Greetings! Below you will find my first attempt at writing fan-fiction. It is set in The Hero of Ages, the third book of the Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. If you have not read the books, beware that there are MAJOR SPOILERS in this post. The tune I had in mind while writing this is Flight of the Silverbird. I hope you enjoy it!
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THE DANCE
The Mists were watching, suspicious of her every move. Sitting in the boat’s bow, Vin stared back at them, trying to divine their secrets. She should be sleeping; she had been, until a clatter on the deck brought her springing to her feet. It had just been one of the guards fumbling with his spear, but Vin had decided to stay awake, burning pewter to stifle her exhaustion.
A quiet step sounded on the deck, too faint for normal hearing, but loud in Vin’s tin-enhanced ears. She turned to see Elend exiting the cabin, dressed in his distinctive white uniform. He gave her a glancing smile, then handed a piece of paper to one of the guards. It must not be important if he didn’t write it on a steel sheet. Vin mused. The guard read the note then looked at Elend, confusion written on his face. The Emperor just nodded his head toward shore and the guard obeyed, departing the ship to complete whatever errand he had been given.
Elend clasped his hands behind his back as he strode towards Vin. She stood as he joined her, gazing out into the mists. “I was hoping you would come back to bed.” There was no accusation in his voice. Only concern.
Vin shook her head. “I wouldn’t have been able to get back to sleep.” She looked up at him. “I am sorry I woke you. You need your sleep more than me.”
He shrugged, turning toward her. “I’ve got pewter too, you know.” Taking her hand, Elend led her to the middle of the deck. “But, there is something I need.” Vin frowned. It wasn’t like Elend to beat around the bush.
“Is it something to do with Ruin? Did you receive a message from Sazed?” Her husband’s traitorous lips betrayed the slightest hint of a grin. The guard was returning to the ship, someone tagging along behind him
“Upon further reflection, I have decided that one dance with my wife doesn’t satisfy me.” Vin heard the soldier’s fingers scrape the paint on his whistle as Elend bowed formally. “Empress Vin, may I have this dance?” She didn’t know what to think. She stood there, frozen by the unexpected request. The reedy voice of the whistle floated about them and the Emperor led his astonished wife into the first steps of a dance. Vin finally found her voice.
“Elend, what are you doing?”
“Dancing. I should think that much would be obvious.” Vin was tempted to stop the pleasant movement and demand a reasonable explanation; she realized she didn’t want to.
“You found a musician?”
“It is surprising to learn the backgrounds of where our troops come from. This particular soldier,” Elend nodded toward the whistle-player, “Was an undercover body-guard for Lord Hastings, disguised as a flutist in the ensemble that was always called for entertainment. Quite clever, don’t you think?”
Vin didn’t know what to think. She couldn’t help feel that what they were doing was utterly ridiculous. We are dancing on a boat in the middle of the night for Lord Rulers’ sake! But she discovered she didn’t want to stop. The lilting tune carried her through the movements as she followed Elend’s steps.
The flat, wide deck of the barge provided the space needed for the dance, and they let themselves relax into it. Vin looked up, using her tin to see the almost invisible stars. She imagined them dancing above earth to an eternal tune.
Elend brought his head down to Vin’s ear and whispered, “Do you have iron and steel?” She nodded, tensing. Had he heard something in the mist? Elend smiled. “Get ready.” He dropped a coin.
As the boxing fell to the deck, Vin felt Elend’s arms wrap around her. Her bronze told her that Elend was burning steel even as their feet left the deck. Vin’s instincts kicked in and she Pushed, trying to control where they were going. Elend kept his arms about her.
“Trust me.”
She heard the smile in his voice. Relaxing was very difficult, especially when suspended in the air, but Vin managed to loosen her muscles to the point where she wasn’t fighting to remain calm. Elend steadied them above the coin, then held her with one arm while he reached to his coin pouch. He loosed a stream of boxings around them and they flew glittering to rest on the deck of the barge.
Elend took a deep breath. “Now, my Empress, let’s dance.” Wrapping both arms back around her, Elend began Pushing on coins while Pulling on the metal cleats and chocks that were attached to the deck. The result was that they began to spin, from point to point, twenty feet above the barge.
A laugh escaped Vin’s lips. Only Elend would think of this. Dear, handsome, loving Elend. She had never heard of anyone using Allomancy to dance, but that didn’t matter. Who said that two Mistborn couldn’t use their gifts in such a beautiful way? Below them, the guards and musician watched with wide eyes as the two of them continued to spin gracefully above their heads.
They dipped and twisted through the air, following the trills of the melody escaping the wood instrument below. Realizing that he was supporting both of them, Vin began to Push and Pull with Elend, following his lead. He smiled down at her.
“I wasn’t sure if this would work.”
“And you still tried it anyway.”
“Of course. It was too exciting an idea to pass up.” Vin took a moment to note the blue lines that emanated from her chest; each one led to a source of metal that she could either Push or Pull on.
“Let me try.” Elend nodded, and they centered over the original boxing, holding hands. Vin released his hands as she Pulled herself toward a cleat, Pushing gently on several coins that lay nearby to make herself spin. She traveled in a spiraling plunge, then Pushed harder on the coins to climb back up to Elend’s height. Circumventing him, Vin was impressed. It was much like traveling by spike-way or horseshoe, only adding the spin called for much more concentration.
She turned toward Elend and Pulled on a chock behind him while Pushing on the coins scattered about the deck. She flew toward him, hands ready. He caught her deftly by the fingers and swung her around. Surrounding them, the watchfulness of the Mist became a confused curiosity as it witnessed something that had never been before.
