The Last Dance

Chapter 2

Mirabelle and her fiance walk to the center of the ballroom, hand in hand. William, her betrothed, had been affianced to her since she was only fourteen years old. In the four years that they had been betrothed, he had visited a handful of times, and Mirabelle had always seemed to enjoy his company.

As they danced and twirled across the dance floor, it seemed that her opinion on him hadn't changed. She smiled into his eyes and seemingly enjoyed his sense of humor, laughing every so often. Even the people standing around Delilah seemed to have noticed, and they commented on how happy they seemed together.

Delilah had met him a few times as well, and she couldn't say anything negative about him. He truly was a kind man, and Delilah was sure that he would treat Mirabelle with the same respect that he would show any man. She hated that she couldn't say anything bad about him.

Midway through the song, the parents of the two made their way onto the dancefloor, joining the dance. The three pairs were the epitome of grace, and if all eyes had not been on the dancefloor before, they certainly would be now. Mirabelle loved dancing only slightly less than she loved adoration, and that was clear on her face, her beautiful smile going from ear to ear.

***

Delilah had seen that smile directed at herself many times before. Delilah had received that same smile countless times during their childhood, and the number grew exponentially when Delilah reached twelve and became Mirabelle's lady in waiting.

Although it is unusual for a lady in waiting to live with their princess, no one batted an eye when Delilah moved into Mirabelle's room. Delilah's mother was a lady in waiting for the queen, and so Delilah had lived in the palace her entire life. When Mirabelle was born a year after Delilah, they were raised together, and grew up inseparable. It made sense to them that the two best friends would take that opportunity to stay in the same room.

When Delilah moved into Mirabelle's room, they began to spend almost every hour of every day together. For most friends, that would be too much, but not for them. It didn't bother them at all, because they weren't friends, they were so much more.

Delilah had realized that she was in love with Mirabelle when she was nine. Mirabelle had realized that she was in love with Delilah the following year, after she had turned nine as well. Mirabelle confessed her love to Delilah when she was ten and Delilah was eleven. When they had the chance to share a room a year later, they took it gladly.

They would often hole up in that room for days, only leaving to sneak into the kitchen to steal food and racing back up. They loved the feeling of being mischievous, and of having even more secrets kept only between them. They loved being the only two that knew about what they had together.

When they outgrew their troublemaking phase, they began to make other secrets.

They would wait until it was late enough that everyone would be asleep — even though there weren't any bedrooms close enough for anyone to hear them — and they would move all of the furniture away from the corner of the room with all the windows.

They would hold each other tight and sway around in the moonlight for hours, not saying any words. They would just sway in eachother's arms and bask in the faint light and the love that they had for each other.

Occasionally, usually after a really good day, one of them would hum a little tune, and their dance would get a little happier. Mirabelle would hold Delilah's hand high in the air as Delilah twirled in place underneath it.