Page 29 of Kingdom of Flames & Flowers
“The bread district girl,” the queen drawled next, not even bothering to name Leilani. The queen wasn’t even pretending not to have favorites. Then again, why would she? She was the queen.
Leilani popped up brightly, ignoring the insult. Her skirts and ribbons tumbled around her like a summer sprite, her blonde hair curling and shining. Her white teeth flashed as she smiled at everyone, gazing at the crowd with contemplation. No fireguards came to give her materials, so she obviously would not bake. The crowd seemed as mystified as I was.
“Will you come dance with me?” She touched the arm of a young nobleman in a black velvet tunic. The man blushed at her attention and shot an anxious look at an older man next to him, possibly his father.
“I don’t know if—”
“Don’t worry, you can come too!” Before either could protest, Leilani pulled both men out of the crowd, then another woman, who was likely the older man’s wife and the younger man’s mother.
“I’m going to teach you a folk dance of the bread quarter. It’s very fun!”
I covered my mouth at the look of horror on the faces of the nobles, but the nervous glances they shot toward the queen told me they wouldn’t dare refuse. And Leilani knew it.
“Stand next to me and the men across from us, like this.”
Leilani positioned everyone, then took a few steps forward toward the young man, holding out her hand flat. Instinctively, the man took a step forward to meet her, his hand matching hers.
Leilani beamed. “That’s it!”
The older couple repeated it, then followed as Leilani stepped back and gestured for the younger man to do so as well.
“Great! Now, just—”
I watched with amusement as Leilani patiently taught a simple, yet graceful little folk dance, complete with twirls and even a small lift at the end. The nobles with her looked flustered, but determined.
“Now, let’s try that faster!”
The older woman let out a startled giggle as her husband lifted her into the air and spun her around, her dark locks flying. Sped up, the dance looked much more fun.
Above us, the same instrument Hyacinth had played earlier now emitted a lively little tune as a noble musician joined in. Leilani beamed at him and started clapping to the beat. The crowd slowly joined in one by one, and Leilani turned toward her partner, grinning madly.
“Ready?”
He couldn’t take his eyes off her. “Yes.”
They spun around the floor, doing the dance at over double the speed they’d just done. His parents watched one circuit, then joined in with determination. Whoops and catcalls floated out from the audience to cheer them on, and even the king was tapping his foot along with the beat, leaning forward eagerly in his seat. Zion watched stoically, but I could have sworn the corner of his mouth twitched with a smile.
The queen rolled her eyes.
Pride rose in my chest. Leilani had charmed everyone in the court with nothing other than herself.
“Come on! Everyone!”
The crowd of nobles rushed forward, finding partners and clumsily attempting the dance for their own. It was simple enough that most picked it up in a few rounds, and soon the hall filled with lively laughter and swirling skirts.
“Will you dance with me, my queen?” The king rose from his seat and was holding out his hand to the queen.
“Mindless peasant stomping,” she muttered under her breath and continued to stare forward.
The king huffed, then descended the steps to offer Freesia his hand. Stunned and going pale, she let the king swing her out to the floor. I was in such shock watching that I didn’t notice Zion until he tapped me on the shoulder. I jumped, putting my hand to my chest.
“Zion! I—”
“Dance with me.”
He didn’t give me a chance to refuse, tugging me to my feet and practically dragging out onto the floor.
I did not know what I was doing, stumbling along as the dance forced me to lean on Zion or risk falling. My feet stepped on his toes at least a few times. But after a few minutes when no one stopped us or insisted he quit touching me, I noticed the smiles and laughter of the surrounding couples.
