The way he danced was captivating. His snow-white hair, radiating with the morning's sunlight, shimmered and swayed. His body was fluid itself—so pale and delicate. As his arms stretched upward, slender branches reaching to the heavens, he swayed backwards. The music of his delicate movements was nothing but the morning breeze. As if from an invisible cue, he leapt into the air. A pair of wings would have turned the suspended Adonis into an angel. He landed softly upon his toes, poised as if for another flight.
Her bright, cherry-pink eyes continued to follow his graceful act, her nose pressed to the glass window. She dared not enter. Her clumsiness had no place with his elegance. She watched as he tilted his head in her direction—and met her eyes. His brilliant lavender eyes were drawing her in, but as usual, they were cold—blank and lifeless.
'They look so lonely—Sasame's eyes,' she thought. If she could alleviate the loneliness inside of him—that alone would be enough for her. If only there was a way she could bring a smile to his face. If only…
"Quit staring at him from here, tulip head," a voice behind her snapped.
She felt the warmth inside of her chest that had blossomed from watching Sasame's dance turn into irritation.
"Well sorry!" she retorted, tearing herself away from the window. She walked past the one who was almost always nearby Sasame—Hayate, the second best male ballet dancer at the school—without giving him a second glance. The way he was always hovering around Sasame never failed to irritate her. To make matters worse, he was the complete opposite of Sasame. Where Sasame seemed to embody kindness itself, Hayate and kindness seemed to have nothing to do with each other.
Fighting away the irritation that was threatening to ruin her morning, she spotted her friend Yayoi in the distance. Giving her an enthusiastic wave, she felt her foot slip. The next she knew, she was on the ground, face-first in the mud.
"Himeno! Are you okay?" Yayoi asked, running towards her, "Your clumsiness is so cute, Himeno! You're like a damsel in distress—except there's no prince to catch you as you fall! Ah, no matter, you can always come back crying to me!"
"Huh," Himeno responded, getting to her feet. No prince, huh? Her thoughts wandered to Sasame, his perfect form, and his graceful movements. She imagined him with a golden crown on his head and giggled in glee. Sasame, a prince! It fit him so perfectly!
"Stop daydreaming! We're going to be late for class!" her friend called out to her.
Himeno nodded, picking up her pace, unable to get the image of Sasame wearing a crown out of her mind.
"This morning you will have the honor of seeing the special class perform a short piece. Pay close attention to their technique and their expression on point," their instructor, Kaoru Awayuki announced, "Well, without further ado—the special class!"
They seemed to float as they pirouetted into the room. The first two to enter—the sisters Mayune and Mawata—completed each other perfectly. Mayune was tall and slender, with flowing rose-pink hair. She utilized her long legs to their full potential as she pirouetted, spinning powerfully and precisely in long, calculated spins. Her sister Mawata, by contrast, used her petite body to twirl in a quick and delicate manner. With short, pastel-green curls, she resembled what would be the perfect female counterpart to Sasame's angelic form. Himeno sighed as she pictured the two of them in a pas de deux together. 'They would look perfect together, after all,' Himeno thought sadly.
She was prevented from falling deeper into despair by the entrance of the final special class member—the top female ballet dancer of the academy. Containing both Mayune's power and Mawata's petite delicacy, Takako embodied the ideal ballet technique and aura that many of the girls at the academy worked so hard to attain. She was neither too tall, nor too short, with waist-length midnight black hair that accentuated her emerald green eyes. Today, she had her hair tied up in a bun, which only further emphasized the natural grace of her body—her long neck flowing into her slender body, which concluded with her lithe legs. She pirouetted only twice, proceeding into the choreography of the Dance of the Reeds from the Nutcracker, which the standard class was currently rehearsing.
Himeno watched her with sinking spirits. No amount of practice would lead her to dance like that, she knew. Perfection—in both form and beauty—was Takako. A perfection that was beyond Himeno's comprehension.
At the conclusion of their performance, she heard lone clapping—and was surprised that it was Hayate. Hayate—who rarely ever appreciated others' dancing—was clapping? Himeno turned to face Takako and saw that the complement was not lost on her. She gave him a soft smile and bowed along with Mayune and Mawata, resulting in applause from the rest of the class.
"Ah, I wish I could dance like that," Himeno sighed, thinking to the elegance that the three special class members embodied. As she went through her morning stretches, she sighed at the ungainly sight of her body. Her legs were too short and too stout for the upper half of her body, and her short cut hair lacked the graceful curls in Mawata's hair. She was plain—and worse, she was clumsy. She scowled as she practiced, receiving a stern look from her ballet instructor.
"Don't worry—you'll always be my clumsy little Himeno," her friend Yayoi remarked upon hearing Himeno's wish voiced aloud. Himeno sighed and then turned sharply to face the window as she saw a flash of white pass by. Curious, she abandoned her practice and raced outside. She was certain that what she had seen was Sasame.
"Say you love me, Sasame," a voice commanded.
"I love you, Takako," Sasame responded in a monotone voice.
"Good," Takako said contently.
Himeno turned the corner and saw Sasame lying down underneath a tree, his head resting on Takako's legs. She was stroking his hair gently, gazing at Sasame with adoration and possession. Sasame, on the other hand, stared blankly at the shards of the sky that filtered through the tree branches. Takako seemed not to care that he was paying no attention to her. Feeling as if she had intruded into a private moment, Himeno began to step backwards, when a branch crunched underneath her shoe.
"Who's there?" Takako demanded. Himeno nervously made her way forward.
"Um, I'm sorry…I just…um…" Himeno stammered.
"Oh, it's just you. You're from the standard class, aren't you?" Takako asked, her tone condescending yet welcoming.
"Y-yes, m-my name is Himeno. I-i-it's v-very nice to m-meet you," Himeno managed while blushing furiously.
"Ah yes. Well, if you'll excuse us," Takako said, indicating to Sasame to stand up. Weaving her arm with his, they left—a picturesque pair of dancing perfection. Himeno stood rooted to the spot, Sasame's words echoing in her mind: 'I love you, Takako…'
"What are you doing, standing around like an idiot?" a voice behind her snapped.
"Ah, I…" Himeno began before she realized who had spoken to her. Hayate.
"Nothing, I was just leaving," she snapped, turning to head back to her class where her instructor had most probably noticed her absence.
"Have you seen Sasame?" Hayate asked, his tone slightly less harsh than usual.
"No," Himeno responded, beginning to run in the opposite direction of the classroom. Or she wished that she hadn't seen him.
Giant tears were flowing from Himeno's eyes as she recollected Sasame and Takako's intimacy. Did Sasame truly love Takako? His eyes had seemed blank as usual. Perhaps even lonelier than usual.
"They make a perfect pair, for sure…the best female and the best male ballet dancers at the school…" she sniffled. But was Sasame truly happy with Takako?
'It's okay' Himeno thought, wiping her tears away, 'I just want Sasame to be happy. If being with Takako makes him happy…'
"Do you think he's truly happy this way?" a voice thundered from the forest.
"W-who?" Himeno said, startled.
"I asked, do you truly believe the prince is happy now?" the voice asked again.
"Prince?" she asked, confused.
"Of course! The white haired, lonely prince who has lost his heart," the voice answered. Now Himeno was beginning to feel afraid. She had no idea who this voice was, nor who the prince was supposed to be. An image of Sasame wearing a crown flashed into her mind.
"Sasame? Is he a prince?" she asked.
"Why, of course! Once upon a time, a brave prince battled an evil raven. A kind and selfless prince, he took out his own heart in order to defeat the raven. Now the prince wanders aimlessly, unable to remember who he is or even what happiness is," the voice explained.
"So Sasame doesn't have a heart? That explains why he looks so lonely all the time…" she mused, "Is there a way to bring his heart back?"
"It won't be easy, my dear. Only one—the Pretear—can restore his heart. Now tell me, Himeno, do you truly want to make Sasame happy?" the voice asked again.
"If I could make Sasame happy…I could die happily," Himeno said, sighing at the thought of a smiling Sasame.
"Very good. Then here is my gift to you—the princess of light," the voice said. From out of the darkness, an oval pendant made of red ruby appeared, landing in Himeno's hands. She clasped the pendant tightly and felt its warmth pulsating throughout her body.
"So I can make Sasame happy using this?" she asked, but no one answered. She placed the pendant around her neck, feeling its warmth against her chest. And she smiled, knowing that she could now bring a smile to Sasame's face.