Chapter 15
Dance with Me
“Arelia, help me glue this on,” Ben commanded, pointing to a hot glue gun. It was ceaselessly raining, so all of the guests were stuck indoors for the day. After lunch and afternoon tea, Henri had suggested that it would be a perfect opportunity for the guests to make their own masks for the Darkwood masked ball that was taking place in a few weeks. It was an offer that only Ben took him up on. All of the other guests were lounging around the house, either in their rooms or hanging by the kitchen waiting for whatever new pastries the cooks whipped up.
“So what’s the theme of this ball anyways?” I asked Henri eagerly when he came over to see how Ben’s mask was coming along.
“I know, I know, the theme is ghosts!” Ben blurted out.
Henri laughed. “Very good Ben, the theme is ghosts, or as we old people like to call it, a gothic theme.”
“Are you serious?” I couldn’t believe that they were so eager to add more weirdness to this place. After last night’s nightmare, the last thing I needed was more drama and scares. All day I had been on edge, expecting the guests to suddenly attack me and want to offer me as a sacrifice. Luckily, things seemed pretty normal.
Although it had only been a little over a week since I had started studying with Ms. Mae, I was more aware of what was going on around me in terms of the spirit world. I knew that Darkwood had more than just one or two ghosts lurking around. It was funny how once you started paying attention, everything could become so much clearer, and things that you never saw before come into focus.
“What’s wrong with ghosts?” Ben questioned interrupting my thoughts.
“Nothing,” I instantaneously replied. He was right, as of yet, none of the ghosts I saw had messed with me. They were actually a little terrified of me, disappearing whenever I looked at them directly. Last night, I had seen the ghost of a fat chef in the kitchen. He wasn’t doing anything wrong. He was standing over the shoulder of one of the cooks while he was making shrimp gumbo. I think the ghost was trying to warn the chef that he was putting too much salt or cayenne pepper into the pot. I had told Ms. Mae about this incident, and she had been less than pleased with my take on the situation. She thought I was taking the spirit world too lightly, which according to her could result in deadly consequences.
“Well, I’ll let you two get back to it. Your mask looks mighty terrifying, Ben.” Henri pretended to be scared by Ben’s skeleton mask. “Arelia, Ms. Mae has advised me to make you aware that she’s free to meet with you at six.”
“Thanks Henri.” I glanced at the clock on the wall which indicated that it was already five pm.
“I think it’s done.” Ben waved his mask in the air.
“You’re right. You just have to let it dry a bit.” I was relieved that the last two hours hadn’t gone to waste, and Ben was satisfied with his mask.
“Thanks Arelia. You’re the best.” Ben gave me a big hug.
“No problem Ben. I have to go and do some chores now. I’ll see you later.” I left him to head to Ms. Mae’s office where I was eager to spend some time alone reading and learning more about various spells until six. On my way there, I got distracted by music coming from the ballroom. It sounded like some kind of waltz music, so I decided to see what was up.
“That’s perfect Mrs. Dumpty, just like that.” Lucus gently encouraged Mrs. Dumpty as she attempted to keep up with him.
“Ellen, you’re moving beautifully. Don’t you think so, dear?” Mrs. Scott gleefully asked once she spotted me standing at the entrance of the room.
“Much better than I could ever move,” I honestly admitted.
“I’m dancing the- what is it called again?” Mrs. Dumpty asked.
“Viennese Waltz,” offered Lucus.
“I adore Johann Strauss.” Mrs. Scott was clearly relishing the moment. “Why don’t you give it a try dear? You need to get ready for the masked ball. A little practice never hurt anyone.”
“No, I really can’t. I have chores to do. I’m not much of a dancer.” I prayed that she would buy my excuse.
“We all know that, who can forget that ghastly scene that took place at the welcome ball.” The time Mr. Dumpty dragged me all across the dance floor like a rag doll was permanently etched into my memory.
“I’m out of breath!” Mrs. Dumpty suddenly stopped moving. “Take over, Arelia, before I have a heart attack.”
“I can’t.” I started to back out of the room, but Lucus gently grabbed my hand before I could move any further.
“Come dance with me, Arelia,” he invited coolly.
“You kids have fun. We ladies are going to get some refreshments.” Mrs. Scott wiped her sweat-drenched brow.
“I must have lost ten pounds from that dance alone.” Mrs. Dumpty finally caught her breath and was eager to leave in search of food and drink.
They left me alone with Lucus in the ballroom. A sense of utter panic gripped me. It was the first time we had been alone since the conversation in my bedroom. Was I supposed to continue our discussion on why he said he needed me? Was I supposed to ignore that it ever happened? Besides, after last night and what he did in my nightmare, I was a little hesitant to go anywhere near him. Lucus looked as anxious as I did. He slowly drew me close to him. My heart started to rapidly race. I could smell him. His hand on the small of my back gave me unexpected shivers.
“Dancing is easy,” he said finally.
“I’m sure it is, just not for me,” I quickly replied.
“How do you know if you’ve never given it a fair chance?” He had a point. I had always convinced myself that I couldn’t dance, but had I actually really tried to dance? No. It was like most things that I was scared of; I learned to fear them before I gave them a chance. It was just easier that way I guess. If you didn’t let yourself try certain things, you’d never be disappointed if they never worked out.
“Follow my lead and I promise you will be fine.”
“I’m pretty sure Mr. Dumpty said the same thing to me.”
Lucus laughed as he started to move. “That man is quite the character. That’s it, from side to side, nice and slow,” he guided me.
“I think I’m actually doing it.” I was exceptionally delighted to find that I wasn’t tripping over my feet or stepping on his.
“Yes, you are.” Lucus smiled which encouraged me to try harder. I let myself feel the music, and in response, my body relaxed.
“Right, left, twirl,” he spun me around. That was the first successful twirl I had ever done in my entire life. For the first time, I allowed myself to forget about everything that had taken place over the last few weeks. The confirmation that I was a voodoo queen, the horrid fight with Sabrina, Ivan’s incessant torment, and the swamp nightmare. I let it all go and gave in to the moment. My body felt light as whipped cream as I spun around the dance floor in pure exhilaration. If someone had told me a few weeks ago that I would be ballroom dancing with a LaPlante, I would have snickered in their face. Once the music stopped, I was more than a little disappointed.
“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Lucus eagerly studied my face. His hand was still on my back, but I didn’t mind.
“It was pretty fun.” We were dangerously close now. I looked down at my worn-out flats, not knowing how to bring up what I really wanted to ask without seeming overly eager. I mean, I didn’t want him to think that I was some kind of obsessive stalker or anything. I need you could have meant lots of things like I need you to take out the trash. I need you to go downstairs and help with the dishes. I need you to stop fighting with my girlfriend because she’s a blonde goddess and we’re so happy together.
“Hey, have you ever seen Dancing with the Stars?” I spat out the first thing that I could think of that wasn’t related to what he had said to me last. I figured since we were dancing and everything, I could at least pick a relevant topic.
“Is that the name of an opera?” Lucus scrunched his eyebrows.
“No! It?
??s a dancing show that my grand-mere loves to watch. They take a bunch of celebrities desperate for attention, pair them up, and make them compete against one another.”
“Sounds interesting?” Lucus scratched his forehead, as he tried to figure out whether he was supposed to be excited by the concept or horrified.
“Yeah, kind of. I mean they like to do crazy dances like the tango and stuff. Can you tango? Grand-mere Bea is an awesome dancer. I didn’t take after her or anything though.” I was talking too much and too fast. It was something I tended to do when I was nervous.
“You mean like this?” With a dramatic gesture, Lucus placed his cheek against mine, grabbed my hand and extended both of our arms outwards. “I’m not quite sure what we’re supposed to do next,” he admitted.
“That’s about all I know too.” I laughed, hoping he wouldn’t catch on as to how nervous I actually was.
I felt safe standing so close to him, but at the same time, terrified of being unsure of what to say or do.
He spoke first. “Arelia, I didn’t mean to ambush you in your room like I did. I know that I must have confused you.”
“Just a bit,” I shrugged, unwilling to admit that I had been thinking about his statement every day since he had said it.
“It’s just that you’re the only person who can help me, but I don’t know if you’re willing to.”
“I can’t help you if you don’t spit it out.”
“Believe me, I want to, but I just can’t find the words or the way. I’m afraid,” he admitted. “I’m afraid that…”
“Hey lovers, sorry to break-up the party, but Ms. Mae needs to speak to you, queen,” Ivan snapped me out of the moment. I pulled away from Lucus in embarrassment. Ivan would never let me hear the end of it.
Lucus pulled me close again and whispered in my ear. “Meet me tonight in the garden, after dinner. I’ll explain everything,” he promised.
“But, Sabrina,” I wasn’t going to risk another confrontation.
“Please, trust me,” he pleaded.
“Fine,” I agreed, hoping that Ivan wasn’t listening in on our conversation.