Classical

"Giselle," she smiled

Rome closed his eyes, taking deep breaths to clear his mind. The faint sound of a piano echoed around the silent studio as it seeped through the walls; the sounds of synchronized pointe shoes fluttering against the floor were barely audible due to it. Rome had worked at Velanova ballet academy for a year, the same dancers came and went every day. He was due to play for a corps de ballet practicing for their upcoming season of Swan Lake in a few hours. The thought tired him further than he already was. The music in the studio to his left ended and the fluttering of shoes stopped. 

"Again," 

There was a small pause, quiet footsteps beat against the floor before the music restarted. Enhancements were never danced until perfected; they were practiced until it the corps was too sore to go on, and even then, they continued to dance. Rome glanced back up at the clock, his heart skipped a beat when he realized he had less than 5 minutes before he was to meet with the Russian Televena ballet's principal dancer, Lady Maria Platz. Maria was a prestigious dancer, famed for her beauty and refinement. He had loved her ballets as a child, he had only seen her 3 times in his life, all as children. His family was not higher in class, but his grandmother did have a lot of money. Rome stood and turned to a mirror, trying to smoothen out his unruly dark hair. He fixed the lapel of his black jacket and wiped a bead of sweat off his brow. He turned back to the piano and sat, playing a few chords to rewarm his fingers. 

"Good morning Rome," A strong yet wise voice interrupted him. 

Maria Platz opened the door to the studio, she was an average height with a thin figure, her hair was greying at the roots but her hair was a deep brown. Behind her stood a slightly taller girl, her ginger brown hair was tied into a bun and she wore a white swan tutu. 

"Good morning Madam," Rome greeted her, standing from the piano. 

He walked to Maria and stood before her, he bowed and placed a kiss on her hand. She smiled and he took a step backward. Maria turned to the girl beside her and began speaking to her. Rome dropped his gaze as they spoke, he couldn't understand a single word that was said between the two. Maria frowned slightly as the girl said something, Maria raised her hand to silence her. She spoke again and the ginger-haired girl nodded, not saying a word to Maria. Maria turned back to the door and left, closing it behind her. The shadows in the room returned, Rome realized he had forgotten to pull the curtains back from the windows. He quickly turned to fix them, pulling the heavy white velvet curtains back to the walls with gold braided cord. Rome was so distracted fixing them he didn't even notice the ginger-haired girl fixing the ones on the other side. He reached for the next curtain only to meet a delicate hand. He looked up at the hands' owner, taking a closer look at her. Her ginger hair was sleeked back into a bun that sat low on her head. She had greenish-grey eyes and a nose with a tip that was slightly upturned. Her thin lips were in a small smile. He smiled back at her and took her hand in his own, placing a small kiss on it. 

"Allow me, Miss," he turned back to the curtain and pulled it back. 

She watched as he did so, and when he turned to face her, she curtsied to him. Rome was entranced, her limbs moved like water, they flowed with ease but were extremely controlled. She smiled up at him, his cheeks immediately warmed. 

"Giselle," she smiled. 

"Rome," he smiled back. 

"Lovely to meet you," she grinned, her smile was like a warm spring day, it made her practically glow. 

"Lovely to meet you too," he stammered slightly, his focus still on her smile. 

He moved to the piano and prepared to play, he waited and watched as she sat down on the studio floor. She was very lean, maybe slightly too lean for her stature; and she seemed to breathe a bit slower than most people do. His gaze went down to her feet where she was tying satin pointe shoes. They were tired shoes, their platforms were worn and the satin was frayed severely but she seemed to trust them. She finished tying them and moved to the barre. He turned back to the piano and played a small melody he had been playing since a child. He watched her in the reflection of the window, she pressed over her box, softening the already broken vamp as she did so. She repeated the action over and over until eventually, she moved away from the barre to the centre. Rome followed as she moved, the soft noise of her shoes moving on the hardwood floor providing her location. He began to play the Odile variation. he occasionally watched her through the window. She moved with elegance, unlike any dancer he had seen perform the variation. While all had been of high standard, hers was something more. The way she carried her arms, the way she executed every turn with precision, the developpe's were smooth and controlled. When it ended and she took her bow, Rome felt the urge to clap wildly for her. He turned to face her; she didn't appear remotely flushed but her breathing was extremely heavy. She looked as if she was about to pass out, Rome moved to her side quickly to help her sit and regain her breath. 

"Are you alright miss?" he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder after she was seated. 

"Yes," she breathed out, but her voice was quiet and barely audible. "Just tired, I had a long session of training this morning,"

"Alright, I think you should wait a bit before you continue miss," he kept his hand firmly on her shoulder to try keep her seated. 

"I assure you there is no need," she insisted. 

"Please, do not push yourself too far," he pleaded with her as she moved his hand off her shoulder and stood up. 

"I won't," she stood slowly, gripping his wrist for support. 

She moved back to the barre and began to work through her pointe shoes, as one usually did. Rome turned back to the clock, it was nearly the end of her lesson. He let her work quietly as he began to practice for the corps; he ended up becoming so encaptured with playing he didn't even realise Giselle was taking off her shoes and was preparing to leave. 

"Rome?" she asked, leaning over his shoulder. 

He turned to face her and his face flushed with embarrassment as he realised that he was so distracted that he hadn't seen the time had gone by. 

"Apologies Miss, I wish you well," he apologised.

She smiled and chuckled slightly. 

"I'll see you tomorrow," she called out as she turned to the doors and left. 

Rome watched as she left, and suddenly the next day seemed to be a bit brighter in his mind.