[A/N] Chapters will be fairly short for now as I plan out the plot. Ideas or suggestions? I'd be more than happy to hear them. For now, enjoy this :)

Chapter 1: The Beautiful Dancer

"Look! It's the new girl!"

The newcomer in question stood nervously behind the curtains, at quite a distance from everyone else. Her long thick hair was pinned in a muted crimson bun, and her delicate profile would have made for a fine artist's painting. She anxiously wrung her small hands as her wide, searching blue eyes scanned the ballet studio.

"She looks like she's nice." The purple-haired ballerina observed.

"Just wait until she trips, falls, and has egg-shaped purple bruises on her face for months!" The blonde exclaimed. "Then she'll be really unhappy, and she'll be mean too."

"Lillie! Be nice!" Her friend whispered.

"Oh! Look! Rue's coming!" Lillie whispered back with joy. "I just know she'll put the new girl in her place!"

Indeed, a regal ballerina clad in a dark red leotard was stalking towards the newcomer. Every aspect of Rue was striking, from her curling dark hair to her sultry, long-lashed eyes. She didn't hesitate to approach with confidence.

"What are you doing here?" Rue demanded harshly.

"I…I…my name is Ahiru. My name is Ahiru? I mean, what's your name?"

"Listen, Ahiru. I am Rue, the star of this show. You are nothing. Do you hear me? Nothing. So don't even think of trying to take my place."

"But…but why would I want to do that?"

"That's what they all say. But you'd better not even dream of it. Got it?"

Ahiru nodded in confusion, blinking as if to see more clearly. "I…of course not, Miss Rue."

Rue glided away, an almost visible trail of menace surrounding her. Ahiru sighed, adjusting her bun daintily to pin away stray hairs at the nape of her neck.

"We've got to go befriend her!" Pique said to Lillie. "She won't have any friends!"

"But that'll make it even more fun to watch her suffer as she fails in life terribly!" Lillie returned. "Of course I won't be her friend!"

"If we're her friends, then that means we can be closer to her as the misfortunes happen and know what's happening and if it happens." Pique replied.

"Hm…point taken." Lillie said. "Of course, we'll have to scare her with stories about the Phantom!"

"Not until later…" Pique answered, biting her lip. "I don't know if she's ready for that yet."

The two girls hurried towards Ahiru, who turned her surprised blue gaze on them. "Hello? I'm not trying to take anyone's place. I'm really sorry if…wait, do you two think I want to take your place? I'm sorry if I…I mean, I don't want to confuse anybody, but I'm so confused…"

"It's all right." Pique smiled. "I promise. That was the prima ballerina of the entire company, and if you ask me she's a little egocentric. Don't mind her. Welcome to the Company!"

"Have you heard about the Phantom?" Lillie asked excitedly, despite repeated nudges from Pique and a stomp on her foot.

The newcomer looked both unsure and a little scared. "I've heard about him. But nobody actually sees him, right? We don't know if he actually exists."

"Raetsel says she saw him once." Lillie whispered confidentially into Ahiru's ear. "And we know he exists. He sends letters to Drosselmeyer, and the ballets are just how he wants them."

"He doesn't actually kill people, right?" Ahiru asked tremulously. "Because I want to stay here, and I…I really need the money."

"He doesn't." Pique assured her.

"Except for three years ago, he killed a stagehand, and a year back when there was a dancer who went missing because…" Lillie began.

"That's a story for another time." Pique interjected.

Pique paused, considering Ahiru questioningly although unsure whether to ask. "Ahiru, why do you need…"

"It's all right. After my mother died, my father and I would travel around, and he was a performing musician. Sometimes, he'd teach me how to dance while he played music. He told me we would enter together into this theater one day; he as a musician and I as a dancer. But he died…a week ago. " Ahiru's eyes suddenly glistened with tears. "And I came here, jobless and penniless. I had to make a living. The Company took me in, luckily enough, after I auditioned for a role in the corps de ballet."

"Hey. It's all right." Pique said concernedly, enveloping the distressed young dancer in a well-meaning hug while shooting looks at Lillie to be quiet. Luckily, Lillie was sensitive enough to refrain from a misplaced comment about how relatives tended to die at dates close to each other.

"You must be really good." Lillie said, for once abandoning her perky sarcasm. "The Company doesn't take just anybody."

Pique and Lillie quickly set about making the newcomer feel at home right after the company warm-up had ended. The three dancers took a tour around the ballet stage, as Pique and Lillie pointed out things to be avoided or taken into note.

"That is Rue's favorite spot to sit down. Don't ever go there." Pique cautioned, pointing at a decorative purple stool backstage.

"Remember, if you can see the audience, they can see you. You have to stand right behind the curtain when waiting to go onto the stage. Don't ever get curious and peek." Lillie advised.

"And also, these are the stairs to the dressing rooms. You have to walk very quietly, because if you're going fast in pointe shoes down the stairs it can make a racket." Pique informed Ahiru.

"Those are the pathways above the stage. The stagehands walk across to adjust lighting and such." Lillie gestured upwards, where Ahiru could make out at least two black landings across the stage.

Ahiru shivered slightly, long fingers wrapped around her upper arms, as a chill crept down her spine. She couldn't shake that foreboding feeling that had descended on her since she had first arrived at the Company…

"So where are you staying?" Lillie asked.

"Since all the dancers have their apartments and houses, and I don't have…well, anything in this city… they told me I could actually sleep in the theater itself. Just for a little while." Ahiru admitted. "It's kind of unnerving…sometimes the shadows get to me…but anyway, there's a room behind the stage where Drosselmeyer told me I could stay. It's fairly large, and there's even a couch to sleep on that's not too uncomfortable. Lots of people are always here during the day, but during the night, sometimes…"

Pique looked worried. "Lillie and I share an apartment. Do you want to stay with us?"

Ahiru quickly shook her head, thinking that she could never pay for it. She needed to be grateful for what she had already. "I have a key, and I lock my room each night, just in case. Don't worry about me. I'll be all right."

"Okay." Pique said, clearly unconvinced.

"I'll be all right." Ahiru repeated, not knowing that it was the biggest lie in the history of lies. "I promise."