#petitpotato

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The dance had begun and Jale couldn’t get himself to move.

Most of the others gathered at the tables in the Royal Hall had taken the opportunity to ask their spouses, lovers, or anyone they wished to know better, out on the dance floor, leaving the tables mostly empty. The Forest Cover warriors had broken their lineup and huddled together in a corner, talking among themselves and watching Undet and Onren dance.

Everyone seemed to be talking to someone, even the people not dancing. The queen was having a hushed conversation with the princess and the elder prince, and at the edge of the main table Zurkea had joined Beswa, Gelame, Fanwa and Kaaz in drinking and laughing.

Jale felt like a rat among bats, sitting as he was alone at a huge table, between the royal family and his sister’s guard company but not close enough to talk to either of them.

Warsa sitting down next to him did not help that feeling in the least.

“Ready?” Warsa asked, resting an arm on Jale’s shoulders.

Jale didn’t bother asking ‘for what?’. “There are other people in line, so to speak.” He couldn’t tear his eyes away from Onren and Undet, moving in the complicated patterns of a first meeting dance. At least they weren’t doing more than keeping eye contact and occasionally brushing hands.

“There’s no line, boy.” Zurkea plopped down on his right-hand side, making Jale start. “Someone been telling you that? You know we don’t tolerate liars around here.” Her grin stretched the tattoo of a wolf paw she had on her right cheek, and drew attention to the scar that diagonally crossed her nose.

“Ah, no, no one said it, I just…” ‘Assumed’ would have been a lie. There were never lines at dances, that could lead to messy fights. And the other Forest Cover warriors didn’t look to be in a hurry to replace Undet.

“You’re a good dancer,” Warsa said and gave him a shake with the arm she had resting on his shoulders.

“I’m decent at it,” Jale mumbled in answer, his attention on the Forest Cover warriors. They all stood in a loose circle, each with a tankard of ale, and while their attention was on Onren and Undet they seemed to be talking a lot. They didn’t act like rivals at all.

“More than decent, surely!” Zurkea said. “Why don’t you cut in now and show those three-footed Forest Cover grunts how it’s done?”

“I, uh, what?” Warsa and Zurkea had him on his feet in a matter of seconds and before he knew what had happened he was on the other side of the table, right on the dance floor, without company.

Making his way back to the table now would be mortifying. Curse those two snakes…well, I’ll show them!

The indignation carried him out to the middle of the dance floor and had him placing himself within Prince Onren’s line of sight right when the music ended. It also gave him enough courage to say: “May I have the next dance?”

The Forest Cover warrior - Undet, was it? - looked at Jale as if he was a talking vole who’d just popped out of the ground. Jale felt the fury that had propelled him this far give way to the awareness of the other dwarf’s size and many signs of bravery and accomplishment adorning his hair and clothes.

“It would be my pleasure. If you would excuse me, good sir.”

It didn’t register at first, but when it dawned on Jale that Onren had taken his offered hand he blinked repeatedly, just to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. Jale almost swallowed his tongue when Onren took his right hand as well. Said right hand ended up on Onren’s left shoulder.

Jale knew he had to be getting dark looks, from the Forest Cover warriors if from nowhere else. He couldn’t make himself care.

“I think we know each other well enough for a more familiar dance, don’t you think?” Onren said. There was no smugness in his voice or face, a big contrast to Warsa and the rest of Onren’s guards. In fact, Jale thought he felt light tremors both from the shoulder and the hand he held.