Dancing on Strings

Epilogue ~ The Uncollected Tale of The 12 Dancing Princesses

1 year later

Darling Mai,

I shall assume that, if you are reading this, you did what I believed impossible and found a way out of The Dream World. That, or you simply let your curiosity overrule you and are reading this in one of your final waking moments.

Well, regardless, I can only ask you follow my next request.

In this envelope, I am sure you noticed the second letter.

If, and only if, you have successfully shattered The Dream World and it is now safe to do so, I ask you hand this letter to a young man called Beldon. A commander to the army of one of your allies, you have probably heard of him, he is somewhat infamous from what I can tell.

Please do not read the letter; it is only for the eyes of a select few people.

Just hand it to him and he shall know what to do with it.

The General is the ambassador of The Southern Wind in our mortal world. He is the eyes of a god and he will be aware of The Dream World.

I can only apologise for keeping him from us when he could possibly help us escape. I have my reasons for keeping him out. I could not risk Reve overpowering him and trapping him somewhere below.

If you have not yet brought down the world, do not draw his attention to us, do not hand him that second letter.

But if you have.

If you have gone farther than I ever believed possible, when you next see him, I can only request you let him read it so he might know something of The Dream World.

Until another life, princess.

Queen, Friend, Nightmare, Dream.

Angelique.

Mai looked up at Beldon as he read through the second letter she had given him a few minutes before.

Arms folded, she tilted her head slightly.

She could see it.

She could see how Reve had been mimicking him.

But he hadn't quite got it right. It was like he had created General Beldon's face without ever actually seeing the real thing.

But it explained why she had always thought Reve's face looked familiar when she couldn't think why. She had seen a portrait of The General years before.

He had been younger – not that time seemed to have any effects on him – and he hadn't been a general at the time, but she remembered discussing his looks with her sisters. They had all concluded that the painter had been too generous in his art; no human could look like that.

Apparently they could, the painting hadn't really done The General justice.

How unfair that a man could look like that.

Without looking up, Beldon touched her arm and smoothly moved her one step to the right and out of the path of a couple who were... waltzing? They had probably had a little too much to drink and believed themselves more talented than they were considering their wide, sweeping movements.

Mai moved so she wasn't in danger of being trampled by anyone and looked around her.

They were both stood in one of the grand ballrooms of the royal family of Beldon's home country.