Love Never Dies

Chapter XII

As I walk back to my room, I realize I still have on the pointe shoes I took from Meg. I look around at the sky. It's a light blue, fading into the nighttime. It isn't necessarily a bad time of day, just an uncertain time; you can never know what's coming. A few stars are breaking through the fading sunlight; maybe it was a good time.

I try calming my nerves by carefully moving onto my toes, dancing baby movements, slowing growing more and more confident on my feet. A small girl stops walking in the crowd to watch and I dance directly in front of her. Her face brightens, and she applauds me a little. Little by little, I gather a crowd. They smile, laugh, cheer, and clap but my mind is far from the people surrounding me or the people I know. I've started a song in my head, my feet quickly keeping up with the fast tempo. Between the music and the movement, my mind is the quietest it has ever been, and I have never been this focused. When I reach a crescendo in my music, I make the decision and start spinning on the top of my shoe, spinning like a top. The crowd before me blurs into a meld of colors. The sky is full of stars, the lights illuminating my face. I beam for the first time in weeks and everything feels right. I stop my turning and hit a mighty pose. The crowd screams in response, clapping and cheering for more. Just before I can begin, I see someone go running by the crowd, looking around frantically: Christine.

I push my way through the crowd, ignoring their protests and attempts to have me dance again and rush toward Christine. "Christine!" I shout over the music and noise of the fair, "Christine!" She hears me and runs to me. Her face is stricken with terror like the night we first met. Her breath is labored as she grabs my hand, "Gustave- my son- he's gone-" She grabs my shoulders. "Where is he?!"

"He should be with my father in his workshop, why?"

"No. No, no, no..." She grabs the side of her head, pulling at her hair. "No, I shouldn't have let him-" She grips my wrists, crushing between the bones, dragging me through the crowds.

"Wait, wait!" I pull back and stop Christine. "You don't know what you're walking into! Please, get someone!"

"You can help me-!" She starts pulling my arm again. I wrestle my arm out of her grip, "No- please don't- my father- it scares me- no-"

Something softens in Christine's expression and I can tell her mind is far in the past. "Alright, alright." She pulls me into a hug, stroking my hair. "Who should I ask?"

"Meg, I guess. But be careful. Once you're down there, it's like... you're past the point-"

"Of no return." Christine finishes my sentence, her face draining of color. Her whole body goes rigid, and she quickly pushes me away and races for Meg's room. I consider going after her, but I decide to take a short-cut to my father's workshop. I want to be ready in case something gets out of hand- Christine should have that at least. This was beyond her idea of my father- he was so violent when left alone.

AN: I has nothing to say :)