The notion was at once both amusing, how much the perfect Serafina had to learn about him, and dizzying in its endearingly concerned sentiments.<br/><br/><strong><em>”Undue importance?”</em></strong>Alessandro smiled warmly, his gaze upon the eyes of the Angel behind her mask, and his voice had the warmth and heat of the finest brandy as it worked its path into one’s soul. He inclined his head politely, as decorum dictated, to the vision of perfection before him as her hand was placed into his own. With raw love in his eyes he then did the same to his heart, in thanks that she had bestowed such a thing upon him.<br/><br/>Never had the Dragon, his awe-inspiring love, been more beautiful. And never, in his recollection, had she been more divinely, lovingly wicked. He was proud of her in this, such a cleverly wrought expression of all that was within her mind. It was artfully done, and beautifully complex.<br/><br/>Nicoletta’s insistence that he and Serafina dance matched in all ways their relationship, and the inclusion of the Angel at his insistence into their world. Nearly did he gasp at Nicoletta’s brilliance, and her grace. At the lovingly cruel and playful punishment that also served as his notice of parole for his crime, and it was a message that so dearly treasured, for all that is conveyed.<br/><br/>Alessandro leaned close to her, there to whisper softly into her ear. What he had to say was not for the assembled guests, and Nicoletta hardly needed to hear his words to know what he was telling Fina.<br/><br/><strong>”I am afraid that at that, my darling Serafina, you are rather late to the ball. As my beloved Nicoletta is so well aware, I have already done such a thing of my own accord on your behalf – ascribed to you an importance that stands nigh alongside even her own. This dance is, you see, her expression of forgiveness – she bestows upon me a gift which I dearly desire - and yet it is also my well-deserved punishment.”</strong><br/><br/>Alessandro smiled as he stood straight again, looking to the gathering of their friends around them, and knew that Nicoletta’s smile was well deserved. He looked to her and nodded his submission, and he could almost hear her sweet and triumphant voice purring in his ears.<br/><br/><strong><em>”Dance, my darling Ales… Dance, and hold her, but </em>only<em> dance, in front of all those gathered. Dance, and know that you are forgiven for defending one of our own – but know that you shall never do so again, lest your punishment be far worse than having to hold her in your arms and behave.”</em></strong><br/><br/>Clever, dear and beloved, rotten Nicoletta. He was proud of her, and there was no other word for it. It was brilliant.<br/><br/>But he was, still, the scoundrel Alessandro, and therefore there were still corners of his mind that would not fail to rise to a challenge. It would disappoint her, his Nicoletta, should he fail to do so; only if his injuries were dire indeed would such a thing happen, and he did not wish to alarm her without due cause.<br/><br/>Turning to the musicians he bowed, and smiled.<br/><br/><strong>”La volta, per favore, and perhaps a slow one at that.”</strong>At that he inclined his head to his wounded shoulder, as if by pointing out his injury he might justify his request to make the most risqué of dances even more intimate.<br/><br/>With a grin he leaned to Serafina’s ear once more, and whispered softly.<strong>”Now, beloved Angel, now shall we show her why I knew you belonged with us. Your first time in my arms will not, it seems, be as I imagined it would be… but still will there be passion, yours <em>and</em> mine. Still will there be love, and beauty. Still will we show her that her acceptance was warranted, for we must now demonstrate that your star shines brightly enough to grace the night skies beside her own.”</strong><br/><br/>Tenderly then, hidden by the scented halo of her soft blonde hair, Alessandro kissed the delicate curve of her ear. Lightly did he curl the tip of his tongue slowly up its sublime shape, only to deliver one more soft kiss at the top of her ear.<br/><br/><strong>”Dance with me, and win her heart and mine.”</strong><br/><br/>As if nothing had transpired between them he stood, he settled into his stance, and with his nod of approval the musicians began to play.<br/><br/>Of a certainty, la volta begins innocently enough, with all the stepping and prancing which the otherwise staid court dances require. But then… then, unrelenting, the dance takes on a positively<em>intimate</em>turn.<br/><br/>There was a reason that la volta was not played at ‘proper’ estates, with respectable company gathered. Even here in Venice, there were limits to what polite society might be expected to witness.<br/><br/>The hands of the dancers are frequently clasped lightly but only briefly as the dance progresses, as if more than scant moments of such touching at any one time might lead to an inability to release one’s partner – a surrender, unavoidable, and irrevocable. Temptation, and flirtation, to music.<br/><br/>But then… then la volta shows that abandon has a face, and it calls for the male to lift his partner, spinning her in a twist, as if to mimic other occasions when a man might cause a lady’s head to spin, and her to clasp to him for support or in affirmation of his attentions. Thighs brush, in la volta as they do upon such other occasions, and in both cases the woman is powerless but to ride upon the wave her adoring partner places her so recklessly upon - to see it to conclusion, with her swept giddily away, to both of their delight.<br/><br/>As Serafina’s delicate hand settled into his while they danced, Alessandro understood that perhaps all the worry over the dance was correct. It<em>was</em>intoxicating. And it<em>was</em>, in all possible ways, a seduction, and a promise of that which was to come.<br/><br/>No pain came from his shoulder, for there was nothing in that moment but his Serafina and their dance, the treasured gift and proper penance from the woman he loved.<br/><br/>Now there was only proclaiming to Serafina that the idea of ‘undue importance’ was an impossibility, and that her place was now and always with he and Nicoletta, and none other.<br/><br/>Now was the moment to also show his Nicoletta, though, that his heart was indeed large enough… large enough to love her with the unbridled and unwavering passion which she had always incited within him, and yet also with the capacity to add another to their fold, and be grateful for her understanding and love for the Angel as well.<br/><br/>But most of all… most of all the dance was the time to declare that Alessandro had lived, and had learned his lesson. He suspected that his reward and punishment were designed to accomplish exactly that: to remind him of all that he had to live for, and to convince him of the folly of risking what he had.<br/><br/>Alessandro expressed his understanding of that lesson in every nuance of the dance, every lingering touch and tender embrace, and he laughed with joy as he lifted and spun his Angel. As he did so he looked to his love where she watched them, and thanked her with a gaze that conveyed more than his words might ever have done.<br/>