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👑 N I K O L A I 👑
"Dance is an artform, not many can master. Only a few of you will be able to grasp it – not completely obviously – but I am going to teach you everything you need to know in order to not embarrass yourself at the upcoming ball." A judgey look washed over the ladies. "Although I am not able to call upon miracles!"
If Nikolai could, he would have rolled his eyes for a thousand times during the monologue of Master Bellatrant. The strong-minded dance teacher had been around for what felt like a century, he himself had taught all royal children of Ravka and Nikolai remembered the lessons with horror. Calling the little man for a so called 'dance practise for the ball that might decide the courting season' had been Genya's idea, to test the ladies strength in ... well, everything.
"The soul communicates through your body, but you can never allow it to take over – it can end miserably, and you make your fool out of yourself. Given, you can access the essence of dance and not being caught up in remembering the steps of the current dance. These things need to be internalized! If I would be to wake you up in the middle of the night and ask you the step combination of a Danse Ravkan, it is your duty, as the future Princess of Ravka, to know them! If not, you are a disgrace for the country and your future husband."
To say the ladies were intimated was an understatement, they looked terrified. And the lesson had been going on for not even five minutes and neither one of them had even stepped foot on the dance floor. The guards – which would act as dance partners for the practise today – seemed to rather want to guard the royal horses than to be here. Understandable.
Master Bellatrant went on to explain the first dance and showed them with flowing steps how it should look like. Most of the ladies must already know them, it was a very common one and was played a dozen times at social events of the upper class.
"How about we pair up the couples?" Nikolai suggested before the dance teacher could go on about what mistakes they would certainly do and scare everybody even further. "I am sure you have still very much on your agenda today, so we need to not spare another minute without getting the proper dance training required for the ball."
Master Bellatrant nodded obediently. "Certainly."
One after the other, Nikolai paired each lady with one of his closest guards. They were going to attend the ball as well but today, they would act as his spies, trying to get into a conversation with one lady to see how she behaved around people they have never met before - hopefully they would all stay kind and professional but Nikolai could sense that it won't be this way as he saw their faces while he announced their partners and each time, he never called out his own name.
In the end, only Kheru and Aneela were the ones without a partner and the shu looked confused while the zemini frowned at him.
"Ah, we are short on one man." Nikolai turned around and waved to somebody on the other side of the room. "Tolya? Please join us, the Princess of Shu Han is in need for a dance partner."
