The King’s Ballet

DECLAN

I was more than qualified to judge ballet in the eyes of everyone except myself. That was my problem.

I had been briefed extensively, educated relentlessly, and groomed since childhood to preside over traditions I never asked for. None of that made me want to be here. The small studio was overheated and far too crowded, thick with expectation.

Ballet was Lucerias’s most sacred indulgence. My people treated it as a lifeline, something essential to the nation’s identity. When I suggested its abolition after my coronation, they answered with riots in the streets and pleas disguised as patriotism. Supposedly, I could do anything I wanted but not that.

Lucerias was built on inequality. Oppression here was not an anomaly but an inheritance, passed down through bloodlines and enforced by the crown itself. Every citizen had felt it in some form, all of it authored by the people I was born to call family. They were dead or gone now but the consequences remained.

The King’s Ballet had existed as long as Lucerias had. Each reigning king selected twelve ballerinas, chosen less for their art than for their obedience. They were meant to be admired, displayed and when the king desired; used. Concubines in everything but name, bound by tradition and servitude.

Still, the people demanded the performance of continuity and I would give them only what was required. I was not selecting a new company. I was adding a single dancer. One. Bringing their sacred twelve to thirteen.

I couldn’t understand why Lucerians didn’t want to move away from that.

Elena Minsky was the ill-tempered old lady in charge of everything ballet. I didn’t have much experience with her but I definitely knew of her. Her reputation preceded her. She made it known that she didn’t want new ballerinas, she was content with the twelve she had been teaching for years now.

I was in Lumereach, one of my country’s biggest allies, for my coronation tour. Mistwood Peaks was a small province closer to the Lucerian border than their Capital City. Aric was their King and my friend of several years so when I told him that my aides were adding these ballet companies to my stops along the way, he had several recommendations.

Him and his wife, Aimeelia liked this town because of how small and quiet it was; it had a certain charm you didn’t find easily in Lucerias. There wasn’t much here, just a few restaurants, a bar, grocery store and this ballet company. But it was clean and oddly private.

I had made a promise to add at least one ballerina, any more than that and I would be dedicating too much time to something I had assigned to the bottom of my list of priorities. I also didn’t want to have to go to more than one studio so it looked like Lucerias was going to have to settle because none of these dancers were anything short of boring. If they were nervous, it wasn’t because I was unkind. I had mastered the art of appearing pleasant, even when my face suggested indifference.

Elena threw her clipboard in my face, showing me the list of ballet studios she had made that she promised were better than this one. I wanted nothing to do with that, we would settle for someone here or we wouldn’t add one at all. I couldn’t tell her that though because that’s exactly what she wanted.

There was no way I could put my name on anyone in this room though. I would be laughed out of my own country.

“It’s embarrassing that we’re even entertaining this,” she said quietly but her anger still shone through. “No one here would fit in with what is already established.”

I didn’t have time to respond to her before the door I was standing next to swung open, stopping only after it had thoroughly crashed into my body.

I looked around the corner to see who had the strength to open a door like that and the girl on the other side looked at me like I was the one who was in the wrong for merely standing here.

Realization hit her pretty quickly and she clasped her hands over her mouth, “Oh my God,” she put one leg behind the other and did a sloppy little curtsy, making it obvious that she had never done one before. “I’m so sorry.” She waited all of two seconds for me to respond before she walked to the other end of the room, trying to compose herself as she set her bag down and joined the rest of the group.

We had been here for awhile before she showed up but the dance instructor never pointed her absence out to her, simply gave her a look and carried on with the class.

She must have been late a lot if she was able to slide under their radars so easily. Elena wouldn’t tolerate that.

I watched for a couple more minutes, not really sure of what I was looking for but the fact that the mousy blonde ballerina never got called out for making a mistake felt good enough for me.

I looked down the line of my entourage for Zara, the advisor I had gone to for almost everything. I didn’t even have to say anything, she just came over.

“The one in green,” I said quietly but it didn’t go unnoticed by Elena.

“Your Majesty,” she groveled, “you cannot be serious.”

I was serious. When I said this was going to be the only studio I visited, I meant it.

She was good enough.

If her skill couldn’t carry her through the trenches of the ballet, at least she had her beauty to fall back on and that was the only thing Lucerias used to determine a woman’s worth.

STARLIE

I can’t believe I did that. I mean really, what were the odds that I would throw open a door and the new King of Lucerias would be on the other side, serving as the door stop?

No one knew he was coming and why would he come here anyways? The King of Lucerias’ Ballet was well known across the world. If you were a ballerina, it was almost guaranteed that your ultimate goal was to one day be noticed by him.

I had always wanted to be a part of it but I was also realistic. There wasn't even a fighting chance when his ballet only had twelve dancers. Even if there was double that, there still wouldn’t have been a chance. They were elite and the spots were very rare.

Now that he was actually here though, I would be putting my best foot forward even though I had probably already squandered any chance that I had when I opened the door on him.

Our teacher broke us off into groups of four so we could do a Pas de Quatre and when I told you that I crushed it, I wasn’t talking about the King’s body against the heavy door.

He probably wouldn’t be picking anyone from here. Lumereach was the home of the human, except for our King. Lucerias housed nytheri and every dancer in the King’s Ballet was exactly that.

Nytheri were said to be descended from something old and damned, though no one could ever agree on what. Shadows bent to them. Dreams weren’t always safe in their presence. They didn’t need blood or bargains to get what they wanted, only their will. When a Nytheri spoke, the darkness listened.

They weren’t currently very threatening though because as of right now, it was international law that any and all magic was banned.

All otherworldlies were bound by the Concord Council and nothing was feared like them.

But I didn’t know much about that since it didn’t apply to me.

I watched as the King said something to one of his advisors, and a mini tussle broke out between him and Elena Minsky, the instructor who had been with the ballet longer than I had been alive. She seemed like an absolute ray of sunshine and I told myself that if I wasn’t picked and I’m sure I wouldn’t be, at least I wouldn’t have to deal with her. If she’d argue with her King could you imagine what she would do to me?

I wished I could hear them but they weren’t talking much louder than a whisper and the music speaker blared over them as another quartet took their turn.

The King eventually left with one of his guards but the rest of the group he had been with stayed for the remainder of class. Miss Minsky and the advisor went to talk to my instructor as the rest of us either left or lingered.

I was a lingerer. If someone had been picked from this company, I wanted to know who it was so I could kill them and then commit identity theft. I would then take their spot.

It was surprising that Mistwood Peaks even had a ballet company given how small our area was. We only performed for people in this town and it wasn’t anyone’s sole source of income. The only people who actually got paid to be here were the instructors and even they had to have second jobs to support themselves.

I took my time with putting my ankle boots back on, watching Miss Minsky closely like I was actually capable of reading lips.

“They keep looking at me,” Leigh said to me. She was a nice girl but my God was she annoying. I went out of my way to avoid her or else she would talk my ear off.

They weren’t looking at her though, I was certain they kept looking over at me. My suspicions had been further proven as Miss Minsky walked over, stopping only when she was hovering over me.

“Stand up,” she said bitterly but I wasn’t going to let her tone derail me for even a second. I all but jumped to my feet, a smile that she couldn’t seem to stand, beaming across my face. “The King would like to extend an invitation for you to join his ballet.”

My heart was beating out of my chest and I feared I may pass out from an adrenaline overdose but I nodded fervently anyway.

“Congratulations,” she said spitefully and I couldn’t have cared less.

I had left an impact on the King.

It was probably the door.

DECLAN

“This place is…” Braylon, one of my guards looked around the dingy hole in the wall bar in disgust.

“Maybe that’s a good thing,” Aric walked past the lot of us, leading us to the most out of place emerald green sofa. There were three other chairs around the table, one was a lawn chair, the other a foldable metal chair and the last a tan leather armchair that had seen better days.

“Bizarre,” I added and sat next to Aric on the sofa. I reached for the tattered pamphlet-like menu, the stickiness alarming but in no way shocking. “You come here? For fun?” There was no way I could see my good friend leaving the capital of his country to come to this establishment for enjoyment. “Aimee lets you?”

“Aimee likes the girls' outfits,” he said with a shrug.

“Outfits?”

I think that was when we all looked up to see what he was talking about.

Very fitting, given the name of the place.

There weren’t many other patrons in here especially for a Saturday night so the waitresses really stood out.

They all had on low cut yellow striped tank tops with lacy black bras showing. Their shorts were so short they looked more like briefs and they all wore some variant of knee high stockings with heels. Couldn’t exclude the cheaply made fabric wings either.

Why were we here?

“Hey guys, how are we all doing—”

I looked up from my syrupy menu to see a very familiar little bee. She looked just as taken aback as me as she tried to stumble her way through the rest of her introduction.

“Can we get a couple rounds of shots?” Aric asked politely.

She nodded and asked if we needed anything else but he told her we were still thinking.

Bar food did not sound appealing right now.

Aric waited for her to walk away completely before saying anything, “She seems nervous.”

Ben looked over his shoulder at the bar area where she had disappeared to, “is that the ballerina from earlier? The one that tried to break your skull with the door,” he laughed.

I nodded.

“Ballerina? Ohh, for the ballet you got crucified for trying to get rid of?”

I laughed at his choice of words though it wasn’t actually funny because it was true. I wanted to do away with it, it didn’t benefit anyone and it was just a reminder of the old country rules and regulations I wanted to get rid of so badly. “That’s the one.”

“Is she being awkward because she didn’t make the cut?”

“She did.”

“Hey boys…Your Majesties,” a new waitress came up with a tray of several shot glasses. She looked exactly how I pictured the people who lived in this podunky town. Sticky. “I’m Maggie, I’m going to be your serBEE tonight,” she roughly put two shot glasses in front of each of us, spilling a lot of the alcohol in the process.

“What happened to the other girl?” Aric asked.

“Oh, Starlie? She saw two Kings at her table and chickened out. She's having a mental moment in the break room right now I’m sure,” she rolled her eyes and tucked the empty tray under her arm. “Well if you need anything, just give me a holler,” she winked and turned to walk away.

“Can you send her back?” I asked.

“Well, I took over for her because she couldn’t handle the stress of dealing with royals or whatever. She has other tables too, she’s busy.”

“We’ll pay to have this place to ourselves,” Aric stepped in.

She looked like she wanted to say something snarky when an older gentleman came up behind her, the mention of money his war signal. “Mags, go see what the bar staff need, ” He grabbed both of her arms and pushed her towards the bar. “Your Majesties,” he did the most awkward bow but I didn’t take offense, he didn’t look to be in the right shape to be bending over like that anyway. “Welcome, welcome. Can I get you anything?”

“We just wanted to congratulate our waitress on becoming part of The King’s Ballet,” Aric spoke before I could say anything.

“Maggie?” He sounded shocked. “I didn’t know she danced.”

“No, the other one. Starlie,” I clarified.

“Starlie got picked for the ballet?” He somehow sounded even more in disbelief. Probably couldn’t believe he was about to lose his money maker. She was the only normal looking person here. “Well,” his sleaze came out as he put a hand on our table and leaned into it, “Starlie’s on the clock tonight, can’t really afford to have her mingle-“

“Are you trying to extort the Lucerian King?” Pieves, the head of my guard chimed in but didn’t give the guy a second to answer, “Send the girl over and don’t bother her for as long as we’re here.”

He left us without saying anything else.

STARLIE

“They want you to sit with them,” Hugo, the bar’s owner, told me as I filled water cups in the back. As soon as I left their table the first time, Maggie had swooped in. She hated to see a high paying table go, but if you got a high paying table with attractive men it was absolutely game over. I didn’t stand a chance. “When were you going to tell me that you’re quitting?” Now he sounded nasty, like me being selected for such an elite honor was truly my fault. “I can’t afford to lose you. You’re the reason half of these people come in.”

“Why don’t you bring it up with the man who did that to you?” I grabbed a bottle of rum from the bar and waterfalled as much as would fit in my mouth before walking over to the table of laughing men.

“Welcome back,” Aric, the King of Lumereach patted the cushion of the faded green sofa and scooted further into the corner to allow me room.

I walked around the table so I would have to squeeze past the King of Lucerias to sit in between them.

He was striking in a way that didn’t invite closeness. Dark hair falling just messy enough to look intentional, eyes too sharp to ever be mistaken for kind. He wore power easily, like it belonged to him even when he wasn’t trying.

“Congratulations on your recent promotion,” Aric pipped while sliding me one of the two shots in front of him. There weren’t many types of alcohol I wouldn’t drink but straight tequila was definitely one of them. How do you turn down the king of your country though?

You don’t.

“I can’t be the only one drinking,” I looked around at them, catching Declan mid swallow of his second shot. The alcohol was starting to make me feel all warm inside and I knew it was about to get me in trouble somehow. I was obnoxious when intoxicated.

“Where’s the Queen?” I asked Aric. They hadn’t been here many times, at least not while I was working but it was always a fun night when they did. The Queen was always the life of the party. She would get absolutely shit faced and dance with other patrons or on top of the bar. Sometimes she wanted to be behind the bar making drinks but that never turned out good. Aric would get drunk too but he was always the one that would have to drag her out of here kicking and screaming.

I’m sure their PR person loved them.

“She’s visiting her family,” he said and that’s when the realization hit that I was talking very casually to the King of Lumereach while his best friend, the King of Lucerias sat next to me. “You were scared to wait on us?”

“What?” I questioned with a laugh, “Did Maggie say that?”

Declan leaned in so that he could be heard more clearly over the blaring music, “She said you were having a breakdown in the back room.”

Of course she did. She would do anything to steal a table from you, “Well, yeah you are intimidating,” I said, the alcohol now giving me the courage to say whatever I was thinking. It’s not like the Lucerian monarchs had excellent reputations. The previous King, Declan’s dad, was one rung on the ladder short of being a tyrant, some even said he was one. Declan was generally well received while he was the Prince but it seemed like Lucerians were wary of him becoming King. But it wasn’t my country and therefore not my problem so I could just appreciate the eye candy for what it was. “I wasn’t having a mental breakdown though. I’m professional,” I slurred the word while taking his remaining shot and downing it.

Maggie came around again to flirt but I was quick to send her away. I wanted a double mai tai and maybe a cosmo so I ordered it anyway and would gauge how I was feeling later.

“How’s your shoulder?” Now I leaned in close, testing how far I could go without his guards saying something. None of them looked interested as they started a conversation with Aric.

He smiled a little and I thanked god for that. As long as he didn’t hold grudges, I think I would be alright. “Bruised.”

My instincts told me to call him a wimp but luckily, even in my tipsy state of mind, I refrained from doing so. That would have ended my career before it even started.

I found myself wanting to keep the conversation with him going and he didn’t seem interested in whatever the hell Aric was going on about.

Politics.

“What made you visit the Mistwood studio?”

He shrugged, “I just go where they tell me to and we were already here.”

“Where’s the next one?”

“There isn’t one.”

“Oh. So you settled?” I suddenly didn’t feel very special about being chosen.

“I don’t think I did.”