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“I didn’t know you knew how to dance,” Eve said as she took Emille’s hand into hers. Her fingers were warm and just slightly trembling, Emille noticed.
“My parents wanted me to learn,” Emille said with a giggle as she put her other hand around Eve’s waist. She rather liked being so close to Eve like this. “Though, tutors didn’t last long… But! I remember enough of the basics, I promise!”
“Well, if you insist.” Yet a faint smile came upon Eve’s lips, those same lips that Emille longed to kiss. “Now that I think about it, humans do have a high-class, sophisticated image of vampires.”
Emille grinned. “It’s kind of endearing, isn’t it? Now, let’s begin!”
The two of them stood in the rose garden outside the dorms, late at night and away from the prying eyes of other students and teachers. On the edge of the rose garden was that old church, where Emille and Eve had finally made their vows of sisterhood and more. Vampire blood did not nourish as human blood did, but to share one’s blood with another created bonds that were not easily broken. Even now Emille still tasted Eve’s blood on her tongue. Carefully Eve placed her free hand on Emille’s shoulder, and they began to move, with Emille slowly guiding Eve through the steps.
“When I put this foot back, you put your foot forward,” Emille explained, her voice little more than a whisper. “Just a little bit for now. It’s hard to get the rhythm right at first, especially without music, but it’s like second nature once you get the hang of it.”
“Maybe we should’ve brought a gramophone too…” Eve mumbled, just barely managing to avoid stepping on Emille’s foot. She pursed her lips in deep concentration, with an intense stare that seemed to gaze into Emille’s very soul.
“I think someone would’ve noticed us sneaking out of the dorms with something like that… Oh, don’t look down at your feet so much! Keep your eyes on me, okay?”
“Mm…!”
Emille couldn’t help it; she found the blush that spread across Eve’s cheeks, illuminated by the moonlight, rather adorable, but she knew not to say that out loud. Despite a few stumbles, Eve was more graceful than she gave herself credit for, and she took to Emille’s rhythm quickly enough. If anything, Emille was the less graceful of them, but still she was grateful to have this chance to lead Eve. After all, Eve trusted her, and she wanted to prove that trust was not misplaced.
When she was younger, Emille had enjoyed her dance lessons greatly, but eventually her parents had grown distrustful of her tutors, and soon the lessons came to a halt. Her favorite maid had sometimes deigned to dance with her when her parents were out on a trip, but as she had grown older, she realized they could no longer cross that line. Thus she took to dancing by herself to ensure her skills didn’t rust, but that only made her lonelier. Sometimes she had thought of asking Yucca or Violetta to dance with her, but had never mustered the courage to do so. For so long she’d been afraid of her strength to mesmerize others, and even now that fear still lingered.
Emille and Eve danced circles around the roses, a sweet floral scent enveloping the two of them. Eve’s expression began to relax, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Her fingers holding Emille’s were warm, and Emille’s arm tightened around the back of her waist, drawing her just a little closer. Some humans thought vampires were cold as corpses, but Emille was glad that wasn’t true as Eve’s warmth settled around her like an embrace.
In the moonlight, Eve’s blue-green eyes sparkled like jewels, and she looked upon Emille with true and honest longing, and not for the first time was Emille thankful they had met. There were people in this world who could love her as she was.
Distracted as she was, Emille didn’t notice her stocking had gotten snagged by a rose thorn, and she stumbled, falling and taking Eve with her. Her back hit the ground and Eve’s body landed on top of her. With a pained grunt, Eve lifted herself onto her hands and knees, but their eyes met and they both froze.
Emille’s breath caught in her throat, and she pressed her hand to Eve’s cheek. Among their vampire classmates, “sisterhood” meant many things, bonds both familial and romantic. Those bonds were eternal, memories that would stay in their hearts, no matter what paths they chose. She traced Eve’s lips with her thumb, and drew closer for a kiss.
“Good to see you’re not hurt,” Eve said with a dry laugh as their lips parted. “But maybe dancing in a rose garden wasn’t the most rational of ideas.”
“Eheh, but it’s far enough away from the dorms to give us privacy,” Emille said as she sat up.
“True, I didn’t want others to see us like this.” Eve let out a resigned sigh, and then laid her head on Emille’s lap.
“E-Eve?”
“You’re supposed to call me ‘Sister’ now, aren’t you? Well, when we’re alone together, I suppose you can call me by name.”
“O-Oh, right…”
Eve glanced up at Emille. “Since I indulged your desire for a dance, you can indulge me like this, right?”
Emille smiled as she laid her hand on Eve’s dark hair, curling soft strands around her fingers. “Of course! Though, I feel like you’re still the one indulging me…”
Again a faint, lovely smile graced Eve’s lips. “Take it as you will. We’re bound by both blood and love, aren’t we?”
“You’re quite the romantic, huh?” Emille whispered, and giggled at the blush that cross Eve’s fair cheeks, but Eve made no protest.
They sat together a little while longer under the moonlight, and the scent of both blood and roses lingered around them. Emille took Eve’s hand into hers and pressed a gentle kiss to the back of it, and Eve smiled, a smile only for her.