As they walked away, Max was able to subtly gesture to BB she should resume her time with Jacquotte. She didn’t need to be told twice. Jacquotte was already on the move to try something new. When he glanced back, there were pointed glares directed at Ellie. Cy was no longer behind the pack, but Max had no clue when he vanished.

  “We got off lightly,” Ellie noted, taking her self-proclaimed place next to the dance space. “I wonder if it’ll be the same for them.”

  Max wasn’t too sure how old the current dream Ellie was, but the intentions behind her words were clear for him. They weren’t going to take this lightly. In the previous lifetime, Max would’ve interpreted the comment as a strong suggestion to intensify the social noose they were weaving together around the Lord of Roky’s family. Blackmail, exploitation, fraud; it never mattered what Ellie murmured offhandedly. Somehow, it always came true. Nothing was too hard for someone like Max to get in place. It was his role in this story after all.

  “Are you alright?” Cy appeared behind them. Max jumped slightly, like a child who was caught planning something he shouldn’t. “Don’t let what they say get to you. They don’t know what they’re talking about.”

  The encouragement touched Max slightly. Cy could probably relate to her experiences with the pack more than him. It had been a long, long time since Max experienced anything like name calling with intent to actually hurt not tease.

  Ellie wasn’t moved. “Who?”

  Cy frowned in confusion before exchanging a look with Max, who clarified. “The dogs.”

  “Ah. I don’t waste time listening to barking dogs.” Ellie pretended to drop her fan, causing Cy to reflexively pick it back up and hand it to her. Too bad Cy would never know, but the fan was sending another message. Cy was leaving a good impression on her. “I suggest you don’t either.”

  “Sometimes dogs bite though.” Cy looked back at the breakroom. There was no sign of their love seeking targets, but maybe that was a good thing?

  “Then you get that dog taken away to an animal pound to be put down.” The cruelty in Ellie’s words took Cy by surprise. It shocked Max too. They spent a long time mellowing out together that he wasn’t used to her speaking her real thoughts in public. “Are you troubled with dogs of your own?”

  “I guess I was…” Cy looked a bit uncomfortable.

  “You know of a good pound, don’t you darling?” Ellie made eye-contact with Max. All of them knew they weren’t talking about a real animal pound. “Why don’t you help your friend with solving his dog problem?”

  With the twisted expression on Cy’s face, it wasn’t too difficult to assume he was thinking about Lux. “I already have.”

  After forty minutes had passed, the guests were starting to trickle back into the ballroom. The air was tense before the music started. No one was looking to pick any fights before the next dance set began. It didn’t take long before the three of them watched BB and Jacquotte join the dance. At first, they struggled to keep up, but eventually it looked like they were having fun before the energy quickly dropped. Jacquotte’s eyes kept focusing on the people around her instead of her dance partner.

  “What’s the deal with those two?” Ellie mumbled. In the corner of her eye, she looked out for trouble wanting to interfere.

  “We’re trying to get them together.” Cy replied instinctively. Max wasn’t too sure whether it was a good idea to get Ellie in on their plan. She wasn’t real, but she might have a better idea about romance than them. It was the genre of her story.

  “… I don’t think that’s going to happen.” Her lack of confidence in their relationship was disheartening. “Not with everyone watching them. Let’s go, darling.” Ellie wasn’t taking no for an answer. She made her way onto the dance floor, disrupting the dancers around her. On cue, Max joined her, and they started to dance along.

  “What are we-”

  “Not many people are watching yet. Look alive,” Ellie led their dance. Mid-step, she changed their dance. The pace and tempo transformed. Even the type of dance didn’t match these times. It took Max a second to identify where it had come from. He had taught her this dance privately. Future dances and future music meant only for one pair of ears. Luckily, she had a clear favourite. It was easy to catch up when he realised Ellie was ignoring the music and dancing along to the song in her head.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “About half are still staring at them,” Max noted. Watching Ellie’s family on the other side of the dance floor confirmed one of his growing suspicions. This Ellie and the current environment were about a year into them dating. Most of her family was already tied down with blackmail, so they weren’t interfering. On the other hand, society was steadily getting used to their eccentric ways.

  One of the disgruntled women dancers, who stopped by the dog pack, looked like she was about to return the disruption. She approached, but before she could give any word of complaint, there was a surprise. Suddenly, two half-length gloves were thrown in her direction. She managed to catch them before dropping the gloves when she realised what they were. There were a couple of gasps when the gossiping eyes caught on to who the gloves belonged to.

  “That’s better. I never liked wearing those.” Ellie smirked from the increase in people watching them. It was from a mixture of glee and anxiety. “But it’s still not enough.”

  To their hidden beat, Ellie took off the gloves Max was wearing. There were even more gasps. Especially after Ellie’s former fiancé-to-be found the pair of gloves slapping his face. The skin-to-skin contact was exhilarating before inaccuracies started to show. None of this was real.

  “Everyone seems to be looking at us now.”

  “Apart from the dog pack,” Max said, grimly. Ellie suddenly forced him to catch her in a dip, so she could get a good look at the cluster of women. Their eyes were firmly set on the dancing women, who were trying to ignore them.

  “… Does old man Winston still have his flask?”

  It didn’t take long for Max to piece together what Ellie was trying to suggest. The two made their way through by using their chaotic dance. They leaned heavily towards one side of the crowd causing the audience let out a few grumbles of complaints as they swooped past. Old man Winston didn’t even realise the flask he had been sipping at for the last twenty-fire years was suddenly missing. Moving to their own beat, the couple found their way over to the other side where the dog pack, BB, and Jacquotte were at.

  Quickly and taking advantage of the unknown dance, Ellie threw the liquor from the flask at the dog pack before slipping the empty flask into Max’s pocket. “An eye for an eye. I guess they are getting off lightly this time.”

  First, there were screams. They went unnoticed by the guilty dancers, who were moving back towards Cy. Then, there was social disorder as the pack tried to end the dance. Max and Cy only needed to exchange a glance before they began working together to manipulate the dream into keeping the dance going. Lastly, Lady Roky stormed the dance floor herself to point an accusatory finger at Ellie. In an effort to ease the tension, Ellie willingly stepped aside so her mother could pat her down and show she wasn’t carrying a flask. Even Max willingly turned out his pockets to show nothing. The evidence had already been slipped into the pocket of their psychic accomplice.

  The interruption was only for a few minutes before the dance resumed. The mood had soured from Lady Roky shaming herself with her false accusations. Only a few dancers were willing to keep going, but all eyes were focused on one couple. They took in the limelight, so that their friends can feel comfortable in the dark.

  It had been a few hours since BB and Jacquotte escaped the ballroom together. It was Cy’s idea for him to go looking while Max and Ellie kept most of the dream beings under control and focused on them. The gardens had a few couples, but they weren’t the pair Cy was looking for. The library was vacant. Only after remembering Max suggesting the servant’s quarters did he find them. Once he had, he immediately wished he hadn’t. BB was set to reach the finish line.

  By the time Cy navigated his way back to the ballroom, they were in the middle of another break. The trifle came back to mind. Without reconnecting with Max and Ellie, he made his way towards the breakroom before realising something was amiss. The dresses were different.

  The classical Greek-inspired, simplistic dresses were out of sight. In their place, all the women were wearing big, puffy skirts, which suddenly blocked his way. They were entirely different. Was the dream starting to fall apart? Cy felt tired and drained, but not to the extent where they would have to stop. Only a few hours ago, Max said time was moving slowly. By his own fate calculations, they should have six hours in the real world before it would get dangerous for him.

  There shouldn’t be a need to stop now.

  Paying more attention around the ballroom, everything else was different too. The decorations, the dancers, the people; he couldn’t recognise any of them. Time to find Max. He would know what’s going on.

  Since Max’s appearance hadn’t changed, it wasn’t hard to find him tucked away in the corner. He had a wide smile as he talked softly to an old woman, who was dressed in a puffy, cream dress with pink features. Their faces were close together while they whispered. Cy stopped approaching when he realised what had happened.

  She was Ellie…

  There was no need to ruin their moment.

  Cy quickly turned to make his way back to the break room. He recalled seeing a clock there. Based on the internal time passing within the dream and his own growing body aches, he’ll be able to judge when they must draw this night to a close. Every second longer would be precious for those who could remember the moments for lives to come.