Moving on... (Adara/Michael/Dare)

[Adara Snow]

"Yes," Adara said, flattered that Michael had mentioned her. Still, she felt as though she were missing something, though there was nothing in either boy's words to imply that they were leaving anything out. "I danced only with Michael and Emilian, and I am afraid that I did not keep my secret well, though I will admit that keeping it was not a priority for the night." No, she had wanted only to live her fairy tale, and had succeeded beyond her dreams. Adara's gaze lowered as a blush blossomed across her cheeks at the memory of the night.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael's blood hummed pleasantly at the knowledge of what Dare had left out, but didn't offer any information and was glad for Dare's easy change in subject. "Emilian said you didn't know he was going, I can only imagine seeing him there." Michael knew that if Dare had said he wasn't going and then Michael had seen him there he would have been very pleasantly surprised. Considering Adara and Emilian's relationship was so much closer, the feelings must have been intense.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

That was interesting. Dare looked up at Adara to capture her immediate reaction, his charcoal scratching across the page in between glances. He didn't add anything to the conversation this time, choosing to take advantage of what Michael had just brought up, and focus on his sketches for the moment. It was only upon thinking about it that he remembered having heard that Emilian had been expelled. With that in mind, seeing him inside the castle must have been a shock.

[Adara Snow]

Adara's lips curved at the memory. "We were already dancing before he revealed himself to me," she said, closing her eyes briefly as she recalled the rush of overwhelming emotion she had felt at the moment she had realized it was him. "I did not allow myself to believe that it was him at first." She opened her eyes again, shining with emotion as she looked out over the lake. She smiled. "I thought him an impertinent masked man when he asked me with whom I had danced, but now, I marvel at his discretion!"

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael watched her, thinking how odd it was that Emilian had someone that obviously felt so much for him, and, stranger still, Emilian returned the feelings. When he really thought about it, Michael figured it was about time Emilian had someone, he had never been the favorite of the families, his parents never felt much in the way of warm feelings toward him. "I'm surprised he didn't try to hunt me down that night," he said, grinning. "But, with how he talked about you, I suppose he didn't have much choice."

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare watched avidly as emotions played across Adara's face, his hand moving faster now, trying to capture them. Yesterday she had been first solemn, then miserable, and the change was profoundly dramatic. Quiet has nothing to do with it, Michael had said. Dare's lips curved. Imagining was entirely different from seeing. And now Dare was more curious than before to see how Adara and Emilian acted in one another's company.

[Adara Snow]

Adara's smile grew secretive at Michael's words, though the gleam in her eyes only grew more pronounced. "We were quite busy the rest of the evening," she said, amused with herself for the phrasing. "I, for one, was distracted by the dancing." And from the dancing, they had left immediately for more private surrounds, in circumstances that brought Adara's blush returning in a wash of rose. She dropped her gaze to her hands, which smoothed absently at a nonexistent wrinkle on her skirt.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael grinned, Emilian had told him that they had went to the gardens and ended up at the shop for the night. "Dancing can be quite distracting," he agreed. His eyes stayed on her, examining the obvious emotions in her expressions. After a few moments, he turned away from her and let his hand move slowly over his paper.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Somehow, Dare doubted that they were really talking about dancing at all. If Michael's knowing grin wasn't enough, Adara's blush was, and Dare wished he had his pastels in hand rather than charcoal. "So you danced all night?" Dare asked, purposefully stoking the undertone to the conversation for the likely reaction. "It sounds exhausting." His lips quirked, fighting back a grin, though he couldn't help flicking a glance at Michael before returning his visual attention to Adara.

[Adara Snow]

Adara's blush deepened with her thoughts. "Not all night," she admitted, though she volunteered no further information on the subject. Her lashes fluttered, then lifted as she brought her gaze back out over the water. Her lips curved as she considered how best to respond to the rest. "It was a pleasant exhaustion," she decided. She had slept little that night, actually. True exhaustion had not even registered until the next day, when, without Emilian's presence, she had no longer had that distraction. Pleasant, indeed. Her smile widened almost imperceptibly.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael pushed back any mental images that threatened to come to the front of his mind and focused his attention on the paper in front of him. "I can only imagine," he said, his eyes sparkling. Even if he didn't exactly want to imagine. Instead, he pushed his thoughts to Dare, his eyes darting over to him every so often, though he tried to keep his focus on the lake.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

"I think it's safer not to," Dare said under his breath, just loud enough for Michael to hear him. Somehow he was sure that if Emilian were to find out someone had imagined, there would be trouble. Dare gave a wry grin at the thought. He didn't want to know the train of thought in Emilian's mind between that sharp look and his agreeing to let Dare draw Adara unsupervised.

[Adara Snow]

Adara shifted her gaze to Michael, wondering why it was that his words seemed to be encompassing more than an observation on the likelihood of being tired after a night of dancing. It didn't occur to her that Emilian might have mentioned something, or that her own reactions made everything blatantly obvious. She decided instead that it was her imagination and set the thought aside, instead focusing on the brief glances that every now and then brought Michael's eyes up to Dare.

"I am glad to know that Emilian's dearest friend has made such a dear friend of his own," she said, watching them. "I can see that you are very close. It is lucky to have someone like that." Her words meant no more than the stated; she assumed that they were close friends, and was pleased, through association with Emilian, that they were happy. Her lack of true social experience made any further observation unlikely at the moment.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael glanced up at Dare, his eyes sparkling with laughter, then his eyes went over to Adara, searching her face. Dear friend. His lips curved into a smile and he looked away from her, if only she knew how close he and Dare really were. "I'm very lucky," he said, his hand still on the paper as his mind relived the night before in the Room of Requirement, a pleasant shiver running down his spine.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's brows rose, and his head lifted entirely from his sketches. He looked incredulously at Adara for all of a second before realizing by the innocent happiness in her eyes that she was dead serious. Dare turned his head in Michael's direction to disguise a wide grin, and his right hand rose, hastily smothering a choked chuckle that may or may not have successfully sounded like a cough. When he'd recovered, he leaned toward Michael, nudging him playfully. "I'm the lucky one," he said, eyes glittering.