The Dance

Writers: Ames, Eimi
Date Posted: 3rd August 2010

Characters: Cardella, M'pan
Description: M'pan catches Cardella by surprise for a dance. Cardella begins to come out of her shell and enjoys herself.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 10, day 2 of Turn 5

Cardella

What a wonderful meal! Cardella was pleased that so many people had
enjoyed some of the baked treats she'd helped prepare during tonight's
supper. She'd even helped with many of the other food preparations.

"Desserts are nearly empty!" Someone called as they moved back into
the heart of the kitchens.

"I'll take care of it," Cardella replied, happy to have something to
do now that the meal was winding down. Filling a tray with various
sweet-treats, she made her way back into the main dining area. There
were only a handful of people still left, mostly chatting with a
friend here or there, or lingering over the last remnants of their
meal. Someone had struck up a bit of music and a few people had even
gotten up to dance, laughing and twirling. **Oh, how fun that
looked,** Cardella thought. She turned her gaze away, though. She
would never want to dance in front of everyone. She couldn't handle
knowing everyone was watching her.

Moving across the room with her tray of desserts in hand, she sidled
around the small group of performers to the dessert table. Her toes
seemed to start tapping of their own accord to the somewhat lively
music and she hid a smile that no one else could see. When she'd
emptied her tray of desserts, Cardella turned around and merely
watched the goings-on for a few minutes. Her mind already moving
towards the task of cleaning up, she started on her way back across
the room.

Suddenly a hand reached out and caught hers. "Excuse me, miss?"

"Oh," Cardella quietly exclaimed, surprised by the sudden motion. The
tray she'd held just moments before clattered to the ground, and she
could feel her cheeks heat a bit as she assumed _everyone_ must be
looking at her now.

"Can I get you something?" She asked turning toward the person who
still held her hand.

The man reached down and picked up the tray, but instead of handing it
back to her, he set it on the table. Standing to his full height he
smiled, reaching for her other hand as well. "Come on and dance with
me! Just one dance, you won't be missed."

Cardella looked longingly at the tray, even as the man took her hands in
his.

"But, um...but..." she tried to protest, but somehow they were already
farther from the table, amid the other dancers. She felt her face
flushed red with embarrassment. Cardella _hated_ being the center of
attention, and now she felt as though every eye was boring into her
back.

"I really should get back to the kitchens," she tried to tell him,
just as the music picked up the pace once again.

"One dance," he insisted with a kind and encouraging smile. "Have a
little fun."

Cardella tried to protest again, but they were already standing amid
the other dancers. Every eye _must_ be trained on her, she could just
feel it. In reality, hardly anyone had noticed the pair. Feeling stiff
and uncomfortable, Cardella was a bit clumsy as she tried to move with
him to the music.

"I don't think I'm a very good dancer," she murmured, casting her eyes
away from his in embarrassment.

"You're doing fine," he assured her as he kept the dance simple. No
special flourishes or turns until she could get the rhythm down. "Just
let me lead and listen to the music."

He was so kind and encouraging, Cardella couldn't help but begin to
relax. She still wasn't quite there, but her feet began to move with
his, her body began to feel the rhythm of the music and his gentle
leading motions. Suddenly, her face brightened into a smile as she
felt that she was actually doing a good job. She flashed that smile
towards her dance partner. It virtually lit up her entire face.

"See, you're a wonderful dancer," he nodded, feeling quite pleased with
her reaction. "Let's try a turn, eh?"

"Oh," Cardella blushed pleasantly at his compliment. Then looked at
him with wider eyes. "Oh, I'm not sure..." But she nodded her head
anyway, pleased with the way his gentle guidance had made her into a
dancer. The biggest accomplishment of the moment though was that he
had allowed her to forget for a moment to worry about what others
might think or that others were watching. Cardella felt almost like
she was alive for the first time since she'd arrived at the Weyr.

Gently, the man guided her into a turn, silently telling her where he
wanted her to go with slight pressure against the small of her back.
He
seemed quite pleased with the way she followed his lead, for he rewarded
her with another beaming smile. "See? It's easy once you get the
hang
of it!"

Cardella flashed him a magnificent smile as he guided her and showed
her that she _could_ in fact do this. She even giggled a bit at the
feeling of pride and joy she felt in that very moment.

"It's only because I've had a great teacher," she replied to his
compliment, feeling a slight blush still tint her cheeks, though not
as evident as it had been before. Cardella was enjoying herself and it
felt wonderful.

As the music wound down to it's dramatic finish, her partner gave her
one last test as he twirled her under his hand. As she came back
around to face him, and as the music faded into a slight echo against
the
cavernous walls, he kept hold of that hand and brought it to his lips
with a bow. "Thank you for the dance, miss. You're a lovely
partner," he smiled.

Cardella smiled and blushed, but this time for a different reason. She
felt alive and special, even just for a moment.

"Thank you, sir. For a wonderful dance," She said with a shy smile in
his direction. "Perhaps I'll see more of you around."

"My name is M'pan. Look for me the next dance." He wouldn't be that
hard to find.

"I'm Cardella. Thank you for the dance M'pan. I best get back to the
kitchens now." Cardella smiled at him as she spoke. This little dance
had given her more confidence than she even realized. Moving to pick
up the tray from the table where it had been sat, she looked back to
M'pan. "I look forward to another dance," she giggled a blushed a bit
before turning and hurrying off across the hall towards the kitchens.

Last updated on the August 4th 2010

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The Dance