Chapter Sixty-One: Dancing! No, Talking!

Tim quietly sulked for a time while the king took the head priest to the side to have a short talk. Meg and Rose took the opportunity to catch up, and Abraea sent sharp glances in the direction of anyone that was now looking at them funny due to the disrespectful manner in which she and Tim had spoken to the king.

The head priest came back to the group, and Tim pulled himself out of his glass.

"I thought the talks came after the meal." He said as the priest returned.

"They do, but I give him a basic rundown beforehand. Besides, it's nice talking to someone who isn't overly conscious of the difference in status for a change."

"That why you're over here?"

"Pretty much."

"Fair enough."

"We should be moving on to the performance soon. I think everyone's here now."

"That so? Hear that Rose? You'll be up soon by the sound of things."

"Oh don't tell me that. Now I'm getting nervous."

"It's going to be fine." Meg reassured her. "I'm sure you'll do well."

"Are you going to dance?" Rose asked her.

"Oh fuck no."

"Aww come on, I bet you'd look wonderful."

"No I wouldn't. You just want to see me embarrass myself don't you?"

"Kinda."

Rose and the men laughed as Meg lightly smacked her on the arm.

"Actually, speaking of which..." Meg turned to Tim. "How is this dance thing supposed to work? Do you have to dance with someone?"

"Well, no." Tim replied. "But it's generally considered rude not to. If you don't want to dance with someone just say you came with me, and they'll probably get the message without being too offended."

"I refuse to tell people that we are a couple, especially since I know for a fact that you're going to go off and dance with whoever you feel like."

"You don't have to say we're a couple. Just tell them we came together, and then don't tell them that we aren't."

"That's not really the point."

"Well if you don't like that you could always just say you aren't in the mood and gesture to your clothes. That'd probably work. Failing that, just be incredibly awkward and they'll likely leave. People here aren't too used to unpalatable conversations."

"Yeah, you're not wrong." The head priest nodded his head solemnly. "One year I was here talking about an unfortunate accident with one of our tests. A guy had tripped and gotten trapped on the hot coals and half-cooked himself. The people I was talking to looked horrified."

"Yeah, I wonder why." Meg said, pulling away and grimacing.

"You literally surrounded yourself with hundreds of rotting corpses." Tim reminded her.

"Yeah. But they were already dead."

"Should I pretend that I didn't hear that?" The head priest concernedly asked.

""Yes.""

"Hm. Okay."

A few minutes of chatter later, and a waiter came over to the group to inform Rose that it would soon be time for her to perform. With a small wave, she left with the waiter. A few moments later, a band that had gone hitherto unnoticed by the gang due its quiet nature and the  hum of conversation stopped playing, and its members were replaced with the band that had been arranged for Rose's performance.

The main floor was cleared, and all occupants went silent. Faces turned to the slightly raised section where the band was, with Rose stood at the front.

Tim looked around at the people in the room, and off to one side, he found what he was looking for. In a small family group, he could see a man who was avoiding looking at the impending performance, and similarly avoiding the thinly veiled disgust emanating from the woman at his side.

Tim lightly tapped Abraea with the back off his hand, and pointed her attention towards the pair.

Abraea looked over, eyebrow raised, and an almost unnoticeable smirk appeared on her lips.

The performance started with a piece from the show Rose usually put on. As a song for a show, it wasn't appropriate to dance to. However, this was intentional, as the initial offering from the performer was typically taken from their usual performance as a show of skill.

Abraea and Meg observed the performance along with the rest of the attendees. Tim paid attention at the beginning, but by the end it was clear that his interest had waned. This earned him a scowl from Meg, which he shrugged off with a little guilt.

After the first piece was done, everyone present gave polite applause, and Rose's face showed her relief for a moment, before she and the band moved on to more appropriate dance music.

As the music picked up, pairs began to move into the empty space created in the middle of the room, and began to dance. The king and queen led them off, and many more soon joined them.

As people were pairing off, a smile appeared on Tim's face, and he held out his hand to Abraea.

"Would you care to join me for this dance?"

Abraea looked at him with a blank expression, before asking, "If I do, will you promise not to get inebriated and hit on every woman here?"

"I shall."

Abraea sighed, and took Tim's hand, causing him to beam as they headed towards the other dancers.

"He's like a child playing with his annoyed mother." The head priest said as he and Meg watched the two.

"More like a dog getting attention from its master." Meg responded, finding herself amazed at how differently he treated Abraea compared to anyone else. "It's honestly kinda sad."

"It's also the only reason why she's still able to move freely."

"What do you mean?"

"I assume you know of Tim's run in with the late God of War?"

"I am aware, yes."

"Well, I heard from my mistress that afterwards, the Gods held a meeting. Wherein it was decided that due to that event, it would be necessary to... Remove, her influence from the world."

"And by that you mean..."

"Nothing pleasant. However, it was then brought up that unlike her previous subjects, the actual problem person seemed to hold her in extremely high regard. If something should happen to her, and he were to find out, he certainly wouldn't be pleased."

"So in the end, the reason for why they wanted to get rid of her was the same reason why they couldn't."

"Essentially."

"And that problem person, who even causes all the gods to collectively back down... Is currently grinning like an idiot while dancing with a woman who at best seems to be resigned to playing along." Meg turned to the priest. "How's your faith holding up?"

"Just fine thanks." The priest finished off the drink in his hand and handed it off to a passing waiter. "And speaking of which, I suppose I should go do my job. See how the people here react to my presence, to judge if they've been good and whatnot."

"Enjoy that."

"Oh yeah, how could I not?"

The priest then left Meg in order to fulfill his purpose for attending, leaving Meg alone at the edge of the room with a glass of wine and nothing much to do. Shortly after the priest had left, a man walked up to Meg and offered her his hand.

"Good evening. Would my lady be interested in a dance?"

Meg froze.

...

After leaving things a little too long for it to not be awkward, Meg responded in a completely flat tone.

"Sorry, I'm not really in the mood to be dancing." She gestured to her dress awkwardly to emphasise her point.

"Ah, of course. My apologies." The young man had been worried for a second, but he smiled apologetically and withdrew his hand. "Were they someone special to you?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I suppose you could say that." Meg said, still unsure as to how exactly she was supposed to handle the situation, and getting caught up in her own excuse.

"Who was it?" The man asked.

Meg blankly stared him in the eye.

"Everyone."

"I-I'm sorry?" The man's face kept its composure. But only because it had frozen.

"Everyone."

"Everyone?"

"All of my family."

"That... I'm sorry, what a terrible tragedy." The man pulled his hand up to his face as he made a sympathetic expression.

"Yes. It was a very tragic brutal murder."

Meg continued to stare blankly at the man, who began to look around nervously.

"I see, um... If you'll excuse me, I think I'm being called for. Bye."

The young man beat a hasty retreat, and Meg continued to stare blankly at him as he left.

"...Well that was awful." She said to herself.

"You alright?" Tim asked.

Meg turned sharply in surprise.

"When did you get back?"

"Just now."

Meg looked past Tim and saw Abraea in the same place she was before she left, with a new glass in her hand.

"So who was that?" Tim asked.

"How should I know?"

"Well you seemed to deal with him fine."

"If you thought that was fine then you have a problem with your eyes."

"Oh well, we're back now, so you'll be alright."

"Excuse me." A young woman had approached them while they we're talking, and did a small curtsy after getting their attention. "Would Sir care to dance?"

"Sir would be honored to." Tim replied, extending his hand with a smile.

Meg turned to him with a frown of disbelief.

"Abby's here you'll be fine." He said to her before walking away with the woman.

"Asshole." Meg muttered to herself as she watched him go, before turning to Abraea.

"So, how was your dance?" She asked.

"Horrible." Abraea replied, without any emotional backing. "Just as I expected it would be."

"Well you can't have hated the idea too much, you agreed to do it. It's not like he'd force you."

"No, it was a necessary thing to do."

"...Why?"

"Because if I do nothing but push him away, he will grow to resent me, and reject anything I ask of him. So it is necessary to allow him a small concession every now and again to keep him under control."

"Wow, that's... Really manipulative." Meg said, a little perturbed by the god's attitude towards dealing with her loyal subject.

"The last time he was upset he went on a crusade, killing thousands. He did not eat, drink, and after one incident I don't believe he bothered resting either, until he had hunted down everyone he deemed should die."

"Was this just after you met him?"

"Yes."

"So... Didn't you facilitate that?"

"I did."

"...Then why are you saying it like you think it's a bad thing?"

"Because it was only interesting the first time. I have no desire to see it again, especially not from him as he is now."

"Why? What's different about him compared to back then?"

Abraea sighed to herself. "Everything." She said quietly, such that Meg only just heard her.

The two stood in silence for a moment, just observing the ball and taking sips of their drinks.

Eventually, Meg couldn't hold in her curiosity,

"...What was the incident?"

"Something that doesn't bear repeating in a polite setting."

"Okay."

Curiosity unsatisfied, Meg went back to standing in silence until Tim returned.

"Have fun?" She asked with a pout when he returned.

"I did. Thanks for asking."

"What was even the point of that? Is this really the only way rich people know how to interact?"

"What, the dancing? The dancing isn't for fun. It's mostly for showing political allegiances, bonding with potential suitors and exchanging information."

"Really?"

"Yeah, that woman was asking me all sorts, and if you'd gone off with that guy he'd have been asking who you were, who I am, who Abby is, what's your job, your relation to Rose, how I'm known by the king and on and on."

"Oh... Well that explains why someone bothered to ask me even though I'm clearly not accustomed to all this."

"Yup. Course, it works both ways. For example, I found out that today is the debut of the young crown prince."

"That so?"

"Yeah, he turned 11 this year and that's the arbitrary age they picked I guess. look, he's over there."

Meg followed Tim's pointed hand, and sure enough, she saw a boy dancing with a girl who was slightly older than him.

"So he is."

"You don't care do you?"

"Not even slightly."

"Charming."