(Ophelia)
***
The officials of the Galaxy Kingdom were incompetent in many ways, but they were experts at throwing amazing parties in impractical amounts of time. They had the whole castle set up in an hour, and the place was trashed within several. As many people as could be packed on the bottom floor like sardines showed up until the pores of the rooms felt so clogged that there was barely room to breathe in the large central spire.
Koharu ran off to talk to her family and some of the Sun Kingdom's officials, surely giving them her rendition of what happened during the past week. There were some details neither of us knew and would never know, so she had to embellish her retellings with hopes of magic.
I usually followed her around, but something light tapped against my back when I stood up from a velvety seat to join her again.
"Ah, hi, Jisoo," I said to him as he strolled over in what I guessed was some morphed version of a dress and suit.
He wore a knee-length dress in the style of his typical general's uniform with a shoddily placed golden bowtie that wasn't even on straight. His thick black hair was a mess; mats of it were tangled and stuck out in various directions atop his deep brown skin. Seeming to ignore his current state, he waved to me coolly.
*Anyone want to tell me about the latest tornado?*
"D-Did something happen to you?" I asked him quickly, nudging his shoulder for him to face me.
As he frowned at the contact, he moved away from me. "I knew you were going to ask me that first." He halted himself to roll his eyes. "Some fool in here tied me to a chair earlier and forgot to untie me until five minutes before the party."
"Do I even have to guess—"
"Leo."
"Of course."
Really, I had no doubts about what that answer was going to be. He was a mischievous one, even if I considered him a friend.
"Why the heck would he do that?" I then asked. "Other than, you know, to be annoying."
Jisoo shrugged, a pile of hair falling to irritate him. "Something with the archives room. I don't know the full story." He pointed his thumb behind him. "You could probably ask literally anyone that's not me about that."
*Leo seems harmless…?*
"That's really strange. You feeling okay now?"
"Yeah. Nothing hurts. I just look like a wreck." After he nodded, he cracked his knuckles. "I can't wait to smash his fingers or something for that later."
I laughed at his joke (which probably wasn't one), and the rest of the conversation assumed a lighthearted tone as we caught up on some of the chaos during the past week.
"You're telling me King Hikaru did that?" I gaped. "He seems far too nice."
"Every. Damn. Conversation." More dramatic and angry than usual, he threw his head back. "He always told someone to shut up. I thought I bitched a lot, but that was a whole other level. Plus, all the novella-style whining from him and Inei."
"I can't believe it. I know they argued, but that was—"
"Jisoo!" a voice I didn't recognize called from somewhere in the party, drowned out amidst the chorus of sounds.
Growing polite and softening, he perked up while smiling. "Hey, is it okay if I talk to you some more later? My girlfriend showed up." He shook his head with the faintest hint of rosy cheeks. "She's probably going play hairdresser the second she lays eyes on me."
*To be fair, it's pretty fucked up.*
"I completely understand," I said to him. "Go get your girl," I added with a cheeky wink.
He grinned towards me. "Thanks. I'll talk to you soon." After that, in pursuit of a girl with beautifully coiled hair and a dark complexion, he yelled, "Sera! I'm over here."
I directed an expression of elation towards his back, glancing around the place. The royal family members were no longer in their hideout on the second floor, so I knew I had to search for them. I pushed through crowds of commoners who were engaged in merriment and dancing to the beat of the orchestra at the front. For such a performance, there was a mechanism that allowed a stage to emerge from the ground, engineered by some bright minds working in unfortunately low positions.
As I made my way through the room, I spotted Sinclair and Leo off to the side—both in suits—holding gazes that were so intense that I felt like I invaded their privacy from halfway across the party. Leo attempted to joke around, but he seemed like a deflated balloon trying to make someone smile. Sinclair did much the same, and something about their interactions with Leo felt forced, even if the feelings were clearly there.
I shuddered while looking at the two of them, deciding to avert my eyes to let them feign seclusion from everyone else.
Doing that, I spotted a pile of blonde hair sticking up amidst the crowd. Like a magnet, I was drawn towards it, and it approached me.
"Lia!"
"Koko!"
We said each other's names in unison with small chuckles.
"Come dance with me!"
I froze, and my entire body tensed. The smile was wiped from my face before I could even speak. "What now?"
Without thinking, I followed her to the center of the dance floor. I nearly tripped on the white frills and lace of my black gown. The flats I wore threatened to slide off my feet, and I was a little envious of Koharu's white suit that was tapered and fitted to her figure nicely. The shoes and pants were of a length in which she could easily run.
When we made it to a small clearing, she wrapped her arms around my neck, caressing the back of it. The touch itself was pleasurable, but I freaked out so much on the inside that I couldn't enjoy it.
*How am I supposed to dance? Where do I put my hands? Am I going to step on someone's foot? Hers? Do I go for anything bold? How appropriate is—*
"Don't worry."
She gently rubbed my scalp with her right hand, and I reacted slightly to it. The other reached for my arms to place them around the divots of her waist, letting my forearms sink into the soft flesh. I locked my fingers behind her back to cradle its indentions. It felt nice with our bodies slotted together—pressed against each other—but excitement and panic rushed through me.
She moved her face close to mine to whisper, staring so deeply into my eyes that I thought I was going to sweat. I was shocked she didn't smell of liquor.
"That's it. Just move along with me if you're scared."
I followed her steps across the floor as if she directed me towards an oasis. The forward, backward, side, side steps were mixed in different patterns, inverting and reversing at her will. It was hard for me to follow along as I struggled in the opposite direction most of the time. I nearly crashed into her and others, but most partygoers were kind enough to clear a space for us.
*Am I supposed to be happy or humiliated from the attention?*
The tones of violins and deeper strings coupled with the light sounds of woodwinds trailed along the top of a heavy drum beat that kept speeding up. (Scherzo… A joke, they said.) It was an elegant and sophisticated tune, much too difficult for a beginner to attempt to follow along with, but Koharu was a natural at matching the rhythm. I admired that musicality of hers.
The me of a year ago wouldn't have even dared to do this. But the me of today was different thanks to her. I smiled.
In the middle of the song, she dragged her hands along the back of my body—over my arms to below my waist. She never quite reached my hips, letting her hands retreat to my neck before sliding back down. It was teasing, never quite giving me an answer to the growing tingling she barely missed.
As we moved along the floor, she stopped to pull me taut against her, breasts squeezing together. The contact was so noticeable—so overwhelming—that I suddenly didn't know how to speak. The minimal amount of makeup I wore was not enough to conceal the heat emanating from my face, and I finally perspired.
*If anyone asks, I'm blaming the exercise.*
My heart. It would not calm down as she continued to grab my hips, so I was certain she could feel it because of our closeness. I was not embarrassed about it; rather, I was scared by the thought of acting upon that attraction, going to a point beyond which it would be hard to return. I would never be embarrassed to love her—only about how I acted in the heat of it all.
She brought her mouth near my ear, nibbling the lobe with her teeth. As the song died out, she whispered with a hint of breath that made the skin feel cold, and goosebumps rose on my neck.
"Let's sneak out to my room after this. I already got enough magic from Leo to do it." As she moved her head away with a half-smile, she glanced down at my cleavage revealed by the dress.
The insinuation. The touch. The choppy breathing. Gah, I was going to lose it right then and there by giving into that growing desire to kiss and please. She was going to be the end of me if she kept acting like that!
I nodded to her, and then, the introduction of the next song started before it slid into a quick modulation to raise the tension. The steps grew confusing and quick, and—
"Crap!"
My knees buckled, and I crashed to the ground in the dead middle of the room. I was mortified by it while Koharu giggled, reaching out a hand to help me up.
*You're the one melting my brain until I can't think straight anymore!*
"You okay?" She gave me an innocent smile like she wasn't just about to feel me up in the middle of a party.
I dusted off my skirt. "I'm fine."
If I had dared to look at her, I would simply have fainted from her beauty and the sheer tension of it all.
When she pulled me to my feet, she said, "Let's just say you're sick so that we can leave early."
Of course, like the puppy dog lover I was when it came to her, I agreed, needing to feel satisfied at last.
*You know exactly what you're doing!*