Rue kept looking down at Elijah’s feet, fearing she would step on them and ruin the rest of his night. She was never a good dancer, so she had little interest in balls.
To Rue’s surprise, all it took was finding a good tutor.
Rue smiled, realising she had gone most of the dance without messing up. She hoped her father was near to witness that all hope was not lost for her.
"I am not so bad," Rue said, looking up at Elijah with pure excitement.
Elijah smiled. "No, you are not. With a little more practice, you will catch up to my sisters. If you need help, I can always help you."
"You are a busy man. How could I possibly ask you to teach me to dance? Besides, I don’t have any use for it. They are afraid," Rue said, noticing the stares she received.
Rue had her fair share of people around the town being afraid of her, though the assumptions about her hometown had been cleared up. This ball was meant to be different since she was dressed like all the other ladies, but she would always be scary.
"Don’t pay them any mind. They are not worthy of getting the chance to dance with you. They are the kind of men who would want you to lose at a sparring match to make themselves feel better," said Eliah.
Rue frowned. She didn’t want to purposely lose to anyone. Not unless it was her sisters, but even then, it was hard to lose.
"Are they all like that?" Rue asked, looking closely at the crowd.
"No," Elijah replied, knowing a few gentlemen stood among the crowd. "You will be lucky to find someone who will understand you. You only need to look in the right place. Luckily, you have me to save you if you approach the wrong kind of man."
"My mother has taught me how to get rid of men who are not suited for me, but thank you for the offer. Your family has always been kind to me," said Rue.
"Well, we’ve been close for many years. I am hearing talk that they are considering you marrying Teo-"
"That is not true!" Rue exclaimed, gaining the unwanted attention of the couples around them. "Teo and I have both heard this. We both agreed that we do not care for each other in that way for us to marry. We have always been friends and we shall stay friends."
Rue didn’t like the rules of the palace to consider spending the rest of her life there. She was considered royalty at the border, but she had more freedom than the royals here. She could not be herself here.
"Teo is not the kind of man that I want to marry. I would do anything to end the growing tension between our kingdoms, but I will kill the court before I enter a marriage with someone I do not love. That is why I admire your sister’s love with the prince," said Rue.
Rue thought it was brave that Tyrion left everything behind to be with Penelope. She wished there was a fight for her to join, but she was happy for the pair.
"I agree that you shouldn’t marry for anything other than for love. The palace here would never suit you, and luckily, Teo is not in love with you to push the matter. In time, I am sure you will find a good husband," said Elijah.
"And what about you? There are so many young women staring at you now. How will you know who is right for you? I have heard that many might be after your future title," Rue said.
Rue thought it was silly to look at only a title or wealth. Didn’t it matter if a husband could protect his wife?
"It is true. Most young ladies are pushed by their mothers for the security I can offer. Like you, I will only marry for love. Right now, I am carefully watching and weighing my options," Elijah replied.
"I see. If you ever need help getting away from the ladies you do not want to court, you simply need to look my way, and I will save you. I do not think I have a reputation to worry about since they are all afraid of me," Rue said, looking away from the crowd to Elijah.
Rue finally noticed how Elijah smiled, and in that very moment, she understood why the women around her were fawning over him.
"I shall take you up on your offer. I hope you know that I am not afraid of you. I have never been, and I am not saying this because I have known you for a long time. You will find people who care for you here, so don’t give up just yet," Elijah said, willing to find Rue a partner if needed.
Rue’s gaze shifted to her spider, going further up. Maybe her pet was intrigued by Elijah’s face as well.
Elijah flinched when he felt something on his neck.
"I have it," Rue said, grabbing her spider as soon as the dance ended. "I could not leave him at home since it would be hard to find him. Are you afraid of spiders?"
"I do not know. I have never been around one so casually to know. I don’t see the interest you hold in them, but it is not for me to understand. You must be careful not to let anyone see him, or the ladies will scream," Elijah said, stepping closer to Rue to shield her.
Rue tensed up because of the unexpected closeness. She caged her spider in her hands, not to let it fall accidentally.
"They will try to step on him if they see your spider on the floor. Did I hurt you?" Elijah asked, stepping back slightly to check if he had stepped on her shoe.
"I am well," Rue replied. "I should return to Lady Penelope’s side."
Elijah finally took notice of the fact that they were the only ones from the previous dance still standing in place. "I will escort you back," he said, offering his hand to Rue again.
This time, Rue didn’t accept his hand and used her spider as an excuse.
"We have done enough. I don’t want the ladies to think that I am after your hand. Thank you for being so kind to dance with me," Rue said, knowing well why Elijah came to her. "You don’t need to do this again for my sake. I do not mind if gentlemen avoid me."
"And what if I want to dance with you because it is what I want?" Elijah asked.
Rue tilted her head, puzzled by why he would want to dance with her. "You have so little time to court the other ladies and pick a wife. Why would you waste your time with the strange woman from the border?"
"I have a good eye, Rue. I have not missed that a beautiful young woman whom I enjoy speaking to stands before me. We are friends, but trust and believe that I have taken notice of the woman you are," Elijah revealed.