Dancing Part 4

“Now, we wait here a bit” The Baron’s smile reminded Scagie of her brother’s smile right before he got one of his bigger brother’s in trouble. Her stomach was just about to decide if that was a good thing on a Baron of the Summer court when she heard her name.

“Scagie of the Bog, accompanied by Baron von Sequin” a louder than normal voice said. Before Scagie could do anything more the Baron, with her by the arm, threw open the curtains of the dais, and smiled out to the crowded Ball. Unlike coming up from the bathroom, here Scagie could see the people around the tables, on the dance floor, she could see where the minstrels played from, and to their left, the four thrones of the Kinds and Queens of Fairy. Frozen blood red roses around the Winter Queen’s throne, living red and green for the Summer Queen. Green thorns and gold framed where the Summer King sat, while the Winter King’s throne had icicles and silver. Roses wrapped their way up behind the thrones, and along the walls where the curtains, that she had been hiding behind, seemed to hang down from.

Taking this all in, Scagie felt like a human kid must on Christmas day. The Baron, took her gently down the stairs and as the music started again, onto the dance floor. He gave no one a chance to make a comment.
Scagie forgot to mention that she didn’t know how to dance with polite people. Ma only taught her how to swing a table leg around, and where she was supposed to hit her brothers and sisters. The Baron seemed to think a little better of things though. After they got on the dance floor, he picked Scagie up like her Pa would, making her feel like she weighed no more than a pillow. Instead of whacking her around, he held her up, not quite at arms length, and with a big smile and twinkle in his eye, started to let her see how to dance.

Held up that way, she could look down and see his feet. How he moved, and stepped over as the rose vines seemed to move with the music. Scagie had not noticed the roses on the dance floor before. They do everything with roses, she thought and couldn’t help but laugh. The Baron took that as a sign, and lowered her down more. Scagie started trying to dance the way he did. Then she noticed that he was still holding her up, but she was actually stepping down as vines moved to meet her feet and keep them a little higher. Soon, she didn’t need even that help, and by the fourth dance, Scagie felt her feet on the floor, and was still enjoying the Baron’s arms on hers.

A few other fairy had welcomed the Baron, and they also seemingly welcomed Scagie. Many of the girls from Summer were very shy about looking at her, but Scagie could feel their eyes when ever she wasn’t looking. Getting nervous, her tummy started to growl, and Scagie’s mouth started to grow dry.

“Thank you,” the Baron said, “Without you, I would have been mobbed, and never would have enjoyed this night.” The Baron’s eyes still had that spark like her brother’s, Scagie had only seen the small dagger so didn’t think anything was going to be broken. “Shall we get a drink?”

“Yes, please” Scagie agreed.

Her tummy and mouth really appreciated having the drink, and being away from the eyes of all those girls. The Baron as many more people came up to him, lost that twinkle in his eye. Princesses, real fairy princesses, the little sprites, many, many men with sashes or swords, all felt like they had to speak with the Baron now that he was off the dance floor. Slowly, Scagie was pushed aside, and eventually left alone by the side of a table, just her and her growling tummy. That’s when the different girls and women found their courage. They descended on Scagie like a murder of crows, slowly at first, a comment about her feet, then about matching the floor, till Scagie was backed into a corner with the harpies of Summer Court making her feel sick, and very un-ork like.

Just as Scagie was about to lose her temper, the Baron rushed over to her. Making excuses, he whisked her off to the safety of the dance floor. Something about saving him was said, and Scagie had to bite her tongue not to lose it. She really liked him, and if those girls hurt him, they way they were hurting her, Scagie didn’t know if she could hold her temper. The Baron started talking to her, about his day, his adventures. He had adventures! All Scagie did was chase the butterflies that would wander around the Bog, or pop the frogs that came up for air.

As they danced more, Scagie started to try and make herself up to someone what would go adventuring. She decided then and there that she didn’t want to spend the rest of her time waiting for a bridge to be forgotten that she could move under, nor did she want to wander the Bog, waiting to bash a lost person. The Baron asked to stay on the dance floor a little longer, then he wanted her to stay with him during something, Scagie wasn’t sure what it was. She agreed anyways. Caught up with the dancing, the music, and the day dreams.

When the music stopped, the Baron looked at her, all serious, and took her by the arm. Instead of leading her to the tables like before, Scagie found her feet moving with his across the dance floor up to the thrones!

Scagie tried to stay behind the Baron, her stomach did flip flops thinking of all the eyes on her.
The Baron did his best on the short walk to calm the little ork. Yet this was worse than walking on frozen floors, worse than having to eat an ice apple, worse than creamed cauliflower. Scagie was going to, no, she was, Scagie was standing with a handsome Baron in front of the Kings and Queens of Winter and Summer! Scagie thought she knew now why the Baron had lost that twinkle in his eye.

Scagie tried to stand still, be a small unnoticed orc, but her stomach was growling so much, and twisting and turning on it self, that she couldn’t stand it. She thought it was lucky that as the Baron was speaking to the Kings, that they paid her no attention at all. It was bad enough she could feel everyone’s eyes on her, she thought she could hear whispering behind her. Soon, the Baron began to smile, as did the Kings, what they were talking about went over Scagie’s twig and dried mud covered head. She was really feeling self conscious now.

Then as the King’s sat back, the Queens, both of them stood and started talking with the Baron.
This made Scagie even more nervous. Then the Baron was saying her name! Scagie bowed to the Queens almost automatically the way she would at the Fall Ball when a bigger bruiser would walk by. The Summer Queen laughed a little behind her hand, and the Winter Queen nodded.

“You have a very brave and pretty companion tonight dear Baron,” Summer began. “I do so like her outfit.” At the Queen of Summer’s words, Scagie and everyone else looked. Scagie was the most shocked, instead of her mud covered green feet, her feet were clean looking, and covered up to the knee with the same color as the rose vines from the dance floor. Her grey shift, had been absorbing the colors of the curtains, a deep blue, and the leaves still showing those horrible deep reds and golds, still clung to it had been joined by rose petals, so that Scagie looked like she was wearing a dress of deep evening sky with a few petals and leaves drifting in the air!

“It’s true “ laughed the Winter Queen, “Everyone is invited, and Spring turns many into Summer!”

”Oh hush!” The Summer Queen took Scagie by the hand, “You live in the Bog, right? I can think of no harder workers than those from the Bog. Now I think I know one of them who also has a heart, a very brave girl, who is also an orc. Would you like to visit sometime?”

The Baron laughed at this, “No, no, no, I found her first! My Queen, if she wants to, she can come with me.”

With that Scagie’s dreams of leaving the Bog, her new dreams of being an adventurer all collided. Scagie saw herself, grown tall and green. An orc with a sword, not afraid of anyone.
“I made it tonight, I’ll make it anywhere.”

The rest of the evening went by in a blur. Scagie’s mind was reeling, and no one said anything bad about her again. Everyone was very polite, very glad to meet her, she was the talk of the Ball. Finally, many plans had been made, things written down, more dancing and eating, and the Queens were both putting their seals on one of the papers Scagie was to carry with her from now on. The Winter Queen signed it with a blackwood thorn that seemed to bleed onto the page. The Summer Queen pulled out a brilliant green thorn.

“It’s true!” Scagie exclaimed, “You do everything with roses.”