Chapter 34: Was it good for you?
Poochie had his hands on her, holding her firmly in place. He started moving and she matched him. They were doing it. Alexia had always secretly wanted to do this with him. She was relieved to discover he had some actual skill. She was starting to really enjoy it, unlike with all the other guys she'd done this with. As he began going at it, Alexia couldn't keep the smile from her lips.
"You really had me fooled, Poochie."
"What do you mean?"
"I never would have guessed in a million years you were good at this."
Poochie managed to let out an aggrieved sight without breaking his rhythm. "Could you give me a little credit please? There are certain things every nobleman is expected to be able to do and this is just one of them."
"Oh sure, I'd expect you to at least know the basics. What amazes me is that you're skilled. I mean, I've done this with dozens of guys since I was twelve. Usually, I have to plaster a smile on my face and endure it. I swear most men are totally awkward, a few are downright clumsy. When your partner doesn't know what he's doing it's just a chore."
"You don't say?"
Alexia nodded. "But you're actually good at this!"
"Do you have to sound so surprised?" He said in obvious annoyance.
Even as he complained his moves were strong and deliberate. It was fun to be a woman when the man really had a talent for this.
"Where'd you learn how to do this so well?"
"My mother taught me. She's kind of a natural at it."
"You don't say?"
Pooch nodded. "My dad says when she was younger, my mom did it with pretty much every nobleman in our region, along with a lot of the local priests and merchants, all those guys agreed that she was amazing."
"You must be very proud."
"Well, sure, what son wouldn't be?"
"So, she taught you all your moves?"
"Afraid so."
"You must have practiced an awful lot to be this good."
"Sure did. When I was little, I mainly practiced with her, but then I had to do it with Claire too. That was sort of awkward and embarrassing for a while, especially when the whole family and staff were watching. Eventually both of us got used to it though. It was even fun. Though neechan would get mad at me if I made any mistakes."
"Speaking of which," Alexia looked over his shoulder. "Your sister is watching us. I think she's jealous."
Claire was standing there looking as if she were chewing on a lemon. The sight only made Alexia even happier.
"Jealous? What are you talking about? I must have done this with her hundreds of times. Why would she be jealous?"
"Oh? Don't you think it's a little different doing it at home as opposed to in the royal palace with the king and most of the royal court looking on?"
He shrugged and twirled her about the dance floor. "Not really, dancing is dancing."
Alexia laughed and wanted to tell Pooch he was an idiot, but she was having so much fun dancing with him she decided not to.
The celebration in honor of Claire, the God of War Champion wasn't anywhere near as extravagant as it would have been if it had been held tomorrow as scheduled. There'd have been hundreds of guests from all over the world with a full orchestra playing. She'd even heard father had booked the famous pianist Silon to perform a private concert. Instead, there were only a few dozen present, almost all of them from the royal court and six string players provided the music. Compared to last year's celebration this was little more than a small private party.
But Alexia didn't care.
The music changed from the Minute Waltz to Ode to Joy to The Magic Flute and the two of them flowed from one dance into the next. The musicians knew all the newest and most popular tunes and played them expertly. And wonder of wonders, Poochie knew all the steps. She'd danced with marriage candidates and royal guests and noblemen from all over Midgard and beyond, but she could honestly say she'd never had a better dance partner.
Alexia had always suspected that if she could dance with someone she loved it would be an act of joy instead of just another duty she was required to perform. And she was right. Gliding across the ballroom floor in her Pooch's arms felt like entering heaven. It was a moment pf pure bliss she wished could go on forever.
When the strings momentarily halted everyone came to a halt and applauded.
"So, can we stop now?" Poochie whined.
"Just one more dance," Alexia told him.
"That's what you said three dances ago."
"Just one more," she lied.
Poochie groaned, but when the 1812 overture began he took her into his arms again.
XXX
Eventually it was Claire (bitch!) that ended things. She stomped over during a break and whined that she wanted a dance with her brother. Alexia had very much wanted to tell that stupid brocon to go to Hell but couldn't really do that with daddy and the entire court looking on. The courteous and most ladylike princess had instead bowed and ever so graciously let the shrewish tart take her place on the dancefloor.
Since then, Alexia had shared a dance with daddy, the Prime Minister, the Knight Order Commander, and several others. Except with daddy all those dances had been perfunctory. She kept an eye on Cid and noted that Claire wouldn't let him evacuate the dance floor. What a horrible woman to make someone keep dancing even if they didn't want to!
Eventually Alexia was able to slip away to enjoy a little cake and wine. It was as she was eating that she finally spotted Iris. Her sister had been absent since leaving the arena with Beatrix not long after fighting Shadow. Alexia noted that there were sweat stains on Iris' clothes and her hair was a tangled mess, she looked near exhausted.
Alexia waved her over and Iris sat down at the table beside her. "Where have you been? And where's Beatrix?"
"Beatrix decided to go rest in her room. She'll be staying here with us while she investigates Alpha. I just got done training with her. Honestly, I'd prefer to just go to bed, but I have to show Claire my support."
Alexia lifted an eyebrow. "Training? After everything that happened today? I know how much you love to work on your swordplay, but I think you can take it easy for a while."
"No," her sister declared. "I absolutely can't rest. I finally understand the gulf between me and Shadow. I have to get strong enough to stop him as quickly as I can."
"Stop him?" Alexia gawked at her. "Are you suffering from a sudden case of amnesia? Or maybe blocking out the horror? Do you not remember he made a cyclone out of mana?"
Since meeting Shadow Alexia had also been inspired to work hard to improve her swordsmanship and believed she'd shown a lot of improvement. Her goal was to one day be stronger than her sister. (And to at least survive if she ever ran into Delta again. That girl was a monster!) But she'd never for even one instant imagined fighting Shadow. She was satisfied measuring herself against other mortals.
"I know how powerful he is. That's why I need to commit myself totally to getting stronger in order to match him."
Alexia just stared at her sister and honestly wondered if she'd suffered some head trauma while they were fighting in the arena.
"Don't look at me like that," Iris snapped. Her sister sounded a lot more frustrated and meaner than Alexia could ever recall. "Someone has to protect this country from him."
"You're assuming he's, our enemy."
"How is that even still a question? He made a mockery of the God of War Tournament and participated in a regicide! How could he be anything else?"
"Yes, he ruined the tournament. That's definitely a crime but I don't think it rises to the level of an act of war. As for the regicide… I don't know for sure, but from what I saw I honestly believe Rose acted alone. I think Shadow's decision to cover her escape was a spontaneous choice."
Alexia really, really, really didn't want to think about Rose's murder of her father on top of everything else. She still considered Rose a dear friend and wanted to try and help her if she could. But however she looked at it, her friend was a murderer.
"So, Shadow just happened to be in the ideal place to help her escape? It was just a random coincidence?"
Alexia shrugged. "I don't know, but it's possible."
"If that's true then why was he participating in the tournament?"
"Well, my guess, and this is only a guess, is that he wanted to establish 'Jimina' as a God of War Tournament Champion. You know how many doors that opens for someone. 'Jimina' would get access to people in the highest stations, including us, a noble title, lands, pretty much any position he wanted would be his for the asking. He could even-"
Alexia cut off and her eyes went wide as a sudden realization hit her like a lightning bolt.
"Even what?" Iris asked.
"H… He c… could even be a royal marriage candidate." The thought made her heart start pounding in her chest.
Iris' eyes also went wide at the realization. Though her reaction was a bit different. "How despicable!"
Alexia frowned but understood why her sister would feel that way.
"This man is not just our enemy, he's a direct threat to us."
"He could have killed you if he'd wanted. Same with me, Beatrix, or Claire. Honestly? With that much mana he could have wiped out the whole city. 'We only destroy our true enemies.' The fact he didn't kill any of us should be proof that he doesn't consider us enemies."
"Not wanting to slaughter us is not the same as meaning us no harm. Maybe his plan was to manipulate the kingdom from the shadows once 'Jimina' had secured a position of authority. Maybe he was even planning to become the next king through a royal marriage."
Having been the one to point out that possibility Alexia couldn't very well deny it.
"In any case, knowing how much power he has I can't let Shadow roam free to do as he please. I have to get strong enough to stop him."
Good luck with that, Alexia thought but did not say aloud. She loved her sister, but honestly couldn't imagine how anyone could witness Shadow's power and ever believe they might be able to match it. There was pride, there was hubris, and then there was that. Alexia decided not to say anything and hope her sister would come to her senses before too long.
As they sat there in a momentary silence Alexia turned her attention back to the dance floor where poor Poochie was still being held hostage. Moonlight Sonata was playing and the two of them were twirling about. The onlookers were all smiling as they watched the flawless performance. Alexia would never admit it, but Claire was obviously just as skilled as her brother.
"Aren't they a lovely couple?" Iris said.
"They're not a couple!" Alexia snapped. "They're brother and sister for goddess's sake!"
Iris grinned and momentarily looked like her old self. "I just meant as a dance couple."
"Uh… yeah, they're not too bad I suppose."
The moment the music stopped Alexia jumped to her feet and ran over to grab Cid away from the clutches of his brocon sister. When the girl complained Alexia happily lied and told her that her daddy wanted to dance with her. Claire was forced to spend the rest of the evening with various other men as dance partners while Alexia got to enjoy some more time with her boyfriend.
XXX
Two days later Poochie informed her that his sister had somehow managed to get him assigned to an expedition going to the Lawless City. Which just happened to be one of the most dangerous places on earth.
She was not happy and immediately set off to get this fixed.