Winter’s Solstice
Chapter 2/?
By Baine
Email: ladybaine at gmail dot com
Written: February 12th, 2008
Posted: April 23, 2008
AN: I’m REALLY sorry for the delay, you guys. The past couple of months have been so busy! I’ve had conferences and stuff, then everything that comes when a school year ends, then I went away on break, and now we’re into the new school year and things have gotten busy again. I haven’t been home a lot, and when I am, I’ve been catching up on e-mail and stuff and not thinking about editing/posting stories. ^^;; Next week is Golden Week, so I’ll be traveling again (I’m going to Seoul! I’ve never been there before, so I’m really excited!). I wanted to get this new chapter out now before I left because I’ve been feeling really bad about not having done so yet.
(Oh, and I’ve started to translate the first Ginban novel, but it’s got so much new vocabulary!! It took me forever just to do a page. My dictionary is my best friend. Seriously. I haven’t had a lot of time to do more, though. I think I’m definitely going to need to ask online for help as soon as I have the time!)
I love this chapter, though. Love, love LOVE it. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did writing it. I think it’s one of my best pieces yet. I’m really fond of my descriptions and stuff, and feel like I captured the visual I was going for. Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd hopefully, you’ll like it enough to finally review? Please? I know you’re reading it because I’ve seen the stats with hits, alerts, and favorites. Please tell me why you like it! ^^ TheLaughingstockOfPassersby, thank you again for your latest review. I’m really sorry I made you wait so long for this chapter when it was finished at the time of the last update. *cringes* Please forgive me! I’ll try to have the next chapter out much sooner!!!
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Winter’s Solstice
Chapter Two: Dance on Air
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Thin clouds rolled across the glowing moon, casting an eerie mood over the deserted lake. Tazusa shivered and huddled into the warmth of her cloak as she nervously glanced around. What was she even doing here? Why had she agreed to such nonsense? She knew better. Even she was prone to accidents at this time of night. To top it all off, he hadn’t even come. She’d wait another five minutes, and then—
“Tazusa! I haven’t kept you waiting, have I?”
She spun around and found him puffing for air as he hurried toward her, golden hair no longer hidden by wool.
“I, uh, no. Of course not. I haven’t been here long.” Liar, an inner voice hissed, but she squashed it with her heel. “How are you this evening, Pete?”
“I’ve never felt better.” He grinned down at her, and the glow of his smile nearly took her breath away. “I feel much better now that I’ve rested. I was practically dead on my feet when we met this morning.”
“Were you up all night, then?”
“Mm, I was, yes.”
“Whyever for?” He intrigued her, somehow, and she found herself gravitating towards him despite the tingle of logic all but banked at the back of her mind.
“Just doing my job.”
“What kind of job forces you to be up all night?”
His smile was dark and mysterious, and his eyes seemed to glow as they reflected the moonlight. “Only the most important job in the universe.” He raised his eyes pensively, scanning the glittering heavens above and refraining from further detail.
Tazusa let out a huffy puff of air. “Ookay...”
“Last night was my last day on duty, though. Now I’m free to be here with you.” His face drooped, lined with quickly-masked regret.
“You loved your job, didn’t you?”
“Very much, yes.”
“So...why did you quit?”
“Not by choice, if that’s what you’re asking.” He ran a hand through his golden hair, which glowed like a halo as it reflected the dancing moonbeams and rays of starlight from above, giving him an almost-ethereal appearance. She again wondered if the color was natural, or if he’d bespelled it to be so captivating.
“It’s...hard to explain. You wouldn’t understand.”
She met his eyes defiantly. “Try me. You might be surprised.”
He let out a forlorn sigh. “I’m not sure I quite understand myself.”
Tazusa pet the empty spot beside her on the stone upon which she sat. “I’m here if you want to talk, or need an ear, or...”
“Thank you, Tazusa, but I don’t—”
“Please. All I’m asking is that you try.” She reached out for his hand, but her small fingers weren’t able to wrap themselves fully around his large palm. Why did it matter to her? She barely knew him. He was entitled to his privacy, as she was to hers.
Rotating their hands until their fingers were twined together, Pete curled her fist into his palm and drew both limbs to his lap. He gazed up into the sky once more, as though seeking an answer he didn’t know.
“Are you an astronomer?” she asked, fascinated by his intense look of concentration.
“You think I communicate with the stars?”
“I don’t know, maybe. You’ve been glancing up at them for a while now.”
“Humans cannot converse with the stars.”
“But astronomers spend their lives—”
“It is not true communication. They study patterns and are occasionally able to receive visions from the celestial beings above, but it is never speech.”
“You know a lot about it for someone who isn’t an astronomer.”
“Because I once...”
“You once...?”
“For my job...”
“Yes?”
He stared at her, face completely closed off for the first time. “It’s in the past now.”
“If you say so...” she shifted uneasily, not sure what to make of his somber mood. “Do you miss it?” she asked, twirling a loose strand of hair between two fingers.
“Miss what?” he asked, bringing his gaze to meet her own once more.
“Whatever it was you had before.”
“It is too soon to tell, but I think...certainly, yes. There are some pros that appease me, though. For example, I can be here with you. I can do things I’ve only witnessed from afar. I can...feel.”
“Feel what?”
“Everything,” he breathed, tightening his fingers around her own. “Absolutely everything.”
Unwilling to release her right hand from his grasp and relinquish the feel of their interconnected limbs, she maneuvered her left hand until she sat upon it, the only other way she could think of to keep it warm.
Feeling her maneuver, Pete glanced over at her, eyes falling to her blue lips and chattering teeth. “You’re cold,” he stated, bringing his free hand to clasp the palm he already held, creating a sandwich-effect as he began to rub and roll it in an attempt to keep her warm.
“It is-isn’t so bad,” she stuttered. “I’ll warm up once we’re on the ice.”
“Well then, we’ve sat here long enough, haven’t we?” He stood and brought her up alongside him.
Offering a shaky smile as she bent down, Tazusa managed to tease, “Don’t forget your skateguards.”
“After you mortified me the first time? Not likely.”
“Did I really? I didn’t mean to embarrass you earlier, I just—”
“I know.” He smiled down at her. “I must say, while I find walking to be easier than skating, I still think nothing is more graceful and natural than dancing.”
She stared up at him, mystified. “You like to dance?”
“I was born dancing. I’m still not sure I have the hang of this newfangled walking thing, yet I want to add skating to the mix?”
She laughed, amused in spite of herself. “You’re something else, aren’t you?”
“Is that good or bad?”
“I’m not sure. You’re...different from anyone I know, Pete.”
“So are you, Tazusa. I’m truly glad I was finally able to meet you.”
“Finally able to?” Her eyes searched his own for clues. Hadn’t he just arrived? “But I thought you...”
He brought a gloved finger to her lips, cutting her off. “Later,” he whispered. “For now, let’s just enjoy the ice.”
“O-Okay.” Heart pounding nervously, she lead him onto the ice. She’d never been out this late before. The lake shone silver beneath their feet, shimmering like a lovingly-polished jewel as the heavens cast their soft light upon the earth.
“It’s gorgeous,” she breathed, freezing with one leg stretched forward. “I’m almost afraid to ruin it. It sort of feels as though it’s been blessed by the fairies, don’t you think?”
“Tonight, it’s just for us, Tazusa. You won’t harm the ice; she wants to share her beauty with you.”
“She, huh?” A dreamy look flitted through her eyes. “You sure have a way with words, Pete.”
“Come, Tazusa. Show me how this is done.” He firmly fisted his hand around her palm, filling her with warmth.
She offered him another smile. She didn’t think she’d smiled so much in her entire life, let alone in one day. She truly was under his spell, wasn’t she? “If you stick with me, you’ll be a pro in no time.”
“Trust me,” he said, brushing his fingers against her captured palm, “I’m not planning on going anywhere anytime soon.”
She flushed and led him onto the ice. Somehow, the light of the moon seemed to warm her despite the winter chill. Everything around her seemed to glitter, especially Pete, who was bathed from head to toe with the white sheen from above. She wondered how she looked to him. Was she glowing, too, or was he the only one affected due to his pale skin and golden hair?
After a while, Pete was able to skate alone, but Tazusa didn’t relinquish his hand, and he didn’t ask for it back.
Around the ice they flew, back and forth, circling and twirling beneath the star-freckled sky.
“You know,” Pete mused, breaking the silence that surrounded them, “I can almost see why this sport is called ice-dancing. It’s a rather nice sensation, is it not?”
“It is, yes. I love it more than anything else.”
“And it loves you. Out here, you...sparkle. Your inner glow comes out. I’ve never come across one as stunningly beautiful as you before.”
She blushed and ducked her head, unsure how to respond. Uncomfortable with the topic, she changed it. “You said you love to dance, right?”
“Indeed I do.”
“Will you be coming to the Winter Solstice Festival on Sunday, then? There will be a dance, and...”
“It depends; will you be there?”
“Y-yes, but—”
“Then I shall certainly come. Will you save me a dance?”
“I’d rather watch you. I’m not any good at dancing.”
“Impossible. Surely you don’t only have wings when you glide around the ice.”
“I’ve just never really...I can’t...I don’t know how...”
“You were never taught how to dance?”
She blushed and shook her head, shamed by the admission.
“Well then, it’s my turn to teach you, isn’t it?”
“What do you mean?”
He let go of her hands and moved his own up her arms, pulling them around his neck and lowering his own to rest against her lower torso. He pulled her closer, breathing deeply as though he were inhaling her scent, and rested his chin against the top of her head.
Tazusa curled into his heat, surrounded by warmth as she basked in his embrace with no regard to the propriety of their situation. “There’s no music,” she murmured, coming back into herself as he leaned forward.
His eyes glowed as he smiled down at her. “You’re not listening carefully enough,” he said, squeezing her palm.
A fire spread through her veins, and it was suddenly as though she could hear the ancient song of nature, voices blending in a kaleidoscope of sound not meant for human ears during any other hour of the day. Her heart welled with light as she turned to stare up at the enigma in her arms.
After a moment, he pulled away, maneuvering her until it was him leading her around the ice, his once-cautious steps now sure and steady as he maneuvered her through dips and glides she’d never even heard of, let alone attempted before.
It felt as though they were floating on air. He was a dancer; she was a skater. Together, they took ice dancing to new heights, at ease only when together, weaving magic on the ice as they soared.
Tazusa couldn’t drag her eyes away from him, couldn’t stop herself from inhaling his pure, sparkly aroma, a smell she couldn’t place save to call it his own. She felt as though they were enshrouded in warmth, watched lovingly from the very heavens themselves as the song of nature filled her and curled its fist around the very core of her being, causing her heart to beat to its tune.
She never wanted this to end. If it was a spell, she didn’t care. Her breath hitched as he lowered his mouth to her own, one microscopic degree after another. His eyes loomed before her, glittering with starlight as he dipped his head, warm lips tentatively brushing against her own. A taste sweeter than ambrosia filtered through her senses as his essence slipped onto her tongue like honey, his touch warming her to the bone. Never had she imagined a kiss could be so wonderful—not that she had any prior experience to compare it to. Throwing caution to the wind, Tazusa entwined her arms tightly around his neck, moving her fingers upward until they were tangled in his silky hair. She felt him exhale shakily against her lips, his fists tightening around her sides as he drew her closer, never ceasing the gliding motion of his feet.
Around and around they danced, caught up in one another’s presence and lost in a song only they could hear, bathed in an ethereal glow none could see save for the celestial beings above and the malevolent emerald eyes that peered out at them from the omnipresent darkness…
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Again, sorry for any mistakes. I don’t have an editor for my Ginban fics yet, though I’m trying to get my editor to watch the series… ^_^
Like it? Hate it? I’m the one to talk to! Hit the little review button today! If you liked it, I hope you’ll review and tell me why! If you didn’t, I’d still like to know why so I can make the story even better! ^_^
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«•´¨*•.¸¸. *Baine*.¸¸.•*¨`•»
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