Chapter 7

"You did great!" Kalani exclaimed, hugging Siri as they rushed offstage. They had a ten minute intermission, and their final dance was closer to the end of the show.

"Thank you," Siri smiled back, hugging Kalani back as they hurried to the main backstage area where the makeup stations and warm up area was. There were a few tables for dancers to sit at, but most of them were so excited, they spent their free time stretching or going through dance steps again to be sure they had it.

"I am so excited about our big dance number, though nervous, are you?" Kalani asked, speaking slightly faster than normal. She kept rolling her shoulders, as if she was unable to loosen them enough.

"I think I am ready. Once we get the costumes on that is," Siri answered. She couldn't shake a strange feeling. During their last dance sequence, she was certain she was being watched. Not in the sense that she was being watched by the audience. It was as if someone in the audience was looking at her specifically.

"Well, let's go then. We also have to reapply the make up, you especially," Kalani smirked as she led Siri to the dressing area.

The girls quickly changed and slipped on their other toe shoes. Kalani's matched the bright red color of her outfit, while Siri's were pure white. With some help from Kalani, Siri's make up was reapplied and a few more pins added to be sure that her hair would stay in the bun it was in. Once Siri was done, she stretched while Kalani did her own make up and hair. The room was now less crowded since Act II had begun.

While she did not want to admit it, Siri was nervous. This was the hardest dance that she had learned so far. It was the reason that her lessons had taken hours, and why her feet had hurt everyday. However, each time she had gotten another measure of dance right, this was the dance that made her feel the most pleased about her accomplishments.

"You girls ready?"

Siri looked up, hearing a male voice. It was her partner, Tarin and Kalani's partner, Davin. They were dressed in their costumes and Siri had to stop herself from laughing. While she did not like to wear tights, at least she thought she looked decent in them. It was too strange to see boys wearing them.

However, the boys did not seem to have a problem with it, and Siri assumed that it was because they had been brought up dancing. While she had considered ballet to be for girls, after seeing the lifts and other moves the boys had to perform, Siri had a great appreciation for them. They had to work hard as well, and it clearly showed.

"As ready as we will ever be," Kalani spoke up from where she was finishing her hair, tying it with a red ribbon.

Davin was watching Kalani intently. It was common knowledge that Gavin liked Kalani, a lot. However, neither he nor Kalani had acted on this, yet. Siri was fairly sure that it would only be a matter of time before they started to date.

"Do you want to practice any lifts?" Tarin offered.

Siri thought this over, and then shook her head. "No, thank you." Tarin was a very nice boy, and she was grateful that she did not have to worry about him having a crush on her, like some of the other dancers first thought. He knew about the Jedi Code. Not only that, but he was dating a girl from his school, who was not involved in dance.

Before they knew it, the four of them were waiting in the wings for their cue. Kalani took Siri's hand and gave it a squeeze before letting her hand drop. The music and lighting changed and on the correct note, Kalani danced onto stage.

Obi-Wan had been in shock about Siri. He knew it was her, though at the moment, it did not look like her. He thought she would rather die than be seen wearing those outfits. However, here she was, dancing for some of the Coruscant's finest citizens in those outfits.

Even though he was searching for her, he was able to understand the story as it progressed. After a battle, the officer had returned home, only to feel torn in his feelings. He loved the princess, but he was determined to get revenge on those who caused the war in the first place. The officer was on stage, as was the princess, and he was staying away from her as he wrestled with his emotions.

A girl entered from one side of the stage. Her dark hair was pulled back into a bun with a bright red ribbon to keep it in place. Her leotard was the same color red, as was the tutu she wore with it. Instead of carrying a look of classical elegance like most of the ballet dancers, she looked, with her dark eye shadow and lipstick that matched her clothes, tempting and somewhat dangerous. She danced around the officer and started to lead him toward the other exit that led backstage. This girl represented revenge and she seemed to have almost won until another figure stepped on stage.

When Obi-Wan saw her, his mouth dropped open. While also a girl, she looked very different from the other. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a bun and silver make up made her blue eyes stand out more. Her other make up gave her a soft appearance. Under the stage light, the snow white leotard and tutu, along with the matching toe shoes, she almost seemed capable of making a being go blind. The light on her also seemed softer, and Obi-Wan was certain at that moment that Siri Tachi looked just like an angel.

The Padawan danced onto the stage and was able to lead the officer a few steps closer to his love. Of course, Revenge would not allow that, and the two emotions, Revenge and Love started to dance with one another, each trying to compete with the other. Revenge's moves were a bit more sudden, while Love's movements seemed to flow one into another

From the two side entrances, the two boys entered. This was the part that the girls had practiced for many hours. The boys began this part by lifting their partner and each person in the dance had to know what the others were doing. Both couples were doing the same moves at the same time, the dance flowing, and Siri found herself doing the movements without counting each beat in her mind.

The hardest part came near the end of this section of the dance. Siri readied herself for it, trusting the boys as they tossed both Kalani and Siri to each other. Hearing the crowds surprised reactions, without looking at Kalani, Siri knew it had went well.

The dance continued for another moment and at one point Kalani started to dance with both Tarin and Davin. At this, Siri slipped to where the princess seemed to be trying to get through to the officer, whose eyes were fixed on Revenge. Dancing around them, and then between them, Siri, the emotion Love, took the hand of the officer and with a few measures of dancing with him, she took his hand, and then took the princess'. She put their hands together and slowly glided away.

Seeing she was defeated, Revenge, along with the two boys excited the stage, leaving only Siri, the officer and the princess.

While the couple danced their way to center stage, Siri had a short dance to perform, her only solo dance in the entire show. She calmed down the nervous feeling she felt and listened to the music, letting it lead her through the steps. She heard the music so often, she knew that with concentration, the steps she learned would come to her as she did them.

The spotlight was on her as she moved to center stage where the couple were still holding hands and were staring at each other intently. With a few more turns around them, Siri glided off the stage as the couple finally kissed.

The couple hurried off and soon the tone had changed to a happy one as dancers came on stage for the final dance. This was the wedding scene, where the officer and princess finally are married, and most of the dancers were in this, either as other people, or objects from nature, such as a flower or wind.

The lights went out as the couple kissed for the first time as husband and wife.

The audience erupted in applause and backstage, Siri and Kalani were unable to stop grinning. Their piece had gone perfectly. All the dancers had hurried off stage only to reenter for the curtail call. Each group had their turn to walk to center stage and bow before going to either side of the stage.

Kalani and Siri were almost last, being followed only by the two main lead characters, the princess and the officer.

As they came to center stage, Siri could see why dancers loved this. The applause made all of her hard work worth it. She could hear the applause seem to get just slightly louder for them and smiled even more. She could still sense someone watching her, but with the lights on, she couldn't even begin to tell where it was coming from in the large theater.

Everyone took one last bow and left the stage while the applause continued to follow them all the way backstage.

AN: Please read and review. There more to this story that is soon to come.