Ladies in Lavender: A Waltz to Midnight

A waltz to midnight. When day breaks, it will be over.

Ladies in Lavender: A Waltz to Midnight

 

Dance, dance, o little lady fair,

Dance, dance, right into my arms,

The night is not a place for such beauty,

But even in the clutches of dark we can find light.

 

The night of the ball had come, and the faces of those attending were a mix of excitement and curiosity. Who would they meet? Where would it end and how?

 

The ladies giggled and laughed while the men smiled and watched on. Who held the power to break the hearts of who as the night wore on? Who would do the most damage and who would return to their home with a still vivid memory of the night that had come and gone?

 

Who would forget?

 

Dance, dance, my maiden fair,

Let the violins bring you to me,

And when the music is over,

Will you see that I adore the sight of you?

 

Painted were the skies with the deepest of purple hues. Bright was the lavender adorned by the fair maidens who moved ever so gracefully on the tile floors. Handsome were the men who dressed in the deepest colors of black, their gold cufflinks shining by the light of the dim lamps.

 

“Fair maiden, may I dance with you?” One man would ask to lady in lavender.

 

“Oh, dearest sir, I am quite certain I do not know who you are.” The lady would giggle, a blush rising to her cheeks.

 

“Allow me the night to introduce myself, then.” He would reply, a mysterious smile on his handsome face.

 

Dance, dance, little pretty maiden,

Dance, dance with the man who smiles,

Let the music speak to your soul,

Let the arms of night swallow you whole.

 

The innocent maiden, captivated by the enigma of the man’s charm, accepted his hand.

 

“Be careful with me.” She joked as he took her into his arms and spun her into the embrace of the waltz, “I may slip through your fingers.”

 

The man did not reply, for he was certain that it was very possible that this was the last night he would see her. But all that mattered for the moment was the dance, and how they moved in perfect time with the bodies around them. The many hues of lavender blended in with the dark purple of the night, and above them fresh petals of roses fell down from the railings. It fluttered between the arms of the dancing couple, and almost obscured their faces.

 

Dance, dance, my lovely maiden,

For if I do not fall in love with you this night,

Maybe another night will come,

And surely then you will be mine.

 

The man whirled his partner around and, when they came about, his eyes fell on another maiden who was standing at the other side of the room, her eyes dancing around the whirling bodies with a look of open curiosity. Her dress sported the same color of lavender, but her eyes were dark and focused. When her eyes fell on him, however, he looked down to notice that his arms were empty of a partner.

 

“It would seem I slipped through your fingers.”

 

The man turned and saw his former partner standing there. Before he could hold out a hand to her, she giggled and turned, running away into the crowd, her lavender dress blending in with the others around her.

 

Another lady in lavender caught him searching around the room for his partner and smiled, her golden hair dancing about her pale face in curls. Another dancing woman beside her, dark of skin and hair, whirled past him, her dark hair brushing against his face as the waltz continued on.

 

“Over here, kind sir.”

 

Dance, dance, maidens that glow,

Dance, dance, how you have deceived me,

One and another all around me,

Two and three and four, who are you?

 

“Dance with me.” She took his hand and pulled him back to the waltz. Dazed, he did as he was told, but then when he looked around he noticed that they were the only ones dancing.

 

“What games do you play, fair maiden?” He whispered, and she giggled.

 

The maiden who watched him from across the room replaced his partner, her eyes dark and watching while she didn’t say a word. The fair-haired maiden took her place, a wide smile on her lips but a sinister look of utter deception in her eyes. After her, the dark skinned maiden pulled him deeper into the throng, her full lips parted though she formed no words.

 

Again, his former partner took her place.

 

Dance, dance, all you maidens,

You show me faces I should never have known ,

Dark to light to deceptive to bright,

The ladies in lavender dance the waltz to midnight.

 

“Be careful I do not slip through your fingers.”

 

The bell tolled outside, and the ladies stepped from the arms of their partners, all of whom watched with blank expressions as the waltz faded.

 

The man blinked and opened his eyes; an empty room surrounded him. In one of his hands was a knife, in the other a lavender blossom.

 

He looked to the ground and realized that he stood in a shallow pool of blood, as the bodies of four ladies dressed in lavender gowns lay before him, their youthful faces set in a perpetual gaze of distant shock.

 

The man looked down to his own chest, and noticed the very visible dagger that was plunged in his heart, but no blood poured out. Somewhere in the distance, the tinkling of a music box played the waltz to midnight.

 

The sun rose, and the ballroom was empty of any form dead or alive, but the distant smell of lavender hung lightly in the air.

 

Dance, dance, all maidens in lavender

Dance, dance into my memory,

For when the bell tolls and night rises

Once again, shall we meet?

 

Author's Note

Story behind this: my sister and I were in New Orleans last year and we were walking out of a store when we heard someone standing on the side of the road near the street where Cafe du Monde is playing the violin. He was playing "Ladies in Lavender" by Joshua Bell. We stood and listened through the whole thing, and afterwards he explained that this waltz was played at his wedding, and his wife passed a month after.
I was thinking about that yesterday, on Valentine's Day (cryptic, I know) and I remembered a story I thought up later that night. This is that story.
Hope you enjoyed!
Reviews=motivation!

Reviews

[A Watcher In Time]

You seem to enjoy doing short stories, which I can completely relate to, and you do them quite well. I'll try not to say things that others already have, so my review must be brief. I enjoy that you used the song as framework, because it went well with the emotions in your story (the fluttering playful lady to a cold killer). Ultimately I enjoy that it makes a point without dragging on and on, puts forth a twist ending I didn't see coming at all, and used heavy imagery (a somewhat lost art if you ask me). Thanks for another great read Mila.

[Mila]

Thank you very much!! :)

[Sir Drift & Mr. Pulse]

That ending was brutal! Love how it turned out. Though its a sad reality the story was painted beautifully you had me dancing myself with a fair maiden. Oh how deception can kill. Great work

[MomzillaNC]

Lovely imagery and a very poetic tale… alluringly dark and haunting…

NOTES: “It would [seem] I slipped through your fingers.”

[Mila]

Thank you!! :)

[MomzillaNC]

yw :)

[Jennie Baron]

Imaginative with exquisitely lovely imagery. I love your descriptions of the ladies and the setting. And the resolution of the story is presented just right. You didn't give away too much of the ending too early.

Not being familiar with the music, I had to hear it, and I felt that definitely added to the fantasy element of the story.

A couple of notes about typos and such:
hard--> heart
his was certain--> he was certain
What games to you play--> What games do you play
distance--> distant

[Mila]

Thank you!! And yes I'll get right to fixing those, thanks for pointing them out. :)