CREATURE

・chapter 18・

Asya had a busy day ahead of her. Up first was her morning costume fitting for Nutcracker, then company class at eleven, coaching over lunchtime and finally a trial rehearsal for Bayadère in the late afternoon. Mercifully though, she had the evening off to rest.

Much to her own dismay she'd woken up even more tired that morning than she'd been the day before, and hauling herself out of bed took a monumental effort on her part. Her hip had kept troubling her in rehearsals and she had a bad feeling that it was getting worse and rather than better. She'd packed some painkillers in her bag just in case it got totally unbearable during the day, but come that evening she was taking a hot bath and chaining herself to the couch for the rest of the night. God knows she needed it.

With her breakfast smoothie in hand Asya dashed to the wardrobe department for her Nutcracker fitting, not expecting to be cornered by her coach on the way there.

'Nastasia!' Debbie called from behind her. 'Do you have a minute?'

'I'm running to a fitting. But I can come by after?' she replied, hoisting her bag further onto her shoulder.

'I'll walk with you.' Debbie replied.

・・・

A wardrobe assistant tucked Asya into the snowflake costume she would be wearing for the company's annual Nutcracker shows, which ran through the Christmas season every year. Bastian had been casting her in various children's roles since she was eleven, but making it through those gruelling three weeks of non-stop dancing was always an absolute death-march. Still, she didn't have many happy Christmas memories prior to that, and spending it on stage had been her favourite by far.

While Debbie exchanged a few words with the wardrobe assistant Asya glanced around the fitting room curiously, eager to see what costumes were in the works. Second only to the stage, the wardrobe department had to be her most beloved place in the theatre. Half-finished tutus and tulle skirts hung over every inch of wall space and sketches, drawings, pins, rhinestones and sample fabrics were scattered on the long tables.

It was where a dancer's performance was born in hundreds of little details and stitches, where the iconic characters were sculpted before they took on an audience of two-thousand people. The principal character's costumes were legacy pieces, having been worn by some of the most iconic ballerinas in history, who would write their names on the inner seams to pass along their energy to the next generation. Someday, Asya thought to herself.

'Are you sure she wore this one last year?' Debbie asked, bunching up some loose fabric at the back of the snowflake costume.

The wardrobe assistant explained how they had all the costume rotations on record, and that it was highly unlikely there was a mix-up. Asya knew she'd worn that one, and that no, it hadn't gotten mixed up or miraculously stretched over the past year. She'd just... Gotten smaller.

With her promotion at the end of last season she'd lost some weight, partly because she was working harder and training more intensively, but also because she felt that she needed to look the part. She had told herself that she was doing what was necessary, and besides, it wasn't anything drastic, just little refinements here and there.

'So,' Debbie said as she handed the assistant some pins. 'I spoke to Bastian last night and he said I can start working on Gamzatti with you.'

'Gamzatti?' Asya squeaked, barely able to contain the sudden excitement in her voice.

Gamzatti was one of the two leading female roles in La Bayadère, and while she would have been thrilled to be considered for either one of them, she knew the wicked princess would be a real treat to explore. That, and Debbie had been one of the first principal ballerinas to dance the role when it premiered fifty years ago and she was bound to have some incredible insights to pass on.