Now, Shall We Dance?

A hot sunny day has no escape; a wonderful breeze gently caressing your face for a moment is a fresh breath of beauty, but otherwise you are stuck sitting outside in a trance of everlasting boredom. The heat takes swipes at your face, burning it a cherry red with a snicker. Your clothes stick to your body with perspiration, your very existence a pain in Mother Nature's back.  Revenge is, apparently, making your life utterly miserable.
Sighing, the young boy shifted uncomfortably in his spot under a shaded tree. He was grateful to be able to have at least a little bit of relief from the harsh summer weather, but his long shirt still seemed glued to his chest, his hair stuck to his sweaty scalp. His single ponytail draped along his back, shining in the sun iridescently. Pressing his head to the warm bark of the tree, he tried to mask his long hair. Long hair wasn't the norm for boys of his age; it wasn't the norm for any man.
"You know, Sateriajis, I quite adore your hair. If I had a daughter, I would love to have her hair exactly like this. Amusing to play with, don't you think?"
He nodded.
"Oh, darling, don't cut your hair. Trim it if you must, keep it gleaning, a symbol of your youth and regality. Such a lovely color too. It's not often a man has that kind of striking violet."
The woman ran her finger through her hair, her left hand's pinky, to be exact, and stroked her son's voluminous locks. Purple was her favorite color, and she'd never see anyone with hair like it. Not even Sateriajis' father possessed such dazzling purple hair. Sateriajis followed his mother request with angst. No one else but his mother liked it; he was teased constantly. He was regality, though, the Duke's son, and his mother just told him to shut out the petty peasants' mockery.
"Yes, mother," Sateriajis said aloud to himself, mentally thinking of his mother's request. "I'll keep it however you desire forever and always." His mother was on her deathbed; sickly ill with an unknown disease. What was a young man to do without his lady? Sateriajis shut out the depressing thoughts that repeatedly echoed and rebounded in his head. However embarrassing it was…mother knows best, they say.
Seconds of solitude gave the young Duke serenity, anything to escape the haunted reality of death and sickness that struck his loved ones. Still….he couldn't help but feel lonely. His unusual appearance gave too many reasons for other boy's to mock him, no one was his friend. Yearning for a caring touch or his mother's embrace, Sateriajis' self-pity bit into him like an angry animal.
"Hey, look, its pony-tail-girl!" a voice rang out. Sateriajis froze, the very voices of his childish bullies paralyzing him in fear. Their insults weren't very intelligent, but they still hurt. "Your hair is lovely today, m'lady," a short, blonde haired boy approached him, a glisten of devious joy in his aqua eyes. His hair was swept up in a poof, making him look extremely idiotic but apparently not idiotic enough to be the subject of others' torment. The son of the Duke glared at him, his purple eyes intense with such a fire the other boy almost flinched in fear.
"I am a boy," Sateriajis grumbled. "Leave me alone."
"Are you sure? Did you check?" the boy snickered, his head bouncing up and down with each cackle.
"I'm sure." Sateriajis leaned against the tree, not wanting to deal with the annoying boy who kept pestering him.
"Leave him alone," This time, a new voice sliced through the air and shook the two boys with shock. Feminine, crisp and clear yet delicate. A girl, no older than Sateriajis, cautiously walked towards the two boys. The blonde boy froze with a gulp, never being told off by such a lady.
Her body was slender and lovely, a white dress exempt from dirt fitting her waist beautifully. Beautiful pale skin, Sateriajis noticed, and lovely green hair that was as green as the lush gardens surrounding them. Green eyes that signaled danger and contempt, just daring the boy to make a move.
Sateriajis felt a pang in his empty heart.
"Such a lady as yourself shouldn't be sticking up for such a boring, effeminate man!" the boy's face turned pink with shame as he sped off. At last, he was nowhere in sight.
"What a coward." the girl scoffed, looking down at the grass thoughtfully. Sateriajis watched her curiously, wondering what compelled her to stick up for him.
"Thank you," he murmured. "Nobody's ever really stuck up for me before."
"You're welcome. Don't let them get to your head." She eyed him up and down, examining him with a piqued interest. "The name's Gumina Glassred."
Gumina…Gumina…Sateriajis thought he had heard the name somewhere. Ah, yes! Gumina's parents were high aristocrats, and Sateriajis' father knew them. He had heard his father speak of them with great fondness before.
"Sateriajis Venomania." Gumina extended her hand politely and allowed the young duke to plant a small, feeble kiss on her left hand, close to her pinky finger.
"The duke's son?" Gumina smiled. Sateriajis' heart flew again, a feeling he had never felt before welling up inside him. It felt lovely, he wanted it to last forever…
"Yes." Sateriajis nodded, standing up. He was rather tall compared to Gumina, and looking down at her made him smile for some odd reason.
"It was a delight meeting you," Gumi spoke, her words dancing along Sateriajis' spine in a chilling ballet.
"Likewise." The two exchanged glances and turned their opposite ways. Sateriajis walked quickly, his brows furrowed and his cheeks red. What was this feeling? Why couldn't he pinpoint what it was?
…And why had he never felt it before?
~
A milder day brought the young duke much relief as he sat beneath the oak tree. Its branches swayed lightly in the wind, causing leaves to tumble down in their summer-turned-fall descent. His long pants were tucked neatly into his boots, his long shirt's sleeves rolled up so the air could rest softly and bring a cooling temperature to him. His long, lavender hair was left flowing so the wind could toss it about in its games.
"Sateriajis? Its good to see you," Gumina's familiar voice flew through the air and brought Sateriajis' ears tranquility. Ever since their meeting, her voice had been looping through his head in a monotonous repeat. However, now he was able to hear it speak more words, and Sateriajis grinned.
"Same, m'lady," Gumina sat next to him under the tree, the shade covering both of them like nature's blanket. Gumina wore brown pants and a long, purple shirt that gave her an overall tomboyish appearance, but she did look high and aristocratic. "What brings you to the tree again?" Sateriajis felt comfortable speaking to Gumina, as if she was an old friend who had miraculously reappeared for a friendly chat.
"I'm quite bored, you know…trying to escape my tutors and such." Gumina looked over at Sateriajis, who was looking away to hide his blushing.
Damn…she's so beautiful…is this what they call love? Sateriajis tried to ignore the beads of sweat that dribbled down from his forehead, his cheeks hot with pressure and embarrassment at having to look away.
"I know what you mean." Sateriajis answered, looking out into the green expanse of the fields in front of them. Lilies dotted the landscape, and Sateriajis would do anything to run out and grab one for Gumina. She made his head swirl with unknown feelings, made his chest tighten and tense as he would think of never seeing her again with worry, and made such a strange sense bubble up inside him. There was no doubt that the young duke had encountered his first love. "Beautiful days like these don't need to be interrupted with mathematical problems."
"Exactly!" Gumina looked over at Sateriajis, who still left his gaze to scan the ground beneath them. "Sateriajis…"
He flicked up his head obediently to look her in the eyes. His deep plum eyes gave intense stares into Gumina's soft green eyes.
"Your hair is quite different, you know." Sateriajis frowned, his heart sinking. Was that really all she had to say? "I've never seen anything quite like it."
"That's what they all say." Sateriajis grumbled.
"Well, when something's as unique as purple hair and striking purple eyes, what's a girl to do!" Gumina stood abruptly. Sateriajis was startled, and a bit scared that she would get up and storm off. "You should take it as a compliment, Duke."
"People usually mean it in an intimidating, pitiful way…I'm sorry…." Sateriajis felt his words trail off.
"Don't say sorry to me. Be grateful that you are you; hell, I would kill to have such beautiful hair as the tailor's daughter, Lukana. Have you seen her hair! So pink, like a fairy's weave…" Gumina shut her eyes, imagining herself with locks of flowing, cotton-candy pink hair.
Sateriajis looked at her; the way she was so strong, so independent, it really made him chuckle. "Your hair is lovely as it is, Miss Glassred."
"Really?" Gumina giggled and spun around, allowing her hair to whip in the wind. "So what do you do to get your hair so long?"
"I-I don't do anything to it."
"Liar!" Gumi playfully sang as she messed up his hair, making it fall all over his face. "Tell me your dazzling hair gossip!"
She was so lighthearted, the duke's own black heart, rotten over time with hatred and loneliness, a dark hole where a friendship's warmth would be, filled up with bliss.
~
Not another bully dared approach the yet-to-be-duke ever again. The thought that he was now friends with the scary yet elegantly beautiful Gumina Glassred shook them with fear. She could tear them down in an instant.
Sateriajis felt so wonderfully different with Gumina around, that their normal getaway/friendship retreat the tree got worn out over time as the two climbed it, scratched words into it, and swung about it like rampaging monkeys. From the first word spoken at age eleven to the two's bond increasing at age fourteen, what was once only a three-year friendship turned into a gift that helped Sateriajis through life.
It also ruined his life immensely.
~
"Wake up, sir." his caretaker awoke him, shaking the young Sateriajis awake. His eyes creaked open. "I have news."
"Good news?"
"Bad news."
Sateriajis sat up laconically, his hair frizzed about unkemptly. "What is it?"
"Your mother has died, Sateriajis." Silence ensued, swallowing the two and enveloping them in a deep depression. "I'm sorry."
"The doctor said she was doing fine!" Sateriajis was in a strange disbelief. "She kept going for years, and he said it went away! She can't be dead!" A thin stream of tears poured from his eyes as he began drowning himself in sorrow. He wept, his hair sticking to his face.
That day sitting under the tree brought him no relief.
Freezing wind slapped him across the face, smothering his cheeks with cold. A thin blanket was wrapped around his shivering body, but to no avail did it help. His eyes drifted to the barren landscape before him, a desolate winter tundra, and stayed there, trying to take in everything.
"Sateriajis…I'm sorry. I heard about your mother." Sateriajis didn't even look up at the girl he called his love. She inched closer, a shawl wrapped tightly around her. Sliding it off, she wrapped it around the two of them, and the two were suspended in time. Sateriajis felt the warmth of Gumina's body pressed against his in a comforting hug, and what seemed so empty now felt so happy. She laid her head gently on  his shoulder in an effort to cheer him up. "Sateriajis…I'm so sorry." she grabbed his left hand and held it.
"Gumina…thank you. For everything." his eyes were closed as he tried to shut out the world. "You're welcome, my duke."
Sateriajis felt his cheeks burn with passion. He wanted desperately to confess his love, hoping that she returned his feelings. Love could not be contained; love so fierce, so pure, between two young adults who enjoyed each other's company as much as they treasured their own lives.
"Gumina….I love you." Gumina blinked, her eyes going wide.
"What?!"
"I love you."
The two sat, staring into each other's eyes. Sateriajis smiled faintly, dying in wait of a reply.
"I'm sorry, Sateriajis….I don't return your romantic feelings. You're a great friend, but…" Gumi's eyes were glazed over in tears, she clearly didn't want to break her friend's heart on the day of his mother's passing.
Sateriajis' heart sank. He felt so empty, as if everything he loved was being gobbled up by fate. Doomed to died alone, doomed to not have a love returned, the young duke stood, shaking off the shawl. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. More than anything, he wanted to press his lips to hers. He needed that spark, that flicker of hope that was your beacon of light when all hope was lost.
I am so pitiful.
"Sateriajis?"
I can't even get a woman to love me.
"Sateriajis, are you alright?"
Why can't you love me? I love you so much it hurts.
"Don't cry…" It was then the purple-haired adolescent realized a tiny tear had slipped from his tear ducts and was now rolling down his cheek. Men don't cry. But you aren't normal, right?
"Look, he's crying!" the blonde haired boy, whom the two had not seen since their first fateful encounter, was standing in front of them. Presumably, he had been watching.
"Hah, the duke's son is crying!" Another head popped out from below the hill, a girl with a long pink ponytail appearing. She giggled immaturely.
"Man up! That's no way to get a woman!" the blonde boy teased.
"Why were you watching us?" Gumi yelled, fury unleashing at the two peepers.
"We heard baby boy whimpering like a lost puppy."
Sateriajis turned, cheeks hot, face frozen with shame, eyes watering. Gumina reached out for his hand, but Sateriajis pulled back. His legs didn't even need to will him to run, they just began moving quickly to escape the hell that was happening at the tree. What was once a sanctuary to sit underneath was now a terror that feasted on his fear. The tree was forever scarred with the memory.
His legs ran until his breath started to falter, his throat going hoarse and dry. Sateriajis reached his home in a mess of strewn-about hair and sweat clinging to his body even though the cool winter air should have been able to absorb it. The mansion in which he lived was hidden deep in the woods, even the most towering trees unable to reach the top of the purple-tinted building. Bursting through the doors, he crashed to the floor. His breathing became deep and long as he tried to remain calm.
Without love was to be without hope.
~
Sateriajis ran his left hand, extended his pinky finger, his delicate, pale and slender finger along her arm. Her arm tingled with dances of the chilling touch, goosebumps roughing up her smooth skin. He held her close, in a moment of bliss, a moment of triumph, the feeling of success. She giggled, laying her head delicately against his chest. Soft green hair fell into Sateriajis's lap, rippling from the maiden's head like a cascade of green beauty. Gently, he twirled it with his pinky finger, the strand becoming trapped around his finger. She was his; whether you could argue an artificial love was real, a white lie was indeed a tale to tell, a maiden encased in a labyrinth of love and bitterness could react. Gumina was wrapped around his finger, for all eternity.