"Dance?" Aurelia frowned. Of course she would have to dance at a ball. Or she could take what she was deeming the Lucas way out, which would be avoiding everyone.

"Yes dance. You know how to dance, right?" Serenity wondered.

Aurelia scratched the back of her head. "Well..." There was a noticeable difference in tone. Learning to dance, officially, had never been an opportunity for her nor had it ever been a priority. She didn't have time for dancing!

"Here, Lucas, help her. I want to see where she's at." Serenity commanded. Luke narrowed his eyebrows.

"What? Why do I have to do it?" Lucas asked.

Aurelia shook her head at the other two. She hoped they didn't often argue like this. A smile crossed her face, betraying her so she had to give away her true feelings. It was entertaining to watch.

"I just told you! I want to see how she dances." Serenity let out an exhausted breath.

"But if you want to see-" Lucas started.

"Lucas, don't make a big to do. Just do it, please." Serenity crossed her arms, sat up straight, and was ready to observe the two.

Aurelia shook her head again. Talk about exasperating. These two... Well they were an interesting pair to say the least.

"Fine," Lucas stood up and held out his hand. Aurelia followed him, accepting his hand.

Lucas angled his arms at what looked like very uncomfortable and stiff positions. He kept his distance from Aurelia, being as far from her as he could while still being able to dance. Aurelia felt like she too had to be stiff and uncomfortable so mimicked the vibe Lucas was giving off. He looked even more uncomfortable putting his hand on his waist, trying keep it in the most appropriate place. They placed their hands in the proper places and avoided eye contact.

Her eyes stared at the ground as they practiced the steps. She watched her feet, avoiding stepping on Luke's toes, which slowed them down.

After a couple minutes- which seemed like an eternity to the prince and peasant- Serenity stopped them.

"Okay I've seen enough." Serenity stated. Lucas and Aurelia sprang apart immediately. "No get back in to position. I want to show you what you're doing wrong."

Lucas sighed and grabbed Aurelia's hand again. Aurelia gave Lucas an apologetic shrug. He gave her a hint of a fake smile and a shrug back.

"Okay first off, Aurelia, usually the man is supposed to lead." Serenity pointed out.

"Are you sure we can consider Lucas a man?" Aurelia teased in an attempt to lighten the tension.

Lucas surprised himself by letting himself laugh, despite the jest being at his expense.

"I qualify as a man, Lia." He chuckled.

"Oh yeah?" Aurelia raised an eyebrow.

"I'm nineteen after all. I feel like I can be considered a man." Lucas stated. Maturity was more a factor in the matter, they both believed, but they both knew that

"You're nineteen?" Aurelia questioned. She didn't know that.

"Yes," Lucas shrugged. "Why? How old are you."

"I'll be eighteen next month." Aurelia blushed. She wondered if that would be considered too young, like she would be considered a child. It was only a year difference.

"You're only seventeen?" Lucas exclaimed.

"Who cares? She'll be eighteen soon. Back on topic!" Serenity boomed. "You need to loosen up. Both of you! You are seriously tense. Relax, it's for fun." Serenity advised.

Aurelia let out and deep breath and let a reassuring smile light up her face. She felt his hand on her waist and closed the gap between them a bit. Lucas relaxed and gave her a thankful smile back.

"And one more thing, Aurelia, stop looking at your feet." Serenity spoke up. Aurelia opened her mouth to explain that she didn't want to step on Lucas' toes, but Serenity seemed to sense what she had to say. "Yeah I know. You're afraid of stepping on his feet. You'll be fine. Just look at each other. It's polite."

Aurelia looked Lucas in his lake blue eyes. He gave her another, more believable, grin. Her smile grew. Maybe dancing wasn't too bad.

"Great, now let's try again." Serenity clapped her hands together excitedly.

This time they kept their eyes on each other, Lucas led, and they stayed relaxed. The dance didn't flow exactly perfectly- there was no music- but it was a bit better than the first time.

Two friends having a nice time was actually well nice. Neither of them cared about dancing, but this was actually kind of fun.

"Aw," Serenity cooed. "Tell me again why you don't want to marry each other?"

Lucas groaned as Aurelia rolled her eyes at Serenity. "Because I don't want to marry someone I don't love." Aurelia smiled.

Lucas chuckled. "Good answer."

It was actually nice and refreshing to have a friend who was just enough like you. A friend who was the opposite gender. A friend who matched your intelligence. A friend who was just a friend. They smiled, platonically at each other before...

"Ouch, Aurelia!"

"Sorry!"