Aisling Wilde (showmeonce) wrote in emillion, |
She still needed to find the damnable guest book - who the fuck does this to their guild? She was pretty sure that Duhl and Xi weren’t such fucking pranksters - and the easiest way to do that was intel. And for Ash, that was the perfect excuse to dance. Which meant that she needed a partner, since Basil had decided to dance with anyone who he could get his hands on. If he leaves me high and dry, I will bite his fucking dick, she thought irritably.
Glancing around the room, she caught sight of someone who was off to the side, clearly by himself. On the other side of the room was Reinholdt. She’d have to ask him for a dance later - it was only polite, after all - but right now, he was the last person she wanted to talk to. If it hadn’t been for him, she wouldn’t be here.
Putting on her best smile, she sashayed the short distance and planted herself firmly in front of the man. “Good evening,” she said pleasantly. “Aisling Wilde. May I ask you for this dance?”
It wasn’t that Lavitz wasn’t used to women being demanding or forward-- it was mostly that it still surprised him, even decades later. Noblewomen generally waited to be asked to dance, or hinted that they wished to be, though it wasn’t always the case. The only woman who generally made demands of him was the one he’d come to the ball with, but she had once again been expertly dodged.
This one, though, she was a surprise, though not a bad one. “Lavitz fon Amell,” he returned out of habit, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “And I find I’m usually the one to ask that first.” But he did hold out a hand palm up, fully expecting her to take it-- or drag him away, worst case scenario.
She didn’t recognize the name, which really didn’t mean jack shit. She was good with names, but she was even better with bodies and faces. Unfortunately, it was a masque, so any thoughts of getting a look at his face to see if she knew him was out. For now, the best move would be to assume she’d never met him, even though it was easier getting info out the nobles that she’d known for one reason or another. “I find that if I await a dance partner, I’ll wait all night,” she said, keeping her voice light.
In truth, once most people saw her dance, it was hard to dodge all the men - and a few women - who wanted to look graceful on the floor by being her partner. A good dancer could make anyone look good, especially if the person she had to make look good had some training.
Placing her hand in his, she let him lead her to the dancefloor. She was itching to adjust her mask, but there was no point. The fucking thing would just slide again, and her dance partner was noble, which meant she could close her eyes and let him lead. She didn’t need to see to talk.
With decades of being a noble under his belt, having learned to dance with Eris at a young age, Lavitz could say for certain that he was among one of the more experienced ballroom dancers there, though he was hardly one to boast. He’d spotted Ash earlier -- or rather, her mask -- yet he hadn’t seen her dance, and he hadn’t assumed how she did so. Generally, being pleasantly surprised was a good thing. Once they reached a suitable spot and his hand immediately drifted down to the small of her back, he pulled assembled them into position.
“Shall we?”