Waltz

A white and brown-tailed falcon flew through light-falling snow, soaring close to a stone tower of a tall castle. A gold band attached to its right leg glowed a soft blue for a fleeting moment, and the falcon darted off to the left at the last moment, cutting through the air with grace normally unseen in this sort of weather.

Down on the cold, snowy earth below, the young, elvish king of the land watched the falcon fly through the air, unblinking eyes stinging a bit from the cold. The king, an elf in his mid-twenties, was dressed rather modestly for a man of his stature and the weather of his land. A white cotton shirt showing in the opening of his jacket, laced with navy blue silk on the interior, and what appeared to be printed cotton in a soft tan color with a traditional leaf-like pattern sewn into the fabric. Draped on his shoulder and buckled on his collarbone was dark cerulean cape that fell to just above his heels. White pants completing the ensemble were joined by a silver ring with a blue jewel on his left hand. The crown that adorned his head and his long, acorn brown hair was also made of silver, and was more akin to a large headband that rested around his skull, as opposed to the traditional crown that would sit atop one's head.

His right arm was covered by the glove of a falconer, the back of the hand glowing blue with a Celtic cross pattern. The king was directing the falcon's movements with magical enchantment, tilting his arm and flicking his wrist against the heavy leather gauntlet, the bird graciously turning and soaring in correspondence with him. It flew higher and higher, over the roof of the castle as it made a graceful turn away from him towards the central city. The town was alight with activity, for today was a holiday in his lands. A celebration of an ancient war victory that led to the acquisition of the land the king now stood on with his own two feet had given the citizens a feast and a slew of activity to look forward to.

The elf's display of supernatural prowess was merely practicing what he already knew, though. Even the biting cold of winter was not enough to distract him from his wandering thoughts. They mostly fell to his queen... a young human maiden who had become the king's bride through previous arrangements. And, it was a union made for the sake of mutual political and financial gains for both his kingdom and hers. But alliances between countries often join faster than ones between people. The two had barely known a thing about one another beyond word-of-mouth and exaggerated tall tales.

The queen herself was watching the king from a high window, unbeknown to him. A young woman of twenty-two, she was dressed in a black dress that was sewn with chiffon on the outer layer to give it a more elegant look, safe from the snow for today, since she had no outside arrangements to attend. On the inside, a black and white alternating pattern of velvet almost flowed over her form. Short sleeves went only to her elbows, the rest of her arm covered by long, black cotton gloves that gave her warmth. The end of her dress traced over the floor, the chiffon giving an appearance that it was flowing like water from the grace of the queen's movement. A white ribbon adorned her waist-length hair, a slightly darker shade of brown than the king's. For certain, there was no one who would deny her beauty.

By coincidence, her thoughts had fallen to much the same as her king's. In particular, how different he appeared now than when they had first met. To be joined so suddenly to someone he had never met before was awkward, to put it mildly. And it was reflected by moments of unintentional comedy on the king's part, whose initial nervousness had led him to inadvertently make a fool of himself. What would normally be a confident and charismatic young leader became a well-meaning but ultimately naïve boy around her, stumbling with his words. But, it was those initial awkward yet comical meetings that she found so admirable. In spite of his apprehensive openings, he was genuinely determined to learn how to speak to her. And upon conversing with her more openly, the elvish king had come to find the queen positively alluring...

His thoughts about the queen were enough of a distraction that, when he finally did look across her in the window, it took a  moment for him for snap from his thoughts, recoiling an inch or so. She smiled and waved from the window in the side of the stone tower. The gesture was caught by the king, who smiled at her. The falcon flew around the tower with a little coaxing from him, passing in front of the window on its way down. Upon the falcon clenching its talons into the worn gauntlet, the king finally seemed to recognize that he was hardly suited for the snow at the moment. The queen made her way out of the tower to meet him elsewhere.

Light streamed from the windows nearby onto the paintings and parchments that lined the walls of the castle's hallways. Coupled with the torches that were enchanted to burn constantly, the atmosphere itself was warmer then the light of the sun. It was not long after the king had caged the training bird and returned inside to the warmth of the castle that he saw the queen approach him. She spoke up after coming a few feet away from him.

“What were doing out there, practicing your falconry in the snowfall?” she asked in a tone laden with concern, disguised with a lighthearted playfulness. “Surely, you cannot have lost all of your skill so quickly, that you needed to practice now.”

The king's eyes shifted off to the side, both eager and apprehensive about what he could potentially answer. “Well...” he started quietly, “with the festivities not yet underway, my queen, and nothing else to occupy my time, I thought... perhaps it best to brush up.” His answer was clearly an effort to avoid telling her what he was actually thinking about. But, she didn't mind, at least immediately.

“However, my queen,” he continued, “I did have a request to make of you this evening, once the festival winds to a close after nightfall. Meet me in our room, and I will tell you something that has been brooding within my mind for some time now.”

The queen was immediately puzzled, as evidenced by the look on her face. “What?” she said. “What is it that needs to wait until nightfall, that cannot be said right now, my king?” He answered cryptically with, “A matter of untold privacy.”

This matter that the king mentioned weighed on the queen's thoughts throughout the festival. Although she took part in the annual celebration, greeting and being greeted by royalty and peasantry alike, what he said was never far from the forefront of her mind. And neither was the queen from the king's mind, who pondered how most eloquently and accurately to deliver his message to her. Others noted the lack of attention from the king and queen, only to snap them back to the matters at hand. Little else was exchanged between the royals until night fell.

The moon was full, and shone like a beacon on the snow-swept land below. Countless stars decorated the sky as the sun retreated in the west behind a sloping mountain range. The ice crystals across the earth twinkled like a second starry sky. The festivities had ended, and the time had come to return to more private lives. Including for the elven king and the human queen.

Their room was one of lavish wealth and acquisition. A bed of lavender silk sheets, mantles of the finest oak, rugs from the lands of the east. It was, quite literally, a room fit for a king. And that king was standing in the center of it, with a weight in his throat that felt as if it was to pull him through the floor. Being in private, the queen was more open and direct with the king, while still trying to maintain some degree of formality all the same.

The queen spoke first. “My king,” she said quietly, “do you care to tell me this deeply personal matter of yours now? It has distracted me enough through the festival that I had to be told of a few things. But we are in private now, just as you said...”

He smiled and turned to her, standing a few feet away as he had before. He felt the nerves in his body all tense up as one, yet he spoke with determination all the same to help remove the weight that weighed him down. “Indeed, we are. And it is of the most personal of matters that I have to tell you of tonight.”

Almost as if on cue, a soft melody echoed through the room. In the room below the king and queen's chambers were musicians who had played during the festival, reciting a piece from a waltz. The sound of a violin, a bass and a cello flowed up from the room below to their chambers. The music interrupted the king's words, but found it to be appropriate nonetheless. His arm extended with his palm facing upwards towards her, the elf smiled warmly. “Shall we dance?”

The king and queen's hands locked together with their fingers interlacing, his right hand sliding across the chiffon fabric on the small of her back. A soft, pink blush came over her cheeks at the sudden offer, but accepted all the same. Her left hand came up to his right shoulder, cupping the palm of her hand around her as he led her slowly in time with the music.

Even distracted from the festival as they had been, the long day had taxed the minds and souls of the king and queen. The entirety of the day had shown the proper social etiquette from the two of them, putting on different masks for everyone who had approached them. But now, in the privacy of their own chambers, with the gentle music wafting into their ears, all of that was washed away in favor of who they really were. The two young sovereigns maintained a soft eye contact through the improvised dance until the queen chose to smile at him, resting her head near her hand, laying across his collarbone. The king smiled from the affectionate gesture, still moving slowly about to the music's time. The final note of the section played when the king faced the window, the moonlight shining onto his face. He leaned down towards her with his eyes momentarily closed. He whispered into her ear, the sound of his breath finding its way to her more than his words.

“I love you.”

She recoiled. He anticipated that, as the hand against the queen's back pushed into her spine to keep her close enough to him. His hand also held tight onto hers, still interlaced as she looked... not shocked, but most certainly surprised. Their pairs of blue eyes were locked into one another's gaze.

He continued, speaking as flowingly as the music had been played. “My queen... as of late, you have occupied my waking moments without pause. The affairs of state and of the people have been as trivial matters, at most, whenever I think of you. I have been captivated by your beauty, your charm, your wit from the moment I had met you... and in the time since, I have only grown more attracted.”

The king leaned in ever so slightly closer. “Ever have I tried to distract myself,” he said, thinking especially of the falconry during the middle of the day, “but each time, been unable...” He felt his heart's weight being lifted, if only to make room for a different, albeit heavier, weight. Now that his feelings were well-known to the queen, he awaited her response, literally holding his breath, his arms tense around her.

The initial surprise that had overtaken the queen wore off as he spoke of his affections to her. And despite the tension that had kept her somewhat recoiled moments ago, she managed a smile. Her eyes trailed down to his collarbone where her head had been laid, then slowly brought her blue eyes back up to his.

Her voice came momentarily shyly. “And... I love you, my king.”

The king had his turn to be surprised. Truthfully, he  had expected that the queen reciprocated his feelings, but all the same, it was still a moment that made his heart nearly jump from his chest.

“I, too, have found myself distracted, day by day, wondering about what you were up to. And even though you had your moments...” she chuckled, thinking of his initial awkwardness, “the way you kept trying despite it only think ever the more highly of you.” Her glove-covered hand reached up to brush some of the king's hair behind his long, pointed ear. “Along with how we have come together for the needs of many.”

The violin, alone, played a soft string of notes from the slowest part in the waltz he rehearsed. It echoed up to the two young sovereigns again, who were caught up in the moment, locked in each other's gaze again. His arms held around the middle of her back, while hers had very loosely wrapped around his neck. The two leaned in at the same moment, their eyes sliding closed just as their lips made contact for a kiss.

The weights in their hearts broke apart. It was one of the few moments in the lives of the king and of the queen where time itself stood still. A moment in which the entire rest of the world could come to a crumbling end without notice, when everything else seemed blocked out in favor of that one outpouring of emotion. Even the moon itself seemed to acknowledge the moment, its light pouring over both of their faces.

After what felt like an eternity spent expressing their feelings, the two young lovers slowly pulled their lips apart, all smiles. The violin's music, still a slow and methodical solo in the waltz, continued to play to them. Taking one small step back, the queen held her hand back on his shoulder. Grasping her intentions right away, the king's arm slid down her dress to the small of her back again. Each of them had ten thousand thoughts roaming through their minds, each of them trying to find words to be given form, but finding none. Instead, their feet traced slowly across the floor of the lavish room. And the dance continued.