~ My ~ Fair ~ Princess ~ By Alexia Goddess Chapter Four "One two three, one two three, one two three, and turn...curtsey/bow... There you go. And again. One two three, one two three..." Relena resisted the urge to wipe the back of her sweaty neck as she turned under Quatre's arm, then curtseyed to him as he bowed. She had thought learning how to lift and lower a teacup with only two fingers would be hard... (AN: Which, actually, if you do it the proper way and it's real china, it IS hard! Especially when you do it over and over and over...) But this was plain torture! Nevermind the fact that she somewhat liked it... Quatre was an excellent dancer, patient, and never complained when she accidentally stepped on his toes. And the knowledge that with every step she took she came closer to obtaining her lifelong dream... As Relena let herself accidentally slip into her own world of fantasies of hope, she tripped on the hem of her skirt and fell face first onto the floor. "Oh, Miss Relena!" Noin, along with Quatre, was instantly on either side of her, lifting her up. Relena, flushed with embarrassment, mumbled an apology, then groaned when she saw the torn hem of her skirt. "Oh, Miss Noin, I'm so sorry!" Relena said in earnest. "Oh, it's jus the lace," Noin said dismissively, examining the hem. "And you should say 'My deepest apologies, Miss Noin. 'Sorry' is never used, only 'apologies.'" "My apologies for my mistake, Miss Noin," Relena said prettily, drilling that bit of info into her mind so that she would never forget it. "Perfect," Quatre told her with a gentle smile. He held out his arms. "Now, shall we try again?" Relena nodded, and placed her right hand on his shoulder, and slipped her left hand into his right. Miss Noin set the needle of the phonograph on the record, and the music began again. "And one, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, three..." Noin continued keeping count, Relena's brow furrowed in concentration as she desperately tried to keep her steps matching Quatre's, not step on his feet, and trying to look graceful all at once. Abruptly, the music came to a screetching halt. Quatre stopped, and Relena, not expecting the halting of either the music or Quatre, lost her balance. Quatre barely managed to keep her from careening into the floor a second time. As the golden haired girl straightened her skirts, she looked up as a cold voice stated his opinion of he dancing. "Pitiful," Was the word Lord Professor Heery Yuy decided to use. Relena, tongue in cheek, reminded herself that anger solved nothing, and the emotion was quenched and replaced with a downheartedness that clearly showed in her flushed, downcast features. "She has made great progress," Noin said stoutly, frowning at her employer. Proffessor Yuy ignored her and walked purposefully over to them. "Really, Heero, she's not that bad," Quatre, ever the peacemaker. "You shouldn't judge so. Truely, as Governess Noin said, she is improving." "Then I dread to think of what she was like when you started," Came Professor Yuy's cold tones as he looked Relena up and down. He sighed, and shrugged off his jacket and handed it to Quatre, who, suddenly getting it, stepped back. "Start the music, Miss Noin," The Professor commanded. Noin, blinking, did so, but not without protest. "Sir, teaching the girl to dance is part of my duties." "Yes, but if you continue teaching her everything, then when she wins this wager it will have been *you* that will deserve the credit." Yuy told her. "It's time I took up my share of the work. I am the one who had her brought here, afterall. Now, start the music." Noin, understanding but not pleased, set the needle on the record once more. "Now, girl, for one thing you're much to tense. This is a dance, not a march." Heero grabbed Relena's shoulders and rolled them up and down, causing the muscle to relax. "Now, don't let yourself tense up again, you hear?" Relena nodded, her face a mask of stunned surprise. All she could do was nod and obey. Heero placed his right arm around her waist, just above the small of her back, and his left hand took her right hand, raising them slightly. Relena put her hand on his shoulder, swallowed, and they began to move with the music in a square, Heero leading. "Stop." He said. "No, not the music, the girl here," He snapped when Noin went to pause the music. Noin pursed her lips, but said nothing. "Your hand is much to close to my neck," Heero told a wide eyed Relena. "And stop gaping at me." Relena shook herself, mentally, snapped her jaw shut, and forced her eyes back to their normal size. Not in the entire week she'd been here had she heard Lord Yuy say more than three words at a time, and now here he was, rambling off orders in quite a rapid succession! She watched with fascination as he readjusted her hand on his shoulder. "See how much more stable your hand's position is, now?" He told her. Relena blinked. It did feel more comfortable! "And your shoulders and arms have become tense again," He pointed out. Relena was surprised by the amount of patience in his voice. Relena rolled her shoulders on her own to get them to relax, while Heero adjusted the angle of her arms, making them go from angles to gracefully swooping limbs. "Now, again." They waited for a tune in the music, and began again. Miraculously, Relena managed to keep from stepping on Heero's foot for a total of two minutes. "Oh, I'm so sor- er, my apologies, my lord, er, professor...Mr. Yuy..." Relena fumbled for the proper wording. "Professor is fine," He told her passively, looking down at the indention in the toes of his boot made by Relena's heel. He narrowed his eyes at her footware, then commanded. "Take your shoes off." "Wh-what?" "Take them off. You're not comfortable in them, you're balance is awful, and they look painful. Take them off." Stepping away from Heero, Relena went and sat in a chair against the wall of the ballroom, reached down under her skirts and pried off the awful shoes, and set them neatly under the chair. She couldn't suppress a sigh of utter relief when she stood up and flexed her cramped toes. "Come." It was, once again, a demand, not a question or a request. Relena obeyed, and this time she remembered to keep her shoulders relaxed. She put her and in the new position on his shoulder, and did her best to keep her arms graceful. The music, which Miss Noin had paused, started again. Both Miss Noin and Quatre's eyes widened to the size of dinnerplates, and a slightly satisfied gleem was seen in Heero's eyes. Relena danced like an angel. Heero moved out of the box step, leading the golden haired girl in his arms in some simpler dance movements, twirling, spinning, sidestepping... Relena followed his movements without hesitation, and with confidence. After another hour, with Heero's guidance and an occassional 'your shoulders are tense again,' or 'move your hand,' Relena was adequet in several common dances and waltzs. "Enough." Heero announced, abruptly dropping Relena's hand and stepping away. "Stop the music Miss Noin." Noin, smiling, did so. "You danced splendidly, Miss Relena," Quatre told her. Relena blushed as she sat and reluctantly crammed her feet back into her shoes. "Thank you, Colenol Winner," She thanked him. "You are most kind." "Should I keep her practicing?" Noin asked Heero as he put his jacket back on. "No." He stated. "Take her into town at buy a dress fitting for an outdoor outting. I'm taking her to the horseraces tomorrow." Relena drew in a sharp breath as she watched him leave. Horseraces? Uh-oh.... To Be Continued.... Sorry it took so long! But this time I have an excus- er, explanation! KITTEN'S ANGEL IS COMPLETE!!!!!!!! WAHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! Oh, and my website is FINALLY up! You can click on the link on my author's page, or here's the URL: http://www.geocities.com/Makura_Petals/ Ja ne! Smile More, Dream Always, Alexia Goddess *ALL STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY*