A Collection of Caraval Oneshots {Fanfic}

I know when its time to go {Act 1}

Prompt: Can you please write a ballroom one shot? Tella and Legend dancing, maybe Scarlett teaching Julian how to dance? Just some nice ballroom fluff please.

Timeline: post- finale     pre- Tellas daughter
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   The ballroom air was filled with lust and stardust, and Donatella Dragna looked like the pure embodiment of both.

   She was the first thing Legend had noticed the moment she walked down the stairs, his heart had dropped the moment he laid eyes on her. Her face had made his soul sway in ways it hadn't in hundreds of years of his life. He knew Tella was beautiful, but in that moment it didn't matter what anyone else thought. All that mattered was her.

   Tellas ivory face was touched with golden glitter running up her cheekbones. Her normally curly blonde hair was straightened and added to reach her soft forearms. Navys and blues weaved their way through her dress that sat just above her hip, adorned with a lacey corset. Legend had a hard time taking his eyes off of her.

   Tella smiled, "Your eyes look widened, so I'll take it I look well?"

   He didn't respond as she walked closer to him, instead looking straight into her amber blue eyes.

   "Perhaps" she said, "perhaps, you would prefer I wear less-"

   "Tella"

   Scarlett's flushed voice revoked them both as she paced to them. Her cheeks were pink and her eyes looked as though she wishes she could return to whatever activity she had been partaking in. Legend didn't fail to notice the devilish smile his lover was sending to her sister.

   "Scarlett" Tella nodded in greeting.

   "Could you do me a favor and make sure the ballroom is empty before the dance tonight".

   "I suppose"

   Scarlett grinned nervously, much to her sisters notice, "Scarlett, is something the matter?"

The Empress' eyes widened in such a way Legend could practically hear her heart beat faster than it had been before.

"No, I... I'm... Lilia do you think you could do me a favor" she said, calling down the maid known as Lilia down the long corridor.

Tella turned a confused look towards him, "any ideas"

He shook his head slightly, "I don't much care, truthfully".

**~~~~**

   The massive white marble door was heavier than Tella presumed it would be.

She had never been in the ballroom before a dance had become. She had tried to open the door much to Legends confusion, at first, she didnt quite understand why it was indeed so burdensome. After the first couple pulls on the ruff black handle, she sighed defeated and slightly tired.

"Why is it so hard to open?"

Tella heard a chuckle from beside her. Only to turn and see her lover hold up a key, his pupils ripe with humor.

   "whatever" she said, narrowing her eyes, slightly flustered.

   He grinned as they walked in. The ballroom was extranegant as it always seemed to be. Magnificent eggshell walls held stead strong while weaves of rich green leaves clung to the ceiling. Deeply lavish red flowers set centerpieced throughout the clearance, no doubt Julian's way to add a bit of Scarlett to the castle. Tella could tell Legend had nothing to do with the decoration of such a place based on the look alone. It was an elegant space, sure to bring laughter and happiness. But anything the Master of Caraval had anything to do with never was so simple, the scent of the room alone gave off a magic less vibe.

Simple; yet something Tella would never decide on.

"Strange to see it so empty" he paused, "The ballroom that is"

She turned to see Legend after he spoke. His words were filled with a sense of awe, as if it reminded him of a far off time from his life.

   Legend turned swiftly his deep black eyes landing on her traveling up her neck to meet her amber eyes, he held out a hand, "will you dance with me, Tella?"

   She flushed. He had never asked her to dance before, and they had never swayed. When she was young, Tella would pretend she was a mermaid and was asked to dance by a prince. They would spin and waltz around the room, in an ecstasy of happiness. She supposed, minus her being a mermaid, he was helping her live a childhood fantasy.

Expect she never predicted such a boy with a devilish grin would love her, or that she'd return the feelings.

Tella felt his ruff callouses scrape against the soft pads of her fingers, intertwining their hearts and palms. She laid her head on the wide of his chest, her upper cheekbone sensing the discreet of the black fabric he wore. Ink and magic rolled of in waves of the most devious taste Tella had ever smelt. A warm arm snaked around the back of her waist. He threaded his hands through the lace up stings of her bodice to brush the warm expanse of her back. An nervous action he seemed to do often without thinking.

They began to move, swaying to the invisible music. Legend leaned his head down and kissed the side of her head, sending goosebumps down her neck.

"How I survived without you is one of the biggest mysteries I've ever found myself I rambled in" he said, his head finding its home on hers.

Tella didn't know what to say. He wasn't usually ever this vulnerable, especially in a place where people could so easily spot them. It made her wonder of the tone of his words he had used earlier, the longing in them making more sense to her now.

   "Does the empty ballroom remind you of something?"

   "Yes" he sighed, looking at her for a long moment before he continued, "Empty ballrooms remind me of more than I wish they would"

   She snuggled closer into his neck, "may I ask what of?"

   Legend set his forehead against the top of her blonde curls, "When I was a child there was a castle near where I lived. It had vast and grand outer and inner walls. Julian and I used to steal roses form it's gardens" he smiled, "I remember sneaking in there once and seeing that empty ballroom"

   "You didn't get caught?"

   "I most certainly did. I still have the scar on my wrist from the chain they tied me to"

    Tella softly looked up towards him, "I don't understand"

   Legend tucked a frail piece of hair behind her ear, "It reminds me of life before you. The sadness of it, and how I didn't go crazy"

   She giggled, shoulders upturned with humor.

   "Will you promise me something, Tella?"

   "Anything"

   He kissed the top of her forehead as delicate as a goodbye.

   "Never leave me alone again"

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I have to pee AGGHHHH

this is so long and I'm so sorry

I hope u liked it : )

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