Chương 147: Chapter 146 [A Night Of Dancing]

The fabric flap pulled back and Leo stepped out into the square, which was now packed with people dressed for the occasion. The crowd started to cheer as the three of them headed towards the stage. He noticed the others stood together nearby, smiles on their faces with his three mates snapping pictures with their phones. He rolled his eyes; he knew this would come up in some terrible joke later. Parmo was beside him, looking stunned by the applause. Kai walked out ahead of both of them like it was nothing.

Whether that was because years of this had made it routine or just because it was Kai, Leo wasn't sure. Koss raised a hand and the crowd settled, though not by much.

"Before the dancing begins," she said, "we have one last tradition." Two of the guards came forward carrying small cushions, each holding a laurel crown. Wood, painted gold, simple but well made. Koss took the first and placed it on Kai's head, the crown settling and shifting slightly until it sat right. Then Parmo's. Then finally Leo's. He felt it tighten just slightly as it found its fit, the wood warm against his head.

"Let's hear it," Koss said, "for this year's champions." The noise that followed was even louder than before. Leo scanned the crowd and found Phil, Sam, and Luka near the front, all three of them with their phones out, filming or taking pictures or both. Leo laughed and shook his head. Koss gestured to the side of the stage and a group near the edge of the square started playing.

Folk music, lively, instruments close enough to a guitar and a fiddle that Leo could place them roughly, a couple of wind instruments weaving through it. Nobody needed to know the steps to want to move to it. Leo walked over to Shai. She smiled at him.

"Congratulations," she said.

"The crown suits you."

"Thank you." He looked at her.

"That dress looks even better now that we match." She laughed and took his hand. They walked into the centre of the square where the crowd had cleared a space. Rika and Parmo fell in beside them, and behind them Koss came down off the stage and took Kai's hand. The music shifted into something slower as the six of them found their places. Leo found it easier than he'd expected. He was grateful Shai had shown him the steps beforehand, even if they were simple enough he could have got it quickly without the help.

It was one less thing to worry about, though, and he appreciated that. Across from them, Parmo was doing better than Leo had given him credit for, his feet finding the pattern without too much hesitation. Rika kept glancing at his feet. She hadn't taught him a thing and it showed on her face for a second, somewhere between surprised and pleased, before she just grinned and let it go. Kai and Koss moved like a couple who'd been doing this for a long time, which Leo supposed they had.

"Enjoying yourself?" Shai asked.

"Yeah." He smiled.

"I've loved the last two days."

"Me too." The song ended and the crowd applauded again. More couples started moving into the space, the dancing opening up into something less formal and more like a proper party. Further out, the music carried down the streets feeding into the square, other instruments picking it up in other parts of the village. It wasn't just one dance in one place anymore. The whole village was now one big party. Tables of food and drink were scattered along the edges of the square and down the streets, free for anyone passing.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Leo spotted Luka first. He was dancing with a half-orc woman who had to be a foot taller than Leo himself, long black hair threaded with small beads and wooden trinkets, the kind that marked which tribe she came from. Her outfit was somewhere between a bustier and tribal dress, a wrapped skirt that fell somewhere between a loincloth and something more formal, with sensible shoes underneath all of it.

Watching Luka try to lead someone almost twice his size was easily the funniest thing he'd seen all day. The woman didn't seem to mind in the slightest, grinning down at him every time he got a step wrong, and Luka didn't seem bothered either, laughing along with her. Not far from them, Sam was dancing with an elf in a flowing blue and silver robe, fitted tight through the chest and waist before falling loose from there, the sleeves long enough to cover her hands when she gestured.

The two of them looked like they were in the middle of a debate, which was funny considering they were also dancing. He fired questions at her faster than she could answer, which only made her smile. I wonder what they're so interested in? Then he saw Phil. He was dancing with a wolf beast-kin woman in a fitted top and what looked like the local version of jeans, boots laced up to her shins. The whole look had nothing tribal or traditional about it, just her own style, and it suited her.

They were closer than Leo would have expected this early in an evening. Shai followed his eyeline and grinned.

"I didn't see that coming," she said.

"Who is she?"

"One of the guards. Sasha." Shai watched them for a second.

"She's Sara's sister." Leo laughed.

"Are they anything alike?"

"Similar enough. More likely to actually hit Phil if he says something stupid, though." Shai smiled.

"Might be exactly what he needs."

"Could be why they're dancing in the first place," Leo said.

"I can picture it. They started arguing, things escalated, and somehow they ended up here instead."

"That sounds about right. All that stuff about finding a dance partner and he stumbled into one because he can't keep his mouth shut."

"If that's actually what happened, I'm going to grill him for all the details."

"I mean, with the way they were doing the same this morning, that's more than fair." A little further along, Leo spotted Torren dancing with Yara. She was actually smiling, something Leo had rarely seen from her, the two of them clearly old friends, comfortable enough with each other that the conversation and the dancing seemed effortless. Klaus passed by a moment later, dancing with a woman Leo didn't recognise, looking about as content as Leo had ever seen him. He caught Leo's eye over her shoulder and smiled.

Then Leo noticed Nessa. She was dancing with someone he didn't know, but the way he moved seemed a little rigid.

"Who's that with Nessa?" he asked.

"Marco," Shai said.

"He's another from the guard. He hates dancing, so I'm curious what she did to get him here." Nessa caught the two of them looking and immediately looked away, her face colouring slightly. Leo grinned.

"Did we just embarrass her?"

"Definitely," Shai said, looking thoroughly pleased about it. The night carried on. They danced, ate, drank, and found their way back to the dance floor more than once. At one point, Leo pulled his phone out and got a photo of Phil and Sasha mid-dance, the two of them making eyes at each other. He grinned. Then, for good measure, he recorded a few seconds of video as well. He had a feeling Phil had done exactly the same thing to him at some point tonight, and it seemed only fair.

Luka disappeared somewhere around midnight, slipping off with the half-orc woman without making any kind of announcement about it. Sam went not long after, the elf's hand in his as they headed off down one of the side streets. Phil lasted a little longer than both of them, but eventually he was gone too: no goodbye, no explanation, just gone. Leo grinned. There'd be stories come morning. Eventually, he and Shai decided to call it a night. They found Parmo and Rika first, said their goodbyes, then Koss and Kai.

Kai gave Leo a short nod while Koss hugged Shai and told her to enjoy the rest of her evening. The way she said it told Leo what Koss thought was in store for the pair. They walked back through the village hand in hand, the music and the noise of the festival fading slowly behind them.