Sain Clare Academy (gxg, 18+)

Chapter Twenty

"Do you hear that?" Amanda asked us as we walked toward what I presumed was the direction of the cafe. I craned my neck in the direction of the commotion she was referring to.

A jovial, common-folk type of song had started up nearby, and as we ventured further I could see a number of people strumming homely-looking instruments. A couple of kids had begun to dance a folk dance I recognized around them, and their giggling interweaving with the song, a few adults around them clapping with bright smiles as they spun around.

I stopped short, the scene oddly comforting to me. Though I had grown up in a noble family, I had lost my title when I was still a child, so the common folk and their culture were familiar. Our hands still connected, Grace noticed my lack of movement and paused as well, though Hamilton and Amanda continued walking. After a few steps, they noticed we had stopped.

"Grace?" Amanda asked, a bit confused. When I turned back to Grace, I noticed she was studying me.

"Sorry," I smiled, "I was just reminiscing. We can keep going." Amanda squinted at the crowd as if she didn't understand the appeal and Hamilton looked impartial to the spectacle. It made sense, they were nobility, after all; they probably had no idea what was going on. The nobles' mantra was to leave the whims of the commoners to the commoners themselves.

When I stepped forward to join Amanda and Hamilton, Grace tugged me back into place.

"We can stay," she said.

"We can?" Amanda seemed surprised, but Grace wasn't paying attention, instead intent on bringing me closer to the festivities. I was baffled, myself.

"It's really fine, I know you aren't used to this kind of--" I paused when the song changed, abruptly, to one I was intimately acquainted with. The children at the orphanage I had been in often sung it in their loose, childish voices. A wave of reminiscence washed over me, and I struggled to picture their round faces in my mind's eye. I had been too overcome with my own rage and sorrow to join them, back then. I regretted that now-- though I could hardly remember what they looked like, their joyful giggles echoed in my mind.

Soon, more people joined in, and the music soared through the air as couples and children danced throughout the small plaza. The sight was magical, strangers coming together to dance in peace and joy, smiling together without any strings attached. A sight wholly unusual for nobles, and for me, because commoners were a rare sight in the student body at Sain Clare Academy.

"Care to dance, fair Miss?" A youthful voice asked. I looked to the side, expecting to see a boy addressing Grace. Indeed, she was a beauty. Instead, I noticed that the common folk seemed rather averse to Grace and her friends' presence, giving them wide berth. It made sense-- one look at Grace, Amanda and Hamilton and you could tell they were of noble blood. Grace's hair especially stood out.

I glanced down, and saw the hand of a boy no more than 10 years old gracefully extended to me as he wore a toothy grin. If I were a noble, I would probably smile roughly and turn him away, perhaps disgusted by his grubby appearance. But I was no noble, not anymore, and Olivia's plain appearance was probably what gave him the confidence to ask. I placed my hand delicately in his, curtsying politely.

"Of course," I obliged. He grinned impossibly wider and grasped my hand, stumbling as he whisked me away to join a particularly enthusiastic folksy dance. Children's laughter and joy were contagious, and soon I found myself widely smiling along to our clumsy step, heights too different to be compatible.

When I glanced over to where I had left Grace and the others, sunny grin intact, I saw her standing awkwardly to the side, strikingly alone compared to the people around me. I expected her to feel off-put, but she was smiling softly as she watched me. Amanda and Hamilton were close to her, but in comparison, they looked rather uncomfortable.