Only they danced in the huge room that was well lit by the many bright chandeliers hanging above them. Gold and yellow painted the tall walls covering the building, emitting some sort of radiance effect to those who were in the room. And the handsome man kept dancing to the waltz, leading her to steps that were foreign to her...like something she had never seen before or even tried...and yet, she followed him, unaware of which way the steps would take her.

He had his hand resting softly on her hand and the other on her waist, while she had her gloved hands on his hand and shoulder. The frilly, thick dress she wore was quite uncomfortable, though she did not mind it so much, because at that moment, she was enjoying this mysterious dance...a dance that seemed to have a deeper meaning into it, something that was dangerous yet captivating, and as the music played the shrilly song, she realized where each step was taking her…

Death itself. Just like the dance, death had its way of taking in people to its darkest corners, entrancing them like how the music and waltz entranced her. There was no way out of it; death would be the lead to your one way salvation, just like this man. Never had she met him in her life, but he seemed to know what he was doing, she noticed, for he did it with such proficiency and confidence which she knew she will never master but dancing with him as the leader made her think otherwise sometimes.

The blood red dress she wore blended with the black formal wear of the man in front of her, as they swayed and twirled about the room. Silent steps, but graceful and canny. She was not so acutely aware neither of what was happening to her, nor of what was happening around her but nonetheless something odd settled in her heart. Was it contentment? Or maybe happiness? Or was it the opposite?

She could not tell but it felt strange within her heart, as if it had never been there before.

Although she knew it was really dangerous and she had to let go, she couldn’t…because she didn’t want to. It was an empty room with only the two of them occupying it.
In fact…

…there was no orchestra.

The grandeur music, that played using countless violins and instruments spiraling the music to crescendo and back down, came from nowhere. But she did not notice it. It was a beautiful song nonetheless. One that was crafted by person filled with so much emotion and pain. Anyone could easily feel it once they hear the song.

Soon, she realized what had caused her to be trapped in this little escapade...his eyes.

Yes, those dark pools of black that held so much hidden mischief and mystery...they were beautiful... and without realizing it, she had been staring into them the whole time, as did he to her gleaming red eyes. His eyes were smiling in a dark evil way, and they were unchanging. The luminosity of the room brought his eyes to have a glint of light, causing it to glisten.

He smirked, which had gone unnoticed by his partner. It surprised her slightly when he just suddenly gave her a quick twirl, making her spin across his direction, her dress fluttering around her like a budding rose. She let her eyes close since, for some strange reason, she felt secure...like she could trust him. Though the man was a stranger at the same time, there was something about the air around him that made her feel this way.

And together with the luminous chandeliers above head, the colors whirled together around her---gold mixing with hints of black, yellow, and orange...sharing it's beauty with brown as well--- as she threw her head back, facing up to the golden ceiling.

'Why,' she thought, the moment the twirling stopped and her mind regained its awareness, at least the slightest bit, 'How on earth did I get here?' She stopped the twirling and stood firmly on the ground with her high-heeled pumps; arms stretched like his were, keeping a distance between each other.

And before she could answer that question, this foreign tall man, pulled her harshly, dragging her towards him in a matter of seconds, and it surprised her...how she had managed to stay graceful and not fall down like she had expected to. 'All his doing...it's all his doing. Magic! It must be.'

Those unsaid words of hers just stayed there in her head, and though this was true, the man seemed to act otherwise, as if he had heard all that she said in her mind.

He smirked once more, his face hovering over hers, definitely contrasting to the false truth that she was taller than him, his shadow loomed over her face. They was at least an inch apart from each other...but it did not matter to him.

Her red eyes were wide with worry while his were twinkling with amusement. They stopped the dance, just as the music did.

And she did not notice it was already finished. Her mind was still spinning. It was not yet ready to pay attention to the real world but instead, still lived in the surreal one she was inside just now.

Their hands were still clasped tightly within each other's. Their long arms were relaxed and folded to their side, and his hand was still firmly on her waist, securely set...and practically...possessively.

And as he stared into her eyes, she was not aware that he was inching closer...and closer to her face...her lips....almost touching....almost...

Her lips, she felt, had twitched suddenly; an urge had caused it to happen, though she tried not to show it.

He let go of her left hand, and moved his gloved hand to her chin. ‘Light and cold’ she remembered. His hand was light and cold, even if it was covered and underneath that silky white cloth. She took a sharp intake of breath.

Although it was already tight, it felt like the red dress was getting even tighter around her petite body, like it was trying to suffocate her but what she didn't know was that...she had already stopped her breathing. Her eyes widened.

Impossible as it sounded, she forgot how to breathe. Her lungs were gagged from lacking air. She tried to breathe or get some air though none seemed to come.

And he noticed, but paid no heed to it.

When their faces were so near that she could have sworn he was going to kiss her, he paused midway.

'Air...I need---' her thoughts seemed to blur; nothing was coming in her mind...and soon, she could not think right any longer.

His lips were set on a fine thin line that resembled much of a smirk, though she knew it was something else. It was approximately a centimeter away from hers, and for some reason...she wanted it...she wanted his lips on hers possessively...just like how he held her waist at the moment....

But, much to her dismay, he gradually pulled back, and stood up straight again, getting free his hand from her smooth chin, and retrieving his hand from her waist as well. It was as if...they never had the dance, it was as if...they never even shared a moment with each other...

They were but yet again....strangers even if they truly were already but something in that waltz they did entranced her into thinking differently.

The black top hat that lay on the floor, which he had placed there awhile ago, before their dance, was now back on his head, and with a quick, but respectful bow from him, and  a last lingering look at her with his cold, smiling eyes, he left. She observed his retreating figure which began to get blurry...and she knew there was no more hope...but she seemed to care deeply for the unsaid goodbye.

She wanted to say goodbye. She wanted to get to know him before he left her life, for the first time and probably the last. She wanted---

His shoes tapped against the solid tiles of the floor loudly, echoing throughout the room. There was a huge door that stood closed which he opened but before she could watch him leave the room, everything turned dark.

And the rest was history.

                                                            FIN