The Unwilling Protagonist

Chapter 11: Before the Dance

Y/N stared hard at himself in the mirror as he finished buttoning his suit. Tonight was the night of the party, and he had to look his best. What he was feeling was a mix of nervousness and excitement. Nervous because of all the attention he was going to get, and excited because it was a party.

"You look good." Geralt complimented.

"Do I?" Y/N asked.

"Of course! I bet you're going to be the prime interest of many young ladies~."

"Flattering, but I don't think I'll be interested in any of them."

"Oh? Have you already set your eyes on one already? That Charlotte girl, perhaps? Or what about Miriam, she seems to have an interest in you as well; and that Kara girl seems obsessed with you."

"I don't need to tell you that." Y/N glared at Geralt.

"It's alright, you don't have to. But I will say this: at big events like these it's customary for people of high-standing to dance. You're going to have to pick one of those girls."

"I already have. The next order of business is the dancing part, I guess."

Geralt had a look of shock on his face, "You don't know how to dance?!"

"No, of course not. The parties I attended mostly involved a lot of standing around and talking."

"Your parties sound boring. This is something we need to fix!"

"What? You're gonna teach me how to dance?"

"That's exactly what I'm going to do!"

Geralt stood in the middle of Y/N's room and did a bow.

"May I have this dance, hero?" He asked.

"A dance with the Devil? This is going to end well..." Y/N replied sarcastically.

"Please, call me Geralt. Trust me Y/N, most of these people don't know you; their impression of you is going to be based off of how you behave, and how you dance."

"That's a bit superficial..."

"As is the case with nobles and individuals of high standing."

"You make a very good point..."

Theme of Geralt:

Y/N walked up to Geralt, and the two proceeded to have their impromptu dance lesson. Y/N obviously knew the basic parts, such as how to hold his partner, but his footwork was terrible. It took him nearly 15 minutes to learn how to waltz in step, and another 10 to work in the details of a dance, such as twirling his partner, adjusting his step for different dance styles, etc. Despite the frustration Y/N endured, Geralt was happily humming the waltz.

"How do you know how to dance so well?" Y/N asked.

"I told you, I was married." Geralt replied.

During this time, Kara, being Kara, sneaked a peek through the keyhole into Y/N's room. To her, it looked like Y/N was dancing by himself. She stared for a while before Miriam and Charlotte showed up.

"What do you think you're doing?" Miriam asked firmly.

Kara looked back, blank-faced as usual, and pointed in the keyhole.

"Y/N's dancing." She said.

"What? With who?" Miriam asked.

"Nobody."