Evening Tales: Dark Academia Short Stories

A Dance with Your Enemy

The music played as I approached the large ivory doors that would lead me to the ballroom. Swish, swish, swish. My dress moved along the marbled hall: pale blue and shimmering like a thousand stars. The doors opened to reveal a large circular room, filled with dancing lords and ladies, kings and queens. The dresses swirled in a thousand different arrays of color and the musicians played with tangible joy. 

His attention snapped to me as soon as I stepped foot into that room. Everything about him made my body scream to get away; leave and never look back. But it was not so simple. No, this was a war of heart and mind, and my heart won it this time. 

A lazy smirk spread across his face, golden goblet in hand. He remained in his place, next to two other men. They were nothing compared to him. Where the two men beside him were humanly handsome, their faces bright and graceful in their youth, the tall man staring at me had the lethal grace of a thousand years. His dark suit was tailored perfectly to his body and the top buttons had been left undone. His coal black hair hung slightly in his face, and his pale skin stood in stark contrast against it. He placed his goblet in one of the gentleman's hands, and moved toward me. He moved with such lethal grace that I almost forgot who I was, and why I was here. 

"Late, as always." He breathed as he reached my side. 

"I was here. I just didn't feel like seeing your face so soon." 

"Ah, I see." he said, not truly believing me. We both knew what we were to each other. "Care to dance, oh careless one?" 

"With you?" I scrunched my nose in distaste, "Never."

He reached for my waist and pulled me to him in one fluid motion, "We have done much more than dance, my lady." He purred into my ear and I thought I might melt. 

"One dance." 

He swept me out to the dance floor, placing his hand on the small of my back. I positioned my arm on his shoulder, reluctantly placing my other hand in his. The small skin-to-skin contact made my hand burn up and I felt like fleeing. The music began and we started to twirl around the ballroom.

"My father wants you dead, you know." I reminded him. 

"Is that why you have come tonight?" He chuckled, "killing me will take much more than you, cruel beauty." 

"I wouldn't underestimate me. You know what happened before." 

"I certainly remember how it ended." He smirked, and I spun, slamming my heel into his foot, resulting in a stifled grunt. "So cruel." 

"I won't be so sloppy this time." 

"No, you won't." He said coolly, "But you aren't the only one with an agenda tonight." 

"Oh? Have you finally gotten over that heart of yours and decided to kill me?" 

He looked at me with an emotion that could have been sadness. Those eyes, so blue and piercing, I wanted to swim in them. 

"No need for violence," he said as he spun me, "yet." 

The time passed quickly, with occasional jabs and insults thrown at one another. Three dances later, we moved from the dancefloor to an adjoining room, breathless and slightly pink in the face. The room was almost entirely made of glass and offered a view of the mountains spread far below the castle. It was dark now, and the stars sparkled through the sky. We were the only ones here. 

"I never wanted this, you know." He sighed, running a hand through his coal hair. 

"Neither of us did," I said, straightening my skirts if only to keep my hands busy. 

"No," he took my hands and looked me in the eyes, "I never wanted...I never wanted to hurt you. I could never regret this. Whatever it is between us." When I didn't reply, he continued, "Our families have been sworn enemies since Creation. But I never wanted that. I always questioned it." 

"I am Lady Day. You are Lord of Night. It was doomed from the start." 

"Don't say that." He dropped my hands and strolled to the window.

"It is the truth." I said.

"I will ask this once, and only once." He turned to me and his features were perfectly illuminated by the glow of the moon. The music floating through the doors to the ongoing ball changed to another song.

"What is it?"

"Will you have me?" I went numb as the words left his mouth, "No more of this, this, fighting. Of this hurting one another. Be mine. And I will equally be yours." He began to approach me, like a lion cornering his prey, "I can't take this anymore." 

"I don't understand." I swallowed the lump from my throat.

"Oh but you do," Closer. He was getting closer. "Kill me, now, or take me as your own."

I gawked, "You can't mean that." 

"I do." A hallow laugh, "I am done fighting you, my love. I am done pretending." 

I slid the dagger from my thigh under my dress and unsheathed it. His calm demeanor remained the same, but a dark sadness filled his eyes where there had once been humor and starlight. 

"Make me your villain, then." He sighed and slid his hands into the pockets of his onyx pants. 

"Raise your sword, and fight me." My hand was shaking, "I won't kill you unarmed."

"I told you, I am done fighting."

"Fight," a tear slid down my cheek and his breath sharpened at the sight of it. He strode to me, not caring that I held my dagger toward him. He embraced me as I lowered the pearl heeled dagger. His scent was a cocoon around me. "Don't do this." I pleaded. He simply brushed the tears from my face and gave me a small smile, waiting. 

It all happened so fast, in a whirl wind of emotions: my dagger clattered to the ground as he took my face in his hands, studying every detail of every feature. Still locked in his embrace, my knees gave way and before I reached the ground he had swept me up in his arms, slamming his mouth on mine. His kiss was darkness and light, death and life, night and day. It was passionate, and fierce and angry. I kissed him back with an equal fire, our lips burning. His tongue found mine in this dark dance. I entwined my arms around his neck, pulling at his hair and earning a growl from him. 

Our kiss was poison; it was never meant to be. But there we stood, cloaked in darkness and yet so filled with light. He was the midnight sky and I was his stars; without one, there could not be the other. 

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If you enjoyed this chapter, check out my new story, "The Raven Lord", which is based off of the characters and events here :)