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Becoming royalty was definitely a stark change in pace for Ella. No doubt she had the inner grace and courage to become a wise and gentle ruler, a fitting and worthy companion to the King. But becoming the King’s future bride-to-be had meant taking up loads of new classes on etiquette, history, and the like.And part of being royalty, invariably, meant learning how to dance. No doubt both Kit and Ella could dance at least passably well when it came to social events, as evidenced by the ball at which they met. But now that Kit was king and Ella was to become his queen, it was expected that the two of them invest a bit more time, in, well… polishing their moves.And so, the two of them had been attending dancing lessons together twice a week. Unsurprisingly, Ella found that of all the classes she was taking it was these lessons that had quickly become the highlight of her week. In what had become a hustle and bustle of never-ending royal affairs and duties, the dance lessons meant more time to spend with Kit, even if it was in the presence of an instructor.Kit , for his part, made it a point to make the best of their time together. He would purposefully misstep and improvise moves that had absolutely no place in a proper waltz to make her laugh, and he made it a point to twirl her or dip her when he was not supposed to several times per class. In short, the two of them spent so much time giggling and flirting and laughing that they generally made very little progress in the way of becoming better dancers.Their instructor, for better or for worse, tolerated their antics with the patience of a saint.So here they were today, waiting outside the ballroom where they practiced, when a servant approached them.“Your highness, my lady – a thousand apologies.” he addressed them. “The dance instructor is sick and will not be coming for your lesson today.”A dark look crosses the King’s face – he didn’t want to miss their lesson, given the already very little time they got to spend together, and neither did she. But this could still work out. Ella decides to speak up.“That’s quite all right. Let the poor man feel better.” she tells the servant brightly.She turns before she meets Kit’s eyes. “Why, we can simply dance here, on our own, for one session. I’m certain he wouldn’t mind.” She turns to Kit, who has noticeably brightened, and gives him a teasing grin.“So long as his Highness is willing to put aside his tricky ways, exercise some self-control and actually practice for once, that is.”Kit meets her eyes mischievously.“Of course!” he tells her. “What I wouldn’t do to carry out my royal duties, Lady Ella.”“Well then, I suppose that’s all right. I’ll be off then… give you two your… uh, privacy.” the servant mutters awkwardly. He bows respectfully and leaves.They watch him go before they turn back to each other, eyes already alight with mischief. Together , they push open the heavy wooden doors and enter into the empty ballroom. They make their way to the center of the large, ornate floor before they turn to face each other. She curtsies, he bows.“Mister Kit.” she says respectfully, a formal smile still twitching into a small, cheeky grin at the curve of her lips.“Ella.” he counters with the same easy banter. He cocks an eyebrow and holds out a hand. “Shall we?”She grins fully at him now. “Why yes. We shall.”He takes her hand and leads her into the waltz they’d been practicing. His ruse of actually taking the dance seriously, however, lasts for all of four seconds, and before she even knows it he’s leading her into an utterly ridiculous dance that makes her laugh until her sides hurt.“No no no, Kit” she finally manages to gasp out, failing miserably to keep her giggles at bay. He laughs along with her and stops dancing at last.Ella tries to stop grinning and center herself again. This is important.“Kit, let’s be serious.” she tells him firmly. “We have a ball next week. We need to be ready!”“All right all right!” he says, laughing. “I’ll be serious.”She gives him a look.“Promise?” she asks.He grins at her as sincerely as he can, a sparkle of mischief still in his eyes.“I promise, love.”They fix themselves again. Kit puts his hand on her waist and gives her a little nod to tell her he’s ready to go.And so they begin.He leads, she follows, and slowly, smoothly, they fall into the familiar, comforting rhythm of the waltz. She thinks of the steps as they dance together: one-two-three, one-two-three, glide, soft step, sway, and back to one-two-three, one-two-three .Ella smiles as she goes through the moves, reminded oh-so-well of how much the steps bring back memories of the night she’d completely fallen in love with Kit and their first magical, wonderful dance.The Kit who swept off of her feet under the glittering lights of the ballroom then is the same Kit dancing in front of her now. And to think that she will have a thousand more magical dances with him! – the realization makes her heart flutter to no end.Kit’s gaze has settled on her now, and the previous teasing in his eyes has been replaced by a look of awe. She can only meet his piercing gaze for a few moments before she blushes under its intensity and looks down, overwhelmed by the love she sees reflected in his eyes. She lets a shy smile play on her lips and grasps him a little tighter.She shakes out of her ruminations as she remembers: their dance is quickly winding to an end. Back to the moves. She turns, now facing away from him, and tries to refocus.A step here, another twirl here, and then...Her thoughts are interrupted when Kit grasps at her waist and lifts her in a sudden, unchoreographed lift. She feels her heart leap into her chest as he holds her high, and she can’t help the laugh that escapes her lips and the smile that crosses her face as she revels in the sudden, splendid sensation of flying. Kit holds her up for a precious few seconds longer, to keep her soaring as long as possible, before he at last gently sets her down.Feeling for all the world lighter than air, Ella finally finds her feet and turns back to face him. The dance is over, but her heart’s still racing from flight, and with her hand now splayed across his chest, she swears she can feel his heart pounding too.She turns her head up to meet his eyes and finds that he’s still gazing at her. Ella suddenly can’t tear her eyes away from his, and she finds that her heart is suddenly pounding and she’s quickly growing breathless for all sorts of reasons, none of which have to do with the lift of the dance. She grasps onto his shoulders to steady herself, and their faces are now just a short breath away.And then he moves forward. In a single, fluid motion that’s every bit as effortless, gentle, and unexpected as the lift of the dance, Kit suddenly puts his hand on her waist and pulls her close. He lifts a hand to cradle her cheek for an instant, and then his lips are on hers, stealing her breath away.Her eyes flutter shut on instinct, but she nevertheless lets out a small gasp of surprise at the sudden movement before she melts into his arms and returns the tender, unexpected kiss.They move together just like they did in their waltz, and Ella fleetingly tries to memorize it all: the way he puts his hand on her back and pulls her close, the soft, gentle pattern he traces on her lips, the way he sighs oh so gently when she pulls him closer and lets her hands tangle into his hair. And then– oh. Kit pulls away for but a moment only to cup her chin and brush his lips over hers again, a hovering, teasing sensation that drives her wild. She swears she could lose herself to moments like these.Ella settles into the rhythm of it all and takes charge. Tugging at his collar, she pulls him in for a series of soft, gentle kisses. Now he gasps at her sudden boldness, and she kisses him soundly for a few lingering moments longer before she realizes that for all the magic of this moment, the real world beckons. She puts her hands on his jaw and kisses him firmly one last time before they part at last and come up for air.They lean foreheads and catch their breath before they finally meet each others gazes’. She blushes in spite of herself. Where did that come from? Kit laughs at her embarrassment and pulls her in for another quick, fleeting kiss before giving her a completely innocent grin.“Dance with me again?” he asks her earnestly.She gives him a teasing grin and pretends to suddenly not hear him.“Hmm?”Kit smiles and lets a hand tighten on her waist to suddenly pull her close to him, his eyes never leaving hers.She laughs now, because what else had she truly expected? – and tosses him a dazzling grin.“Always, your highness.” she replies.And so together they dance the rest of the afternoon away.