"Now remember," Ms. Lily said, her voice cutting cleanly through the ballroom, "the secondary partner must sway with their partner and flow with their rhythm."
She paced in front of them, wings tucked neatly at her sides.
"Primary partners, be aware of your movements and watch your partners. Your feet are attached to your legs. Staring at them will not change that fact."
She clapped her wings together once.
"Let us begin again."
Everyone moved throughout the ballroom.
Kaelen had been partnered with Liora.
Jax was with Thalia.
Aiden was with Selene.
As someone who had never learned to dance before, Aiden was rather surprised by how many details there were.
When there were four different races, one of which could range from humanoid to full-on animal, the question of how people danced together became a lot more complicated.
Because of that, a dance was divided into two parts, each partner assigned to a different rhythm within the song being played.
One partner led and had to move in a way that allowed their partner to follow while still meeting their eyes.
Then they switched.
Each dance also began and ended with a bow, though the level of courtesy and formality depended on the kind of partner one was dancing with.
It was mind-numbing.
Despite Selene's great strength, she lacked the gentle finesse required to avoid tripping over her own dress.
Or, more importantly, avoid stepping on Aiden's feet.
"Okay, you all have been working hard," Lily said, clapping her wings together. "Time for a break."
Like dominoes, they practically fell apart.
Everyone made their way over to a nearby bench.
Selene held out a shaky hand toward Aiden.
He handed her another Energy Potion, which she greedily gulped down.
Her skill to hide her arm would normally just block off a chunk of her energy. Due to her condition, however, it instead slowly drained her over time.
Everyone quickly grabbed the bottles of water offered by a passing maid carrying a tray.
Dancing itself seemed like the kind of thing people who trained daily to improve their physicality would not get tired from.
Unfortunately, Lily was a brutal teacher.
Her methods involved teaching them a movement and then insisting they move through it at a crawl, forcing them to hold hard-to-balance poses while straining to keep their bodies at difficult angles.
"If you are to hold a perfect form," Lily had said, "you must reach a point where you cannot feel the strain even after an hour."
Jax had complained that Lily was a flamingo halfblood and had hollow bones.
He had earned himself one hour of holding a handstand.
Aiden put his water bottle down and leaned back against the wall.
It had been four days since they arrived, which meant he had crossed the one-month mark of being an adventurer.
The days at the duke's estate had become repetitive.
Wake up.
Eat breakfast.
Get an hour in the morning to do whatever they wanted.
Spend eight hours practicing dance.
Get the rest of the day off.
For the most part, Aiden had spent his free time brewing potions.
The duke had a rather large herbal stock, so Aiden had been brewing healing potions, energy potions, and more, using all eighty-two of his mana to make eight potions per day.
Today, however, he had a different plan.
The letter was already in his bag next to the door of the ballroom.
He had even learned the directions by asking the duke's servants.
"All right," Lily said, stepping back to the center of the room. "You have had time to rest, and we are almost done for the day."
Everyone groaned internally, but no one was brave enough to make a sound.
"You have all improved, but I want to look each pair over so I can formulate a plan for your practice tomorrow."
Her eyes moved across them.
"First up, Lord Kaelen and Lady Liora."
The two stepped forward and took their positions.
Kaelen was set as the lead, and the two bowed.
Kaelen's lead dance was intricate, following a flow like someone light on their feet running through the woods.
He circled Liora as she spun in place, one of his hands in hers to keep her balanced.
His movements were rigid and crude, partially from fatigue, but also with a reluctance to perform well.
Despite that, his dance was regal and beautiful to watch.
Then the music shifted.
Liora's turn arrived.
Her dance focused on her avian nature, having her step into the sky and move like a leaf carried by the wind.
Liora's portion of the dance held a fluidity that hid the fine control required to move as she did.
Despite that, it lacked regality.
It looked more chaotic than formal.
"That's enough, you two," Lily said. "There is improvement, but work must be done."
Kaelen and Liora stopped.
"Kaelen, you need to get more into this and stop fighting the dance. Liora, your dance is too chaotic. You must flow around your partner like a spiral of wind embracing an old friend."
Both Kaelen and Liora nodded halfheartedly before sitting down again.
"Jax, Thalia, let's see you two next. Then we will end with Aiden and Selene."
Jax and Thalia stood and took their positions.
Unlike Kaelen and Liora, who could begin in a more formal, waltz-like stance, Jax and Thalia instead began by sharing a bow.
Jax led first.
His dance was supposed to mimic a mix of an animal stalking prey while also spiraling around Thalia, who was meant to look around as if trying to find him.
Jax had the physicality to pull it off.
Unfortunately, his rhythm was different from the music, and he seemed confused by the description Lily had given him.
Then Jax switched with Thalia.
Maybe it was because her class focused on the flow of battle, or maybe it was due to some other aspect of rhythm, but Thalia's dance was hauntingly beautiful.
Hers was meant to show strings wrapping around her ankles and wrists, like she was a puppet on strings.
She was supposed to go from a rigid and stagnant style to a more flowing one as she moved.
However, Aiden could see that holding the strings, her own position, and the rhythm all at once was difficult.
Her arms and legs jerked from time to time.
The two finished, and Ms. Lily looked them over.
"Jax, you have the physicality, but you lack the mentality. Thalia, you hold the mentality, but you seem to be struggling with the multitasking aspect."
She gave them a small nod.
"All in all, good job."
Selene stood up.
Aiden gave an internal groan as his tired muscles protested.
He followed her to the middle of the room.
He was up first.
His dance was supposed to focus on spins and flair.
"Think of it like you are the pestle," Ms. Lily had told him, "and you are grinding up herbs for a concoction."
The movement was not too difficult to pull off, but the muscle fatigue and mental exhaustion from dancing for eight hours straight left him making small, stupid mistakes.
When he finished, it was Selene's turn.
Aiden could already see that she was struggling just as much as earlier.
She had been told her style should mimic a duel, like she was fighting with a sword while Aiden stood as an opponent she could not actually hit.
Unfortunately, that had not translated well.
Selene kept staring at her feet.
Even with that, she still stepped on Aiden's toes from time to time.
By the time she finished, his feet were throbbing, and Selene looked embarrassed.
"Aiden, you are doing okay," Ms. Lily said. "You need work in a few parts, but otherwise, not bad for just starting."
Then she turned to Selene.
"But Selene, darling, this is a partner dance, not a solo. If you only focus on how you are moving, then you cannot involve anyone else."
Selene nodded, her face flushed.
They made their way back to the bench and sat with the others.
Ms. Lily stepped forward and looked them over.
"You all worked hard today. You are dismissed, and I will see you tomorrow."
Everyone stood and made their way out of the hall, careful to hide their excitement at finally escaping.
They had learned that lesson on the first day.
When they had tried to run out, Lily had made them stay an extra hour because, as she had put it, "I did not know you had so much energy left."
So they walked.
Calmly.
Politely.
Like civilized people.
Then the door closed behind them, and they broke into a run.
They were free from torment for the day.
Everyone had something they wanted to do.
Selene was going to meet with the duchess, as she had for the past few days.
Kaelen and Liora were running off to meet up with Kaelen's siblings.
Jax was already halfway to the bar to get wasted.
Thalia had taken her seat in the garden and continued working on her woodcarving project, shaping what seemed to be a set of wooden puppets.
Aiden made a beeline for the gate.
He walked down the long driveway, passed through the estate gate, and stepped onto the street.
It was strange to walk the eight miles it would take to reach the bookstore instead of driving, but the vehicle was still back on the other side of the teleport gate.
So Aiden walked.
As he did, he took in the beautiful, towering trees lining the road.
Their leaves were a bright, vibrant green, and while the summer heat was starting to build, for now it was still comfortable rather than sweltering.
He made his way along the cobblestones, passing vehicles and people.
The smell of baked bread and sweets filled the air.
In the distance, he eventually saw a row of homes.
Between them sat a simple little shop.
A small sign hung above the doorway.
The bookstore.
Aiden started forward.
Then he froze.
A familiar feeling of unease settled over him as he saw the bookstore door open.
The figure who stepped out wore an ornate purple dress, golden trim forming intricate designs along the front.
Her hair was a deep and vibrant violet, curling down her back until it trailed just below her waist.
At first glance, she could have been just an eccentric noble visiting a shop.
But she wore a strange and chilling accessory.
A mask.
It was painted indigo, with golden, crack-like designs running across it.
The mask had a box-like shape, with eye and mouth holes carved into it. Bars covered the mouth portion, built directly into the mask as it moved with the woman's face.
Aiden's blood froze in his veins.
Memories his mind had forced away broke free like a herd of rampaging elephants.
The mask.
The attire.
The feeling.
She was just like Red.
And unlike the terrifying world-breaker, she was looking directly at him.