A few seconds after, the music began to play. It was a sweet and soft melody, like lullabies sung to infants. But it actually reminded Inna of a time when she walked on the beach at a quiet night. The hypnotic sounds of the waves crashing and the whispers of the breeze almost made her want to ditch the exam and just simply sleep.
The song was relaxing, calming, and yet, oddly uplifting. In fact, hearing it, Inna couldn't help but smile as she relaxed. Soon, she noticed that the pain in her toes gradually turned numb. A few seconds passed of her just simply listening intently to the music and she finally figured out the patterns and the rhythmn in the song. Then, when she felt that the time was right, she decided to start her dance.
In sync with the slow rhythm of the music, she inhaled as she started her slow and calm movements.
She started the 'dance' with her favorite pose, Padmasana. Then, after closing her eyes and slowly breathing in and out, she made silky and elegant movements as she proceeded to the Ardha Matsyendrasana pose.
Yes, her dance is just a simple routine of yoga that she does every day back when she still lived with Solomon in the Sun Breeze Mansion.
Her 'dance' consisted of poses that started easy but ended up to her having to lift her whole body using only her hands. She took great care not to let her weight shift on her injured foot as she proceeded to do pose after poses.
In her dance, she stays in a certain pose then she inhales and exhales for a few seconds before shifting to another pose. The only thing that makes her yoga routine be passed off as a dance was due to her making her transition between poses looking like an actual dance move. Like she's some sort of acrobat.
She got rid of necessary and hesitant movements as she moved, making her 'dance' looking precise and 'planned.' Then, she also made sure to match the music to her movements. By following the rhythm of the music, she knows that there will be a sudden shift in the note, so she uses that time to break off her original pose to go unto the next.
Since the music gave out a calming feeling and was very slow in its rhythm, it helped her dance looked more beautiful and exotic towards the people watching.
Everyone, including even Professor Gnarly, had to stare at wonder as they tried to figure out how she could possibly bend her body at strange angles with no effort at all. Although most of the audience didn't like Inna, they couldn't help but admit that her 'dance', despite being strange, it was oddly tantalizing as well. They saw her do moves that made them wonder whether she truly had bones....
... or whether she was actually human!
Overall, for the Molian students who never ever saw nor done yoga their whole lives, they treated Inna's dance as the strangest yet most beautiful and most calm dance they have ever seen anyone do. Most dances would bring forth strong emotions like anger, grief, happiness, and fear. But in Inna's dance, they simply felt at peace and relaxed looking at her while listening to the music.
When Inna finished her last pose, she slowly stood up straight and fixed her robe. She was about to bow to officially end her makeshift yoga dance when suddenly, she felt a wave of dizziness in her head. Her vision became unfocused as she slowly felt herself getting weak.
Next thing she knew, everything went black and she fell harshly on the ground.
Every one sucked in a breath as they looked at Inna with shock in their eyes. The sight of her limp figure on the stage made them furrow their brows.
Wasn't she just alright a few seconds ago?
They all wondered as they looked at each other for some kind of explanation. Meanwhile, on the stage, Drona scrambled to Inna's side as she tried to make sense of what just happened. Being a Priestess, she grew up learning about different kinds of illnesses so she was confident in her skills in pinpointing what was wrong with Inna.
But this time, she couldn't figure it out.
She was dumbfounded by that fact so she decided to recheck again and again. But the symptoms she saw were simply just Inna being immobile and asleep.
She would've considered Inna being casted with both an Immobility curse and a Sleeping curse but since the test prohibits magic, the chances were highly unlikely.
She was about to give up. But then, she saw little movement by the corner of her eyes. And when she looked towards its direction, she saw Herad and Galen exchanging brief glances before a shadow of a smile appeared on both their faces.
Then, she realized…
She may not know what caused it, but now she knew who caused it…
Feeling a bubbling anger in her, Drona was about to lash out to them, not caring for the test, when she felt a rough grip by her arm. She looked at the hand that grabbed it and was shocked when her eyes met with Inna's.
"Dear friend, I apologize for worrying you. I was simply dizzy from the exhaustion my dance brought upon me. So, there is no need for my dear friend to worry about it. Don't mind me and continue on with the celebrations. These symptoms are persistent but they will never win."
Looking at Inna's determined eyes, Drona knew the meaning behind those words. She wanted her to continue and act like nothing happened. She didn't want her to break character, instead she wanted her to continue on with the test.
And she also told her with full confidence that Galen and Herad won't pass from their exam anyways.
Drona was stubborn so she shook off what Inna told her and instead, she decided to nullify the immobility curse and sleeping curse that she suspected was present in Inna's body. She wasn't sure if they were the cause, but she felt that it wouldn't hurt to try and see. She was about to chant when Inna's body started to tremble. Then, catching Drona by surprise, Inna sat up despite her whole body trembling.
"See? Nothing to worry about, dear friend. This Empress is perfectly fine."
Inna forced herself to resist the heavy force on her body that's resisting movement as she slowly pushed herself off the stage. Luckily, with whatever's left of her strength, she was able to do it gracefully and ladylike still.
When she successfully stood up, she smiled, putting on a show of being fine, as she made her way down and to her seat. But in truth, she gritted her teeth the whole time she walked towards her chair.
Seeing the wobbly figure of Inna who was trying hard to cover up her suffering, Drona knew that it was now too late to help her and that if she were to be also stubborn about it, Inna will only find another way to stop her. So, with a look of defeat, Drona went back to her chair as well.
Then, when both were seated, Galen and Herad both secretly smirked at them.