Hey dreamers! Gotta keep this short because this fic is for an assessment and I only have 1100 words. Ok, this fanfic is based on a personal headcanon I have that Odette is barren. Once this has been marked, I'll post my complete theory in a new chapter. Or you can head over to my DeviantArt page and read it now. Enjoy! :)
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Thorn Without a Rose
In the years since her accident, Odette had sought refuge in cleaning, but for the first time since, she could barely focus on what she was doing. Something in her life had shifted lately; a weight no one knew was there that somehow suddenly seemed lighter. Who would have thought that after so many years of silent suffering, she'd be saved by a simple orphan girl with her same love for ballet? Certainly she hadn't, but she was grateful all the same, and she knew exactly how she wanted to repay her.
Her thoughts were broken by the front door opening, and Félicie stepping into the dining room.
"Hey Odette."
"Mérante told me you made the final audition. Excited for tomorrow?" Odette asked over her shoulder as she finished tidying up. She didn't see it, but a look of uncertainty swept across Félicie's face.
"Of course..."
Odette smiled in response, pulling a chair out for her, "Sit. I've got something for you."
Barely able to contain her joy, she picked up the last plate from the table and put it away. Swallowing the nerves that had settled in her stomach, she picked up a familiar box and brought it to the table, Félicie watching her curiously as she tucked the lid under the shoe box.
"They were mine," she stated simply, and watched as Félicie's emerald eyes lit up with excitement. She glanced fondly at her old ballet shoes, admiring the smooth red fabric, before setting the box down in front of Félicie. "Now, they are yours."
"Wow…" Félicie smiled, taking a shoe out to get a better look at it. "Thanks."
"Ok, enough talking. Eat, and then we practise for tomorrow," Odette instructed, expecting the same, undying enthusiasm she'd grown used to. But to her surprise, Félicie gave an exasperated sigh, rolling her eyes as she looked away. Puzzled, she calmly leant forward, gently prompting her to talk, "What?"
"Well… I'm going out with Rudy." Félicie explained, pushing the box further onto the table. "He says I'm ready. He says I'm 'unique'…"
Odette watched her in slight concern. She hadn't missed the uncertainty in the girl's voice, and she knew from experience that now wasn't the time for second-guessing herself.
A soft smile touched her lips, as she remembered what she used to do in her own moments of doubt. "Why do you dance?"
Félicie shook her head, looking away once more, "Stop asking me that question."
Perhaps a more direct approach?
"When I was a dancer, the night before an audition, I trained and then I rested."
Yet again, Félicie shook her head, rebuffing her advice.
"Rudy's waiting for me," she stated plainly, getting up to leave.
Odette followed suit, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Stay…"
"No!" Félicie snapped, shoving her mentor away as she turned towards her. Odette gasped a little at her sudden harshness, but nothing could've prepared her for the blow that followed. "You're not my mum!"
Odette reeled back in shock, an uneven gasp trembling from her body, as if she'd just had a knife rammed into her chest. Honestly, she almost wished she had; anything would be less painful than the tidal wave of memories crashing against her battered heart…
"What are you saying?" Her body shook with emotion, and her heart desperately clung to the final fragments of her shattered world as they crumbled in her grasp.
The man before her gently stroked the back of her hand with his thumb, forcing himself to look at her not as his recently orphaned, recently disabled god-daughter, but solely as his patient. "I'm sorry Odette… but you'll never have children."
Félicie's eyes filled with guilt; a sign she was genuinely sorry. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking…"
Of course she wasn't. How could she have known she was stepping on such fragile ground? Deep down, Odette knew the girl hadn't meant to hurt her, but that did nothing to shield her from the pain coursing through her veins. Everyone seemed to think that losing ballet and her father all in one night had made her the way she was, but they were wrong. That had been the day that crippled her, and it had done so far more than the fire or her limp ever could.
Odette quickly turned away, scrambling to rebuild the wall that had served her for so many years, and refusing to look at the girl who tore it down in the first place. "Ok. Go then."
Félicie looked down in regret, but did as she was told, walking back to the door. Only when it opened did Odette turn around, watching the girl close the door behind herself.
Heaving a sigh, she sat on the edge of Félicie's chair and stared at the door, her hands resting in her lap. Barely 10 seconds had passed, and already she felt ill with remorse. Félicie was just a child; she never should have pushed her away like that. Over time, she'd managed to push away everyone she once held dear, even the man she loved the most.
After quite some time, Odette glanced at the shoe box, which now sat abandoned on the table. Albeit with great hesitation, she slowly pulled the box closer, gazing at the red ballet shoes inside. Had she been braver, she would've told Félicie just how much those shoes meant to her. How she had hoped to one day give them to her own daughter. Not out of want for her to live out her own unfinished dream – as Régine had done to Camille – but as a symbol that she loved her more than ballet; more than the world…
Out of impulse, she wrapped her arms tightly around her stomach. So tightly, in fact, that her nails dug into her sides, like sharp thorns choking the life from a wilting rosebud. Only, there wasn't a rose, and there never would be…
Her head hung in shame and agony, Odette hunched over in her chair, finally allowing a decade of unshed tears to overflow.
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That's all for now. As always, can't wait to see your feedback. Wish me luck with the assessment. ;)