The Scarlett Dancer

Three Months in the Death Game

"It's better you than I . . ." -Xena

In the center of the Town of Beginnings, a moderate-sized crowd was spread among the area. Cheerful music consisting of what sounded like flutes and various string instruments swirled through the air. In the middle of the crowd was a single woman dressed in a scarlet two-piece outfit. The top only covered what was necessary leaving her stomach exposed. The bottoms were a mix of a long skirt and shorts. The skirt's material was thin and transparent in the sun's rays. It revealed the scarlet shorts with gold embroidery underneath them. A scarf of the same material was draped on her arms and two fans were in her hands. From afar one could not see the slight mistakes made in the stitching of her clothes. Her brown hair was done up in an intricate half updo with accessories matching her outfit. From her attire alone one could tell she was of the dancer class.

The woman glided across the smooth ground beneath her. Her feet repeating a figure-eight pattern. The fans in her hands open and close as she swirled them around her body in slow melodic movements. Her eyes were closed which showed the red and gold makeup adorned on them. A small smile was spread across her lips. She came to a halt and her smile grew, she opened both of her fans and began to flutter them, she turned her head and started to spin. The skirt she wore flared out and surrounded her, the shimmering fabric resembled fire in the sunlight. The music's pace sped up as her spinning became faster, she moved her fans in a way that created waves as she spun. The crowd cheered and the woman began to slow fluttering her fans once again, when she came to a complete stop she swayed her hips and closed her fans. She opened her eyes which were a creamy chocolate brown. She raised her arms and twirled her wrists, opening the fans only when the crowd's cheers died down. The music's pace had slowed greatly. She slowly brought her arms back down and covered half her face with one of them and covered her stomach with the other. She continued to flutter them both but stop swaying her hips. She scanned the crowd with her eyes flirting with them silently.

Slowly and smoothly she pulled the fans from her face and stomach and began a slow waltz type dance but only with her. She did not seek out a partner and danced as if her fans held that position. Her feet moved in a slow square pattern as her arms slowly moved up and down her body, her fans still fluttering. Many who watched offered their hand to her, which she just brushed aside and smiled. She danced around and within the crowd, the ones who watched always formed paths for her as she used the whole area as a stage. She'd spin every so often and switch up her arm movements, reaching up to the sky and swirling her fans around.

Once she had made it all the way around the crowd of people she stuck her fans into a pocket in her skirt and grabbed the hand of the closest person to her. It happened to be a pretty red-haired girl with sapphire eyes. The girl let out a small giggle as the dancer swept her away into the middle of the crowd. She put her left hand on her waist and took the other in her hand, a small smile adorned her lips. The red-haired girl smiled back and the two waltzed around the open area. The dancer would spin the girl every so often and even proceeded to dip her. Their dance came to a halt and the dancer took the next person closest to her. A man with midnight black hair and hazel eyes was her next partner, he however knew the dance and she let him take the lead. They glided much more gracefully across the floor than the last dance she had. He lead her around the crowd and spun her around the middle of it. Their dance was quick and beautiful to watch, and just for flair, the dancer let go of the man's hand when he spun her and span into the crowd. She emerged on the far left side of the crowd with a smooth-sounding laugh.

"And... That's all for today, lovelies." Her voice was low and seductive the sound of it made some people swoon. With that said the dancer gave a dramatic wave and simply began to walk away. The crowd cheered as she made her not-so-glamorous exit. At least I can still dance in this game. She thought with a sigh. The dancer kept her head held high until she entered a little tavern-like place. She was greeted by not-so-nice eyes as they leered at her. "Did you miss me, dear?" She chuckled and sat at the bar. The man she had spoken to gave a gruff grunt in response. "The place isn't as packed as it was before, huh Al?" She grinned tauntingly. He rolled his eyes at her, "Get me the works, dear, and put it on my tab." She said he knew what she wanted. She sat at the bar watching the other customers her left leg lazily draped over her right. It really is dead in here. Only five tables were occupied in a tavern that could hold thirty tables, it wasn't huge but it was decently sized. Al had gotten her a glass of water without her even noticing. She yawned and picked the glass up taking a small sip from it and sighing. She just sat patiently awaiting what she ordered. Al had come back and so had her amusement. "Do you miss my performances?" The dancer mused. "Thought your tavern alone racked in all that business. Well..." She paused for affected and smiled sweetly. "Clearly not. I'll always love the food here though." She sighed dramatically and her smile turned to an amused grin. "I can always pitch in again. Obviously, I want more col though. I do bring in more than half of the people who come here so it's only fair." She swirled her water glass around and smiled. "How about it, Al?"