Chrysanthemums For You [A Twisted Wonderland Fanfic]

Chapter 9

The branches of the willows swayed too and fro as the danced beneath the fronds, the airy fabric of her skirt swaying about her legs as the gentle spring breeze fluttered around her. The flowers on her crown released their petals so they spiralled around their beloved princess, and though the petals would normally fall prey to gravity, these petals continued to float through the air, spinning around the girl as if they were guided by fairies and sprites.

Gentle music drifted on the air. A song that would never fail to pick anyone up off the ground and make them dance their worries away. A song that would make people forget all their worries and woes as they danced barefoot on the ground, in fabric so light that it felt as if they were wrapped up in nothing but a cloud. That was how she felt as she danced beneath the willow. She could feel nothing but the blissful state of her mind, which seemed to bleed from her toes and seep into the ground below, illuminating the little grove with an ethereal light that sparkled like crystals and diamonds.

A hand gently wrapped around her waist and the girl turned, eyes glowing with love and laughter when she saw who had joined her beneath the willow. The boy of her dreams, with his hair like fire and his eyes like amber. He released her waist and gently took her hands. He guided her through the dance, spinning her in and out until she was sure she would be dizzy for the rest of the day, before pulling her to him and holding her close as they continued to glide across the lush grass below. But no matter how many times he spun her, she never once got dizzy. She felt as though she were dancing on a cloud. It was euphoric. She had never felt so light before. As if she were nothing more than a cloud herself, dancing on the breeze.

Her heart beat rapidly in her chest as her body tried to make sense of her joy. Yes she had been happy, but had she ever been this joyful? She couldn't think of a time when she had. She couldn't remember a time when she felt as if she were floating away on a breeze rather than being confined to the ground by her own mortal bonds. She couldn't remember a time when she felt as though her heart might just fly straight out of her chest, free to sail on the winds as it screamed to the world how happy it was. She was so happy it almost hurt. She had never felt anything like this.

And then he kissed her. He wrapped her up in his arms, holding her against him in every way possible, and he kissed her. He kissed her completely and fully, one of his arms around her shoulders, the other around her waist. His thumb found the spot on her waist where there was no fabric to cover it and he pressed against her soft skin, gently rubbing the spot as if trying to ground her. But how could she be grounded when she felt like this? She cupped his cheeks and held him close, kissing him again and again and again until she had memorised what it felt like to kiss him. And still she didn't stop. She didn't want to forget what it felt like to kiss him.

They broke the kiss and he spun her around in the air, the f/c fibres of her skirt flying as chrysanthemum petals spiralled out around them in a whirl of petals. The wind wrapped the loving couple up in a cool embrace, as if it wished to carry them to the sky above where they would be free to love and dance on the clouds that hung over the island.