AN: I know I've been a very delinquent author but I have a good excuse. For
the past week or so, my mom and I have been trying to convince the local
Girl Scout Council to hand over our troop's cookie sheets. It seems the
troop I volunteer for was "forgotten" somehow and, as such, never received
our material. Now my troop has a week to sell cookies and I have irate
parents after me because they claim this is all my mother's fault (my mom
runs the troop). Any who, this is it-----the next to the last chapter.
There's just one more after this but there is a semi-sequel/spin-off
already written. I hope you all join me on that adventure.
elrohir lover: THANKS!
lilja Ithilwen: Thanks for both the review and the compliment. I'm glad you like my story and there are a few surprises left in store.
elvenrocker: As always, thanks for the review. You shall soon see how things work out in Middle Earth. They're heading home soon.
PixiePea000: The one thing I don't miss about acro are those blasted fast changes. Well, the fast changes and certain people in the class. By the way, GOLLUM and watch out for Agent Elrond Smith!
Saralitazie: Thanks for the review and the compliment. I have my Gollum moments too. Actually, my mother and some other people I know call me Gollum for some odd reason.
orlandofan13: I use to do Tae Kwan Do in high school and it's kind of like dancing! My instructor use to call me the "dancer" or the "ballerina" whenever I had to spar him. I'm glad you like my story!
elentir girl: Thanks! I would have updated sooner but I had an adventure in Girl Scout politics. You'd think the parents would leave me alone---I'm in charge of the really little kids who don't sell cookies.
Lindiel Eryn: Thanks for the review, as usual. The jazz is truly the last dace for both Emma and the show in general. Thranduil has something up his sleeve but that's for later.
littlesaiyangirl: As always, THANKS! This acro dance was kind of fun when we did it. Well it was fun for me but not for my sister. She performed this dance with a messed up knee.
Elainor: Thanks for the review!
*words*--- something being sung (Well, in this case, music that they're dancing to. I don't own any of the songs, as usual.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for a handful of made up characters. Tolkien thought up the concept and, as such, it belongs to him. I'm just playing in his world. I'm broke and in college. All I own are Pointe Shoes.
Emma met her mother in the dressing room.
"Very impressive, pixie," her mother stated, as she handed Emma the bag containing her jazz costume.
"Thanks mom. Did you really like it?" she questioned, pulling off her acro shoes and unzipping the bag containing the jazz costume.
The theme of the jazz dance, though like the acro the theme had nothing to do with the music, was a military-type dance. The costume reflected the theme. It consisted of a skin colored, short sleeved body suit over which tight fitting camouflaged pants and a small jacked that tied in the front. Her hair was pulled into a very long ponytail that started at high on her head.
"It was really wonderful. The audience is still buzzing about that and your acrobatics dance. Your brother's friend wasn't crazy with the way he was portrayed but he did say you did very well," Shannon replied.
As Emma pulled her body suit on under her "naked" shirt, a flesh colored, tight fitting tank top most dancers wore underneath their costumes. It was a useful item to wear, especially during very fast changes when there might be male stage hands standing in the wings, Shannon noticed something was amiss.
"Pixie, what happened to your shoulder?" she half questioned, half exclaimed.
Covering Emma's shoulder was a massive bruise. It was red of around the borders and faded into a vile purple color toward the center. It looked as painful as it felt.
"I got a bruise," Emma answered, wincing slightly as she pulled her body suit on, "a combination of Spiro's toss and that stupid fish flop from acro. It's fine. It doesn't hurt too much."
Shannon just shook her head and started tying Emma's hair into a ponytail.
"Can you, please, try to be careful out there during jazz?" Shannon beseeched her daughter, as she fixed Emma's make-up.
"I'm going to be very careful. I don't want to get really hurt before going home," Emma replied with an excited smile.
The prospect of going home, back to Middle Earth, was keeping her going and keeping a smile on her face.
"I know your excited about that, pixie, but don't let it make you be sloppy. I'm sure your brother wants to see you home in one piece," Shannon said, kissing Emma for luck and leaving the dressing room with a wave.
The elven child wandered around the backstage area, looking for somewhere to be before her dance started. She was supposed to be babysitting but Fran and Laura looked like that had that under control.
Spotting another camouflaged figure darting toward the wings, Emma took off at a run. It appeared that the jazz dance was going to start soon and it would be her head if she missed it.
"Is everyone here?" Spiro called, counting the heads of the dancers that surrounded him.
"I think they are," crowed Michelle, clad in an all too tight jazz costume, "We should take the stage."
Spiro took another head count, having the feeling that someone was missing.
"Where's Emma? Again, we lost that kid," he commented.
"Behind you," Emma stated.
She had gotten to the wings well before the rest of her class and had been standing there for quite sometime. It was just that they had overlooked her being there, which wasn't unusual. It was something she was not going to miss.
The Greek dance instructor ushered Emma into the crowd of dancers in front of him.
"The ballet was good girls. There were a few slip-ups but it was acceptably good," Spiro informed his class.
That was about as close to a compliment as one was going to get from Spiro. He never said you were "great" or "wonderful." There were just varying shades of "good" and "acceptable."
"You were good, too, Spiro," Kim pointed out, speaking on behalf of the rest of her class.
A slight pink tinge appeared on the cheeks of the ballet teacher.
"Credit given to my human cannonball," he said, referring to Emma, "Get hurt too badly?"
Emma shook her head, silvery-white ponytail whipping around her head and nearly hitting Andrea in the face.
"I'm fine. I didn't get hurt too badly at all," she lied.
She had never been keen on admitting to the other dancers that she was hurt in any way, shape, or form.
"Good," Spiro said, firmly, "Let's take the stage."
They took the stage in yet another blackout. It was a common enough method of starting a dance, especially for the older classes. There was just something impressive about dancers appearing on a darkened stage.
Emma scrambled to her number on the back row of numbers and waited for the music to begin.
The dance began with a military cadence, done in two groups. Each group moved up and down the stage with careful precision. Lines crossed and formations melded into one another, giving the dance an overall militaristic feel.
The first part of the dance ended with the entire class standing along the front line, doubled over with hands on knees.
The music changed from a militaristic sounding beat to more modern, pop music.
Because of his obsession, Spiro had chosen Michael Jackson's "Rock My World" as the first pop song.
"Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it," Emma thought as one song slid cleanly into the next.
She was the very last person to move in Spiro's infamous cannons and she had to keep careful count, lest she miss her cue.
*Oooh,
Oooh,
My life will never be the same
Cause girl you came and changed
The way I walk, the way I talk
Now I cannot explain
These things I feel for you
But girl you know it's true
So stay with me, fulfill my dreams
I'll be all you need
Ooh it feels so right
I've searched for the perfect love all my life
Ooh it feels like
I have finally found a perfect love this time
You rocked my world, you know you did
And everything I own I give
The rarest love, who'd think I'd find
Someone like you to call mine
You rocked my world, you know you did
And everything I own I give
The rarest love, who'd think I'd find
Someone like you to call mine*
The steps involved in the dance took them off the stage and back on again at two different times. There were several more grouped formations and cannons in this piece. It was Spiro's way of impressing the audience with his skill.
"Catch your breath, this next part is rough," Emma mused as she moved into her proper place in yet another formation.
This part of the dance was easy, compared to the several parts that were coming up. The rest of the dace was high energy, high impact, meant to shock the audience right out of their seats.
The final beats of "Rock My World" faded into the opening strains of Alien Ant Farm's remix of "Smooth Criminal."
*As he came into the window
Was a sound of a crescendo
He came into her apartment
He left the bloodstains on the carpet
She was sitting at the table
He could see she was unable
So she ran into the bedroom
She was struck down
It was her doom
Annie, are you OK
Are you OK
Are you OK, Annie
Annie, are you OK
You OK
Are you OK, Annie
Annie, are you OK
You OK
You OK, Annie
Annie, are you OK
You OK
Are you OK, Annie
Annie, are you OK
Will you tell us that you're OK
There's a sign at the window
That he struck you
A crescendo, Annie
He came into your apartment
He left the bloodstains on the carpet
Then you ran into the bedroom
You were struck down
It was your doom*
From the first jump out, the dance was nonstop motion. Every count, every beat, was filled in with something.
"Kick, fall to the floor, roll, that hurt," Emma remembered, the pain in her shoulder interrupting her train of thought.
A quick look around her indicated that she had not missed anything, not messed up on any step.
With a running split leap, taking her off the stage, the music began to change again.
The other jazz class, the Cathettes I consisting of Lauren, Melissa, Danielle, Kathy, Korina, and Erica with a special appearance by Andrea, was taking the stage.
Their short section allowed Emma and her class to catch their breath and prepare, mentally and physically, for the rest of the dance.
The Cathettes I walked out on stage as the music changed to Ricky Martin's "She Bangs."
*Talk to me
Tell me your name
You blow me off like it's all the same
You lit a fuse and now I'm ticking away
Like a bomb
Yeah, Baby
Talk to me
Tell me your sign
You're switching sides like a Gemini
You're playing games and now you're hittin' my heart
Like a drum
Yeah, Baby
Well if Lady Luck gets on my side
We're gonna rock this town alive
I'll let her rough me up
Till she knocks me out
She walks like she talks,
And she talks like she walks
And she bangs, she bangs
Oh baby
When she moves, she moves
I go crazy
'Cause she looks like a flower but she stings
like a bee
Like every girl in history
She bangs, she bangs*
Rosemarie ran off stage, nearly knocking Emma over as she did so.
"Ready, ladies?" Michelle called, in a sickly sweet voice.
Three big steps took Emma, who was being allowed to lead the dancers out, onto the stage as the music changed, yet again.
With an embarrassed grin on her face---she had always felt silly doing this part of the dance---Emma began to prowl out to "I'm a Slave For You."
*I Know I may be young but I've got feelings too
and I need to do what I feel like doing
so let me go and just listen
All you people look at me like I m a little girl
Well did you ever think it'd be ok for me to step into this world?
Always saying little girl don't step into the club
Well I'm just tryin' to find out why cause dancing is what i love, yeah
Get it, Get it, Get it Whoa
Get it, Get it, Get it Whoa
Get it, Get it, Get it Whoa
I know I may come off quiet
I may come off shy
But I feel like talkin, Feel like dancin' when I see this guy
What's practical, what's logical, what the hell who cares
All I know is I'm so happy when you're dancing there
I'm a slave for you
I can nearly hold it, I cannot control it
I'm a slave for you
I won't deny it I m not trying to hide it*
The dance was suppose to show the audience how mature the dancers in the class were, that they were capable handling more adult orientated dancing. Emma, however, felt incredibly silly and immature doing it. She liked jazz, sometimes more than she liked tap, but she felt very awkward doing it. It was too unlike ballet for her comfort.
The dance ended with her facing Melissa, on her knees hands on her head. The music changed on final time.
In an ironic twist of fate, the very last song of the show, the song being used for the finale was "Last Dance."
"This is my last dance here," Emma mused, as she allowed Melissa to pull her up off the floor as the music changed.
*Last dance
Last chance, for love
Yes, it's my last chance, for romance, tonight
I need you, by me,
Beside me, to guide me,
To hold me, to scold me,
'Cause when I'm bad
I'm so' so bad
So let's dance, the last dance
Let's dance, the last dance
Let's dance, this last dance tonight
Last dance, last chance for love
Yes it's my last chance
For romance tonight
Oh, I need you, by me,
Beside me, to guide,
To hold me, to scold me,
'Cause when I'm bad
I'm so, so bad
So let's dance, the last dance
Let's dance, the last dance
Let's dance, this last dance tonight
Yeah, will you be my Mr. Right?
Can you fill my appetite
I can't be sure that you're the one for me
But all that I ask is that you dance with me
Dance with me, Dance with me, yeah
Oh I need you, by me,
Beside me, to guide me,
to hold me, to scold me,
'Cause when I'm bad
I'm so, so bad
So let's dance, this last dance
Let's dance, this last dance
Let's dance' this last dance tonight
Oh I need you, by me,
Beside me, to guide me,
To hold me, to scold me,
'Cause when I'm bad
I'm so, so bad
So, come on baby, dance that dance
Come on baby, dance that dance
Come on baby, let's dance tonight*
People filed out of the theater, talking about another great show and how they couldn't wait until next year.
Another figure, ran out of the backstage area. This figure was excited that she wasn't going to be here next year.
Next year, she would be home where she belonged. There would be no more hiding that she really was. She was going to be home, among her own kind.
Emma ran into her mother's waiting arms, costume and trophy in hand.
"Are we going now?" she asked her mother.
"In a moment," Shannon said, handing Emma off to her brother.
"I did not know you could dance like that, little elf," Legolas commented, sounding slightly shocked.
He, like Aragorn and Arwen, were wide eyed and confused looking.
"Like how?" Emma asked, sounding confused as her brother looked.
"All of that shaking. I did not expect that from you," Legolas pointed out, referring to the jazz dance.
Dancing like that was not seen within the confines of Mirkwood.
Emma laughed, brightly, and looked to her father. He had yet to say anything about the show.
"You were beautiful, as usual," he, finally, said with an exasperated sigh.
"Are we ready to cross?" Aragorn asked, speaking for the first time.
"The gate awaits," Arwen added, pointing to a shining spot growing in a near-by tree.
Patrick, the portal opening wizard, had left a half opened portal for their use. It would seal shut once Emma and her friends and family had gone through.
Mitchell looked to Shannon who looked to Emma.
"We are," Emma said, a smile a mile wide on her face.
Carefully, ever so carefully, the group walked toward the tree and stepped though. With a final glance at the world, Emma stepped through going home. This time, she was going home to stay.
elrohir lover: THANKS!
lilja Ithilwen: Thanks for both the review and the compliment. I'm glad you like my story and there are a few surprises left in store.
elvenrocker: As always, thanks for the review. You shall soon see how things work out in Middle Earth. They're heading home soon.
PixiePea000: The one thing I don't miss about acro are those blasted fast changes. Well, the fast changes and certain people in the class. By the way, GOLLUM and watch out for Agent Elrond Smith!
Saralitazie: Thanks for the review and the compliment. I have my Gollum moments too. Actually, my mother and some other people I know call me Gollum for some odd reason.
orlandofan13: I use to do Tae Kwan Do in high school and it's kind of like dancing! My instructor use to call me the "dancer" or the "ballerina" whenever I had to spar him. I'm glad you like my story!
elentir girl: Thanks! I would have updated sooner but I had an adventure in Girl Scout politics. You'd think the parents would leave me alone---I'm in charge of the really little kids who don't sell cookies.
Lindiel Eryn: Thanks for the review, as usual. The jazz is truly the last dace for both Emma and the show in general. Thranduil has something up his sleeve but that's for later.
littlesaiyangirl: As always, THANKS! This acro dance was kind of fun when we did it. Well it was fun for me but not for my sister. She performed this dance with a messed up knee.
Elainor: Thanks for the review!
*words*--- something being sung (Well, in this case, music that they're dancing to. I don't own any of the songs, as usual.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for a handful of made up characters. Tolkien thought up the concept and, as such, it belongs to him. I'm just playing in his world. I'm broke and in college. All I own are Pointe Shoes.
Emma met her mother in the dressing room.
"Very impressive, pixie," her mother stated, as she handed Emma the bag containing her jazz costume.
"Thanks mom. Did you really like it?" she questioned, pulling off her acro shoes and unzipping the bag containing the jazz costume.
The theme of the jazz dance, though like the acro the theme had nothing to do with the music, was a military-type dance. The costume reflected the theme. It consisted of a skin colored, short sleeved body suit over which tight fitting camouflaged pants and a small jacked that tied in the front. Her hair was pulled into a very long ponytail that started at high on her head.
"It was really wonderful. The audience is still buzzing about that and your acrobatics dance. Your brother's friend wasn't crazy with the way he was portrayed but he did say you did very well," Shannon replied.
As Emma pulled her body suit on under her "naked" shirt, a flesh colored, tight fitting tank top most dancers wore underneath their costumes. It was a useful item to wear, especially during very fast changes when there might be male stage hands standing in the wings, Shannon noticed something was amiss.
"Pixie, what happened to your shoulder?" she half questioned, half exclaimed.
Covering Emma's shoulder was a massive bruise. It was red of around the borders and faded into a vile purple color toward the center. It looked as painful as it felt.
"I got a bruise," Emma answered, wincing slightly as she pulled her body suit on, "a combination of Spiro's toss and that stupid fish flop from acro. It's fine. It doesn't hurt too much."
Shannon just shook her head and started tying Emma's hair into a ponytail.
"Can you, please, try to be careful out there during jazz?" Shannon beseeched her daughter, as she fixed Emma's make-up.
"I'm going to be very careful. I don't want to get really hurt before going home," Emma replied with an excited smile.
The prospect of going home, back to Middle Earth, was keeping her going and keeping a smile on her face.
"I know your excited about that, pixie, but don't let it make you be sloppy. I'm sure your brother wants to see you home in one piece," Shannon said, kissing Emma for luck and leaving the dressing room with a wave.
The elven child wandered around the backstage area, looking for somewhere to be before her dance started. She was supposed to be babysitting but Fran and Laura looked like that had that under control.
Spotting another camouflaged figure darting toward the wings, Emma took off at a run. It appeared that the jazz dance was going to start soon and it would be her head if she missed it.
"Is everyone here?" Spiro called, counting the heads of the dancers that surrounded him.
"I think they are," crowed Michelle, clad in an all too tight jazz costume, "We should take the stage."
Spiro took another head count, having the feeling that someone was missing.
"Where's Emma? Again, we lost that kid," he commented.
"Behind you," Emma stated.
She had gotten to the wings well before the rest of her class and had been standing there for quite sometime. It was just that they had overlooked her being there, which wasn't unusual. It was something she was not going to miss.
The Greek dance instructor ushered Emma into the crowd of dancers in front of him.
"The ballet was good girls. There were a few slip-ups but it was acceptably good," Spiro informed his class.
That was about as close to a compliment as one was going to get from Spiro. He never said you were "great" or "wonderful." There were just varying shades of "good" and "acceptable."
"You were good, too, Spiro," Kim pointed out, speaking on behalf of the rest of her class.
A slight pink tinge appeared on the cheeks of the ballet teacher.
"Credit given to my human cannonball," he said, referring to Emma, "Get hurt too badly?"
Emma shook her head, silvery-white ponytail whipping around her head and nearly hitting Andrea in the face.
"I'm fine. I didn't get hurt too badly at all," she lied.
She had never been keen on admitting to the other dancers that she was hurt in any way, shape, or form.
"Good," Spiro said, firmly, "Let's take the stage."
They took the stage in yet another blackout. It was a common enough method of starting a dance, especially for the older classes. There was just something impressive about dancers appearing on a darkened stage.
Emma scrambled to her number on the back row of numbers and waited for the music to begin.
The dance began with a military cadence, done in two groups. Each group moved up and down the stage with careful precision. Lines crossed and formations melded into one another, giving the dance an overall militaristic feel.
The first part of the dance ended with the entire class standing along the front line, doubled over with hands on knees.
The music changed from a militaristic sounding beat to more modern, pop music.
Because of his obsession, Spiro had chosen Michael Jackson's "Rock My World" as the first pop song.
"Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it," Emma thought as one song slid cleanly into the next.
She was the very last person to move in Spiro's infamous cannons and she had to keep careful count, lest she miss her cue.
*Oooh,
Oooh,
My life will never be the same
Cause girl you came and changed
The way I walk, the way I talk
Now I cannot explain
These things I feel for you
But girl you know it's true
So stay with me, fulfill my dreams
I'll be all you need
Ooh it feels so right
I've searched for the perfect love all my life
Ooh it feels like
I have finally found a perfect love this time
You rocked my world, you know you did
And everything I own I give
The rarest love, who'd think I'd find
Someone like you to call mine
You rocked my world, you know you did
And everything I own I give
The rarest love, who'd think I'd find
Someone like you to call mine*
The steps involved in the dance took them off the stage and back on again at two different times. There were several more grouped formations and cannons in this piece. It was Spiro's way of impressing the audience with his skill.
"Catch your breath, this next part is rough," Emma mused as she moved into her proper place in yet another formation.
This part of the dance was easy, compared to the several parts that were coming up. The rest of the dace was high energy, high impact, meant to shock the audience right out of their seats.
The final beats of "Rock My World" faded into the opening strains of Alien Ant Farm's remix of "Smooth Criminal."
*As he came into the window
Was a sound of a crescendo
He came into her apartment
He left the bloodstains on the carpet
She was sitting at the table
He could see she was unable
So she ran into the bedroom
She was struck down
It was her doom
Annie, are you OK
Are you OK
Are you OK, Annie
Annie, are you OK
You OK
Are you OK, Annie
Annie, are you OK
You OK
You OK, Annie
Annie, are you OK
You OK
Are you OK, Annie
Annie, are you OK
Will you tell us that you're OK
There's a sign at the window
That he struck you
A crescendo, Annie
He came into your apartment
He left the bloodstains on the carpet
Then you ran into the bedroom
You were struck down
It was your doom*
From the first jump out, the dance was nonstop motion. Every count, every beat, was filled in with something.
"Kick, fall to the floor, roll, that hurt," Emma remembered, the pain in her shoulder interrupting her train of thought.
A quick look around her indicated that she had not missed anything, not messed up on any step.
With a running split leap, taking her off the stage, the music began to change again.
The other jazz class, the Cathettes I consisting of Lauren, Melissa, Danielle, Kathy, Korina, and Erica with a special appearance by Andrea, was taking the stage.
Their short section allowed Emma and her class to catch their breath and prepare, mentally and physically, for the rest of the dance.
The Cathettes I walked out on stage as the music changed to Ricky Martin's "She Bangs."
*Talk to me
Tell me your name
You blow me off like it's all the same
You lit a fuse and now I'm ticking away
Like a bomb
Yeah, Baby
Talk to me
Tell me your sign
You're switching sides like a Gemini
You're playing games and now you're hittin' my heart
Like a drum
Yeah, Baby
Well if Lady Luck gets on my side
We're gonna rock this town alive
I'll let her rough me up
Till she knocks me out
She walks like she talks,
And she talks like she walks
And she bangs, she bangs
Oh baby
When she moves, she moves
I go crazy
'Cause she looks like a flower but she stings
like a bee
Like every girl in history
She bangs, she bangs*
Rosemarie ran off stage, nearly knocking Emma over as she did so.
"Ready, ladies?" Michelle called, in a sickly sweet voice.
Three big steps took Emma, who was being allowed to lead the dancers out, onto the stage as the music changed, yet again.
With an embarrassed grin on her face---she had always felt silly doing this part of the dance---Emma began to prowl out to "I'm a Slave For You."
*I Know I may be young but I've got feelings too
and I need to do what I feel like doing
so let me go and just listen
All you people look at me like I m a little girl
Well did you ever think it'd be ok for me to step into this world?
Always saying little girl don't step into the club
Well I'm just tryin' to find out why cause dancing is what i love, yeah
Get it, Get it, Get it Whoa
Get it, Get it, Get it Whoa
Get it, Get it, Get it Whoa
I know I may come off quiet
I may come off shy
But I feel like talkin, Feel like dancin' when I see this guy
What's practical, what's logical, what the hell who cares
All I know is I'm so happy when you're dancing there
I'm a slave for you
I can nearly hold it, I cannot control it
I'm a slave for you
I won't deny it I m not trying to hide it*
The dance was suppose to show the audience how mature the dancers in the class were, that they were capable handling more adult orientated dancing. Emma, however, felt incredibly silly and immature doing it. She liked jazz, sometimes more than she liked tap, but she felt very awkward doing it. It was too unlike ballet for her comfort.
The dance ended with her facing Melissa, on her knees hands on her head. The music changed on final time.
In an ironic twist of fate, the very last song of the show, the song being used for the finale was "Last Dance."
"This is my last dance here," Emma mused, as she allowed Melissa to pull her up off the floor as the music changed.
*Last dance
Last chance, for love
Yes, it's my last chance, for romance, tonight
I need you, by me,
Beside me, to guide me,
To hold me, to scold me,
'Cause when I'm bad
I'm so' so bad
So let's dance, the last dance
Let's dance, the last dance
Let's dance, this last dance tonight
Last dance, last chance for love
Yes it's my last chance
For romance tonight
Oh, I need you, by me,
Beside me, to guide,
To hold me, to scold me,
'Cause when I'm bad
I'm so, so bad
So let's dance, the last dance
Let's dance, the last dance
Let's dance, this last dance tonight
Yeah, will you be my Mr. Right?
Can you fill my appetite
I can't be sure that you're the one for me
But all that I ask is that you dance with me
Dance with me, Dance with me, yeah
Oh I need you, by me,
Beside me, to guide me,
to hold me, to scold me,
'Cause when I'm bad
I'm so, so bad
So let's dance, this last dance
Let's dance, this last dance
Let's dance' this last dance tonight
Oh I need you, by me,
Beside me, to guide me,
To hold me, to scold me,
'Cause when I'm bad
I'm so, so bad
So, come on baby, dance that dance
Come on baby, dance that dance
Come on baby, let's dance tonight*
People filed out of the theater, talking about another great show and how they couldn't wait until next year.
Another figure, ran out of the backstage area. This figure was excited that she wasn't going to be here next year.
Next year, she would be home where she belonged. There would be no more hiding that she really was. She was going to be home, among her own kind.
Emma ran into her mother's waiting arms, costume and trophy in hand.
"Are we going now?" she asked her mother.
"In a moment," Shannon said, handing Emma off to her brother.
"I did not know you could dance like that, little elf," Legolas commented, sounding slightly shocked.
He, like Aragorn and Arwen, were wide eyed and confused looking.
"Like how?" Emma asked, sounding confused as her brother looked.
"All of that shaking. I did not expect that from you," Legolas pointed out, referring to the jazz dance.
Dancing like that was not seen within the confines of Mirkwood.
Emma laughed, brightly, and looked to her father. He had yet to say anything about the show.
"You were beautiful, as usual," he, finally, said with an exasperated sigh.
"Are we ready to cross?" Aragorn asked, speaking for the first time.
"The gate awaits," Arwen added, pointing to a shining spot growing in a near-by tree.
Patrick, the portal opening wizard, had left a half opened portal for their use. It would seal shut once Emma and her friends and family had gone through.
Mitchell looked to Shannon who looked to Emma.
"We are," Emma said, a smile a mile wide on her face.
Carefully, ever so carefully, the group walked toward the tree and stepped though. With a final glance at the world, Emma stepped through going home. This time, she was going home to stay.