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I've officially hit a rut! Yay!!!
Let me just tell you that I hate setting up a story. I hate it.
This one I have the middle all worked out and mostly written and it's great. The problem is getting through the beginning. It's getting more and more difficult to fit all together.
So once again this is a horrible rough draft. It also doesn't help that I hated writing this part, please forgive me because this part is truly terrible writing.
Enjoy it as much as you can biggrin

Soon it was dark. Older men from the village set candles out among the tables and mothers hurried their children home to bed. All the food was packed up and carried away and a man with a torch came by and lit all the candles.
In candlelight everything took on an ethereal feeling, like it wasn’t real. Lenna stared in nervous anticipation. She was an adult now. This one very night was a rite of passage. Slow music started up, not melancholy but romantic. Mothers and Fathers came out onto the floor holding hands and swaying to the music. Lenna jumped when she felt a hand on her elbow.
“May I have this dance?” Aiden asked, a little nervous.
“Of course,” He offered a hand and led her out onto the dance floor.
Suddenly nerves struck her. She didn’t know what to do. She looked up at Aiden embarrassed, only to see his understanding expression. He took her hand and placed it on his shoulder, then wrapped his other hand around her waist. They swayed in time with the music, watching the other couples take their places beside them.
“Lenna,” Aiden whispered close to her ear. “Did you know your hair glows in the firelight, like gold.”
Lenna blushed and looked down quickly. “Thank you.”
“Your welcome.” Hearing a catch in his voice, Lenna looked up. He was blushing too, cheeks a deep shade of pink.
The song ended and they broke apart. “Thank you for dancing with me.” Lenna said still blushing and trying to look everywhere but him.
“Your welcome,” He looked like he was going to say something else, “I-” Abruptly he turned around and walked away his cheeks so red they rivaled an apple.
Lenna stared after him wondering if she should follow when another man took her hand and led her out onto the dance floor. He wasn’t as nice and he seemed coarse like he hadn’t taken a bath in a while. The next man to ask her to dance was wanting a bath as well. Dance after dance Lenna found fault with each of her partners. None seemed to compare with Aiden. They were all too tall or too short. Or they smiled to much when they talked. After the song ended a boy the same age as her asked her dance. Seeing Rian standing by a table she declined and headed over to her.
“Lenna, you’ve danced every dance!” Rian was flushed and her dark hair was wild around her face. She looked so pretty, like one of the glass dolls the traders sometimes brought.
“So have you I bet.” Lenna sat down on the bench nearest her, “I need to rest for a dance.”
“Yes I have, but that doesn’t matter.” She sat down next to her friend and patted her knee. “This is so exciting. I feel all grown up.”
The hairs on the back of Lenna’s neck stood on end. She could feel eyes staring at her. Slowly she turned trying not to stare outright. It was the same trader as earlier. “Lenna,” She heard Rian say in a whisper.
She looked at her friend. “What?”
“Have you noticed the way the foreigners are staring at us?” She asked playing with a strand of her hair. Rian was so nervous, she flatly ignored the young man asking her to dance. Lenna waved him a way.
“Yes I’ve noticed. It’s making me uneasy.”
“Me too. It’s the same way they were looking at the goods they brought from upstream.” She bit her lower lip.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s like we are something that can be bought and paid for. Like we are some of the glass dolls they sometimes sell.”
Lenna stared at her friend feeling a chill down her spine. A hand came down on her shoulder making her whirl around. Two boys were standing above them. “May we have this dance?” One asked offering her a hand. His companion offered his hand to Rian.
“Sure,” Lenna said uneasily. She was still unnerved by the foreigners.
Rian gave her a look then headed off onto the dance floor with her partner. Lenna followed her own. By now she knew what to do. She put one hand on his shoulder and the other in his hand. They moved to the music slowly like snails. He was a boy her own age, she had seen him in the fields with her father. His name was Jack.
“It’s funny but, I haven’t seen you in the fields for awhile.” Jack said smiling. “I miss seeing you spy on your father.”
Lenna was so embarrassed she could hardly speak, “You saw me?”
“Why of course! And do you remember? Sometimes you threw rocks at us.” Lenna remembered perfectly. When she was younger she sometimes did that when her father had to go work and wouldn’t play with her. “Though,” Jack continued smiling. “I’m glad you grew out of throwing rocks.”
A voice as hard as steel cut into their conversation, “I don’t mean to be rude. May I cut in?” Not waiting for an answer the man broke their hands apart and pulled Lenna close to him. Lenna looked up only to freeze where she stood.
The foreign trader smiled and place one hand around her waist. “I’m glad I get the opportunity to dance with you,” He said, “I’ve been waiting all night.” He had a slight rasp and accent to his voice, like he had swallowed too much water too fast. And, up this close, Lenna could see a scar run long and ragged across his face.
“I’m sorry you’ve been waiting so long.” Lenna’s voice sounded small in her ears.
“It wasn’t too long.”
Lenna couldn’t think of anything to say. All she could think of was the fact that this man was touching her and her Mother’s words repeating over and over, “Don’t let them get you alone.”
“It’s been nice staying her in your village. Too bad we have to leave soon.”
“Leaving? When are you leaving?” It was a struggle for Lenna not to sound excited.
“Within the next couple of days. We’ll be back in a couple months. The trading has been so profitable here that were going to back up the coast to collect more valuables.” He smiled at her then. A smile that made her feel gross and made her want to look away.
Lenna heard the music stop and felt the relief washing over her. “Thank you for the dance Lenna.”
She nodded and smiled then paused. “When did I tell you my name?” She asked a sinking feeling in her stomach.
“You didn’t tell me.” The foreigner walked away, not looking back. He asked another pretty girl to dance, pulling her out onto the dance floor. Feeling the panic rise within her, Lenna headed to go sit down. She didn’t know what was going on, and it scared her.
“Lenna!” Aiden rushed up to her and pulled her around. “Would you like to dance again?” He asked in a rush.
“Yes,” Lenna said, ignoring her nausea. “I’d love to.”
It was the last dance of the evening. Nobody was sitting down, everyone was out on the floor. The candles had all burned down, and the strain on the musicians was beginning to show.
“Lenna?” Aiden said nervously putting his hand around her waist. “Can I ask you something?”
Lenna could feel her heart start to thump in her chest. “Of course.”
“Well . . . I was wondering,” He stopped and looked into her eyes. “Would you mind if I asked permission to court you?”
Lenna was smiling so hard and was blushing so much her cheeks were hurting. “I wouldn’t mind that all.”
In that instance Aiden’s shyness seemed to melt away. He laughed and pulled her so close she could feel his breath on the top of her head.
When the song ended he broke away from her. “Goodnight Lenna,” He said. He stood there a moment unsure of what to do, then quickly came forward and kissed her on the cheek. He walked away so fast she was amazed he didn’t trip.
Sanra came up behind her and took her arm. “I think this has been a very eventful day for you.”
Blushing once again, Lenna smiled. “Not at all, why would you say that?”
Sanra just laughed.