Kat, winded from her ballet practice, slunk back into her family's quarters. She glanced up to notice that her mother was still tending to her other siblings. Louise, upon hearing the door open, turned to look over her shoulder and tiredly smile at her oldest daughter.
"How was your practice today?" Louise asked as she glanced down at Theodore to make sure that he was not sneaking into anything.
"It went well, but I really wish that I could keep up with the other girls," Kat answered as she moved toward her bedroom.
Noticing that her daughter was starting to go to bed, Louise picked up her two remaining daughters and motioned for Theodore to toddle after them. Kat flopped onto her bed as she watched her mother corral her younger siblings to their beds and cribs. As soon as Louise was finished with this, she quickly advanced toward Kat's section and sat down on the bed.
"I know that you enjoy ballet, but it might not be the best idea for you to continue with your practices," Louise softly said as she moved to stroke her daughter's wild curls out of her face.
"Why?!" Kat shot up in bed and stared at Louise, her eyes wide and mouth hanging open.
"You just mentioned that you were not keeping up with the other girls, and this is only making me even more nervous for you. I mean, your condition could worsen someday, and that might happen when you're practicing and-"
"But Papa told you that I could learn how to be a ballerina!" Kat interrupted as she shook her head frantically. "Mama, please! Madame Giry even told me that I could be the primary dancer one day!"
"She did...?" Louise responded as she glanced to the side. She let out a soft sigh before glancing at the small child. "How about this? Your papa and I will discuss this, and we will make our decision soon enough. Does that sound okay to you?"
"I guess, but listen to Papa! He'll agree with me!"
Louise chuckled as she kissed the top of her daughter's head. "You should know by now that your papa and I do not go with one plan. We try to compromise, my dear."
Kat's bottom lip poked out as she accepted her mother's affection, allowing Louise to tuck her into bed. Soon enough, Louise had gotten all of her children to sleep and blew out the multiple candles that were stationed around the room. Shutting the door to her children's bedroom, she moved back into the main room and sat down heavily at the dining table. Her eyes looked up to study the candle that sat in front of her, its flame alluring.
Into the early hours of the morning, Alexandre finally returned to their living quarters, his waistcoat and tie in disarray. As soon as he noticed his wife was still sitting at the table, his eyebrows shot up in dismay.
"Why in the world are you still up, my love?" Alexandre asked as he walked over to the table.
"We need to discuss something," Louise answered as she glanced up at her husband, whose eyes widened slightly.
"Good God, did I do something wrong?" Alexandre sat down across from Louise as he watched her reaction.
Louise's lips quirked up as she replied, "You have not done anything wrong. Yet."
"Oh, then what might we talk about?"
"Kat has been having a hard time keeping up with all of the other girls. I think that it would be a good idea to take her out of ballet training."
"Louise, she enjoys dancing. Why would you want to stop her from doing something that she loves?"
"Alexandre, she is not like the others. The doctor warned us that we must be careful with what she does, or she might end up suffering a horrible death."
"Madame Giry has been watching over her to ensure that the girl is not overworking herself. She has dealt with people of similar afflictions."
"I know that, and I did trust her with things such as that. However, anything is possible. This is our daughter's life."
"Exactly, it is her life. Not ours."
"Alexandre, are you suggesting that Kat be able to make such calls?" Louise asked, watching as her husband quickly nodded in response. "She is only six years old. I completely understand that she is smart for her age, but that does not give her any sort of control over important matters such as this. When she is older, she can do such things. However, that is not the case as of this very moment in time."
"Louise, our little girl just wants to be like the other children. If you coddle her endlessly, she is never going to be able to achieve a normal childhood. Kat is a perfectly safe child with the way that things are right now. She may not be able to keep up with others just yet, but she has not had any health scares for a year now. In fact, ballet might be helping her. You never know, darling."
Louise stared at Alexandre before letting out a soft sigh and shaking her head.
"For now, I suppose that we can let her continue with her lessons. However, we are stopping them as soon as her health starts to wane, okay?"
"Yes, my love. Anything for our daughter," Alexandre replied as he leaned over to grab his wife's hand. In one smooth motion, he brought her hand up to his mouth and pressed his lips against the back. "Now, come. Let's go to bed and rest our weary minds."
YOU ARE READING
What Lies Behind the Mask (Phantom of the Opera x OC)
FanfictionA new retelling of the Phantom of the Opera.
