Chapter 12: Painful Practice

~Sin-Vira's POV~

 Sin-Vira held Sibylla's waist in one hand while lacing their fingers together with the other. He guided her through the crowd of other dancers with such grace. Everyone watched them with astonishment, shocked that such a hated royal could move as graceful as a swan through the water. Sibylla could only look at him, red in the face once she realized how lucky she was to dance with such a handsome man.

 At least that was what he wished would happen, rather than the alternative.

 "Prince! We have been practicing for three days of non-stop practice, and you still can't remember a single dance! What are you supposed to do when the real thing happens?" Ivy questioned as she rubbed her temples. "You're as flexible as a rock, as graceful as a fish outta water, and all you do is scowl at your partner! Some prince charming you turned out to be."

 Sin-Vira sat on the floor. His feet throbbed from wearing tight shoes and dancing for hours. "Look: I'm not perfect. The stupid positions and scenarios that might happen are distracting. Dancing is such a stupid thing to learn! Can't I just be good at fighting?"

 Ivy was also on the floor with her hands gripping her dress. "The only way we snapdragons have fun is fighting. But it's not the same everywhere. You need to adapt to being a desirable prince charming if you want to win her over. N-no one would want a brute like you calling you their husband…" Ivy spoke as her face turned pink.

 "Well, being 'prince charming' isn't me. I don't want to be someone I'm not just to appease a whole kingdom. Sibylla is the only one I need to fall for me anyway." Though he knew even that was an unnecessary feat. They already had an agreement.

 "She's just the most important one to win. Her father is our biggest threat. He agreed with the Queen to let you two meet too easily. What if he tries to sabotage our plan to get our freedom back?" Ivy's eyes reflected fear in them. "I don't trust him…"

 Sin-Vira looked up at the ceiling. It had a mural of dragons of all types flying in the air. "If we could get our hands on our birthstones, we could've fought them off on our own."

 Ivy followed his gaze and smiled. "No one has taken their dragon forms for decades… Who's to say we can even take those forms after so long?"

 "Mom used to tell me that dragons are our other half. Even if we lost all of our memories, they would be the only ones we could never forget." He pointed to a green stone. "If I just had one emerald, I could take back what's ours and make him pay…"

 "Emeralds are precious gems, which means you'll never even get a glimpse of one. Since you'll never see one, let us get back to working on the original plan! we are going to work on one dance this time." Ivy got on her feet again and held her hand out to Sin-Vira.

 He pushed himself off the floor and sighed. "Nice try. I'm not holding your iron grip hands again. I'm going to go visit Sibylla. Things are boring without her."

 Ivy gripped onto his sleeve. "Nope. It's the dead of night, coming to visit your sweetheart will cause a scandal. You'll see her tomorrow, so focus." She then held her hands out to him.

 Sin-Vira groaned as he held her hand and waist. He was slouching, unfocused, and giving attitude.

 "Fix your posture and pay attention, prince Vira. I promised the Queen to teach you to dance so I'm going to do it."

 He was too exhausted to even bother arguing with her. He kept focused rather than complaining and relaxed his body. They danced without music but he followed her endless repetition.

 "Right, left, extend, and back. Left, right, turnout, and in. Well done…" she spoke as they danced in the empty room. Stepping on rubble as they danced on the cracked flooring.

 Sin-Vira felt himself move mindlessly and didn't even process her instructions until she pinched his cheek.

 Ivy was glaring at him. "You did everything perfectly! But you didn't bow at the end! Vira, I don't know why you're suddenly doing well, but keep it up okay? You're free to leave!" She smiled.

 "Thanks again for your hard work, Ivy. I'm gonna practice more in my sleep. Please get some rest as well!" Sin-Vira waved before leaving the room.

 The halls were empty and only echoed the sound of his footsteps. He found it hard not to compare it to the Gardenia kingdom.

 The pillars cracked, floors chipped, and windows were murky. It wasn't bright, lively, and feels like a prison rather than a home. His hands ran along the rough railing as he walked up the stairs.

 What greeted him was a large portrait covered by a dark drape. He recalled his mother saying it was too hard to bear the sight of his father. But Sin-Vira felt his heart sank, he was forgetting the face he loved.

 "It sucks you had to leave so soon, dad. But I'll still make you proud…" he mumbled before walking towards his room.

 Sin-Vira collapsed on his bed and felt his body ache as he relaxed his muscles. He kicked his stiff shoes off and glanced at his window. He could see the lights to the mines shining as always.

 He knew the guards were asleep, but even then, no one dared to take a chance after last time. Those who rebelled were publicly executed and treated like monsters for wanting freedom.

 "I think I should tell Sibylla about the birthstone thing. It's not like she'd tell her dad or anything. I can trust her." He turned on his side as he thought of how Suni reacted a few days ago.

 "She can't be that sick. Maybe I should pop by for a quick check? Bylla would probably be mad if I woke her up, but sleeping is near impossible. Suni looked so afraid, so sneaking in is justified. Right?" He forced himself to sit up and leaned over the window seal. The ground was quite a way down.

 "Prince charming probably wouldn't sneak in to visit a princess. Oh well~" Sin-Vira shrugged before jumping out the window.