Chương 85: Book 2 Chapter 37 - Reality Is Much More Complicated

Kiara froze as her mind raced to catch up with what was happening. She replayed the last few seconds in her mind. Kane had just asked her to dance, and she had agreed. The song for the current dance ended, and Kane held out his hand like a true gentleman, a look of mild interest on his face. Kiara hesitantly accepted it, and he led her out onto the floor. As they moved onto the floor, Kiara spotted Zoey.

She had moved from her place along the wall, and had begun moving towards Kane and Kiara, but was now just standing there in shock. Kiara didn't blame her. She herself was still in a bit of shock. Zoey shook her head abruptly to reset her brain, then moved back towards the wall to continue her vigilance. The music started, and Kane stepped close. He smelled of vanilla and cedarwood, a gentle but pleasant musk. She blinked a few times to clear her mind. Why did he smell so good?

And why was she paying attention to how he smelled? His hand found her waist, and he began leading her in the dance. As the dance progressed, she lost track of her thoughts, instead feeling the music and moving with the rhythm. Kane was an incredible dancer. He had an unmatched grace and ability to guide the dance in a wonderful unbroken sequence. If not for her two previous experiences with the man, she would have found this experience quite fun.

As it was, the dichotomy of his refined, perfectly gentlemanly behavior tonight versus the arrogant, power-hungry jerk that she knew him to be warred in her mind. The danger sense in the back of her mind pinged her the entire time that this man was an incredibly powerful and dangerous tier 4. That feeling mixed with the enjoyment of the dance to give her quite a thrill.

It was like sliding headfirst down a steep mountain on a metal shield: incredibly fun, and perfectly safe as long as you didn't crash into something. The song ended, and Kiara felt a small sadness and sense of loss. She wanted the music to continue for just a moment longer so the dancing didn't have to end quite yet. She quickly pushed those feelings aside, reining herself in. They bowed to each other, and Kiara moved off the dance floor, fanning herself with her hand. Why was she so warm?

They must have been dancing a bit faster than usual. Or maybe there were just more people on the dance floor than there had been earlier, warming the air in the room with their physical exertion. Yeah, that must be it. She scanned the room until she saw Dustin, then beelined for him. He was mid-conversation, but exited the conversation gracefully as she approached. She grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the dance floor where they could talk without being interrupted. Her thoughts were a mess.

Why was Kane Vondeer here? Why was he being so normal, and not acting like a complete show boat tonight? And most importantly, why was she so flustered? She took a calming breath as they began dancing. Dustin studied her momentarily.

"Are you okay?" She nodded.

"Kane is here."

"Mmm hmm, I saw him come in earlier with Baron Norshod." Kaira looked up sharply.

"Baron Norshod is here too?" Dustin nodded.

"They arrived about twenty minutes ago." He paused, then added, "I didn't realize Kane would ask you to dance, that was… unexpected." Kiara continued breathing deeply, settling into the rhythm of the dance moves and the comfortable, grounding presence that Dustin offered.

"It caught me off guard, too," she replied after a moment.

"Why's he being so weird tonight?" Dustin locked eyes with her again.

"Weird? How so?" Kiara shrugged.

"He isn't smashing his aura into everyone. None of the servants have fainted, no one has screamed. If I didn't know any better, I'd assume he was a perfect gentleman."

"Perhaps he has turned over a new leaf." Kiara looked Dustin in the eyes.

"You can't be serious?" Dustin laughed.

"No, of course not. His behavior is odd, you're right. If I had to guess, I'd wager that we'll see more surprises before the night is through. What those surprises might be remains to be seen." They finished the dance and Kiara took another break, finding something to eat and drink. She sat next to Henry while she ate. He was once again seated in the same corner she had first seen him in.

"Why don't you dance more?" she asked him around a mouthful of food.

"With you, Lady Shian?" he asked. She shook her head.

"No, like in general." She motioned to all of the women standing nearby.

"With some of them." If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. His face drained of blood at the prospect as he looked around.

"I… I don't know any of them all that well, and… well, I don't think any of them would want to dance with me. Even if they did, I'm not sure how to… go about asking them." He seemed afraid, not of the dancing itself, but of the social interaction leading up to the dance, or maybe of some perceived expectation of conversation during the dance. Kiara had pleasant conversation with some of the men she danced with, but with others she simply enjoyed the moment, with no conversation needed.

"Well, to your first point, a lot of these young ladies would be thrilled to dance with you, Henry. Many of them wait all night for dance partners, only dancing once or twice, and they lack the courage to go ask a young man themselves. They want to dance with you as much as you want to dance with them, that's the first thing you need to remember.

"To your second point, asking them is easy. It's literally the same exact thing every single time. Someone comes up to me, and says 'May I have the pleasure of the next dance?', and I tell them yes, and then we go dance. You don't have to say anything while you dance, just enjoy the moment and dance until the music stops." Henry considered her words for a moment.

"It seems so easy when you lay it all out like that."

"That's because it is easy." He shook his head.

"Some might say that wielding a sword is easy. You just stab the other guy with the sharp part, right? It's too simplistic of an analysis, though. Reality is much more complicated."

"Yeah, but I literally told you exactly what to say. You just go say it."

"I could explain in great detail every single step of Fire Form, but for a first time user to then go execute Fire Form perfectly just from my explanation would be nothing short of a minor miracle. The words sound simple when you say them here, but once I'm standing in front of a young lady, I assure you that I will do the social equivalent of tripping over my own feet and impaling myself on my sword." Kiara laughed. Not at him, but at the absurdity of his analogy.

"And how would that first time user get better?" she countered. Henry bowed his head in defeat.

"By practicing, of course."

"Right you are," Kiara replied.

"So practice here with me." He raised an eyebrow at her.

"We aren't actually going to dance again," she said.

"At least, not tonight. I've been told that might lead to the wrong impression for anyone watching. But practice asking me, all the same." He took a deep breath, steeling himself.

"My lady, I um.. My wish is… that is…"

"Hey, relax," she interrupted him.

"Repeat after me: Might I have the pleasure of this next dance?" He repeated it word for word.

"Might I have the pleasure of this next dance?"

"Good! Ask it again." He asked her again. She had him repeat it ten more times, then scanned the crowd, looking for a suitable target. She spotted a young woman, probably eighteen, who was standing by herself off to the side. The young woman was glancing around hopefully, getting visibly excited anytime she thought someone was approaching her to ask for a dance. She was pretty, but not to the point that Henry would forget his own name when asking her to dance.

"That girl right there," she said, pointing.

"She's been waiting for a dance for a while now. See how hopeful she gets every time a guy walks by?" Henry nodded.

"That's your first dance partner. Go ask her to dance. Use the exact same words you just practiced with me. She will be thrilled to dance with you."

"She would be thrilled to dance with anyone," Henry said in a self-deprecating tone.

"Exactly!" Kiara replied with a big smile.

"It's good to practice your first few times with an eager audience. Now go." Henry stood, repeated the question one more time to himself under his breath, squared his shoulders, then made his way over to the young woman. Her face lit up as he approached, and she erupted into a massive smile as he popped the question. Well, not 'the question', but the 'will you dance with me' question. Her smile never faded throughout the entire dance, and she stared adoringly up at Henry the entire time.

Afterward, as Henry made his way back to the table Kiara was sitting at, Kiara caught the young girl stealing shy glances at Henry's retreating form. Kiara found another suitable target for Henry to approach, a young woman who also accepted his invitation quite eagerly. Then, for his third attempt, he pointed one out himself. He had learned what signs to look for to find a willing dance partner. By this point, he was no longer hesitant to ask them to dance, either.

The positive responses so far had bolstered his confidence in that portion of the social interaction. After that, Kiara accepted another dance from a young gentleman she hadn't met before. Halfway through the dance, pandemonium erupted near the doors of the dance hall. Some servants burst in, calling loudly for Lord Norse, who quickly made his way to the door, apologizing profusely to those he passed for the interruption.

Kiara was far enough from the door that she didn't hear the details, but she was able to pick out the word 'fire' over and over again. Lord Norse left the dance hall in a hurry, followed by his servants. The music had stopped mid-song, and the party guests had begun small side conversations, speculating on what the cause of the disruption might have been. Kane, who had been dancing with quite a few ladies throughout the night, was now standing next to Baron Norshod, whispering in his ear.

Baron Norshod looked quite pleased, although Kiara couldn't say for sure what about. A few of the guests left the hall, announcing that they would check if there was any danger to the house or those present. They returned a few minutes later, declaring that everything was fine, although Lord Norse was nowhere to be seen. The music eventually started back up, and dancing re-commenced. About twenty minutes later, however, Lord Norse returned, covered it soot and sweat.

His appearance was quite disheveled, but he seemed exhausted enough not to care about his appearance at the moment. He motioned for the band to stop playing, then made a short announcement. Apparently, one of House Norse's largest warehouses had caught fire, despite the many protective wards that House Norse employed on their storage facilities. The cause of the fire was still being investigated.

Two of his workers had died before the fire could be contained, and the warehouse was a complete ruin, along with everything in it. With that somber turn of events, he politely ended the party, thanking everyone for coming, but indicating that his house had more important matters to attend to at present. Kiara found Dustin and Jaden, then met up with Zoey, and they all followed the crowd out the doors to the waiting carriages.