Severed Ties

A Dance With Death

Cameron

Balls, and dances I had been to a lot. Functions that held the inner and darkest circles of the underworld. There wasn't a single event where everyone wasn't armed to the teeth. 

The women with throwing knives woven into their hair, daggers strapped to their thighs, and clutches that looked innocent but were actually pistols ready to fire. And then there were the bobby pins that were actually fuses, matches ready to ignite. If we wanted there to be there would be a blood bath.

Men with ten or more weapons concealed beneath waistcoats, cufflinks that could explode.

But no one seemed to want a blood bath, not when the woman who had survived the wrath of the Duplicitous was present. No one wanted to challenge the myth that was the Blood Queen.

What they didn't know is that under all the glamour, Alara was the kindest soul, if her smile had thawed the ice around my heart, if her gaze had stolen my breath, if her mouth had taught me words that I never believed in she could be so much more than just a tale to scare everyone into place.

"Everyone's staring," she whispered to me, her arm not disconnecting from mine. We were after all the guests of honour.

"Let them," I assured her, "You are above all a sight to behold.

"Stop," she swatted me lightly, "You're making me go red, people will talk."

"You think your blushing will make them run scared, my dear sweet Blood Queen," I murmured into her ear, causing the blush to rise further.

"Cameron Grayson, I will strike you where you stand if you don't-" she was cut off when I leaned down to the crook of her neck, I felt her shiver, as I whispered lowly into her ear.

"What will you do darling?"

She let out a huff, before shaking her head, "I think you're the only one here who's not afraid of me,"

"How can a royal guard be afraid of their charge?" I drawled, an easy smirk slipping onto my lips, widening and spreading to show teeth when she questioned.

"So you went from being my husband to being my guard, you know what this sounds like-" she mused to herself. Amusement dancing in those dark pools of hers.

"What does it sound like, sweetheart?" I entertained her train of thought.

"It sounds like those books. You know with the forbidden romance the Queen that runs off with her bodyguard, is this what this is Cam, are you living out your heart's deepest desire," she teased me a fire in her eyes, she knew exactly what she was doing with her poised words, her daring eyes, the curve of her lips, taunting me, into sweet oblivion.

The music swelled and soon we found ourselves moving to the rhythm as other patrons moved out of our way until it was just us sweeping across the ballroom, as though it was our own and the whole world faded away. It was just her in a dress that was the exact colour of my eyes, she probably hadn't done it on purpose but even with those bits of gold, the mesh and her skin a perfect harmony of the three colours that swirled through me. She was perfect, everything about her made my heart hammer and she didn't even know what she did to me.

She made me insane, and it was a sort of dripping away from sanity that I was addicted to. I knew where this road led, to danger and to loss, and it was these moments I had to grasp onto before they evaded me.

Her, here, with so much love in her eyes. Alara Torres Grayson.

My Wife.

She leaned against me and suddenly went still, the languid movements of her freezing, she clutched to my shirt, "Don't react Cam,"

My heart stilled she had seen something I knew she had, and being in the middle of the ballroom with a great expanse of space between us and anyone else we were prime targets.

"When I say," she whispered, "I need you to take one of my pins out," 

Like I said armed to the teeth.

"I can see someone on the balcony, don't look up, use the reflection in the mirrors around the ball," I trained my eyes just shy of her head resting against my chest and sure enough shadowy figures skitted above. I cradled her head, and the music increased in tempo and soon we were swinging around the room, in a practised waltz, it was going faster on purpose. The Orchestra had realised that we were being made targets, the faster we moved the less of a target we would be.

But we couldn't reveal our hand, as we became closer to the string quartet, I saw that they were already gesturing to the other guests, we couldn't make any sudden movements.

We were quite literally having a Dance with Death.

"Ok, when I say, I need you to take out the largest clip of my hair too," her breath was heavy and I could feel how tense she was but we had to keep moving. The music rose in volume, the crescendo was soon and I knew that as soon as the music had stopped elevating that would be when we struck.

"Strike the bobby pin against the largest clip and throw it straight up."

"Straight up darling?" I was dubious about it.

"It'll hit the chandelier, the music crescendos when we are in the middle throw it then and we run, the chandelier is hit, and sets off a chain reaction,"

"A what?"

"Vincent told me before we came here, there are fail-safes it would be foolish not to have any. An event like this perfect bait,"

"Bait, sweetheart?" 

She laughed softly, it was close we were nearly in the middle, I had already primed my hands to be placed between the strands of her hair. I had already slipped the bobby pin out without drawing too much attention.

"We were always the bait Cam, we always are we always will be," she spoke truthfully.

"And you agreed to this darling?" there was concern laced in my voice we were close, a few seconds more and I would have to throw the clip up, and it would explode and shatter against the chandeliers, which were all connected to one another, once on exploded the rest would fall, targeting the balconies, that's where they were lying in wait everyone else was on the ground floor.

Snipers most likely.

One beat.

Two beats.

There were two beats left.

"A Queen needs to protect her kingdom," she justified.

Three beats.

"Well, a Royal Guard needs to protect its Queen," she nodded to me smiling before all hell broke loose.

Four beats.

"Now!"

I struck the bobby pin against the metal casing sparks flew as I threw it as far as I could, I grabbed Alara as I ran, there were screams and shouts. Pure cries of terror.

And then everything exploded.