Winterfall

The bond between me and my father was special. I admired him for who he was, as he saw things that he could not explain to anyone. Those things often tormented him, causing him to shut himself out from the rest of the world. However, for me, he embraced it.

The memories I shared with my father always brought a tear to my eye as I admired him deeply for the strength and love that he presented. This time in my life was no different, as I had a lot to think about recently, as what felt like hundreds of things around me was changing, constantly. As time seemed to stop for a brief second, it allowed me to reflect on some of the happier memories I was given with the man who raised me.

As I stood in the grand hall, a room that glistened as the light danced across it. The walls made of crystal like glass and the floor a fine marble painted a perfect magical moment. There was a large glass chandelier that hung from the ceiling, a marbled grand stair case that led up to the floor of the second balcony and a back drop of stained glass windows that depicted the countryside of Winterfall. As the sun hit the stained glass, it created a cascading light display of vibrant colors of reds, oranges, yellows, blues, and greens.

“Do I have to learn this dance?” I asked my father as he tried to teach me a traditional ballroom dance, one called the Pavane. It was a dance that showed elegance and grace as people often danced in pairs. This dance consisted of slow gliding steps in duple meter. This dance was a typical dance that is performed at our annual Winterfall Ball.

“Yes, every queen that has come through this castle has learned this dance.” His lips parted with a smile as he knew I despised history lessons. Don't get me wrong, they were interesting until they started to make me fall asleep.

I sighed heavily, “Now a history lesson?”

“Why do you despise learning so much, Maria?” He asked, sounding amused. I didn't despise all learning, just learning that made me fall asleep. I mean I enjoyed things like dance lessons but I did grow tired of them when they became repetitive.

“It’s not that I despise learning, father, it’s just that I would much rather spend time with you.” That was the truth. I loved our father daughter days when I was younger, running in the castle halls, playing games like hide and seek and nowadays those days were filled with these damn lessons. He always claimed, I'll need them one day.

Every moment once I reached adulthood, that I spent with my father was him teaching me some life skills. Whether it be dance, history, cooking, or some form of martial arts. he was always teaching me something. Sometimes, I thought that he forgot I was still his child despite being an adult and still needed him as a parent rather than a teacher.

“You may be my child Maria, but I want you to be capable of anything.” His voice echoed through the empty ball room, bouncing off the mirrored walls.

He always talked like the future was going to change. Like everything was ending. He sounded uncommonly wise for his age. As elves lived a long time, well past seven hundred years in some cases. My father had a lot of life left in him, so I had no idea why he talked so wise.

“Do I have to be capable of everything?” I exaggerated as I threw my hands to my side in frustration.

My father let out a joyous bellow of laughter that danced across the room, wrapping tightly around my own heart. HIs laughter felt warm and inviting just like his milky silver eyes and his pristine smile. “You will be surprised at how often you will utilize the skills I am trying to teach you.”

“Oh yeah? When will I need to learn-” I began to question him as I knew he could see into the future. I was always so curious as to what secrets lay behind this silver eyes of his. However, he never told a soul what might happen in our future.

“I can’t spoil the future Maria. Trust me, if you fail to learn this now, you will wish you would have.” His lips parted into a smile once more. There was almost something mischievous about his demeanor, almost as if he was planning for something to happen.

I exhaled, “Fine, teach me the dance.”

He continued to show me the steps as he danced with my mother, who snuck in quietly and joined in on the lesson. He spun her around and led her into a dip. Swinging her back up to her feet, kissing my mother gently on the lips. As soon as the music notes stopped humming, he turned to me and said, “Now Maria, I hope you find as much enjoyment out of this dance as your mother and I have. As it is your turn.”

“Who am I supposed to dance with?” I questioned him as I glanced around the room. It was just me, my mother and father in the room. I had no dance partner and this was a couple dance.

It was a simple question. As for most children, seeing their parents dance all cutely would sicken them, but it made me happy. I hoped that one day I would have the romantic marriage like that they had.

“Perhaps Théo would step in,” my father said as I caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye as he walked into the grand ballroom. Théoden first seemed panicked but then his mood shifted to confusion as he ran his hand through his messy locks.

I then realized that my father must have used sending during our dance practice. I shook my head, as I had no idea how he managed to let those words slip his lips without me hearing them.

“This was the emergency, King Mikail?” Théo questioned with a bit of amusement and confusion on his face, "Dance lessons?"

“A dance with my daughter counts as an emergency, yes.” My father crossed his arms and looked at Theo with an amused expression on his face.

Father doesn't know does he? I asked with a worried tone.

Not that I am aware of. Then again, he can see the future. I felt my eyes begin to widen and my face started to turn fifty shades red. The thought of my father seeing Théoden and I on our romantic outings didn’t sit well with me.

Théo rolled his eyes and walked towards the glass like wall of the ballroom. “It will be my pleasure.” He propped his helmet, shield and weaponry up against the ballroom wall and approached me. His feet sounded heavy against the white marbled floor as he walked with pride over to me.

As he came closer I couldn’t help but feel my heart pound heavily in my chest. I was confused as to why and when my father sent a telepathic message to Théo. However, I was beyond grateful that I got to share this moment with him.

My father turned on some music with the help of some magical tunes as he uttered a spell beneath his breath. As the notes filled the air, Théo and I began to dance. I followed the steps my parents took and to my surprise, Théo didn’t miss a beat.

How?

I have been watching every practice and may have picked up a few things.

I couldn’t help but smile as we moved to the flow of the music. My smile grew even more as I glanced back at my parents. This moment made my heart happy. Looking back, I hoped that we danced as elegantly as my parents did. The way my father carried my mother across the dance floor seemed effortless. I had only hoped that ours appeared that way.

Any idea when we will ever use this dance?

It was a formal dance after all, one we may use on our wedding day.

Your father knows more than I.

That I knew was true, however, I still couldn’t help but question why I needed to learn such a romantic dance as far as I knew our wedding was far off.

As the music began to die down, every pulse in my body wanted to kiss Théo, but I had to refuse. I didn’t know what my father knew from his visions. What I did know is that I did not want them to find out that we were together by kissing him in front of them.

“Thank you for the dance, Princess Maria.” Théo released me as the music stopped and gave me a bow. “I need to get back to work, unless there is anything else you three need?” Théoden asked as he looked over to my father.

“Thank you for your time Théoden. I’ll message if there is more,” my father responded.

Théo gathered up his equipment and left in a hurry.

I had mixed feelings after that. Part of me wondered then if my father knew. If that was why he would call Théo in to dance with me. I also felt a bit brokenhearted. I wanted to kiss Théo so badly but I couldn’t.

I wanted that too, Maria. That is why I had to leave.

I understood where he was coming from. It still did not make it any easier.

“The dance you two shared was so lovely,” My father said as he approached me with pride in his eyes and hugged me. “Thank you for giving me that memory.”

I stared at my father. “What?”

“Nothing for you to be worried about, Maria.” He gave me a kiss on the cheek and left with my mother.

I sucked in a deep breath, as I held back the tears, as the memory played in my mind for the one hundredth time.