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Zestial analyzed the video carefully. Memorizing each movement before pausing and attempting the ballet steps. He was half way thru when the music was turned off. His eyes snapped to Carmilla youngest daughter, leaning on one of the bars that lined the room.
“Look, I bet mom would be over the moon if you danced ballet with her but, swan lake is not a good place to start, and you won't get far without both a teacher and partner. Just ask her to teach you,” Clara smiled and played with the remote till a Spanish song came on, “if you want to surprise her with a dance, I can teach you salsa.”
“I would love to learn,” Zestial bowed before taking Clara’s hands, “is there a routine thee recommends?”
“Well, I mean you can find some but I think the best ones are where the dancers just go with how they feel. It takes a lot of trust and knowledge about each other to be able to seamlessly dance with no plans.” Clara took it slow, showing him the first basic move, “it's a dance of passion after all.”
After a month they were dancing at the correct speed. While Zestial was still stumbling, he made great improvements. He still had problems spinning Clara.
“Maybe a break?” Zestial offered as he clumsily kept Clara from falling over.
“Thing is, if it was just us, I'd skip it, but mom loves spinning and going fast. You need to know how to go from a spin into a dip.” Clara sighed and rubbed her shoulder. She reset herself into position and they did it again. It wasn't a deep dip, but at least he was able to dip her and bring her back up to her feet without dropping her or pulling out her shoulder.
“I did it!” Zestial smiled.
“Yep, now full speed.”
“Wait!”
Eight months later and it was time for the annual Hell Ball. The top leaders from all rings of hell were in attendance. Zestial had picked a black suit with white spider web designs and a green tie and undershirt. Clara picked out a long green dress with black and white spider webs and Odette got the same one but in white with the webs black and green.
Carmilla, however, wore one that was a far cry from her usual clothes. It was long with two slits clear up to her waist, but the sheer amount of fabric made it so no one could tell. Not that the green skirt had volume, just fabric that swished and moved with every step. The black top clung to her figure and off her shoulders with ruffles. White spiderwebs were sewn on to move as she did.
“Is there a word better than enchanting?” Zestial asked, kissing her hand.
Carmilla smiled and pushed some hair behind her ear. Her long hair had been put into a half-up, half down look. “You can thank the girls for this.”
“I thank thee,” Zestial bowed before taking Carmilla’s arm. The pair went to mingle for a while until Clara signaled to him that the next song was going to be it.
“Mine dear,” Zestial started, leading Carmilla to the dance floor, “will thou dance with me to the next song?”
“Careful what you wish for, Zestial, theres only a handful of ways a ballerina can dance without making a fool of herself.”
“Then we shall be fools together,” Zestial placed one hand on her waist and took the other in his hand as they waited for the song to change. Carmilla’s jaw dropped as a Spanish guitar started.
“Uhm, Zestial, this might not be the right so-” Carmilla started before Zestial pulled her into a salsa. The floor was theirs. The handful of people who could salsa were content to watch.
Once Carmilla got her bearings straight, she got an almost animalistic grin. One step and she took the lead. Clara was right, Zestial was racing to keep up with her footwork and all the turns and spins she did. He was shocked his arm was still attached at certain points.
Then the finale. While Carmilla kept her moves tight compared to her daughter, Zestial could see the warning. He braced himself as she spun into him, his hand holding hers, his arm behind her back as she went down. Her leg went up to hook around his neck and her head almost touched the floor. A beat passed before he pulled her back up, giving her one more spin before the song ended.
A roar went up thru the guests as the pair left the dance floor, breathing heavily.
“Zestial, where did you learn how to dance like that,” Carmilla asked.
“Thank Clara for that,” Zestial answered, gesturing to the girl who was over the moon and complimenting how he danced.
“So that’s why her spins were getting better,” Carmilla messed up her hair.
“You should have told me you were teaching him! I would’ve helped!” Odette protested.
“Next dance, thou may teach me,” Zestial bowed to Odette.
“Wait, I thought you wanted mom to teach you ballet next?” Clara pointed out.
“Ballet?” Carmilla raised a brow, “oh this will be fun.”