[BALLROOM] - The venueâs been rented out to some startup company for their first Soon-to-be-Annual charity ball, and your name can be on the guest list for the small price of a donation and a dance! Go on and get swept off your feet, or maybe be the one to do the sweeping!
"You girls really did inherit her beauty you know." it's a weird thing to say yes, but this is just one of the myriad many days he's seized back over the year, fighting off the gazes and attention of others as he guides him middle daughter through the motions of a familiar dance of their home.
"Shame really, should've gotten Teriteri to let me take the wardrobe from the house before we left... Oh well, the dresses will have to wait for another day." It's cryptic words, but that has always been his way as he trails softly throughout the hall with his daughter in his arms. Siegfried suspects this will be the first of many dances like this in the future, and yet he can't help but cherish it anyways.
Cecilia had wanted her to grow up happy, and even now Siegfried continues to ensure that that wish will be fulfilled in anyway he can. "Ich Liebe dich Bianka." A simple phrase, yet the love of two parents are manifested with it, letting the music take them into their own beautiful symphony.
⪠â â â REVELATION 2025 âŤ
The smile on Biankaâs lips softens near immediately upon hearing her fatherâs words, gentle warmth flickering in her eyes as she easily follows his lead to the middle of the ballroom.
Siegfried always did say these sort of things so casually, with nothing but pure affection for his family in his eyes. That they all look just as beautiful as their mother, that they have the strength to make even the skies above proud, that their smiles could light up the whole house.
He says it as if he wasnât the one who first taught them how to stand tall in the first place. As if he didnât trek through the tundra with Kiana, as if thereâs no records of his bravery and kindness when he first faced Sirin.
A quiet laugh escapes her as she spins lightly under his guidance. The rhythm of the dance feels like second nature to them both now, having danced so many times before in the large spaces of their home, be it with music or without. Sometimes, Siegfried would tease her that itâs in preparation for something, that silly playful smile on his lips, and itâs all that Bianka can do to roll her eyes and smack his shoulder in turn, hoping that the tips of her ears arenât so red.
Now here he is again, with his stupid cryptic words, with that stupid smirk on his lips. And again, Bianka can only huff playfully and roll her eyes in exchange.
âItâs too bad that your daughters seems to have inherited your tendency to smooth talk more than other, better qualities, hm?â She replies at last, her laughter quiet and sincere.
The tune filling the ballroom shifts into something more gentle and slow. Normally she wouldâve let her father lead her away now, perhaps to the table with all the food and sweets, let the others take reign on the center stage as it seems like theyâve already caught the attention of many. But tonight, just for tonight, she doesnât pull away.
Instead, Bianka tightens her arms around her father, fingers curling into the fabric of his suit jacket. The music swells, soft and sweet, and for once, she lets herself linger, taking in his warmth, eyes fluttering shut.
âIch liebe dich auch, Papa,â She takes a deep breath in and sighs, cheek pressed against his shoulder. âMama would have loved to see you in your suit, Iâm sure.â
The words hang between them, gentle but weightyâa fleeting thought given voice. Bianka doesnât elaborate. Doesnât need to.
For a heartbeat, the ballroom fades, and together, they imagine it instead⌠A world where Cecilia stands at the edge of the dance floor, watching them with that quiet, radiant pride of hers.
Bianka imagines how her mother would have fussed over her hair before the ball, clumsy fingers tying it into a braid. She imagines her mother teasing her father about his suit, smoothing away the stubborn wrinkles from his lapels with a playful scoff, eyes rolling. She imagines how she might sound as she gently scolds him with, âHonestly, Sieg, must you always look like youâve just stumbled out of a fight?â How sheâd pout, maybe, finger pointing accusingly at the tip of Siegfriedâs nose.
She imagines her mother there. Standing at the side, hands clasped in front of her, smiling as Bianka spins in her dressâno, in whatever she chose, be it a dress or a suit, because Cecilia would have insisted it was her daughterâs night, her choice. âWear what makes you feel like yourself, Liebling.â
The unvoiced image of her mother lingers. Sweet. Aching. Before the present settles back around themâthe music, the warmth of Siegfriedâs hand in hers, the quiet understanding that some loves never fade, even when they live only in memory.
Bianka exhales, soft and steady, and leans into her fatherâs shoulder again. The dance continues.
And that, for now, is enough.














