Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

Dance to the Death

"Can you please just-" I'm hushed again by the women that have been attending to me all morning. Glaring at the women, I cross my arms stubbornly and do something Mom would yell at me for. I pout.

No one has said a direct word to me all day.

When I woke up this morning, there was a woman sitting primly in the corner, carving something into a smooth ivory piece of wood. Seems an odd hobby for a lady, but it would rude to comment on that. The woman had absentmindedly tucked a hair behind her ear, and I held in a gasp at seeing the delicate point. Everything about this woman seemed ethereal. Her skin was a lovely ivory shade, but not pale like I am. It managed to look pristine rather than unhealthy. She moved as if she had all of the time in the world.

Interrupting her, I tried asking the woman what was going on, and where I was. But she simply set down her tools, walked over to me, and held out a robe for me to put on.

The way the woman moved around the room mesmerized me. She moved with such grace and beauty that I wanted to cry. And I'm used to being the one to being viewers to tears. Seeing that I wouldn't get a word out of her, I stood up, and put on the robe. She lead me to a door attached to my room where there was a hot bath waiting.

More women showed up out of nowhere, and they scraped, scrubbed and cleaned every nook and cranny. It was a relieve to get all of the stiff paint, and glitter off of my face. But no one gave heed to a single curse or threat I issued at them for touching me in more intimate places. After they had me all clean, they brought me to a room filled with clothes.

Now I stand in this ridiculously oversized closet, with my arms folded and a frown on my face. I watch all of the women gracefully weave between the racks of dresses, coats, and jewelry.  It's like witnessing a beautiful dance. But everything here feels natural, not at all choreographed. All of these women look so different, but with all of the same uncanny grace of the first woman.

Maybe I'm dreaming? That must be it. How else can all of these women be so different? The first one has the most beautiful ivory skin I've ever seen, and the next has dark blue skin that's so vibrant, I feel at any moment, stars are going to start twinkling. There's another who has pink blushing skin that almost fades to oranges and reds, as if at any moment, the sun is going to rise.

But not a single woman so much as looks me in the eye, or utters a word in my presence. For a moment I think maybe I've been stolen away to become some sort of princess, and these women are serving me. But something about the way they avoid looking at me seems more condescending than reverent.

It's as if I'm below them, and if they look at me, they'll become dirty. But if that's the case, why all of the pampering?

I'm pulled from my thoughts as one of the lovely women pulls out a divine gown. The gossamer fabric flows beautifully, I can already picture how it'll ripple around my legs as I dance in it. It's even more impressive than the costume that I had last night. The soft purple fabric, has silver thread swirling to create floral designs. I spot lotuses, dahlias, and many other flowers I don't recognize. The bud of all of these flowers are amethyst, and they glimmer brilliantly when the light hits them.

"What's this for?" I ask, not trusting these women in the slightest, no matter how beautiful they are. Of course, no one answers my questions, but they manage to stare me down without actually looking at me. I suppress a shudder, and reach for the gown. In grabbing the fabric, I only touch the fingers of the blue skinned woman, but she flinches and hisses showing sharp canines as she drops the costume in my hands. 

It's not like I have a disease.

I harrumph a bit, but slip the robe off, adorning the gown awkwardly as the women look anywhere but at me. This garment feels like a dream as it slips up my legs, and I settle the straps onto my shoulders. I was right, everything flows so nicely, and every step I take sets the amethysts glittering.