the other Ladies sitting in the front row. My heart thudded wildly inside my chest as I waited for father to come lead me down the aisle to where Sam was waiting. He had finally gotten his hair cut, although it was still a little shaggy. He was in a pressed black and white suit and he looked terribly handsome.

"Nervous?" the king's quiet question made me jump. I hadn't heard him approaching. Just goes to show how occupied my mind was; my father was not a small man. He linked elbows with me and I shook my head.

"I don't think I've ever been so certain about anything before," I confessed.

"He seems to be a good man," Father agreed with a nod. He stared at me for a moment, and I was astonished to see that his eyes looked moist. But then he blinked, and it was gone. Maybe I had imagined it. Then he led me up the grassy path, cherry blossoms floating gently around us, perfuming the air with their sweet scent. Sam's eyes lit up when he saw me, and I smiled yet again. My father released my arm when we reached the altar, and then took his seat beside the queen. I barely listened as the ceremony commenced; I just kept staring at Sam. I realized with a jolt that he was placing the ring on my finger, and I looked down. A simple golden band, with a Firestone forged from dragon fire, glinted in the sunlight. It was gold and violet and crimson, and shaped like a star. Sam gestured for me to look at the inscription, and instead of words I found a dragon breathing flames carved on the inside of the band. I beamed. The ring I'd had made for Sam was a red and gold striped band. He flashed me a smile, seeing that the red was the exact same shade as his motorcycle.

We said our "I do's," and then Sam planted a gentle kiss on my lips that sent the whole world spinning and tilting. I was vaguely aware of my family cheering and clapping, and of my sisters and mother crying. Sam and I were caught in a tide of people, leading us onto the marble patio for food and dancing. Cyrus lurked near the banquet table, intimidating people into giving him scraps. I caught sight of Judith dancing with Cortez. I had made sure to invite him personally.

"You look beautiful," Sam murmured. People had been telling me that all day, but it only really mattered coming from Sam.

"So do you," I said with a teasing smile. Then it was time to present the cake. It was a huge, layered affair, covered in raspberry and vanilla buttercream and real sugared violets. It was filled with raspberry creme. My father did the honor of cutting Sam and I our slices.

"So what do you plan to do now?" he asked us. "I wish I could appoint you as king, Mr. Embry, but law clearly states that I can't."

"I understand sir." Sam accepted his cake. "Although I must admit I'm quite all right with that. If I were king, I would have to have my lady queen attending to castle business all the time, and I'm afraid my lovely wife will have far more pressing matters to deal with."

"Oh?" Father looked at him curiously as he slipped a China plate into my hands.

"Oh, yes," Sam said, casually taking a bite. "A Dragon Rider has no time to set up castle budgets or oversee parties, after all."

A dumbstruck silence fell over the entire patio, and I froze with my fork halfway to my mouth. Sam just smiled and kept eating his cake.

"Wh-what?" I had never seen King Amos at a loss for words, nor had he ever looked so flabbergasted. It was the icing on the cake, so to speak. I admit, I set my plate down and squealed like a little girl, flinging myself into Sam's arms.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I gasped, planting kisses all over his face. He laughed, carefully holding his cake away before I smeared frosting all over my dress.

"Well as I understand it, Leila's only dream has ever been to fly a dragon," Sam said to my slack-jawed father. "As her husband, I'm honor-bound to keep her happy, aren't I?"

I heard Judith snicker from somewhere in the crowd, and Mother groaned. "Oh, heavens," she muttered.

I flung my head back, letting the soft breeze tug at my hair, and laughed. Sam spun me in a circle, and I thought I might burst from sheer happiness.

"I love you," I told Sam breathlessly.

"You don't say?" He feigned surprise. "What a coincidence. I love you too."

I captured his cheeky smile with my lips, and reveled in the sensation of finally having a dance partner who made my feet leave the ground.

E n d.