I Tried To Sweep You Off Your Feet (Only To Find That You've Swept Me Off Mine)

Waltz With Me?

"You know what? I hate dancing." Aiden had to bite his tongue to stop his disappointment from showing up on his face at Aru's words.

"Okay . . . ? Well, if you change your mind, that's where I'll be," He said, tapping his camera. "I told Hanuman I'd get some shots for the Council's newsletter. Mini, wanna come?" He turned his hopeful gaze towards the daughter of death.

"Fine, but I don't like dancing, or being within coughing distance of people."

Internally, Aiden let out a huge sigh, he definitely didn't want to be alone in the middle of a bunch of couples awkwardly sashaying across the floor. "Noted."

"To the food we go!" Brynne cried out her rallying call, before dragging Aru off to the tables piled high with delicacies, her cape swishing behind her. He swiveled his gaze back to the dance floor and hefted Shadowfax up.

As soon as they reached what he deemed a suitable distance into the room, he started clicking pictures left and right. The Seasons really did go all out for this; with ice sheathing the floor in a crystal case, replacing the grass that usually stood there in the training area; immaculate ice skeletons swayed their hip bones in rhythm to the Macarena off to the side; the Moon spun in the middle of the sky like a disco ball, splatting beams of light here and there making the arena shimmer in its grandeur; the blue masterpiece was gilded with a ring of thick, green vines that also crisscrossed into a dome above the arena, tinting it a shade of lime with blips of pink radiating off the flowers that were embedded in the stems.

Aiden made sure to snap a dozen photos of his green-blue surroundings before turning to the not-so-natural part of the effect.

On one side he saw Brynne spooning random food items from the banquet table into Aru's mouth, the latter's face scrunched up in concentration. He coughed to hide a snort and quickly clicked a picture. On the other side was where the stalls were set up and if an Otherworldly citizen happened to stray too close, they were immediately roped in by the vendors. Fountains that leaped in a foamy dance stood on either side of the swirling portals that were the doorway to the Night Bazaar. And in the center of it all was a banner that said: ENJOY THIS BRIEF RESPITE FROM YOUR CRUSHING MORTALITY.

He also took a few shots of the Otherworld's citizens swaying together, but it was a pretty unpleasant sight to look at as they awkwardly shuffled across the dance floor, so he kept it to a minimum. Mini sighed next to him, and Aiden startled, being so caught up in the scenery he forgot he wasn't alone.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, but it's getting kinda hot." She said, fanning herself and immediately paling. "Oh no, what if I get dehydrated? This is a serious—"

"It's no biggie." He interrupted her from venting about how water loss equals death. "I saw a bowl of punch on one of the tables over there." Aiden vaguely pointed in the distance. Immediately Mini was off to make sure she stayed alive, leaving him in the swarming crowd.

"Well . . ." He sighed. "I guess I'm on my own. Again."

.

.

.

Aiden had been wandering through the crowd of strangers and gently rejecting requests to dance when he saw Aru doing the same, looking just as lost as he was. Instantly he was filled with relief and walked up to her.

"Shah?" Her face snapped to his. "I thought you didn't dance?"

"Yeah, well, you . . ." She looked dazed and he raised his eyebrows in confusion. "You looked like you needed rescuing." She finally said, and he couldn't help but laugh at how true that was.