Eddisian Square Dance

by wavewright62

Summary:

No yee-haw, but rather the scene from King of Attolia where the (still-loathed) king is mocked with a tune for an Eddisian dance that requires two hands. Eugenides dances it anyway, with an unwilling Attolia.

Notes:

• For LaurenTarzan.

I was given the world's easiest prompt - "Literally anything lol" Bless you for that, and I hope you enjoy this.

The passage from the book, "They were called square dances because the entire dance took place in one small square, the dancers' feet never moving outside it. ... as the music continued, the dancers had to move faster and faster, their feet repeating the same pattern over and over. At the end of each cycle, Attolia spun away from the king and then back to face him. They clasped hands and spun together and then began again. the music soon increased to a pace that left no breath for talking.
As Attolia spun, she felt a tug at her hair and, turning back, felt another. Then she felt her carefully arranged hair slipping down on her neck. Eugenides, minding the pattern with his feet and spinning the queen with one hand, had been pulling out her hairpins one by one when her back was turned. The rest of the pins loosened, and her hair dropped free. It swung out as she spun and the last of the pins bounced and slid across the marble floor.
The queen was several inches taller than Eugenides, and he leaned back to counter her spin. To those watching, it didn't seem possible that he could succeed, but with one hand, and no visible effort, he defied the laws of the natural world."

[image description: two people dancing, gazes locked upon each other as they spin with clasped left hands. The queen is a pale-complected tall woman with long black hair twined with a gold chain festooned with teardrop rubies, wearing a sleeveless dress with a gossamer poncho overlay which billows behind her. She is holding herself stiffly upright as she spins, her hair falling out of its updo, shedding hairpins as the locks come undone. The king is fluidly leaning back into the spin, holding the hook that serves as his right hand close to his chest. He is a darker-complected man with a characteristic feather-shaped whitish scar on his cheek, wearing a mismatched outfit including a stained sash, pants with embroidery around the cuffs, and a long embroidered lightweight overshirt that billows out behind him as he spins.]

Notes:

Not quite the pitneen suit, but hopefully revolting enough?