I walked to the rehearsal room with Lily right at my side, our hands swaying so close together we might as well have been holding hands. I could feel her excitement, her sheer sun-shining joy. I was not so thrilled, dragging my feet with slow deliberation. My thoughts strayed to Nina, and my mood turned bitter and grey.
A crowd gathered within three minutes after I called for everyone to come forth, that I had an announcement.
Lily grabbed onto my arm and hung on tight like a child, pressing herself against me with warmth and trembling anticipation.
They all stared at the pair of us with wary curiousity, silent and mystified.
I cleared my throat and said again; "I have an announcement."
My eyes flicked from face to face, searching, with the last rays of hope that I had, that Nina would appear the instant before I made the announcement, but... My eyes strained to see the dancers in the back of the room, but I did not see her.
Perhaps, I thought, if I stall for a few minutes, she'll show up...
"Tell them," Lily whispered eagarly, tugging on my arm.
I blinked back into reality, looking sideways down at the girl clinging onto me. I stared at her quietly for a second before addressing the crowd.
"Nina has left the pageant. Lily, as her alternate, will take Nina's place as Swan Queen." My voice came out so bland, so automatic, I sounded almost inhuman.
No one seemed to notice, especially not above Lily's screams.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She cried, flinging her body against mine and constricting me in a hug. I patted her half-heartedly on back, but then she shoved away from me and ran to David, who caught her as she ran and spun her up into the air.
Laughing, clapping, cheering. All her friends and former enemies gathered around to congratulate Lily, as if she had accomplished something grand.
Why were they so much more excited to see Lily as the Swan Queen? I wondered spitefully. Surely they, too, could see Nina's grace and potiential? Yes, she was shy and soft-spoken, but weren't we all when we first started? Lily had been working at this for years, yet I had never seen someone stand out on their first dance like Nina had when she practiced for me.
"Why can't they see it?" I asked softly as I turned away from the cheers.
But now it's too late. No one will ever see.
I went to my office and shut the door behind me.
...
Days trickled away. I counted them down: Twelve days. Eleven days. Ten days. Nine.
I watched Lily and David perform their routine as Swan Queen and Prince without much enthusiasm.
Lily had her steps down perfectly, and she moved with the grace of a deer bouncing across a valley. Such laughter in her soul. All the Swans and other dancers moved around her, struggling to hide their grins. David and Lily swam like fish through the air together. Beautifully, flawlessly. Their eyes expressing their determination, their passion, their love.
Despite their perfection of the dance routine, my heart turned to stone against them. Nina would have been better, I scorned in my mind, though, I knew, deep down, that Lily was the propper choice.
...
A feather brushed against my nose, and I flinched.
Lily laughed, a sound like wind-chimes in the breeze.
She spun in a circle and waved her feathered arms out at her sides.
"How do I look?" She asked, rocking her hips in a sinful dance, battering her black-rimmed eyes.
The Black Swan stood before me, complete. I looked her up and down before pushing myself to my feet. She bounced up and down on her toes, her eyes squinting with her expectant smile.
"Splendid," I answered.
She ducked her head as if embarressed, and curtsied, fanning out her glistening black feathers.
"Why, thank you," she giggled.
I sat back down and turned my head away from her, disgusted by her falseness.
She didn't notice, for an instant later, David snuck up behind her and tickled her sides.
"There you are!" He said loudly.
She screamed and he grabbed her around the waist. She kicked and swung her arms playfully, laughing and squeeling, while he carried her to middle of the room.
He set her on her feet and caught her by the arms. They spun around in a giggling circle until the pianist came and began to play, then David and Lily slipped easily into their dance.
I stared at them for nearly an hour before I left without a word.