Etienne

Dance

 Etienne sat at the table observing the party at hand. All the beautiful dancing people put her almost in a trance as she watched on.

"Would you like to dance?" A voice behind her asked.

The noise of the party distorted the voice letting Etienne know that Milo was not the owner. His voice always rang clear to her even when there was a lot going on.

She turned around taking in the young man as best she could with the light glowing around him.  It frantically bounced about telling Etienne that he was nervous. She smiled and blushed at him taking his nervousness as flattery.  As she went to speak Milo came up behind the man causing her to remain silent.

"Can I help you?" Milo questioned.

The young man jumped at his voice cutting through the noise with such ease it should have raised suspicion. 

"My apologies, sir. I was just asking this young lady for a dance."

"And what was her answer?"

"She didn't answer."

"Well, my darling?" Milo asked smiling at her.

Etienne took a moment. She smiled, but her focus seemed to be back on Milo.

"Would you want to dance with me, Milo?"

"Not tonight my darling."

"Then I would love to sir."

She held out her hand for the young man to take which he did, and they made their way to the dance floor.

Milo watched from afar and every so often Etienne looked over at him.

How would that work? The question bounced in his head. Of course, he had thought about it, but he had been enjoying Etienne's youth. There was no reason to fight about it or be sad. Because there had been a reason why he had never changed Etienne before despite her earlier demands of their life together. He knew that there was a part of her that wanted him to change her so they could be together forever. The love that she felt was complex and it was hard for her to express it to him. He felt the same way. His love was complicated. He admitted that he never wanted Etienne to leave him, to have to change the way that they had been for so long. The stronger part of himself. The self that Etienne brought out of him knew that changing her would be an extreme choice and one that he hoped he would never have to make. He wanted her to have a life that she didn't have to feel conflicted about. Plus her power made her special and he didn't feel it his place to her taint her in such a way either. No, he had made that choice long ago and he wasn't about to get cold feet now when the threat of change loomed just in the distance.