Chapter 19: Madam Gorski

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Madam Gorski stood alone in the center of the dance studio, her eyes closed. On most days, there was hardly a time that the studio was empty, with girls coming and going in between their different cleaning duties. But there was a performance tonight, a rather large one; Blue's attempt to recover from the embarrassment of the previous one.

Tears stung Madam Gorski's eyes as she thought back to that day. She had seen Blue lash out before, his temper breaking through his usually smooth character. But to murder two of the girls, some of the Institute's finest dancer's... Of course, other girls had attempted escape before, and some had been killed in the process. But those deaths had been an accident…or so she had been told.

Madam Gorski was no stranger to such malice, she had seen her fair share of such in Europe. But she empathized for these girls, knowing full well what would happen to them if they did not deliver what Blue wanted in every performance. Although she did not see it with her own eyes, she knew the Institute and its ways too well to think anything different.

Now, Madam Gorski opened her eyes, attempting to shake these thoughts from her mind. She couldn't afford to think like this, if not for her own good then for that of the girls at the brothel. But still her mind drifted to the two who escaped, SweetPea and Babydoll. SweetPea had always been among the best dancers, yet always protectively hovering over her younger sister. And Babydoll...she was the one who had made the escape plan, the key behind it all. Her dancing skills had caught the early attention of both her and Blue, but for different reasons.

Madame Gorski saw the pain behind the exterior, and she believed that it was because of that pain that the girl was such a good dancer. As the Institute's dance choreographer, Madame Gorski had found that letting the girls act out scenes from their scarring past as treatment, incorporating their pain through their dance. Although she knew what she was teaching the girls to do, and the internal pain that it would bring upon them; allowing them dance as some means of escape was the most she could do for the girls, although most of them never realized. When Babydoll danced, she saw the emotion with which she moved, the underlying fear and anger and pain.

What Blue saw even she did not know. At first Madame Gorski had assumed Blue had been simply infatuated with the girl's grace and seeming innocence. But how he had acted after her escape, his desperation and burning desire to recover her... Madame Gorski feared for the girl, knowing that even in her freedom she could never be truly safe.

Madame Gorski looked again around the bright, empty studio. She shouldn't be here; she should be helping the girls with their performance, getting them in line for each dance scene and costume change. Blue will suspect something if I'm gone, she thought, motivating herself into walking. She just needed to grab something from her office first. She was halfway across the floor when she heard a familiar voice, calling her name.

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"Madam Gorski," I began, walking hesitantly across the room. I watched her eyes widen in shock, before she hurried over to me fearfully.

"Baby, what are you doing here, you shouldn't be here you should be-"

"We came back." It was SweetPea who spoke, rounding the corner and walking into the green dance studio. "We came back when we found out Rocket was alive, to rescue her."

I could see the understanding register on the woman's face, only to return to a look of confusion. "Where is she then?"

I saw SweetPea stop, biting her lip to keep herself from crying. "She…she didn't make it out."

"Blue shot her in his office," I explained sadly.

"Blue knows you're here? You can't stay here! You shouldn't have come to see me, you must leave now while you still can," Madam Gorski spoke quickly, urging us to the door.

"We can't leave, we can't let Blue put anyone else through what we were put through." SweetPea demanded.

"You're going to…kill him?" Madam Gorski breathed.

"Not even he deserves that," I said quietly, so much so that I saw Madam Gorski strain to hear me. "We are going to turn him into the police, and expose Blue for the murderer he is."

Madam Gorski stared back at me, a look of grief and pain clear on her face. "I admire your tenacity and bravery, but you cannot do anything," she began tiredly. "Even if you do expose Blue, nothing will change. The only thing that will change is that The Lennox house will come under new management, and events such as this one will simply continue to occur again and again under the next manager. Nothing will change by getting rid of Blue, such is the fate of this cruel place."

"You're wrong. There has to be something we can do!" SweetPea demanded, desperation leaking into her voice.

"I will never lie to you," Madam Gorski said sharply, her eyes shining.

"But there has to be some way that we can prove what is really going on here. The police would not let this place continue in operation if they knew."

"That you are right about, but you could never prove it to the police. This is a mental facility, all visits, even police inspections, are scheduled. So long as Blue knows when and where the police will be here, then they will see nothing but a normal mental institution."

"Then we'll have to show them," I said simply, crossing my arms as I did so. I turned towards Madam Gorski. "When is the next scheduled performance?"

"Tonight. It'll be the first one we had since…the last time you were here," Madam Gorski said.

"Perfect. Here's what we'll need to do."

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"So, how'd it go?" Tyler asked when SweetPea found him where we left him, in an abandoned storage closet doubling as our temporary base. "And where's Baby?"

SweetPea slumped down gloomily on the floor. "We have a plan. And she's working on her part."

"Then why do you look so upset about it?" Tyler asked, sliding down beside her.

"Because it's a damn good plan," she grumbled, blowing a piece of hair that had fallen into her face.

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A/N: Well there's the chapter. It may not seem like it, but I had to do a lot of research to make sure I really captured Madam Gorski and her feelings and relationships in a way that did her justice. Please review or I will not post the next chapter, that I swear. But I want you to know that I appreciate all reviews (even flames) more than anything, and that is why I threaten not to update. Thanks again to all the readers!