Spring Royalty — The Pageant W. Waltz Spectator

Zephyr came to the courtyard because people were talking about the pageant, and anything that drew this kind of crowd usually meant it was worth seeing. What he didn’t expect is how much it’s gonna worth his time. Usually, places around school were simple, you will only see stone, grass, maybe a few decorations if there was an event. The stage in the middle caught his attention first, who wouldn’t, it’s big. He glanced toward the sides and noticed the rows of rose bushes, a lot of them. White and red roses all in full bloom. Growing up on a farm, most of his days were spent running outside, working, or just finding ways to stay busy.

Dancing was not something he often does. Even so, he found a place in the crowd, near the front. Close enough to see the performance area. The performance finally began. He didn’t know what to expect and who would be the participants so imagine his surprised when he saw Cassie there. There was the smoke, the shifting colours, and how she walked onto the performance area, she looked like she’s glowing. And when she started dancing, it was amazing! The first act, her movements were gentle, her control was commendable, how she balanced, and how her hands moved, he knew it was not easy to do.

The performance went on, he found himself paying more attention, and he could see the shift in her performance. He didn’t know the names of the movements, but he was wondering if it’s meant to be sad. The falling snow, and the change in her movement again showed sadness. The third act came and everything changed again as she started spinning he whistled under his breath. He had seen people spin before, but not that fast, and not that many times without stopping he thought counting it would be futile. So he simply watched, impressed and slightly confused as to how she managed not to lose her balance.

The fourth act happened and he was fully absorbed already. The bubbles caught his eye first. One even drifted close to him and he instinctively reached out his hand to catch it but it popped before he could touch it. It was a nice touch to her performance. Looking up again, he caught her glancing his way, or he could be wrong, must be someone behind him. But it didn’t happen once but several times. There were many people around him, for all he knows, she could have been looking at basically anyone. It didn’t necessarily mean anything. He found himself glancing around to check whether someone else was reacting. No one seemed to notice.

She’s probably just looking at the crowd. It was a performance after all. The fifth act was something else entirely. The energy shifted again, and became really fast. Even he could tell that keeping up with that speed was not easy. Without thinking, he clapped to matched the rhythm. She’s really good and impressive. The sweets flew toward him which he caught. Looking down at it, he opened one and found a heart-shaped design, he then glanced at the stage, she was still dancing, smiling, and giving everything she had. He didn’t think much more of it. Others around him were catching sweets as well. It’s not as if it was meant specifically for him. He held onto it and when the performance ended, he clapped loudly. He might not understand ballet, but he understood effort and whatever she did, it took a lot of it. For someone who was not planning to stay for long, he realised he watched the entire performance without getting bored even once.

Cassie walks towards the audience after she gets off stage. She is out of breath and blushing due to all the dancing. She manages to calm herself down as she reaches the crowd of students, walking slowly with her long golden dress and wearing her pointe shoes.

Nearly at once she sees Mira Hawkins, her bestie, and Zephyr Deakin, who, umm, she just had a crush on a few minutes ago. She has to admit that it's quite a strange feeling to have a crush on someone. All of a sudden, you feel a flow of warmth from the tips of your toes all the way to your heart, and your heart starts pounding faster whenever you see the person ever since.

She tries her best to keep calm and natural, as she greets Mira first, who greets back but quickly concentrates on the next performance. She feels a bit delighted when she notices that Mira is sitting right next to Zephyr, which gives her a proper reason to sit beside them. 'Hi Zephyr!' she smiles warmly at the boy, hiding the fact that her heart is pounding fast. 'Glad to see you here! How was my performance?' she feels herself blushing some more, but she guesses that the boy won't notice, since she just finished a long performance.

She holds her breath as she waits for the boy to reply. She is desperate to know how he feels towards her. Meanwhile, she reviews what she did and said, to ensure that the boy won't recognize her feelings. She does not know how the boy might react if he knows her crush on him one day. What if he rejects her directly? Or worse, they may not even be able to be friends any more...

@Zephyr Deakin

April 17, 2026

English - Thoughts

@Cassie Jiang

Courtyard, Spring Royalty Pageant, Afternoon

XXXEonaria sat in her seat, legs crossed at the ankles and her hands tucked in her lap. The sun was shining brightly, and the Wonderland Waltz was only two days away. The Courtyard was already decorated to host the Spring Royalty Pageant, something that Eonaria was really only excited to see because of the booklet that a certain third year Ravenclaw had given her earlier that week. The stage was framed with red curtains, trimmed in gold, but sat empty. Not for long, though, as smoke began to pour onto the stage and change colours.

XXXCassie stepped onto the stage, greeting the watching students. A short introduction about her first act, the Blue Bird, was given, and then the music started.

XXXEonaria watched intently, fascinated by the colours and visuals. The entire performance was beautiful, and corresponded quite closely to the booklet currently tucked in her satchel. Her memory conjured images of the pages she had studied closely, matching the elements to Cassie's movements. She happily participated in each of the interactions, anticipating the moment that it would be welcomed with spells like Nix Facitur, Wingardium Leviosa, and Periculum. Sadly, Eonaria hadn't learned the Summoning Charm yet, so she couldn't participate in all of them, but she did manage to snag hold of one of the sweets that was tossed from the stage in the last act, a plastic-wrapped caramel.

XXXShe was so engaged in it all that she didn't even notice herself gasping and cheering where appropriate. All forms of dance were fascinating, but solo ballet was something else with its own charm. Once Cassie's performance concluded with a song and many flourishes, Eonaria clapped eagerly.

XXXThe rest of the performances were lovely as well, most of them being very enjoyable and a few slightly disturbing, but that was just her. She spotted Cassie in the crowd and waved at her with a smile, but didn't stand up or approach her since there were other candidates standing on the stage and she didn't want to be rude. She looked a bit preoccupied, anyway, so Eonaria didn't really mind whether Cassie saw her or not. The Pageant so exciting! Once the final performance ended and most of the crowd dispelled, she simply stood up and slipped back into the castle. Today felt like a good day for a nap.

.・-: ✧☾♩♪♩♬　. 。・゜✭・.・✫゜・。.　♬♩♪♩☽✧ :-・.

ACTION | entering, watching, and leaving the Pageant, don't mind me :>

Zephyr didn't expect he would see Cassie at the spectator's section after her performance. She stood out amidst the audience still dressed in her costume. She looked like someone who was still hyped from her performance and he couldn't blame her for that. His brain took a moment to register that the amazing performer a while ago was now the girl standing in front of him. Especially when she addressed him directly to greet him. “Uh...Hello, Cassie.” It was not really nervousness but surprise that she would come over. Her question may have been expected but he was not prepared how to respond properly.

His attention shifted to the stage again as if by doing so, he would replay the performance in his head before he replied to her question. "I love it. You're a pro. You're not kidding when you told me you've been preparing for this day but still, I didn't know what I was walking into when I came here." He just wanted to check it out himself but lo and behold, the first performance he saw was hers. It was not to flatter her or to sound overly impressed, he was just being honest. “You were really good. I don’t really know anything about dancing and its technicalities, but you're really graceful out there.”

If you would also include the extras she included in her performance, he was at a loss for words anymore. He didn't know if that was intentional, but the entire thing looked as if she was telling a story. "How you spin, woah... I was worried for a moment there that you will fall while you're doing it." His brows pulled together at the last part, it looked impossible to him. Remembering the sweets, he pulled the heart shaped one out of his pocket which he caught, holding it up for her to see. “I also got this, not sure if I was supposed to keep it or if it was just part of the performance.” Shrugging, he hid it again in his pocket.

It is only when Zephyr is replying to Cassie's question that she realizes how abrupt she is. She does not know how she gained the courage to talk to him right away. Her face feels like it's on fire. Should I apologize? Or should I continue the chat? she wonders.

Just as she is thinking, Zephyr replies to her question about her performance. 'I love it.' Cassie's mind goes blank for a moment, the boy's voice echoing in her mind. He loves it. she repeats in her mind. Her heart is pounding even faster, as if a thousand fireworks are ignited at the same time. 'Oh really?' she tries to sound as normal as possible, but her voice is still trembling a bit. 'I'm so glad you like it.' Her smile blooms uncontrollably. Roughly half an hour ago, she would never imagine that she will have a crush soon, neither would she be able to imagine what it feels like to have one.

Zephyr mentions their talks while jogging together before the pageant. After Cassie gave Zephyr her hand-made gift, they jogged together for quite a few times in the morning. They talked about Cassie's performance and chatted some more. 'By the way, ' Cassie says, her voice softer and sweeter than ever -- something Cassie wouldn't imagine making before this day, 'thank you for jogging with me before the pageant. My stamina improved a lot!'

Fireworks ignited again as Zephyr says Cassie's performance was graceful. She is so immersed in joy that she blanks for a second before talking about her spins. 'I'm alright. I've practised it for many times. In Ballet, we also have a special technique to prevent us from being dizzy while spinning.' she says cheerfully.

Cassie is stunned for a moment when Zephyr takes the heart-shaped chocolate out of his pocket. Cassie grows nervous immediately. Is he aware of anything? How should I react? What if he decides to return it? What if... When he asks about the sweet, Cassie does not hesitate to reply, 'No no, please keep it.' thinking, she adds, 'along with the other sweets. That part of performance is designed to invite everyone to enjoy sweets together.'

Cassie feels relieved when she sees Zephyr putting the chocolate back into his pocket. Then, she realizes how awkward she is wearing her ballet costume, sitting among a group of students. She was thinking too much about what she should say that she forgets totally about her dress. 'I should indeed change my clothes.' she says in a cheerful voice to Zephyr, as she points her wand at it.

'Multicorfors' she says, her dress soon changes from the fancy gold one to a plain yet elegant blue dress. 'How's this?' she asks, wondering if she should do some further changes to it.

@Zephyr Deakin

Reducio

Image of the dress:

Beautiful Banner by the amazing Dido Bleaklane! FC by the awesome Cassandra Tarot!

@Cassie Jiang @Zephyr Deakin

4/17/26

Rosie had come to watch the Spring Royalty performance-things out of pure whim and boredom, and she most certainly was not disappointed! With all of the beautiful acts, she loved getting to see people she knew, and those she didn't, doing their beautiful dances and songs and all of the amazing things.

One person in particular had caught her eye, and that was Cassie. She'd been the host of the Spring Tea Party, where they'd met. She was kind and apparently an excellent dancer, as Rosie had just seen!

Rosie was about to get up to go and say congrats after it was over, but she saw Cassie walking towards Windy, and sit down next to him. Rosie remained seated, watching them talk, deciding not to interrupt whatever was going on. She saw a butterfly flit past her table, before returning to land on the red roses in the center of it. She watched as its little wings flapped, in awe of the beauty of the itsy-bitsy insect.

She shifted a bit in her plush chair, feeling comfortable in the seat with the cushion. She also admired the embroidery on the table, wondering if it had been done by hand or through using magic, like many other things in this world were done. Rosie knew how to crochet, but not how to embroider. She definitely did want to learn how to eventually, though!

Don't mind me, y'all just keep talking *smirks*

Cassie's tone change, it was very subtle but he was close enough to detect that. It softened slightly as she acted hesitantly. Zephyr was not exactly sure why but it made him pay close attention to her, out of concern mostly. “I did, don't worry, it's a worthy performance.” That part, he was sure about. He was confirming something that shouldn't need to be questioned. The girl thanked him for going jogging with her and he shrugged at that. It's nothing big. "Oh? Your stamina improved?" He glanced at her with amusement, “I guess that’s good. Though I wouldn't take the credit, it's not just me. You did most of the work.” It's true, it was all her effort, he was just there to talk to her while they jog or walk.

While they were talking, other performances continued so Zephyr's attention was divided between her and what's happening on the stage. Being naturally polite, his attention was mostly on her. "You look great while on that stage. You were holding way too much energy and it didn't falter all throughout the performance.” He may not understand all the ballet stuff she did or what's written in the booklet but he surely get effort and Cassie's effort was obvious. He knew that kind of performance came from weeks, months, or even years of practice. His expression still had that hint of disbelief. "At least it's not pure madness." He chuckled, he was just joking. He accepted that and filed it away as new information he might not fully understand yet, but respected all the same.

She insisted he keep the heart-shaped sweet, both as a keepsake and part of the performance, "Okay then, I can do that. I was not planning to throw it away. I'll never say no to chocolates and candies." Especially if it's his favorite caramel candies. The idea of discarding it had never crossed his mind. he almost covered his eyes when she suddenly used her wand and casted a spell on herself, it was a little awkward doing that in front of him even though her clothes just basically changed to something more casual. The golden costume shifted into a simpler blue dress, elegant but far less theatrical. “That’s better.” He said awkwardly but smiled nonetheless and added something stupid, “You were probably overheating in that thing anyway, can’t imagine sitting in it for long after all that dancing.” And winced internally at what he just said.

His gaze went past Cassie when he noticed someone. Is that...? Probably not, she's a bit far for him to recognize the face. Though the hair and the stance were definitely familiar.

Mentions: @Linda Ramirez

Word Count: 638/200