His Royal Ballerina

Chapter 7

“We are going to the carnival,” Daisy jumped around in excitement.

It was the day of the carnival; everyone was excited and thrilled to visit it. The quarters were full of laughter and cheer. The girls were busy discussing the event except for Rose.

“Rose, why the frown?...it’s not like the carnival will end today,” Violet tried hard to cheer her.

“It’s easy for you to say…Try going shopping for groceries when the rest are out enjoying themselves in the carnival,” Rose remarked and buttoned her overcoat before stepping out.

“I will wait for you…We can go together when you return,” Violet assured and saw Rose leave in haste.

Rose muttered and cursed her luck, she was annoyed that Lady Oak had sent her to get groceries while the rest were free to go visit the carnival. Seeing the decorations and streets crowded with energetic people, Rose felt all the more upset and bounded by Lady Oak’s rules.

“Couldn’t she get it herself?” she questioned and stomped her foot as she turned around a corner.

“Ouch! Watch where you’re going kid,” Rose exclaimed after bumping into a little boy.

“Sorry miss!” the boy apologised and moved aside.

Rose composed herself and started walking ahead, she was hurrying up to finish so that she could join the rest in the carnival. As she continued walking in the snow-filled path, she noticed the boy tagging along behind her. At first, she assumed he was just going the same way but then she realised that he was actually following her.

“Uhm...May I know why you’re following me?” She turned and faced him.

“Sorry for stalking you like that, but I was wondering if…” the boy paused and widened his little eyes.

“Wondering what?” she asked him raising her eyebrows. “Hey listen if you’re planning on begging for some pennies, then I’m afraid you're asking the wrong person,” she hurriedly said realising that he was an urchin.

“No miss, I do want some pennies, but no by begging ... I was wondering if you could come and get your fortune read by madam Maya,” he replied and tugged at her overcoat.

“You want me to spare my money on some silly old fortune reader…please I know my fortune, thank you” she remarked and turned to walk ahead.

“No miss, she is really good…she speaks the truth, she knows everything!” he explained animatedly.

“Listen, I know my future and it says that I am not going to be tricked by a brat like you, now scoot,” she swung her basket in an effort to shoo him off.

“Huh…know your future, my future consists of only being treated like a servant,” she muttered and stopped at the vegetable vendor to pick up some fresh tomatoes.

“Shall I carry them for you?” the same boy startled her from behind.

“Don’t you understand the word no?” she asked him in irritation.

“Please please, today is the first day of the carnival and we haven’t got any customers as yet,” the boy pleaded and pulled the basket from her hands, he held it and started running in another direction.

“Hey, come back here you thief!” Rose yelled as she chased the boy on the street and into an alleyway. After running for what felt like an eternity, the boy stopped and faced her.

“How dare you steal my basket?” Rose pulled the basket and stared at the boy.

“I was just guiding you to madame Maya’s canopy,” the boy replied and pointed towards the colourful canopy that was placed behind him.

“What! You got me all the way down here…Didn’t I tell you I’m not interested,” Rose complained but was taken by surprise when a fat lady decked in heavy jewellery and an odd turban appeared from within the canopy and pulled Rose inside.

“Don’t be afraid Rose, It won’t take long,” madame Maya assured Rose and made her sit across her table.

Rose was too shocked to protest, she stared at the interiors and mystic bottles of portions that were displayed inside the canopy. It was dim inside with only the light of the crystal ball that was positioned right at the centre of the table.

“You know m-my n-name!” Rose stuttered.

“I know many things about you, Rose dear,” madame Maya replied and placed her long painted nails on the blue crystal ball.

“Listen, madame, I don’t know how you know my name, but I’m not interested in knowing my future,” Rose remarked and got up to leave.

“Rose, you have to know, you’re entering a dangerous game!” madame Maya said out loud and tried to stop her.

“I have to warn you, don’t run behind something that isn’t destined for you, it will only give you pain in return,” madame Maya warned her and smirked.

Rose stared at the fortune teller and just walked off, “I have better things to be warned about,” she huffed and handed over two coins to the little boy who had brought her to the fortune teller.

She searched her way out of the alley and started walking back towards the market. She checked the list and suddenly realised that she had left the basket in the fortune teller’s canopy.

“Argh! Why is my day going so bad…?” she made a face and walked back.

Rose was really frustrated by now, she knew time was running out and that the carnival had already started. She increased her pace and tried to recollect the way to the fortune teller. She reached the spot only to find both the canopy and the boy missing.

“Where did they go?” she looked around and wondered if that was the exact spot.

Having realised that her basket of tomatoes had disappeared with the canopy, Rose gloomily turned and headed back. She knew that Lady Oak would lecture her on her carelessness and irresponsible behaviour.

“Why me?” Rose asked herself and walked slowly.

As she walked past the market, a girl tripped and clung to her for support. She was young and weak; her face was hidden behind the red hood that she wore.

“Pardon me!” the girl said as she gasped for air.

“It's fine, I’m used to strangers bumping into me!” Rose replied as she noticed how tensed the young girl looked.

“They are after me…can you keep this with you?” the girl slipped off the cloak she was wearing and put it over Rose, covering Rose's head with the hood.

“Hey wait a minute, what are you doing?” Rose was perplexed after what the girl did, but before she could complete her sentence the young girls ran and disappeared from her view. Rose raised the hood and raced her eyes to see the young girl but in vain.

“Weird girl!” she said to herself and turned only to find three men staring straight into her grey eyes.

“Going somewhere?” A tall, thin man with equally thin moustache glared at Rose from behind his spectacles. There were other two men behind him who stared at her as well.

“You’re talking to me?” Rose asked in bewilderment.

“Why yes I’m talking to you young lady…You have tricked us enough,” He replied and caught hold of Rose’s hand.

“How dare you! Get your filthy hands off me, who are y ‘all?” Rose yelled and released her hand from his grip.

“Ha-ha the girl has lost it,” another man laughed and told his partner.

“Listen, girl, enough of your games, you have wasted a lot of time already,” the man who had earlier caught her hand said and caught her again. Rose protested and tried to free herself from the men who dragged her in another direction.

“Please I think there has been some mistake, I’m not the one you think I am,” Rose shrieked in fear.

“Yes, Yes every girl says the same thing once they reach the town,” the other man replied and went ahead to open the shutter of the truck.

“Let me go, please I think you have got the wrong one,” Rose complained and tried to explain. She realised that they were the ones who were after the young girl who had bumped into her earlier in the market. For some reason, they believed Rose was the same girl they were looking for.

“Do we look like fools to you? We know exactly to whom this cloak belongs to,” the man remarked and pushed her inside the truck hurriedly.

“Wait!” before Rose could protest any further, the shutter closed with a thud. Rose banged the shutter and cried out for help. She tripped and fell on her knees as the truck started with a jerk.

“It’s not me!” Rose whispered and rubbed the tears that rolled down her flushed cheeks.

“Tisca you’re back?” Someone grabbed her by the shoulder from behind. Rose was startled and turned to see who had touched her, but the darkness in the truck made it difficult to see.

“Who is it?” Rose crouched back in fear as she could see nothing but darkness.

“It’s not Tisca, it’s someone else,” another female voice spoke.

“You mean she finally met him?” the earlier voice spoke.

“Maybe or else why would they catch this one, she tricked them,” the other voice replied and lit a match stick. The tiny flame illuminated the face of the lady who spoke.

Rose saw the lady and many other young girls as the light flickered and finally went off.

“Who are y‘all?” Rose asked as she tried to control her tears.

“Ha-ha that’s what we are anticipating to know,” another girl replied and laughed hysterically with the others.

“Hey, stop scaring her like that,” another girl spoke and crawled near Rose.

“Hello, I am Peach…May I know your name?” Peach asked her in the darkness.

“It’s R-Rose…Please tell me where are they taking me?” Rose stuttered and asked her back.

“R-Rose, that’s a funny name…by the way we are heading to our dreams,” Peach replied in a sing a song manner.

“Dreams?” Rose asked in confusion.

“Well we are heading to the Royal palace,” Peach replied in excitement.

“What? The Royal palace…but why?’ Rose asked in bafflement.

“We will be employed in the Royal palace as a part of the cleaning staff or maybe some other duties, I don’t know, but aren’t you excited?” Peach completed her sentence and waited for her reply.

“Okay I think I’m having a nightmare…please pinch me?” Rose requested and whined as soon as Peach pinched her on the arm.

“Listen this may be exciting for you, but I’m not supposed to be here, I have enough surprises in my life to handle at the moment, so can you just ask the driver to stop the truck and let me go home,” Rose announced and tried to stand still in the moving truck.

“You’re really a fool just like Tisca, to leave an opportunity to serve the Royal family and just run back to your boring lifestyle,” the lady with the matchstick lit another match stick and stared at her.

“My lifestyle is not boring okay; I’m a ballerina from the R...”

“Ha-ha Tisca tricked a ballerina…Oh lord you ballerinas are really naïve,” the lady interrupted and blew off the flame after laughing with the rest.

“R-Rose, It’s no use complaining now, they won’t believe you’re not Tisca…we have all come here on our own will and so did Tisca, though she had other plans of eloping with her lover who stays here in London, “ Peach explained and sighed.

“But I’m not Tisca!” Rose protested and hung her head down in despair.

“Everything will be alright R-Rose…you will like working in the Palace, not many are as lucky as us,” Peach comforted Rose on realising how sad she was.

After a few hours the truck halted with a jerk. The men got down and banged the sides of the truck as they came towards the shutter and opened it.

“Come on you all, we have other things to transport as well,” the man with the thin moustache yelled as each girl hurriedly got off the truck.

“Are you waiting for a royal invitation?” the man asked Rose as he spotted her seated crouched in the corner of the tuck. The man ordered his partner to jump in and pull her out.

“Leave me; I never wanted to come here?” Rose yelled as the men carried her and dropped her on the ground.

“You should have thought about it before agreeing to join the rest,” the man replied and walked towards the driver’s seat. He and his accomplice sat in the truck and left the place in haste.

The girls looked around in amazement and admired the palace from outside while Rose stood in disbelief and cursed her luck.

“I was supposed to go and visit the carnival with Violet but, now I am stuck here,” she spoke to herself and was brought back from her thoughts by the sudden yelling of an old lady’s voice.

“Finally y’all have managed to make it here, I have been anticipating your arrival,” an old plump lady in head maid’s uniform stood in front of the girls. She wiped her hands on the apron that rested over her black long skirt.

“Now hurry up and follow me,” she said and walked behind the palace. She took them through the muddy pathway across the royal garden and lead them to the servant’s quarters.

“This is where y’all will be staying from now onwards, your individual duties will be assigned to you later,” she clapped and ordered them to head inside, but Rose wasn’t the one to obey so easily.

“Excuse me, but I would like to say something,” Rose cautiously approached the head maid.

“Nobody says anything here, it’s I who does the talking,” the head maid remarked and left Rose without caring to listen to what she had to say.

“Rose, what mess have you got yourself into?’” she tore her hair as she stared at the massive palace from a distance.

It was an unlucky morning for Rose, starting from the encounter with the weird fortune teller to the mistaken identity which leads her to the Royal Palace. Rose was too shocked and confused, she thought she had got herself into a mess she had least expected, but what she didn’t know was that this was just the beginning of something that would bring a new turn in an ordinary ballerina’s life.