A Dance With Discord

"Lesson 1: The power of a punch isn't important, it's the speed. You must catch your opponent off guard. Opt for more creative routes of injury such as, punching them in the throat. It stops their breathing, giving you time to knock them off their feet." Reveals Noelle, demonstrating her techniques.

The training hall was as vast as it was empty, nothing but a mat. She raised her hands, signalling me to throw a punch. Mustering up all the courage I had, I attempt a punch. Grabbing my arm she twists it behind me. I yelp at the pain of a stretched muscle, to which she pulls more. "Get out of it! Attack me!" She shouts.

I try to yank myself from her grip but she doesn't budge.

Speed. She said speed was key.

I stop for a moment to give the front that I'm struggling then rapidly, I put my leg between hers, knocking her on the ground as I wrench my arm from her grasp.

"Not bad for a beginner." She compliments, reaching out a hand for help. I grab it, I shouldn't have. She pulls me down as her foot slams on my throat, "Lesson 2: Don't trust anyone."

Coughing, I stand up, beads of sweat forming on my head. "By the way, your punches are atrocious. You're hurting yourself, not your opponent." She criticised. "Ball your hands, make sure your thumb isn't tucked inside and when you actually punch the first two knuckles must hit first." She explained, pointing to her now fisted hand. I follow her direction, "Punch!" She yells, her powerful voice like a boot camp leader. I aim and hit.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Whenever I stopped for a break, to catch my breath, she tripped me.

This is why I loved literature. I didn't have to deal with such strenuous excercise. Even in school, I was always the one running away from the ball, not toward it.

"The more you slack, the more I push." She proclaimed, staring down at me.

"Just a little break, please. Some water?" I rasped, flat on the floor.

"Sure." She replied, giving me a bottle.

"Thank you." I say, reaching out to grab it-

"But you'll have to run for it." She crooned, throwing it all the way to the end of the hall.

I stared at her flatly.

"How dare you?" I say, my voice monotone. I kick my legs behind hers, watching her collapse on the ground.

We look at each other for a second and burst out laughing, one that evolves into a cackling that fills the hall.

~~~

Oftentimes we demonise all of humanity for the actions of some, leading us to construct a rigid, narrow mindset that writes an evil narrative, one that not all of us deserve. When in truth- humans are precious.

We are so complex and intricate and we cannot live without each other. That is why there is so many of us and why for all of time, one thing has remained constant.

Love.

Connection.

It is a universally accepted truth that we cannot possibly live in solitude. We yearn for love, for acceptance, for intimate bonds whether they be romantic or platonic.

Even the wicked, love.

It fills our hearts with glee when experiencing life's gifts together. It may be as small as having a conversation or as big as having a child.

For the same reason, I was enraptured to attend the ball, even if it were for less than pleasurable reasons. As silly as it sounds, I dreamed of experiencing even a mite of what was written in books. Kicking my feet and grinning like an idiot, I recall the way Vronsky's eyes never left Anna's as they waltzed in the ballroom or Darcy's "She's not handsome enough to tempt me." when little did he know, Elizabeth would make him fall so hard.

A loveless life is a cursed life. One I wouldn't pray even on my worst enemy.

~~~

I place the last minute dress I dug up from my closet.

It was disappointing but I didn't have the time nor the money to purchase an elaborate gown. Staring at the dull dress, I hear a knock on the door. Opening it, I find a box on the floor with a note attached.

"Your taste is pitiful and I don't want my talents to go to waste."

Silas.

Scoffing, I open the box.

Words failed me.

My jaw drops at the gown and I trace every inch of it.

It was classy and elegant yet bewitchingly opulent.

Impatiently, I slip on the dress. Glancing at the mirror, I fall into the world behind my reflection as I gaze at the gown.

It was utterly heavenly. I looked at myself in it.

A misty blue, almost white gown bejewelled in crystals with a tuft of tulle that fell of my shoulder, displaying my collarbone. It slightly held my figure only draping down at the bottom like a waterfall.

It made me feel... glorious.

I put my hair in an updo, strands twirling down with a subtle crystal embellishment. Dusty pink rouge painted my lips, Kohl lined my eyes.

How he knew exactly what to put me in, I will never know.

To burn me like a flame and yet make me feel like a diamond, such a beautiful paradox he was to me.

~~~

The stars treat me as their own tonight. Glittering, they guide me through the dark to the grand ballroom, the wind lightening my step, escorting me like a prince. I enter the ethereal grounds, warmly lit by thousand of candles, adorning walls and hiding in grandiose chandeliers. An elegant staircase that grows wider with every step. Three layers tall with built in galleries that beg for their secrets to be discovered, their halls to be admired. Gold and ivory dominate, accompanied by timeless art painted on the ceiling. A large ballroom with its intricately detailed marble floor and a stage filled with an orchestra whose music permeates the room with melodious, classical tunes. White pillars and stone arches make up the interior, lavish period features decorating it's walls.

Noticing Noelle and the others, I gracefully walk down the stairs, the train of my gown delicately following in suit. Every step I take, it seems the people quiet down more, slowly turning toward me. I see Silas glance at me subtlety before his all-encompassing gaze settles on me, seizes me. His face, like a pebble thrown into a lake, ripples from shock to awe, eyes softening.

My breath hitched as I stared at him and him only, everyone else was banished from my sight.

"Finally! You're here." Sonders says, dressed in a firey red dress. "Dalal is here. We've planted agents all over with the former students."

I drag myself to look at her, reminding myself why we're here. "And Waylen?" I asked, wondering if he accepted our invitation.

"No one has seen him." Hart answers, grinning.

"Right. Don't huddle as much, we must seem like normal attendees. So, act like one. Dance, eat, but keep an eye out for Dalal, keep him cornered." Sonders commands, pulling me away into a dance. Standing next to me, we align with other women as the men stand before us, arm in arm we swing and move from partner to partner. Laughter mingles with us as we sway to the music, dresses twirling.

The energised melodies slow, as a lower waltz song begins.

"'Ello gorgeous. Did you decide to dazzle lucky 'ol me out of all these poor gents?" An older, wrinkly gentleman says with a lascivious wink, flashing a toothy grin as he glides a hand on my back, slowly going lower.

"I think you left your wife over there, Mr.Fink. And she doesn't look very happy." A familiar voice quips, prying the man's slimy hands off me. To which he grumbles a response, before storming off. Holding my hand, he twirls me toward him. Dressed in an all black suit, his shirt is slightly unbuttoned, revealing skin. Those consuming brown eyes imprison my own. "He's right about one thing you know."

"And what's that?" I smile, my hand resting on his shoulder. I feel at ease, comfortable.

"You've shackled all the men in this room, Eleanor." He whispers against my neck, heating every inch of me.

"I don't want to shackle any of them, Silas." I reply, looking at him.

We spin and glide, twirl and rise with the orchestra. It is just he and I, in an empty ballroom, every step we take elevating us into the air as though we are dancing on clouds. For a minute, for a moment, the world is reduced to nothing but the way our bodies embrace and the wholeness of our stance.

Jaw clenched, he dips me. Face teasing my own, our breaths synchronise as his grasp tightens on my waist, eyes flitting to my lips.

Hands gripping my hips, he raises me in a lift before gracefully lowering me, face trailing my torso as we meet. Basking in each others scent, we stay in that position, waltz concluding.

The once hot air that surrounded us, dissipated with the distance. We bow but before we exchange anything, Noelle pulls me away.

"Dalal has disappeared." She whispers, anxiety delivering her words.

"What?!" I question, breathlessly. "How? This place is teeming with police."

"We don't know. We've scattered most of them all around the building." She replies, eyebrows furrowed in worry and confusion.

"Lets go." I say, grabbing my gown as we rush passed people to reach the stairs.

Running up them, we move through corriders, enter rooms, and libraries- no sign of him.

Ripping off her radio, she says, "Speak to me, what's happening?"

As though in response to her, a howling thunderstorm of blood curdling screams vibrate through the walls. Paralysed, Sonders and I stare at each other. Instantly, we dash back to the ballroom.

It was chaos.

People running manically, trying to exit the place. The orchestra was silenced, music replaced with shouting and wailing. It wasn't until I looked up that I gasped-

A lifeless, bloodied body hangs on the tip of one the galleries with a knife dragged down its stomach.

Dalal.

Nausea punches my gut, the sight too gruesome to look at.

Sonders grabs my shoulders and pushes me toward the doors.

Outside, sirens sound, rushing to the scene.

Nothing.

I cannot think of anything to do or say, I just stare off at the discord unravelling before me.