The Dance of the Prince and the Sugar Plum Fairy
A/N: I haven't written anything in so long. Writing a one-shot always helps me get back into the mood, lol. I wrote this listening to Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker. Specifically, Act II: Scene14: Pas de Deux. Also known as the Dance of the Prince and the Sugar Plum Fairy. Or in some versions: the Prince and Clara.
Link to song in my profile.
Bubble's POV.
Not sure I like this. I had no idea what it would turn out to be when I sat down to start it, lol. Just meaningless fluff, I suppose.
My days always seemed to forever involve blood, gore and slime. Beating up bad guys, slaying evil monsters, and saving the day. It was my natural born gift to do so. I loved my job, and I was proud to be a protector of the city I loved, but I never enjoyed the guts and goo that came with my job.
I always thought my sisters were better at it anyway.
Blossom was breathtaking when she flew through the sky. She could weave in and out about her enemies with easy grace. She would take them out, one by one, in the most elegant manner.
And if anyone had perfected the art of crime fighting, it was Buttercup. She was strong and valiant. She may have been tough and ruthless, but she was just as poised as Blossom with her craft. She was darn right charming in every sense of every way.
The two of them in action was a sight to see. The contrast of their fighting styles complimented each other so well… I felt absolutely guilty at times just being there and ruining their perfect balance.
I was grateful that they were so beautiful with what they did. Their beauty was my daily relief from the gross gore on the battlefield.
Christmas was always my favorite holiday. Buttercup thought I was so typical for saying so, but it was the truth. What's better than presents, lots of food, and parties with my friends and family? - Nothing at all!
Crime is high during the holiday season though. It's so sad to say, but it's the truth. My sisters and I have always had to work such long hours. I guess the Mayor felt terrible, because he spoiled us with Christmas gifts every night in December.
One night he offered us tickets to see Townsville's School of the Arts' ballet production of the Nutcracker.
The ballet was amazing, and we got to enjoy it from our own private balcony. It displayed scenes which ranged from frightful to fun. I loved all the giant Christmas tree and the big party scene. The next act was colorful and bright, filled with dancing dolls, candy canes and pretty flowers.
While Blossom expressed that she appreciated the art of the dance, and I was in love with the beautiful and bright surroundings… Buttercup was less than patient throughout the production.
"What the hell?" Buttercup finally couldn't help but voice her opinion, an hour into the play. "I feel like they're dancing to the same song over and over again," Buttercup grumbled from her seat.
Blossom glared at her. "Shh! Don't be rude, Buttercup!"
"Well, don't you think so? I mean, come on!"
Blossom rolled her eyes. "Obviously, it's a very similar song, but it's being presented in different fashions and styles to go with the different lands. Have some appreciation, Buttercup, Jeez."
"I think it's pretty!" I smiled.
"Ugh, we're nineteen now. Not nine! This stuff is for babies!"
We paused to applaud for the dancers who exited the stage, as the second act's thirteenth scene came to a close. The curtain fell.
We were quiet as we watched the curtain rise again. The previous acts had displayed huge groups of dancers, but now on the stage there were only two.
The music began soft and slow, with the dancers at the opposite ends of the stage. It was a boy and a girl.
"Pas de Deux," Blossom read quietly. She had been reading the program's descriptions to us with each corresponding dance. "Meaning a dance traditionally for two. In this version, the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Prince share in a romantic dance with one another. They are in love, but it is short lived, because they soon realize that their love- and, in fact, they themselves- are only figments of a little girl's dreams and imagination. This is a romantic, but tragic dance for these ill-fated lovers."
The words Blossom read caused a stinging feeling in my heart. "You mean… they won't be together forever? Even though they love each other?" I squeaked. I looked to my sisters who both appeared on the edge of their seats as they watched the two dancers approach each other and take one another's hand.
The Sugar Plum Fairy and the Prince danced. The Prince was strong and steady as the Sugar Plum Fairy twirled around him. She was so pretty and so delicate on her tip toes.
It wasn't long before I realized that this dance was greatly different than the other dances that had been on the stage. Every other dance was so bright and mostly happy little stories. But this dance… it was so graceful and soft. It was slow, and sad. The two dancers were alone on the big empty stage together… and it made me feel just like them: lonely.
They seemed to be searching, but only found each other. But that didn't seem to bother tem. They looked so content in each others arms. They held each other and embraced one another as the music descended deeper and deeper into melancholy. As the music grew more sad, the feeling of passion between the dancers visibly grew.
The Sugar Plum Fairy parted from the Prince for a moment. I imagined she was still trying to find a way out of the darkness for the two of them. The music swelled, as her dancing became quicker. She ran as she danced, away from the borders which seemed to close in on her.
As everything around them closed in, their love exploded as the Sugar Plum Fairy leapt into the Prince's arms. He spun her around and around, as if to celebrate her return. He held her and she gazed deeply into his eyes. She danced around him, and again threw herself back at him, as if pleading to never be let go again.
And he held onto her, until the final curtain closed.
I held my breath as I watched the curtain fall, closing in the lovers for good. The audience erupted in great applause. My sisters and I shot up from our seats fast and clapped our hands loudly. It was the greatest dance we had ever seen. I never knew a dance could display and arouse so much emotion and feeling inside of me. And I could tell by my sisters' awed expressions that they felt the same way.
When we returned home that night, we talked happily about the ballet we just saw. It was agreed that the Dance of the Prince and the Sugar Plum Fairy was our favorite.
"I thought you didn't like anything about it, Buttercup," I teased as we got ready for bed.
Buttercup climbed in her bed. "What? I'm not allowed to like one dance out of… how many dances were there in that thing? A hundred?"
"There weren't a hundred dances, Buttercup," Blossom said as she climbed into her own bed. "And just admit it… you liked the ballet overall. Don't worry; we won't call you a baby!" Blossom smirked slyly.
Buttercup tossed a pillow at Blossom, but she caught it and threw it right back.
"Well whatever," Buttercup said as she fixed her pillow. "I'm allowed to like at least one?"
"Why did you like that dance, Buttercup?" I asked my sister as I fluffed my pillow and lay down. I closed my eyes and waited for Buttercup's answer, but she and Blossom had already fallen asleep. Soon, I was asleep, too.
Not more than three minutes after I drifted asleep, the hotline began to buzz loudly. I sat up and rubbed my eyes sleepily. I looked around the room, but saw that I was all alone. "What the-? Where did they go?"
I got up and answered the hotline. "Yes, Mayor?"
"Bubbles, there's a monster on the loose at City Hall! It's a giant rat creature of some kind!"
"Uhh… we're on it!" I hung up the hotline. I looked around the room. "Girls!" I called out.
There was no answer. Maybe they already left?
I took off quick towards City Hall. When I arrived, everything seemed to be normal. I rushed straight to the Mayor's office, to see if there was any trouble there. Again, when I arrived everything was quiet. The office was dark as I stepped inside.
At first, I didn't see anything. But then, all of a sudden I felt something grab my arm. I gasped loudly and almost screamed, but Blossom threw her hand over my mouth. She placed a finger to her lips, signaling for me to be quiet.
"Where's Buttercup?" I whispered.
"I'm not sure," she whispered back. "There's something in the other room. Come on!"
We crept into the other room. Again, it appeared to be empty. But then suddenly there was a big booming noise from behind us. We turned around and there was the beast.
It was a thirteen foot tall, three headed, rat monster. He shrieked loudly and snarled at us with a bloody, shark toothed-like grin. Suddenly he charged at us, and Blossom and I scattered to opposite ends of the rooms.
He ran after Blossom. I began to fly after him, but then suddenly something tugged on my night gown. I whipped around and found a smaller rat beast shrieking in my face. I served a punch straight to the beast's face and it fell backwards. But as soon as he fell, I felt another tug on my pigtails. I turned around quickly and discovered that the room was filled with a dozen rat faced monsters.
They all came swarming at me all at once. I tried to ready myself for their attack, but another group was behind me. They clawed at me, and soon I fell down to the floor. They held me down, as the biggest rat beast approached.
I screamed for help, as the Rat King stood over me and lowered his three disgusting faces to mine. It looked me in the eyes with six black, beady eyes and I watched the monster sharpen its claws. Before it could strike, there was a flash of green light, and he was gone.
"Buttercup!" I shouted in relief. She zoomed around the room quickly and knocked out every beast that stood in her way. With her help we were able to clear the room quickly of the smaller rat monsters.
As I handled the last few, she flew straight at the biggest one- the three headed Rat King.
The Rat King had Blossom cornered. He had her pinned down with his big, clawed and hairy foot. Buttercup flew up behind him and knocked him on his middle head. He turned around and all three of his heads screamed at her. He swatted her down to the ground, and Blossom threw herself at him. He grasped her tightly with one paw, and began to shake her violently. Buttercup stomped on his feet so forcefully he fell halfway through the floorboards below. As he fell, he threw Blossom against the opposite wall.
Blossom hit the wall and fell limply to the ground. I cried after her as I finally defeated the last of the smaller monsters. I quickly rushed to her side.
As soon as Buttercup saw Blossom hit that wall, she cried out in anger. She wound back her fist and punched all three heads at once. The force was so great, all three heads spun all the way around. The Rat King's three necks snapped, and the Rat King shrieked one last howl, before he was dead.
Buttercup breathed heavily, as she watched his eyes roll into the back of his heads. She spit at the monster in disgust, and joined me at Blossom's side.
"Blossom?" she shouted as she tried to shake her. I let Buttercup take her in her arms as I stepped away.
I couldn't help but notice that my surroundings were changing. I was no longer in the Mayor's office, or City Hall. I don't think I was in Townsville anymore either.
I stood in a dark place. Everything had disappeared.
"Blossom! Blossom! Wake up!" Buttercup continued to shout.
I turned around and looked at my sisters again.
Blossom began to move a little and she opened her eyes. "Is it over?" she asked a little weakly, beginning to sit up.
Buttercup helped her to her feet. "Yeah, it's all over," Buttercup said softly.
As I watched Blossom rise to her feet again, I noticed she was suddenly wearing a beautiful ballerina tutu. It was pink with gold sequins, and her long red hair was curled and put up beautifully with a sparkly tiara.
"Blossom, you look beautiful!" I gasped.
Buttercup noticed her appearance too, and her jaw dropped. Blossom noticed Buttercup's expression and blushed.
And now Buttercup was dressed as a prince. Her short black hair was slicked back, and she wore a handsome, green and silver suit. When she noticed her own attire, her cheeks flushed bright pink.
"Buttercup, you're so handsome!" I squealed.
Blossom nodded in agreement and Buttercup blushed even harder. "What is all this? What's going on?" Buttercup grumbled.
"It's a dream," Blossom answered.
"A dream?" I frowned. "But you guys look so cute together. Don't tell me it's not real."
"Yeah, it must be a dream," Buttercup frowned. "Everything's related to that stupid ballet… that dumb Rat King, and now…. Err… this," she pointed at Blossom and herself.
Suddenly, we could all hear the beautiful melody of the Pas de Deux- The Dance of the Prince and the Sugar Plum Fairy.
Buttercup and Blossom exchanged shy glances. I grinned at the two of them. "You guys have to dance! Just like in the ballet!" I bounced up and down with excitement.
Blossom smiled softly and held her hand out for Buttercup to take. She hesitated, but smiled and took Blossom's hand. They began to dance as if they had done it a hundred times before. It was so graceful and seem to come so naturally. It was as if I was watching the original ballet all over again.
As I watched Blossom and Buttercup dance with one another, it dawned on me…. They were truly just like the Prince and the Sugar Plum Fairy. The way they danced was just like every time I watched them interact in battle. It was just as breathtaking, and just as magnificent.
Blossom spun around in Buttercup's arms. At first, Buttercup held Blossom gently, as if she wasn't sure she should be holding her at all. But as the dance progressed, and as the music swelled, she embraced her even more.
They went on like that for a long time. I didn't mind that the dance seemed to last longer than it had in the ballet. In fact, they looked so content in each others' arms… I hoped the dream would never end.
Suddenly, Blossom stopped dancing in the middle of everything.
"What's wrong?" Buttercup asked with deep concern.
Blossom frowned. "Pas de Deux, meaning a dance traditionally for two. In this version, the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Prince share in a romantic dance with one another. They are in love, but it is short lived, because they soon realize that their love- and, in fact, they themselves- are only figments of a little girl's dreams and imagination. This is a romantic, but tragic dance for these ill-fated lovers."
I frowned, too. I didn't know what to say to my sisters. They both looked so happy while they danced together. Eventually we would all have to wake up. Unfortunately, there was no avoiding it.
"Don't stop dancing, Girls," I tried to get them to smile.
"What's the point?" Buttercup frowned.
"Because you liked it," I smiled at her. Buttercup blushed, and I continued: "And you know… if it's what you really want…. Sometimes, dreams come true!"
Blossom smiled. "You're right, Bubbles." Blossom held out her hand for Buttercup once more.
It was such a shame that their dance only existed in our dream world. The two of them together was truly a sight to see. I only hoped that as soon as we awoke, they would find a way to live their dreams in reality.