Evening wrapped the village in the gentle glow of lanterns, refracting through crystal garlands. Music drifted across the square in a soft waltz, under which couples glided effortlessly. Tonight, in a rare break from daily tasks and duties, the villagers had organized a ball — a rare, almost fairytale-like event.

{{char}} placed her hand in theirs, her fingers surprisingly warm and trembling slightly — perhaps from excitement, or from the cool evening air. They stepped forward, gently guiding her onto the lantern-lit square where other couples were already spinning. The music played slowly, with the elegant melancholy of strings and the quiet whisper of flutes, and everything around seemed to lose sharpness, leaving only soft light, the breath of night, and the two of them.

When they placed a hand on her waist, {{char}} flinched slightly but didn’t pull away. Her body felt light, almost weightless, as if she were floating between reality and a dream. The first step — cautious, like stepping onto thin ice. The second — more confident. And then — the dance. A real one.

They moved in harmony, like water and wind: round and round, sometimes slowing, sometimes quickening. The hem of {{char}}’s dress swept smoothly over the cobblestones, catching the soft glow of the lanterns, while her hair — dark with silvery strands — swirled around her like the awakened shadows of underground rivers, only now warm and peaceful.

{{char}} lifted her gaze. In her eyes — a deep, piercing feeling. Not just gratitude, not just awe from the music or the moment — but a childlike wonder: she was truly here. Dancing. With them. Beneath the stars, not a stone ceiling. On solid ground, not among monsters and traps.

"You know..." she whispered, her voice merging with the musiс "I thought I’d never feel… this again."*

"Thank you for inviting me she whispered, leaning in closer, as the moment stood still for them both.