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"Why mourn over burnt wings when the entire constellation is now mine?"

꧁-꧂

Mary clapped enthusiastically as Taehyung shot his head towards Y/n with his widened eyes only to find Y/n staring back at him with an unreadable expression, a look that he was always scared of. He opened his mouth soundlessly like a fish out of water not being able to say anything.

"Shall we go, Sir Kim?" Y/n, to his utter surprise, asked in a plain voice as though she knew what was coming. She did have it coming. Surprisingly, she felt rather happier as if she had been anticipating having him as her partner.

Taehyung gulped and nodded as a 'yes' not being able to speak anything. He sensed his entire body shuddering uncontrollably as a mixed feeling of anxiety and exhilaration bubbled up inside of him. He tensely stared at Y/n making a fruitless attempt to study her mind. He could not retrieve anything significant from her resting face; as always the obscurity of her face successfully concealed her sentiments. Hence, even if she was furious, there was no way of finding it out.

Both of them walked towards the dance floor and faced each other. Taehyung swallowed a lump of saliva though his throat was completely dry as a desert.

"So, I urge all of you to take your positions. Can we have the music please?" Mary remarked glancing at the pair from the corner of her eyes with a smile.

As the music started, everyone started to move with the rhythm except Taehyung and Y/n who were facing each other but still did not move an inch. Taehyung especially, stood there clueless.

"Sir Kim! What on earth are you doing!" Y/n asked confusingly, "We need to dance."

"Certainly, Your Highness." He nodded not peeking into her eyes for once. Y/n fretted on the unexpected reversal of his conduct; The man who she did not have any recollection of speaking with her without staring into her eyes leastwise for once. It caused her a pale dismay to detect such minor incongruity in his impulse.

He was afraid, in certain words, as though she was going to fade away the moment he would touch her, that he will not see her when he will turn his gaze at her. Though his love was divine and true, a twinge of guilt never vacated his heart, not that he wished for it. It was a curse...that he had retrieved in his boyhood as a relic of his deed. Every minor blunder committed by him left a deep wound in his soul smearing it as much as it could. He was the moon, enlightening the spirits around him and bearing the tarnishes in his heart sealed in the depth of his griefs... griefs that no one was to know...

He could not deny that he had infringed the principles set by nature; he fell in love with someone he was not supposed to, he dreamt of having someone in his arms who donned a ring from another man. Hence, defying a few more principles would make no difference. But the thing that troubled him was-

"Will she be comfortable if I touch her?"

"Do you not know how to dance?" She asked him observing his facial expression.

"N-Not much, honestly...I have never danced before," He answered which was partly a lie. He was not a decent dancer but he had stepped once or twice in the balls arranged by the Antares King but that too not willingly. His most akin pal Jimin had made his best attempts to make him dance with ladies from different regions who attended the ball which did not go fruitless in a way.

"It's all right, we are not having a competition here, Sir Kim. Just put your best foot forward. Hurry up!" Y/n said in a rush glancing at Mary who seemed to smell something unlikely between them and was on the verge to approach them.

Song: Young and beautiful.

"Put your hand on my waist," She hastily said.

"H-Huh?"He could not believe his ears somehow and sputtered.

"Put your hand on my waist!" She drawled not wanting to be expounded by Mary and put her hand on his shoulder but as soon as she did it she felt a sudden warmth taking over; her stomach felt heavier and a crazy jitter of fervour spurted through her limbs.

Taehyung gasped feeling her hand clutching onto his shoulder. He perceived his palms getting sweaty due to tension when he reached for a grip on her waist. He reckoned as though his body would collapse at the very moment he would touch her. But as sooner had he touched her, he sensed the identical sensation that he had experienced the time when his eyes had met hers for the very first time.

An ecstatic euphoria surged inside of him. He knew not where the confidence he reaped from that caused his shaky hand to pull her slender waist into a soft grip. Their free hands clasping together, like the most delicate and stunning puzzle they were to exist.

The closeness caused both of their bodies to heat up with heavenly bliss. And that was it...

The orchestra played a series of symphonies when their bodies moved in a synchronized way. The way they glided, their eyes fastened on each other, their hearts beat crazily like wings of a butterfly on the verge of flight but obliged to be walled in, because what's beautiful is always imprisoned, just as their eyes were held each other in the deepest of their hearts.

His arms held her as the stem holds the delicate petals, keeping them conserved from falling apart. Y/n, however, did not resist. She let him guide her body through dance. Whenever his warm skin came in a contact with hers, she felt alive, as though woke up from a deep slumber after eternity. She felt as though her body was floating as they twirled across the ballroom. The light of the chandeliers above them turned their skin shimmering gold making them look like the most celestial creatures on the earth.

They waltzed on the floor, as though time would wait for them; Too engaged to notice countless pairs of eyes gazing at them with awe, the couple melted into each other's arms, dancing as if it was their last regardless of all the disturbing and flustering moments they had shared; All of those seemed to have succumbed in that ecstasy. The denial that her heart held emptied the place to give the room to someone who had rights on it. The stigma that possessed his soul evacuated as sensed the burning passion of two united soulmates.

they looked like fallen angels, lost in their world as if they owned that night. All he cared about was the enigma of her glistening green eyes, the way he got the sweet sensation of her touch. All she cared about was the tingles she felt when his grip tightened around her waist while lifting the petit girl off the floor, the way his ocean eyes looked at her with nothing but love and reverence, the way the touch of his cold yet warm hands did not cause her affliction.

Her skirt levitated as he twirled her and again slipping his arm around her waist. Their breath hit against each other's skin as y/n wrapped her hands around his shoulder.

Eventually, the music faded away bringing them back to the earth. The sound of heavy applause broke the silence afterwards and made them break their eye contact. Taehyung slowly let go of her hand and waist.

His eyes met the floor not knowing what to say. His heart leapt up for joy, too overwhelmed to say anything.

"You are not a horrible dancer, Sir Kim. I mean it," Said Y/n with a friendly smile.

"You two, right there, were incredible! " Mary's voice cooed as she made her way towards them. She came to a halt and beamed at them.

"Well, well. Thank you, Ms Mary," Y/n replied conventionally. "That was exhausting, that really was."

"Truly, I thought Y/n Windsor does not get exhausted by any means."

"Whatever sails your boat," She sighed.

"Alright, Ladies and gentlemen, I anticipate you enjoyed the ball and feast. Now that it's nearly midnight, I am afraid that the celebration needs to come to an end." They heard Francis's voice from the aisle.

There was a murmuring sound among the present guests while they made their way to the grand portal. They congratulated Y/n for the last time before leaving.

"Hold on, where is Areum?" Y/n asked moving her eyes over the crowd.

"Areum? Who is Areum?"

"The little girl who was with me and Sir Kim." "Oh, her parents came searching for her as soon as you both left for the dance floor," Mary answered.

"Oh, it's alright, then." Y/n thoughtfully said, "Well, we should leave too, then. C'mon Mary."

"Goodnight, Sir Kim," She wished him with a smile but then immediately thought it was probably not necessary..or was it?

"Goodnight, Your Highness. It was an honour to have a dance with you," He beamed. He did not know how to conceal his happiness which was now overflowing. He somehow restrained his urge to jump and whoop and walked away.

༺༻

"What are you doing here at this hour!" Y/n asked Mary who was currently standing in front of her chamber, "Go and sleep. It's past midnight."

"I am here to sleep," Mary shrugged and answered, "Now move over. Let me in, will you?" She softly pushed her and entered the chamber and settled down on the bed pulling the quilt over her.

"But why here? You have your chamber, don't you?" Asked Y/n with great annoyance.

"Yes, I have. But that does not mean I cannot sleep with you. Your bedstead is spacious enough for both of us. Now stop making such a fuss."

Y/n shook her head and laid down beside Mary.

"Also, I want to gossip with you," Mary eagerly said while hugging her tightly.

"Mhmmpp! Leave me, Mary. You are suffocating me!" Y/n wiggled to be free from her grip.

"I will miss you when you will be married."

Y/n made no answer. After a couple of moments of silence, Y/n slowly asked her something that made Mary look at her.

"You did it purposely, didn't you?"

"Did what?" Mary asked her lifting her head a little to look at Y/n.

"The dance, of course. You purposely picked me and Sir Kim as partners, didn't you?" She spoke quietly.

"What made you think like this, Y/n? You know very well what I had mentioned before about the rules. You and Sir Kim were just happened to be together when I was calling out the pairs."

"I do not think so, truly. I believe that you want something."

"Are you certain? Because I do not know what I want. You don't know that too."

"How do you know that?"

"It's obvious, isn't it? It's a general rule that we are not certain about what we want. We believe that we yearn for a particular thing but when we get that desired thing, it just turns out to be a delusion. It could be the opposite as well. We desire something badly but we just do not want to accept that. And we acknowledge it right after it slips away from our clasp," Mary said in a low voice."Do you know what you want?"

Y/n kept quiet. She could not comprehend her motive behind those momentous talks.

"You are turning into such an intriguing character day by day. No one seems to be noticing that."

"It's not like no one is noticing at all. You are," Said Mary again hugging her sister tightly but this time Y/n did not protest.

"You did not answer my question. But I think I know the answer anyway."

"Seems like you're aware of everything that happens around the world." Y/n sarcastically scoffed.

"No, but I'm aware of one thing." Mary softly spoke taking a pause.

"That you yearn for Sir Taehyung."

꧁꧂   

-Pride