I sat in front of a crackling campfire, eagerly awaiting what was to come. On the other side of the campfire, the other elves of the caravan were lined up to the left and the right, leaving an open space in the middle.
Emerging from the darkness, Piune walked directly toward the fire and up into the stage the elves had built for her. Seated among the rest, Huratio plucked at his lute three times, after which the other elves began to clap. In timing to the rhythm they set, Piune lifted her face to meet my gaze and smiled.
I felt a shiver run down my back. Of course, not one of displeasure by any means. All my anticipation had been stirred up by that one look, sending a shudder through my body.
At the same time, I noticed the deep red dress she was wearing. With the way the light of the fire played over it, it looked like she had wrapped herself in the flames.
In timing with Huratio’s lute and the other elves’ clapping, she started to move. At first slowly, but gradually faster and faster...and then she froze, and snapped right back into motion again.
Yes, this was every bit a dance for the sake of performance. The way she grabbed the hem of her skirt and flipped it up like a cloak made it feel like the fire itself was dancing. The stark contrast between the red of her dress and the white of her skin stood out, but anything farther was perfectly hidden. The intensity of the flashing colors burned in the back of my mind.
It was quite the bold dance. Before my journey to the East, Piune had been unsure of how to live in human society. Her lack of self-confidence had been her most prominent trait...but it seemed she had long since put that behind her. Every little movement she made, from extending the tips of her fingers to the lifting of her toes, overflowed with confidence and pride.
Where on earth had she learned to dance like this? It was entirely unfamiliar to me. Not that I supposed it really mattered. I didn’t know all that much about dancing to begin with. I was far more interested in learning about how she had practiced and perfected this dance for herself. I really wanted to hear the story of how she had worked hard to learn this over more than ten years. Of course, that could all wait until after I had enjoyed this performance.
It was unfortunate that, despite how incredible her dance was, I was the only spectator. The caravan wasn’t engaging in any sort of trade or exchange with the humans in Zieden for the time being. There was a lot of tension between the humans and the elves right now. It was hard to say their relationship was in a good place.
The future of that relationship would be determined by the negotiations that came after consulting with the elders of various forests around the kingdom. As such, even to the common people, the elves couldn’t afford to show a kind face. After being subjected to war for so long, being presented with the wealth and artistry of the elven caravan could give birth to darker intentions among the humans. Normally, the caravan’s trade and inspirational art was meant to bring healing to exactly those kinds of people.
Right now, the elven caravan avoided human settlements as much as possible as they traveled across Zieden, staying for as short a time as they could when it was absolutely necessary. So unfortunately, as luxurious as it was for me, Piune’s performance had been put on for my sake alone.
It really was incredible, though. The other elves told me that Piune had taken up dancing because of my own suggestion...or I guess you could say my teasing, so maybe I could take a bit of pride in this accomplishment. After seeing how well she performed, I couldn’t help but feel proud, knowing I had played a part in making it happen.
To be honest, this wasn’t quite what I’d had in mind when I suggested she take up dancing. She had been much more reserved back then, so I had expected something gentler and more elegant. But seeing how she performed now, I realized that expectation had been too shallow of me.
I guess I couldn’t really take much credit for this after all. That pride belonged to her, the one who worked hard to accomplish this, and to the one who had seen enough in her to suggest this style of dancing.
Had that person been Huratio? He was quite knowledgeable when it came to music. No, when it came to skill in judging people, Airena was the first to come to mind.
Ah, I was really starting to get into it. Piune’s vigorous dance was like the dancing of the fire spirits in a forge. I could feel a palpable heat stirred up by her dancing, powerful and beautiful.
Until the dance came to an end, I found myself totally enraptured by the performance.