"I had to come here..."

"What do you mean child?" asked Lady Azalea as she drank her tea and ate a bowl of oatmeal.

"Oh. My Lady. It is a dark and tragic tale, my life was before I came here." Giselle was picking out the attire Azalea would wear for the day. She was brushing out a flowing silk dress. It was cobalt blue in color.

"Tell me."

"Please my lady.. I have chores to do. I have to clean the foyer and wash the laundry and mend Lady Alicia's pink gown with the flowers on it." Azalea sternly looked at her.

"Yes My Lady." Giselle slowly brushed her dark black curls from her collarbone and walked to the door. Locking it she turned slowly back to her Mistress. She lowered her voice and began her tale. "When I was seven my Mother became ill. She had a terrible wasting disease that was ravaging the Court in Terpsichorea. I prayed to the Gods to spare her but she became smaller and smaller. Her vitality was sapped until she could not walk. She could not dance and she could barely whisper. Her last words to me stated that I would be given to the Temple and would train as a priestess. If I worked hard I could earn a place in the King's Dancers. Then I would get much attenttion and perhaps a man would be my patron..."

"You were training to be a courtesan?"

"Oh indeed. Courtesans are first trained as dancers. The art of seduction begins with a dance and the way we worship begins with a dance. There is no better way to train than in Temple dancing.The training is quite rigorous and exacting. The time we put into perfection is the way we are treated consequently. We are either lavished in the praise and the feelings of the Gods or in the love and ardor of our patrons."

"Ah. I see. You either train for a Gods love or a mans love." She grinned with her pearly white teeth.

"So I joined the Royal Temple in the City of Sangria. This was our capital and it was magnificent. The streets were gray cobbles and the walls of the city were built from red marble, The houses were either built from marble or in plaster. The walls of the poorer sections were made of plaster but everyone frescoed it. You could be quite comfortable walking the poorer sections of the city for it was kept up due to the prettiness of the frescoes. All the neighbors tried to outdo each other and that was the most bloodshed in Sangria. The Temple was made of white marble in a red and gray city. Not even the palace was made from white marble. The palace instead was made of pink shimmering marble." She paused and started tidying the Lady's bed. "I was an exceptional dancer the best of my age group and the best of the novices. The High Priest soon took an interest in me though I was unaware of it..." a long pause with a blush on her pale cheeks

"... we were to dance in the festival of Mid Summer when the High Priestess broke her foot. She could not dance through it and so when she looked for a replacement.. I was the one chosen. The priestesses were already delegated roles and so she had to choose a novice. I was the only one who seemed to please her...At the summer festival we danced like always but when I stepped into the High Priestess's role everyone saw me in a new light. The High Priestess's costume is very..." she paused looking for an apropiate word "..scanty. That night as I sat on the wall of the Temple, my mind absorbibg the day's events when a handsome young warrior came looking for me. We soon became... fond of each other but one day when I finally became a King's Dancer and he would be allowed to seek my attentions... a disaster struck."

Tears were bluring her vision at this point as she tied Azalea's corset.

"Well child?" asked Azalea looking back at her.

"I...'sniffle'..I...'sob'...I..."she broke down crying. Azalea turned away from the bedpost and hugged the sobbing servant.

"Shh..." she whispered soothingly to the girl. When Giselle calm down from her enormous sobs she finished telling her story.

"I disgraced myself in front of the kingdom one night at the Winter Festival. The King's dancers have costumes made for themselves every year and they pay for it with their patron's money. I had a beautiful dress made and beautiful props. When I went for shoes I could not find any. My cobbler had died and his son had not taken over his shop like what was promised. So I began looking around for a new pair of shoes. Soon I gained through a friend a pair fo shoes that was never worn..."

"I broke them in for the dance. I was ready. Every step memorized and every bar of music secured to my steps."

"What Happened!" Asked Lady Azalea eagerly.

"Why I was disgraced..."

"Yes but How?"

Please R and R... Thanks for the reveiwes!

Gigi