Duchess’s afternoon class was Advanced Ballet, taught at the Red Shoes Studio, which was a short walk from the main campus. With her book bag slung over her shoulder, she hurried down the lane. She was tempted to transform into her swan self and fly there, but thanks to the addition of the General Villainy hextbook, her bag was much too heavy to carry in her beak.
Only a few students at Ever After High knew the joy of flight. Those with fairy wings and flight-casting abilities could zip between classes if they chose to. But a fairy possesses a human shape, which is not streamlined like a bird’s. Duchess knew how to point her neck and beak, creating a line that cut through fierce wind. She knew how to catch updrafts between her feathers and how to float as if she were made of cloud.
She could re-create those sensations on the dance floor, soaring on two legs as if she were dancing on air.
Duchess opened the oak door and stepped into the Red Shoes Studio. A grand ballroom spread before her. Hundreds of pairs of dancing shoes hung from the high ceiling. In the corner, a shoemaker stood at the very top of a wobbly ladder, hanging another pair. The soles of each shoe had been worn out. The twelve Madames who taught at this school were the same twelve princesses who’d left their palace each night to secretly dance until dawn. And each night, they had danced so much that they wore out their shoes. Though older now, the Madames still loved to dance, and that was why they employed a troupe of shoemakers, whose little hammers and sewing machines could be heard from the back room as they constantly made new shoes.
Duchess slipped into a dressing room and changed into her leotard, tights, and white-feather tutu. She wound her long hair into a bun. After slipping her feet into her pointe shoes, she laced the silk straps up her calves. Then she made her way, en pointe, to the ballet studio.
Madame was waiting, her silver hair in its tight knot. She was long and lean, and stood on her red pointe shoes so that she seemed as tall and straight as a tree. Her expression was stern. She said not a word as Duchess crossed the floor and took her position at the barre. Then music began to play, and Duchess followed Madame’s instructions. “First position. Plié. Elevé. Second position. Plié. Elevé.” And so it went, on and on.
It was hard work, but Duchess was used to it. She’d practiced every day since learning to walk, missing classes only when she’d been sick with childhood illnesses such as pixie pox and fairy fever. Ballet required total focus and utmost dedication. It suited Duchess perfectly.
After two hours of grand jétes, pirouettes, and arabesques, Madame clapped her hands and the music stopped. Duchess grabbed a towel and dabbed sweat off her neck and shoulders.
“I can tell you have somezing on your mind,” Madame said as she tapped her long fingers on the barre. “I watched zee MirrorCast zis morning. Is zis what you want? To be zee Next Top Villain?”
“I don’t want to be a villain,” Duchess said. “But Mr. Badwolf won’t let me transfer. I don’t know why he wants me in that class.”
“Perhaps he recognizes potential in you,” Madame said.
“Potential?” Duchess dabbed her forehead. “To be… evil? But it’s my destiny to be the star of my story, not the villain.”
Madame raised her penciled eyebrows. “Each of us has a light side and a dark side, Ms. Swan. Zee question is not if you can win. Zee question is, will you choose to lose? Will you choose defeat?”
Duchess did not like that word—defeat. “Of course I won’t choose to lose,” she said. “But it’s more complicated than that.” She sat on a bench and began to untie her shoes.
“You are a ballerina, Ms. Swan. Ballerinas are unique creatures. We can do whatever we set our minds to do.” Madame opened the studio door and pointed down the hallway. “Listen to zee other dancers,” she said with disdain. “Zey are clomping around as zey attempt to learn zee common village dances. Zey do not possess our gracefulness. Zey do not defy gravity as we do.” She crossed the room and towered over Duchess. “Why do you make zat frowny face?”
“Because I want to be the best student and the best ballerina, but I don’t want to be the best villain.”
“Zer is a light side and a dark side to ballet, no?”
“What do you mean?”
Madame spread her arms wide. “Zee light side of ballet is zee glory to be onstage. To have zee envy of zee audience. And to hear zeir hands clapping in appreciation. Oui?”
“Yes,” Duchess said, remembering the thrill of the rising curtain, the warmth of the spotlight, the thunder of applause. A shiver ran up her spine, then back down. How she loved those moments. Faces upturned, eyes wide, watching her with envy.
Duchess removed her shoes and rested her tired feet on the floor. Madame pointed at Duchess’s left foot, where a new blister had formed on the baby toe. “Zee dark side of ballet is zee physical pain. Zee countless hours of practice. Zee solitude.”
Duchess nodded. While the village children played hide-and-seek, she’d spent many a day alone in the studio. And many a night bandaging her feet and soaking her aching muscles in salt baths. But nothing, not the pain or the solitude, could discourage her from perfecting her art.
“If you look deep inside, Ms. Swan, you will find zee determination you need to face zis challenge. A ballerina always meets her challenges.”
Noise outside the windows drew their attention. Some students were walking past the studio, on their way to the Village of Book End. Lizzie, Madeline Hatter, and Kitty Cheshire, fellow Wonderlandians, were laughing and chatting, probably on their way to the Mad Hatter’s Haberdashery & Tea Shoppe.
Then came a lone figure. It was Raven Queen. She was walking and reading a book at the same time. Her black hair sparkled in the sunlight. Duchess stepped close to the window. Raven didn’t notice that she was being watched. She giggled as she read, then turned the page. She didn’t look one bit worried about the General Villainy thronework. Why should she? She’d chosen to turn away from her responsibilities.
Madame’s voice filled the studio. “When a ballerina no longer wants to dance the leading role, then another ballerina must step forward and take her place.”
Duchess swallowed hard. “Take her place?”
“Are you going to turn your back on the leading role, Ms. Swan?”