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Abirami

Ophelia turned, her face shining with exuberance.

“Did that make sense?” she asked.

Did it make sense?

I nodded.

Sure, I definitely saw what they did… now, could I do that? That was a different question altogether.

“Can you just try the lift again?” she asked, sliding her left foot toward me ever so slightly. “Maybe I can help.”

Jade nodded vigorously and stepped away, her arms still crossed. She reached her original position, dropped her arms, and began the routine once more, coming straight at me.

Oh no… gah, calm down. Okay. Catch her. Be more fluid. Tip toes. Is this close enough? Spin in one motion. Don’t drop her. Tip toes. Is she really supposed to be this close?

Jade was still glaring at me.

I set her down and sighed, letting my shoulders droop with my spirits.

Ophelia approached me and placed an encouraging hand on my shoulder. “You don’t have to stand on your toes,”  she said.

I don’t?

“It just makes you unstable,” she continued. “There’s not enough time to really worry about technique, it’s better to just focus on not falling over.”

“Oh.” The gap between me and these dancers became more and more evident the more we practiced. Was it really okay for me to be in this with them?

Ophelia gave me a knowing smile, and I had to wonder if I had imagined the quiet little chuckle. “I know, it’s rather awkward,” she said.

Was I really that obvious? Just how could they get so close and not have it be so super awkward? I mean, what if I accidentally rubbed up against… If there wasn’t steam coming out my ears, then I was sure it was fogging up my mind for all the flames of embarrassment I felt upon my face.

“Here,” Ophelia offered, “what if you pick her up from the waist, instead of from the… armpits.”

I looked at her curiously. From the waist? Thinking to the time when I tried to do that with Setti, he had cried out.

“Wouldn’t that hurt her though?” I asked.

Jade scoffed. “You don’t need to worry about me.”

“You sure?” I asked, hesitantly glancing at Jade in concern.

My concern glanced off her glare, squelched by her consternation and superior confidence. A slim, knowing grin graced her lips.

I stared at my feet. “Okay,” I muttered. ‘I can try it, I guess.”

Jade gracefully glided over and stood with her back to me. Her hair smelled of lavender. It smelled nice, but nothing like the sweet nectarine scent of princess Puabi.

I let a small smile break through my anxiety. This was not a betrayal. This was perfectly normal for a dance between… strangers.

Closing my eyes, I said a quick prayer to the Maker, then augmented the strength of the elk. Strong, yet not overpowering… wouldn’t hurt, right?

Not knowing any better, I walked around in front of her. She gave me a strange, confused look, but then I held her waist in my hands and effortlessly raised her up three feet into the air.

Jade let out a small squeal of surprise as she seemed to stand weightless in midair, my hands about her waist. Her hands instinctually dropped down and held onto my wrists.

I laughed softly at how much easier this felt. There was no pain on Jade’s face, just surprise, and I didn’t feel any restrictions, like I didn’t have to hold her at arm’s length anymore.

The image of Ophelia and Isais ran through my head, and I felt emboldened to try just a bit of it. But… I didn’t need to tip toe it, and that was a huge added weight of my shoulders.

Placing my right foot forward and to the left of my other foot, I pushed down and out and spun, swinging us around in a single, fluid spin.

Jade recovered somewhat from her surprise and spread her arms out, swimming through the air like a hawk through a glide; her chest out as a lion roaring for her pride.

Adrenaline rushed through me, and the thrill filled my limbs. Remembering seeing the moves from before, I prepared for a jump as I came out of the spin. Took two solid steps and leapt.

Taken by surprise once more, Jade fell forward and wrapped her arms around my head. She was close. Too close. Her stomach pressed against my head, and I landed and immediately set her down and then dropped further to the ground and backed away.

“Sorry sorry,” I cried. “So sorry.”

Jade was silent, her hands on her knees, breathing deep.

Ophelia ran up. “What are you apologizing for? Sure that was a little… rough, but you did great! With a little more practice and… perhaps some more guidance, you’ll have it down!”

My knees up toward my chest, I rested my head on them and sighed.

Jade walked up, her arms on her hips as she continued to take in deep breaths. “Do it just like that, but with my back toward you. I need to always be facing the audience. You understand?”

I looked up at her, a hint of hope flickering into a light. She still wanted to dance with me?

I nodded.

She nodded. “Once more now.”

Half a dozen tries later, and two more full run-throughs, Ophelia and Jade agreed it was the best it was going to get, so I set off to find Ku, while the others went off to gather the rest of the castle crew.

 

 

Well…. gonna try to move things alone. =) Hopefully the next few posts or so will be the dance. 😉

Hope this is good….whew. Don’t know much about dance, so had to make some educated guesses…. change what you need please.

@e-n-leonard

@rose-colored-fancy