His Royal Ballerina

Chapter 3

After the disastrous event, all the young ballerina’s were sent back to their quarters, except Lilly. Dame Petal had other plans for her and hence ordered Lilly to accompany her to her mansion. Of course, they didn’t win the competition and this disturbed Dame Petal a lot. Lilly wasn’t sure what to expect, but noticing how quiet Dame Petal was throughout the journey, she guessed that it won’t be good.

Back in the Girls dormitory, the atmosphere was pretty gloomy. All the girls were upset about the unfortunate event that occurred in their performance. The girls were not in their usual spirit and were seen wasting their time, sulking and brooding over what had already happened.

“It’s all her fault.” Dandelion yelled and accused Rose, who was brushing her hair.

Rose ignored Dandelion and continued brushing, she also ignored the occasional stares she received from the other girls who had doubts that she was the culprit.

“Stop acting innocent!” Dandelion said and pulled the hairbrush from Rose’s hand.

All the girls crowded and circled Rose and Dandelion. It was nothing new, every time Rose and Dandelion would get into an argument, they would all crowd and support either Rose or Dandelion. But this time they all supported Dandelion because of somewhere they all knew that Rose was the main reason they had lost the ballet competition.

“Don’t you have anything to say?” Dandelion stared and asked her rudely.

“She will have something to say only if she had done something,” Violet replied and tried to defend Rose.

“Violet, I know you’re her best friend, but that doesn’t mean you can ignore the fact that she ruined our performance.” Dandelion said and looked at the rest who nodded their heads in agreement.

“Yes, she is right, had it not been for Rose’s slipper, we could have won the competition.” A girl from the crowd said out loud.

“What makes you think it was her slipper that slipped and fell off?” Violet asked the girl and kept her hand on Rose’s shoulder.

No sooner did Violet say that all the girls including Dandelion started looking at Rose’s feet. They were searching for her ballet slippers because they were sure they would find only one and not the other.

“ Looking for these?” Violet said holding out the pair of slippers in her delicate hands.

“If it was she, then mind explaining how she has both her slippers?’ Violet raised her eyebrows and looked at every girl who had supported Dandelion.

The girls were surprised at seeing the pair of slippers, they slowly dispersed and went back to their seats. They all whispered and discussed who the actual culprit was and how Rose had managed to have both her slippers by her side. Dandelion was not convinced, she frowned and said, “I know it was you.”

After the discussion stopped, Lady Oak ordered everyone to head to the dining room for supper. Rose waited for everyone to leave and then looked at Violet.

“She is right…it was me, Violet,” Rose said and explained everything in detail to Violet.

“What?...the gentleman found your other slipper?” Violet gasped.

“That is so embarrassing Rose…I had told you to tie it securely.” Violet reminded her and hit her head with her hand in disappointment.

They both knew what Dame Petal was going through at the moment. She had left the theatre in haste, taking Lilly along with her. This was a big opportunity for their ballet school and Rose had messed it up. She felt guilty and thought whether it was the right thing to go and tell Dame Petal that it was her fault that they lost the competition. Violet agreed with Rose’s thoughts and encouraged her to go to the mansion, to tell the truth to Dame Petal.

“Go right now,…and tell her the truth,” Violet said and got up.

Rose sighed and changed into her casuals. She took a pink scarf and purse and hesitantly descended down the stairs. She walked past the dining room where dandelion and the rest were having their supper. Seeing Lady Oak in her study room, she entered in and asked her if she could leave the quarters and meet Dame Petal in her mansion. Lady Oak thought for a while and hesitated, she then realized that she had some bills that had to be sent to Dame Petal, hence she agreed to let her go provided she returned before the gates closed. Rose agreed and took the bills that Lady Oak handed over to her.

Sitting in the steam bus, Rose thought about the whole event that took place in the theatre, she flinched as she recollected how clumsily her slipper had slipped and fallen off the stage.

“If only I would have secured it tightly.” She thought and got down at her destination.

Dame Petal’s mansion was huge and beautiful. Rose caught the bars of the gate and stared at the mansion. As she pushed open the gates, she noticed how none of the rooms in the mansion were lit. She stopped and wondered if Dame Petal was inside or not? To be certain she went forward and rang the door bell. A loud gong escaped and startled Rose. She waited for more than a minute for the doors to open but then assumed that Dame Petal was not at home. Hence she sighed and turned to leave, as she turned, the bills from her purse slipped out.

Rose remembered that she had to hand over the bills to Dame Petal. But how was she going to do that if Dame Petal was not at home?

Rose picked up the bills and walked around the mansion. She had lived there for three years, hence she knew the mansion inside out. There was a window that Dame Petal never bothered to lock from inside. Knowing that the window would still be unlocked, Rose ventured to the backside of the mansion.

“Open as always!” she said to herself and stood on her toes.

She pushed up the window and jumped inside. It was dark and Rose found it difficult to make her way in the darkness that surrounded her. She hit her toe as she unknowingly walked towards a table that was in front of her. She winced and threw the bills on the table.

As she bent to press her aching toes she saw some mystical beams of light, casting vibrant designs on the walls of the drawing-room. She looked around and watched the beams as they kept changing colors in front of her. She wondered in amazement and asked herself, “ Where are these lights coming from.”

She turned and noticed that the lights were coming from another room, adjacent to the room she was in. curious to know the reason behind these mystical and gorgeous beams of light, Rose cautiously tip toed out of the drawing-room and headed towards the basement from where the beams were being emitted. Rose leaned on the glass door and tried to see what was in the basement that created all the lights. What she saw, blew her mind in astonishment.

It was Dame Petal, she was dancing in her inside all alone. And the lights that Rose saw were being created by Dame Petal herself. As and when she danced, a light would emanate and spread across the room. Though rose saw a gramophone placed to the corner, she couldn’t hear any music being played from it. Her eyes widened as she saw how mystically the lights would appear and disappear with every step that Dame Petal took.

Rose gasped and took a step back. She had never seen anything like this. Dame Petal never danced with so much force before, she looked as fierce as a warrior swaying his sword in the battlefield. Dame Petal was fuming with rage, she was dancing and letting out all the emotions she currently felt. Working with Sir Woodland was something she always wanted, and now she had missed the opportunity. Dame Patel couldn’t believe that she had lost her chance. She swirled around the room in her white, satin, nightgown and let all her anger escape from her body.

As Rose watched it all, she felt the atmosphere around here change in accordance to the lights that Dame Petal created. The moment a light of cherry red color would spread across the room, Rose would suddenly feel angry. She didn’t know why but she would recollect all the things that made her angry. The same thing happened when the color changed to green, all of a sudden Rose started feeling envious and recollected all the things she envied in her life. And so it continued with other colors as well.

It was too much for Rose, she had never experienced so many emotions together in her life. Her head ached as she caught her temples and looked in Dame Petal’s direction. She was feeling weak and couldn’t absorb any more emotion that Dame Petal created.

No sooner did she think about leaving, Dame Petal stopped and looked at the door. She saw Rose and realized that she was all the while being watched by her. Noticing how dazed Rose felt, she hurriedly went towards her and caught her before she fell out of fatigue.

“What are you doing here?” she asked her after Rose felt better.

“Lady Oak sent me to hand over the bills to you,” Rose said softly and looked at the basement that was now dimly lit with only a small candle.

“How did you get in?” she inquired and raised her eyebrow.

Rose nervously pointed towards the drawing-room and explained everything to her. She thought twice before telling her why she had come to her mansion in the first place. With a deep breath, she told Dame Petal that it was her slipper that had slipped from her foot while performing.

“I am sorry. Miss!” Rose said with her head hung down in shame.

Dame Petal didn't answer her immediately, she let the silence linger in the air and then said in a sharp tone, “ I knew it was you!”

She continued, “It has always been you, since the time my sister sent you to me, all I have endured is failure.”

“And it wasn’t your fault, it was mine, I should have known you’re not worth being trained .”Dame petal said in anger.

“I was determined to train you and fulfil my obligations towards Magnolia, but you failed me even here.” She continued and told Rose how she had ruined her hopes of getting the school to work with the Bovansky ballet company. She reminded her about the day when Rose first set foot on the railway platform of London. Rose was just a burden for Dame Petal.

Rose silently heard it all as Dame Petal kept on cursing and blaming her for all the failures that she had encountered in life.

“Magnolia told me you had a deep desire to become a ballerina, but I don’t see even the slightest spark in you.” She remarked and stared at Rose.

“You will never become a prima ballerina, I can put that in writing because you never do anything wholeheartedly.” She said and pulled Rose to her side.

“You might have been perplexed after seeing me dance a while ago…?” she paused and continued, “Don’t worry, you will never learn the true art of ballet, only a true ballerina can master the ability to control all emotions that go hand in hand while dancing.”

She pushed Rose aside and ordered her to leave, she also told her that as a punishment, she was suspending her from the Royal Ballet School for thirty days. Without any expression on her face, Rose obeyed and left Dame Petal’s mansion. She walked past the brass gates and came out on the street. As she walked the street, she kept recollecting what Dame Petal had said.

“I will never become a ballerina.” She repeated the sentence in her mind and kept walking.

She should have been happy that finally, her trainer had realized that she wasn’t meant for ballet but still it hurt her somewhere. She wiped the tears that were on the verge of slipping down her cheeks. After walking a few miles she came across the public park. Feeling a bit upset after what Dame Petal had said, she wanted to refresh her mind and heart. Hence she entered the public park and slowly walked on the green grass, letting the cool wind of the night, kiss her face and tease her hair. She saw a homeless man sleeping on the bench. He had an old bag and the morning newspaper rolled and placed under his arm.

Rose realized it was late and that Lady Oak would have closed the gates by this time. Hence she lazily walked all alone around the park. She spotted a pair of swans at a distance, swimming in the pond. They looked really lovely as their white feathers glowed in the moonlight. To try and get her mind away from all the disturbing thoughts, Rose ran and headed towards the pond that was situated at the centre of the park.

She lowered her pace on seeing a stranger near the pond, he was feeding the swans that came near him. Rose looked closer and recognized the stranger. It was Thorn, the young gentlemen she had met earlier at the campus and the theatre. She walked towards him and called out his name from behind.

“Thorn…we meet again!” she said and waited for Thorn to reply.

Thorn was startled, he turned and looked at the lady who called out to him.

“Rose…you startled me,” he said and shook hands with her.

“Sorry…I dint mean to startle you.” She said and smiled at him. She was glad to meet Thorn once again because he was a stranger in her life and had no relation with her whatsoever.

“May I ask what a lovely lady like you is doing in the park all alone.” He asked and looked at her suspiciously.

“Well, I am not alone as you can see, I have you for company.” She replied teasingly and smiled back at him.

“Very well then...” he said and handed over a slice of bread to Rose.

“Thanks, but I’m not hungry,” she said and crossed her arms.

“It’s for the swans.” he laughed and threw few crumbs in the pond. No sooner did he do that, two, three swans came forward and dipped their heads to eat the crumbs.

Rose stood there in embarrassment and watched as Torn fed the swans. She felt relieved on seeing a new face, she knew nothing about Thorn and yet she felt comfortable in his presence. She sat down on the green grass and looked at the moon.

“So, how is your trainer?” Thorn broke the silence and asked Rose.

“It's better you don’t bring this topic,” Rose replied and looked at him.

Thorn realized that it was a sensitive subject and hence threw out the remaining crumbs in the pond and sat down beside.

“Tell me something about yourself, Thorn,” she said and waited for him to reply.

After thinking a lot, Thorn calmly said, “let me think, I am a musician, I like exploring places and well I like meeting new people like you.”

“A musician!..No wonder you played the violin so well that day,” Rose said excitedly.

“Where do you stay?... I would love to come and see you play someday.” She said and looked at him with earnest.

Seeing how he hesitated in replying, Rose said, “ Sorry for being rude, you may think me crazy for inviting myself at your residence.”

“ You don’t have to be sorry, I would be delighted to have some guests,” Thorn replied.

“That’s great, so where do you stay?” she asked him.

“In the palace,” Thorn replied.

“Huh…W-What the P-Palace.” She stuttered and looked at him.

“The Orchid Palace Hotel.” He said and winked at her.

“Ha-ha..You mean the hotel...for a moment I thought you meant the royal palace.” she giggled and paused, “But why are you staying in a hotel?” she asked him out of curiosity.

“I am here on vacation, I like exploring if you remember?” he replied and got up.

“Oh, so you are a tourist.” She said and got up as well.

“Hmm well, I can be a prince too.” He laughed and said.

“A prince …you don’t look anything like Prince Robin.” She said and laughed back at him.

“And what proof do you have?” he asked her in a play full way.

Rose gestured him to wait and headed out to the garden where she had seen the homeless man. She approached him cautiously and pulled the rolled newspaper from underneath his arms. After getting the newspaper in hand, she ran back to where Thorn was waiting for her.

“Here see his picture.” She said and spread the front page before him.

“Prince Robin, the future king, will be visiting soon.” Thorn read the headline and let out a slight laugh.

“Did you see the picture, he looks nothing like you.” She snatched the paperback and teased him.

As she turned, she was taken aback by a stranger who stood a few inches away from her. He was dirty and did not look like he had good intentions. As expected he threatened Rose with a knife. Her screamed and scared the swans away.

“Hand over the purse.” The stranger ordered and pointed the knife at Rose.

No sooner did he do that, Thorn swiftly pushed Rose aside and caught the stranger’s wrist. He twisted his hand and tried to snatch the knife from him. But this thug was quick, he released himself from Thorn’s grip and stabbed Thorn in the arm. Seeing Rose scream in fear, he pulled the purse and ran as fast as his feet could take him.

Thorn tried to compose himself with difficulty before running after the thug, but Rose stopped him from doing so. She ran overtook him and caught his hand.

“You’re bleeding.” she panicked and looked around for help. But there was no one in sight.

She got tensed and thought of ways to stop the bleeding. As she looked at him, she wondered why Thorn hadn't cried out in pain or even let out a slight morn. Could Thorn really not feel any pain? She thought in her mind as she pressed her soft palm against his bleeding arm.