QT: Against My Will

206 4.30 – Our Debut – Dangerous Angels

“Here comes, his Highness!”

When the crown prince arrived, all people stood in unison, saluting respectfully, “Welcome back, Your Highness! Congratulations to Your Highness’ victory!”

The man in a dark red robe ascended the stairs and sat down at the throne behind the table. Looking impressive and mighty, he took a quick glance at the banquet, his voice showed no emotions, “Relax and rejoice, for today is yet another day we prevented harm from reaching our homeland...”

Thus, after Zhao Rong’s speech, the feast began. There’d be people offering their gifts and blessing to him, and among them was none other than Hasan.

“May your Highness allow this subject to show Tian Shi’s gift in her stead. She can’t attend the banquet right now. Fighting a high fever, she’s afraid of infecting his highness with it,” began Hasan. Initially, it should’ve been him, who should take all the credit, but at the last minute, he changed his name to Angel’s in hope to appease the prince, “This humble gift is to show her appreciation to all those who brought glory to this nation.”

‘Worsen her symptoms to gain sympathy. Praise her hard work. Develop the prince’s sense of guilt.’ Hasan was just following Xuan Mu’s orders, who knew nothing of Bing Shi’s side mission.

“Your wish is granted,” Zhao Rong raised his hand as a sign of approval. Considerate on the inside, fragile on the outside. Weak or not? He couldn’t tell yet. That’s the current image Zhao Rong had of Tian Shi. For a courtesan, she was shrouded in mystery.

The banquet’s atmosphere became strange, with everyone’s eyes falling on a group of performers.

Walking towards the middle stage with delicate steps, those girls stole everyone’s eyes with their earth-shattering beauty. Their white dresses were shredded and cut into unrecognizable shapes as if passing through a cave filled with nothing but sharp, glass shards.

.....

When the music began, so did the few dancers. With each swaying of their hips, with each twist of their body, they told a story – a story of entrapment and hope.

The crowd couldn’t see how many times those girls fell before they could land successfully. All the sleepless nights until they came up with choreography, for it to be shattered by Tian Shi. The crowd couldn’t see how their leader mercilessly broke their ribbon stick before their eyes, showing her dissatisfaction. She knew a little bit of music, but nothing about dancing, how dare she instructed them? Their dance was boring, she said. It didn’t match the song, she said. Tears started to well up in their eyes.

No one knew of the horrors they had endured. No one knew this was not their desired path in life. All the crowd saw were beauties that lifelessly twirled around each other – from organized and balanced to chaotic and confused, like a troop of broken soldiers in the middle of a losing battle, like slaves at their last brim of breath, like children fighting for a speck of affection, like women searching for a place in society, like a desolate king at the top of the throne...

?? Pressure you are feeling,

cold and withered.

I know it hurts,

I can tell that you are lonely,

the angel proclaims. ??

From the silent crowd came a humming sound. Aine’s soothing, dulcet voice accompanied the wordless melody. As she sang, she remembered the first meeting with Bing Shi. Her emotions echoed in the lyrics. The angel wasn’t Bing Shi. The angel was a symbol of everything that kept her going. Anything that kept her inner demons away. It was her love for knowledge, books, and poetry.

On the stage, another group of dancers emerged. Rianta’s eyes flickered and sparked with vitality. In all white, the girls’ spotless dresses didn’t have a spot of dust. Even their shoes were clean of any dirt. These girls weren’t reflecting the moonlight, no, they glowed from within.

?? Get up, take my hand,

I’ll shoulder your pain.

I’ll walk you out of the dark room,

for the last time

for the last time. ??

They flew high into the air, spreading their white ribbons in the wind like angel’s feathers. Elegance at its finest, and pain in its true form. It took great strength to make such activity as graceful as they did, their sweat and hard labor hidden behind smiles that extended all the way to the eyes.

?? Get up, take my hand,

I’ll open the sky for you.

I’ll pull you out of the dark abyss,

for the last time

for the last time. ??

Aine’s voice helped them to drift away to a reassuring sanctuary. The dying dancers were slowly brought to life. They began to move like lush leaves in the autumn breeze, flying and gliding in refined arcs, their limbs were in constant motion, creating a timeless scene, a painting alone could never achieve.

?? You’re special, planted in my mind.

Love me more, hate me less,

I’ll lend you my shoulder,

until the end of time.

until the end of time. ??

The soft strings of Nile’s band brought a wordless interpretation to the audience in a way that everyone could understand no matter what language they spoke.

As fast as those mysterious angels appeared, like a mirage, they disappeared.

“...” The audience stared at the empty stage in awe, their lips stretching into a wide gape, wondering how something so fragile and tiny could achieve such level of talent. It took a second or two for the new experience to sink in. They wanted more. Those girls performed with feeling, moving the crowd that watched them in pure amazement. The crowd felt the outburst of emotions from their stage performance, which reached and touched everyone on the scene, from the weakest servant to the strongest soldier.

Truly breathtaking...

+—- Author’s note —–+

I created the lyrics with this melody in my mind: If you replace the original with my lyrics, it actually matches! ??I think. Hope. xD

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ8gcy20SEw]

[“I Can’t Save The World If I’m Not Happy” Reimagined || WORMWOOD || OFFICIAL stream || ElIZA GRACE]

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