PLEASE READ THE FOREWORD!
| enemies to lovers | dagger to throat | morally grey oc | slow-burn | dark themes | gore | violence | toxicity | corruption arc | golden era | mythology references | dark fantasy | 18+
Ariadne smirked at him, staring at b...
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𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖘𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖊𝖊𝖓
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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐌𝐄 𝐈𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐃 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐋.
Most prominent guests had already arrived, forming a sparkling queue that snaked its way from the wrought-iron gates to the front doors. Guards stood, stationed there, inspecting invites, asking questions, and staring into the faces of many witches and wizards who belonged to high wizarding society. On the other hand, the entertainers were told to enter through one of the side doors. They had opened the front gates, letting so many magicians enter, for the gate wouldn't keep track of everyone entering.
That was where Ariadne had infiltrated and found a troupe of dancers clad in costumes of ivory tulle and silk and lace, like a liquid night in the midmorning sun. Heavy cosmetics covered Ariadne's face to enhance the idea of swans, but it felt suffocating, as if it was scalding her skin. She dismissed it as nervousness.
Ariadne was no amateur in the art of ballet. The ballet was one of the art forms that demanded patience, discipline, and balance, it was one of the most strenuous sports, and for a trained assassin, it was helpful to learn grace and silence breathtakingly.
In her earlier years, Tao had made her take classes. He had found an older woman as an instructor and had molded her into a dancer. The ballet was an art looked down upon; many people thought it was easy. Alas, it wasn't.
But what no one knew about the art of dancing ballet was that it was self-destructing. Your toenails pushed in, and you developed terrible eating habits that slowly killed you from the inside out. With ballet, you had to dance with your tippy-toes, inside and outside the dance world.
In truth, she was not supposed to be here. Yasmine had helped her try to get inside Malfoy Manor. The muggle-born had been so skilled that she had torn through one of the ballet dancer's minds that she had convinced her to give Ariadne her costume and to reminiscence the choreography so that Ariadne wouldn't be lost.
Soon enough, Levina and Celestia would be in the glittering line to enter Malfoy Manor and attend the Spring Ball.
Ariadne focused on the entrance where six guards were stationed, flanking each side of the small door where the dancers would go in and make a spectacle that would dazzle all the ball guests. Her torso ached from the tightness of her costume, but she'd have to deal with it. It had taken hours to convince her friends and another few hours to render the dancer unconscious.
