above and beyond

Chapter 12

Leon crosses the room with a smile on his face, and in a way, it plays out like Gloria's fantasies, like how she imagined it when she would daydream about the ball. But right now, she is not sure just how she feels about it, and is definitely not sure that this is going to work out the way it does in her fantasies.

Even so, she can't help but feel excited when he says, "I've been meaning to find you all night. I hope you didn't think I was neglecting my guest. Would you like to dance, Gloria?"

She nods, and takes the hand that he offers her. For so long, she has fantasized about being able to dance with Leon like this, and being able to do it for real, she knows that she still has feelings for him. Even after realizing that she has fallen for Hop, she knows that her feelings for Leon have not gone away, and she doesn't know what that means for her. Perhaps with time, she would be able to learn to love one and forget the other, so if Leon were to kiss her, then she would be able to forget her feelings for Hop as they settled in together.

Fresh hope begins to grow in her then, and she falls into step with Leon, glad that all of her practice was not for nothing. He does not pull her quite as close as Hop did, though, and she wonders if Hop was simply too familiar, or if Leon wants to keep his distance. Or maybe there is nothing to understand, and she is spending too much time thinking about it. She has spent a lot of time in her head since losing her voice, but even before then, she did not do a lot of talking, because she did not have many friends. In that way, overthinking has always been a specialty of hers.

"I hope you're enjoying yourself so far," Leon says, and all she can do is nod in response. He smiles and says, "That's great! I know Hop was really excited for you to be able to come, so I'm glad you're enjoying it as much as he must be. Do you have any memories like this, or is this your first time at a party this big?"

When she gives him a helpless look, he says, "So, no memories, still. But I bet this is the first time, don't you think?" Again, Gloria nods, and this seems to please Leon. "We've enjoyed having you as a guest. I know a lot of people think that we're naive for simply taking you in and taking you at your word like that, but I like to think that me and my brother are good judges of character.

"I haven't been able to spend a lot of time with you, but that's just the nature of being the heir to the throne," he says with a theatrical sigh. "Either way, it has been great to have you. You're welcome here for as long as you need a place to stay, Gloria. Even if your memories return, and you find that you can't go back home, you're always welcome here."

It's such a bold and trusting thing for him to say, and her heart aches to hear it. Now more than ever, she wishes that she could tell him about her feelings, and her reason for being here. He would understand then, and surely that would be enough to set everything into motion. Already, he is fascinated by the mermaid that saved his life, and already, he thinks that Gloria would be a welcome guest for the rest of her life. If it weren't for all the factors preventing her from telling him the truth, she thinks that the truth would be enough to win his heart.

All she can do is flash him an appreciative look. Without a notepad on her, she doesn't even have a way to tell him that she has feelings for him, and even if she could, she could never explain everything to him. She should have been more patient, and then maybe the spell would not have been so oddly specific, and she might have had a chance of winning him over in this moment.

Instead, they continue to dance together, having this one sided conversation, as Leon gives her so many openings to confess when she does not actually have a chance of doing so, and Gloria simply has to watch it all pass her by. She is going to lose everything tonight, and even now, with Leon smiling down at her, she sees the resemblance between him and Hop, and wonders how she is going to live without her best friend.

Leon has been her dream since the moment she saw him, and Hop has been her best friend, and she has fallen for both of them, for entirely different reasons. She wants to be with Leon because it means that she can stay forever, and she wants to be with Hop, because she has spent so much time at his side, and knows that she could be happy with him, even if it is only possible in a different world, where she isn't doomed to never see him again unless she remains with his brother.

Leon talks to her about things that she barely listens to as her worries begin to grow. He is no longer saying sentimental things, and she has no means of steering the conversation back in that direction. Leon is not going to kiss her tonight, and the romantic atmosphere fades just as quickly as it came on, until this is nothing like any of her fantasies.

The long song comes to an end, and Leon bows, and someone else hurries up to catch his attention. He apologizes as he goes to deal with his own royal business, and Gloria is left alone again. She will be lucky if she sees him again for the rest of the night, and she knows that her chance has already passed her by. Really, she knows that she never had a chance to begin with.

With nothing else to do her, and only a few hours before she loses everything, she heads for the door, fleeing the party quickly. She should get to the beach, so that when she transforms, she can submerge herself in the water and swim back home to face her shame. Maybe she can work with Nessa, as a means of repaying her for trying so hard on a spell that Gloria could not manage to make stick.

Maybe together, they might find a way to fix this...but Gloria shakes her head, deciding that she will never get her hopes up for anything like that again. She takes her shoes off so that she can run, and she runs barefoot, as fast as her legs can carry her, to reach the beach. At some point, Hop calls after her and begins to chase her, but Gloria just keeps running.

She won't be able to run for much longer, so she might as well enjoy that while she can.