"Stop fidgetiiiiing," my father sang. He was all smiles in the foyer, and I was all nerves—a bundle of anticipation and wait.

"I can't," I said. "I can hardly breathe. All my focus has gone into that. I can't make my body stop moving, too." I took a deep inhale. Then another. Then another.

"Rosie," he said.

"I told you, I can't breathe!"

We greeted the fifth or sixth group of invitees. Father took time to talk to each one of them, just like he had the previous set. I tapped my foot, noticing only when the missus of their party glanced at it. Immediately I stopped and put on my best, definitely-not-uneasing smile for her.

"I like your dress," I lied. I didn't care about her dress.

"You humble me, Your Highness," she beamed, and then it was over. I was in the clear.

My father bid them a good evening, promised to catch up with them later, and then widened his eyes at me when they were gone.

"Rosie," he cried.

"Last week, he was here first," I said.

"Aye," he nodded. "And this week, he is not. He will be here."

"You don't know that," I muttered.

"No," he added. "But I have a fairly reasonable idea that he will be among the arrivals tonight. He did say he would be."

I leaned to the side to try and see down the line, but Daddy pulled me back by the glove. "Hey!?"

"Do try to appear somewhat collected, dear. I know you are anxious to see the Duke, but we have an image to keep."

I huffed.

"Yes, very ladylike." He sighed, too.

"Why can you moan, but I can't?" I asked.

"Because I am King. One day when you are Duchess, you can do all sorts of things you don't allow your children to do." He rolled to look at me, smirking. "Why don't you go dance?"

"What? No!" I whined.

"I don't think you should wait by the door."

"But I'm the hostess," I argued. "I need to be here, by the door, in case... People need hosted."

"Eliza," he said. "Go dance."

"But–"

"I think it will help you burn off some energy," he said.

"But Daddy!" I cried.

He half-turned and snapped his fingers, summoning Ser Elías. When the knight arrived, he picked up my glove and offered it to the Sword.

"Here," Dad said. "Take her around the floor for me?"

Elías bowed at the instruction, and I groaned, but I went.

We arrived at the center, and I lost another heavy exhale before he swept me into a waltz—a surprisingly agile waltz for a man in armor.

"Do you prefer indoors or the gardens to dance?" he asked.

"It doesn't matter," I said, inspecting him. "Should you be dancing with all that? Why are you dancing in all that? Doesn't it hurt?"

"I can manage, and no, it doesn't hurt," Elías said. "You look beautiful in contrast."

"Thanks," I said. "But I don't feel beautiful. Willough insisted I wear the lavender, but now I'm all discombobulated and thinking I should have gone with red. Red screams, 'Here I am!' and this..."

"No," Eli said. "Red is a great color, but it would be too loud for you. It does not suit your air." He spun me. "If my opinion matters, I think the purple is fine."

"Fine!?" I cried.

"Good. I think it is good," he corrected.

"...I want him to notice me, Eli," I confessed. "The Duke. I want him to notice me and immediately upon entering the ball. Assuming he is still coming to the ball."

"He's coming, I'm sure," he said. "It's all anyone is talking about. Even the squires. I've heard there's talk of offers, too."

"Everybody is sure but me then," I said. "But I want Askar to see me right away. And I want him to think, 'Wow, I should marry that.'"

"When your mother was our age, she worried about the same things," he said. "And now look."

He dipped his head, gesturing toward my parents. They met at the door, and Daddy snuck a traveling hand around the small of her waist, and his nose graced the side of her neck. I cringed.

"Ew. Gross, Elías," I whined. "How dare you subject me to that!"

"Your parents are in love," he explained. "Now and always. It was never a question, only a matter of time. Your Duke will arrive in a matter of time."

"How can you be certain?" I asked. "Many things have changed since last week. I'm growing impatient."

"Who, you?" he asked. "No!"

I scoffed.

"When you find your person, life becomes a sleepwalk from one moment to the next until you are reunited."

"Well that's profound," I muttered.

"But true, yes?" He loosed a breath.

"Have you been in love?" I asked.

He spun us, considering and confessing a small "Yes," with it. He waded us out onto the patio floor, where others were dancing, too. "I was blessed to have been in love."

"Where are they now?" I asked.

"In the Heavens," he said. "Waiting for me, I hope."

"Oh, I..." My chest was tight. "I'm sorry, Ser. I should not have asked."

"I'm surprised it took you this long," he said. "Now you'll ask me her name next, yes?"

"No," I told him. "No, because if you wanted me to know it, you would've given it. I can respect your privacy. But was she very nice?"

"No." He grinned. "She had a terrible temper."

"But you loved her anyway?" I asked.

"From the moment I first saw her, until my body dies and my soul erodes into the ethers. And even then."

"Then I know she is waiting for you," I said. "And why wouldn't she? You're so wonderful and brave. I'll miss you when I'm gone, you know?"

He frowned. "When you're gone?"

"I meant," I flushed. "Not death. I meant if I leave. If the Duke proposes. If I marry him and move to Gosil."

"Ah." He nodded. "Much better than what I thought you meant. I'll miss you, Eliza."

The song ended, and he bowed to me, and I came up from my curtsey.

"If I may offer but one sliver of advice?" he said.

"Is it 'patience is a virtue?'" I asked. "Because then no."

"If you love the Duke, tell him," he said. He nodded beyond my shoulder.

I turned, and the Duke was there.

Askar looked taller somehow, perhaps only by gift of light, every candelabra seemingly glimmeed behind him and so ethereally. He held out his hand for mine, never asking for the dance but taking it once I had given him my glove. His eyes skirted the length of my gown as we connected, and then he found my face, and with a quiet whisper, he spoke.

"You are a vision," he said.

"You came?"

His smile was crooked; his brows bent. "Of course, I came; I said I would."

"H-How is Lord Beck?" I thought to ask. I was too anxious to operate.

He shook his head. "Very kind, Eliza, but I do not wish to discuss Lord Beck right now."

We glid across the floor.

"But he–"

"He hurt you," he said. "I cannot stomach the idea of giving him an audience, even privately. Not when tonight is so very vital for us."

I bit my lip; Askar came closer until his head met with mine. The whispers started within seconds, it felt.

"Does anyone else see that?"

"Are we to–"

Then the music stalled, conforming to a signal from the Duke's hand. He knelt before me, and the Grand Hall had never been so quiet, even in its daily emptiness. My hands trembled so horribly that I had to belt them to the waistline of my dress. I tried not to look around at the murmuring of voices re-emerging moments after.

"My Eliza," Askar said.

Next, all I heard was the drumming of my heart. A low, rumbling throb until... until I realized the crickets had stopped their songs, and it wasn't my heart at all.

"Askar," I muttered, finding the sky. The Aurora had appeared at some point: Emerald and Azure. The stars twinkled wistfully, but then...

Thrumming. Beating. Like wings on the wind.