Return of the General's Daughter-Chapter 215: The Dance

A/N: It is the end of April 25. I want to thank the angels who sent me Golden Tickets in bulk: Chriser75, Googies83, Shay4496. Please let me know if you have requests regarding the story. For the other angels whose names did not appear, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. *Hugs and Kisses*

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Prince Reuben guided Lara through the grand hall, the soft glow of the chandeliers casting intricate patterns on the polished marble floor.

However, after just three steps, Lara stopped.

She had a realization! She was unfamiliar with the dance of the era.

Surely, they wouldn’t dance like the way people in the modern era would—a man resting his hand on the woman’s waist and shoulder, and vice versa, or the partners joining their hands. Would they?

She was adept at doing the waltz, the tango, and a few other ballroom dances, but given the conservative mindset of the people, those dances would be taboo for them.

Prince Reuben halted in his tracks and glanced over his shoulder. His brows arched, a silent inquiry etched across his handsome features, as if he was asking why she had suddenly stopped.

"Your Highness," she paused. "I have a problem." Lara’s voice sounded tentative.

"Hmmm?"

"I don’t know how to dance." She said honestly. She couldn’t do modern dances in that era, right?

Reuben stopped and looked at her, trying to gauge the truth behind her words. Was she just pretending to avoid dancing with him?

His eyes narrowed.

But then he remembered the additional information he had gotten about her. She lost her memories when she was abducted two years ago, and the old man who saved her was a hermit who lived in the mountains.

"I can teach you." The prince said gently with a doting smile.

Lara swept her gaze around the grand hall. The air was thick with the scent of fresh blooms, mingling with the soft murmurs of conversation. She counted approximately fifteen elderly noble ladies, each draped in elegant silks and velvet. Surrounding them were about twenty younger women, likely their daughters or relatives, their gowns vibrant and youthful, sparkling with an array of dazzling jewelry. She did not know that a far-off town like Calma could produce quite a number of noble families.

What Lara did not know was that most of these ladies came from neighboring towns or were wives and daughters of the nobles who came along with Prince Reuben. For those young ladies who came from neighboring towns, their target was to gain the favor of one of the princes, especially Prince Reuben, who was the most likely to become the crown prince.

She didn’t want to be a subject of gossip among these ladies.

"Your highness, I don’t want to drag you down. I really can’t remember any dance steps. There are so many noble ladies here..." Lara gestured toward the ladies who were gawking at them.

Prince Reuben’s face darkened, but when he saw the pretty face before him filled with worry, he relented. She might really not know how to dance, and forcing her might cause her to resent him.

Lady Amielle took the opportunity to approach the two of them.

"My Prince, the others are waiting for you to start the dance."

Reuben reluctantly headed to the middle of the dance floor with Amielle, and they started gliding and doing a series of synchronized steps.

The Norse brothers approached Lara.

"Sis, you want to dance?" Bener asked.

"But I don’t know how," Lara replied, sighing in resignation. Her focus was fixed on the royal couple dancing in the middle of the hall.

The siblings looked at each other. How could it be? Lara was an excellent dancer from a young age. Her movements were graceful, which could captivate her audience.

Just what had that old man done to her that she even forgot how to dance?

The siblings led her to a smaller room beside the banquet hall. The room’s soundproofing was not good, so they could hear the music from the outside.

The brothers take turns teaching her the steps of the basse dance. She was surprised to learn that the partners also hold hands while dancing. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

After repeating the steps and the sequence, Lara got the rhythm.

"Do you call this a dance? Isn’t it a bit boring?" Lara exclaimed.

Her brothers was dumbfounded. Even Alaric, who was about to enter the room, paused at the door.

"What do you call a dance, then?" Gideon asked.

Lara had already familiarized herself with the music. She moved gracefully across the floor. She did a curtsy and started dancing in tune to the music. Each step she took was infused with passion and precision, her body flowing like water as she spun and twirled. She actually performed a slow ballet dance, focusing on flowing from one position to another, emphasizing grace, control, and lyrical movement.

For the final step, Lara leaped into the air, doing a split, her left hand extended upward while her right folded over her chest. She stayed mid-air for a second, her chin lifted high, before landing perfectly on the ground.

The Norse brothers were dumbfounded. What kind of extraordinary dance was that?

Alaric’s breath hitched. When Lara was floating mid-air, he did not know how to feel. Such a beautiful dance. He was happy that she did it in front of her brothers, not at the banquet hall.

He was distracted when he heard a slow, deliberate clap from behind him.

"Miss Lara Norse, you lied earlier when you said that you do not know how to dance. Don’t you know that it is a crime to lie to a prince?" Reuben wanted to step past Alaric to get inside the room, but Alaric blocked his path.

"His Highness, please step aside." The bulky guard, towering over everyone, spoke in a respectful tone.

Alaric did not move.

"Prince Alaric, please." It was the sweet voice of Lady Amielle, and Lara could not help but take a second look. She must have a beautiful singing voice.

Even the aloof Alaric stepped inside and stopped blocking the door.

"What can you say, Miss Lara? Why did you say that you don’t know how to dance." Reuben’s voice was laced with anger and mockery.

"Your Highness, indeed, she did not know how to dance the basse. And we taught her, but just now.. just now...that moves.." Bener stammered.

"I wasn’t dancing." Lara interjected. "I was practicing the moves my master taught me."

"..."

"..??"

"!!!"