Siegfried and Rue glided through the festival crowds solely by merit of their own grace, for the people were too many and too caught up in their activities for a definite path to be cleared without any sort of fanfare, and the prince had been determined to wander more freely. Though the royal presence certainly drew murmurs as they passed, and they had to pause frequently for those who wished to greet them with bows and curtsies, never did they find their way truly hindered beyond their ability to ease along, and without the princess having to leave his arm at that.

They were content by each other, and yet her felt her grip on his arm to be uncommonly strong, tightening to seem ill-comforted whenever someone stopped them briefly. For these encounters, her serene dignity had a quality of distance added to it; she never minded attention, but it appeared she still did not enjoy having to share his, and he feared it was for this that she also cast her eyes aside whenever he sought to meet them. That behavior would have seemed demure in anyone else, but he knew her far better than to suspect her of such fragility. The purpose of coming to the festival had certainly not been to upset her. Indeed, he was most determined for her to take pleasure in her time here, but he saw little he could do to improve the situation, as his presence was obviously an element of the problem. Though his kingdom had innumerable wonders, many of which were available here, he wished to offer her something better.

It was a distant note in which he found his desire, not in the gaudily beautiful colors of the displays or the shimmering of trinkets meant to amuse maidens. A tune catching his ears, one not unfamiliar to him, was what brought him bright-eyed out of his drifting thoughts.

“Come, my princess. I did not bring us here to parade stiffly about the entire time,” he laughed delicately, and slid his arm from hers to lead her in a more informal escort by the hand, instead.

“Of course,” she sounded certainly surprised, but as if she were unsure whether or not to be pleasantly so. His princess, it seemed, could still be caught off guard even by the one she so loved, and truth to tell, he did not mind. It made it a little simpler to draw a smile across her face, after all, and he could not reject anything that would aide him in that.

The music swelled in volume as they advanced, and a more solid collection of people became clear. When their rhythmic motion also became apparent, Rue did smile, her reassuringly familiar confidence returning at least in part. Siegfried's step quickened with his heart at the sight of it, and this time, when he looked over at her, she returned his gentle glance with a shyly coy one.

“May we, my prince?” She asked quietly, but it was very much rhetorical, and anyhow, that he was already stepping into the crowd with her was answer enough. She did not need his grand nod, nor the whisper that slipped into her ear above the music in his regal voice.

“You need only follow my lead, for now...”

It was, seemingly, a fairly plain piece of music, and his hands fixed, one in her own and one on her waist, gave her guidance that she barely seemed to need that for how swiftly she responded to it. As the song swept on with its slow flourishes, whispers of who were in their midst overtook the crowd, but it had been the skill of their steps together that first brought the attention. Siegfried paid them no heed, focusing on leading her, while the princess's smile might have taken on the lightest of smug tints as a space grew around them.

“Are you enjoying yourself?” He inquired warmly, regarding her with an almost thoughtful half-smile of his own.

“Yes, my prince...” She closed her eyes, his leading and her own sense of graceful motion being more than enough to keep her where she needed to be, and their presence had gained them quite a bit of room to perform. She heard the prince laugh again, she thought it might almost have been teasing this time, but it was difficult to be concerned about that when the melody of his laughter was simpler to grow lost in than that which any instrument could play.

“Then, my princess... Shall we dance?”

She gasped sharply, losing her cool smile as she felt herself flying in Siegfried's hands. He had steadied them about her waist and brought her up with a rush of the music, prompting the onlookers to mimic her shocked noise as one. Her eyes sprang open, and were nearly overcome by the way his gleamed with such more than affection, but then she arched back, draping herself in his hold with exquisite elegance. Her surprise had cleared quickly enough, if not the flare of abrupt exhilaration, and she quickly replied to his grand maneuvering in kind.

With the next beat, she touched the ground only long enough to initiate her own leap, trusting him to complete the movement.