It's Just A Joke

It's Just A Joke: 13

There are two times of the day I hate the most. Number one, morning. Number two, bed time.

I hate mornings simply because I hate getting out of bed. It's that simple.

I hate bed time because, sometimes, a day is too good to end.

Mornings aren't always as horrible as I have catagorized mornings to be. Like today. Today I woke up without a care in the world and got dressed in clothes I hadn't seen in months. I put on the most fabulous winter dress I owned and slipped my feet into my fuzzy boots.

Giggling like the child I wish I still was, I ran through the castle hallways and down the stairs to the foyer, where I then began to waltz with neither a partner nor music. The light green fabric of my dress swayed with me to the music only I could hear and clung to my legs with every step. It masked my mistakes and spread out around me when I spun quickly.

I felt like a little girl once again.

The only thing that stopped me from doing that all morning, was when, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a mess of blond hair watching me. As my lonesome waltz came to an end, I stared at the person who was watching me.

"Bravo!" said someone I had never met before. Clapping, he gave me a polite smile. He was older than me by maybe ten years? Something like that. My guess was early to mid-twenties. "Looks like you could use a dancing partner."

Shrugging, I tried to think of an excuse to have to run off and do something not in this room. The blond man chuckled and was soon kneeling before me. Taking my hand, he carefully kissed it out of respect and his dark eyes burrowed into mine. They almost seemed black.

"Would you honor me with a dance? Just one," he asked and I became flustered. I wanted to decline and say no, I had somewhere else I needed to be, but I also wanted to dance with him. After a moment, I nodded.

"Just one."

He smiled broadly and got to his feet. Pulling me into the hold, he rested his hand delicately on my shoulder blade, but he was forceful enough to lead me efficiently. I gentle set my right hand upon his shoulder and held my left hand up for him to take with his right. With a small chuckle, we began to do the basic step of the waltz. After a couple of minutes of this calming routine, he began to spin me elegantly. 

I couldn't help it. I smiled. He was a fabulous dancer and soon we started to do the dance faster. Slowly, our fast waltz turned into a tango. When he dipped me, both of us were trying to catch our breath. Standing up straight after that, I grinned. "You are a marvelous dancer. What's your name?"

"Darius. I'm the son of the king of a neighboring country. I was invited to your Christmas banquet by your father. He wanted to discuss some things with me. Politics. You'll understand later."

"How old are you, Darius?"

"25."

I was right about his age. Right about where I had guessed it would be. 

He smiled sweetly at me after a moment. "I need to go meet with your father and your brother. There's a very pressing issue we must discuss. Good luck with everything, dear princess. Your country adores you."

He kissed my hand one last time as a sign of departure and left the foyer in a hurry. 

I bit my lip and tried to figure out where my friends would be. It was still early, so they were either still in bed or minding their own business somewhere else.

Finally deciding on a destination, I headed towards the library. Passing a servant on my way there, I stopped. "If you see Carney, Mary Jane, Danielle, or Azare tell them that I'll be in the library. If you come across Amy, lead her to the library. Understood?"