Dancing on Strings

Principal Roles

"Thank you, ladies and gentleman, that is the class," Madame called the next morning.

When the bows and curtsies were done with and everyone was gathering their things up, the director walked in and there was another round of bows and curtsies.

"Alright," Mr. Roux said, opening his notebook. "Good morning ladies and gentlemen. If I could have your attention for just a moment before you move to lunch. We have decided on the roles for the leads of The Doll Maker, new schedules will be put up after your lunch hour, be sure to see them. Now, listen carefully for your names. For the role of Dimenco: Lawrence, Benjamin, Alec and Jean-Claude."

The four who were called instantly huddled together, grinning like idiots, whispering to each other about the role of the villain.

"For the role of The Doll Queen. Susanna, Coretta, Nycole and Amelia."

Mai smiled at Susanna as she bounced in excitement. The Doll Queen was usually reserved solely for the most experienced dancers who needed to present an air of elegance, grace and world experience. Not just anyone could dance her. It was huge step in her dancing career.

"For the role of Vayle, The Doll Maker. Adrien, Leon, Daniel and Eliot."

Leon gripped Mai's wrist and gave her a reassuring squeeze, making her look up at him. He smiled at her. She mouthed congratulations though he had played the role several times over the years and everyone knew he'd get the role this year since Antonio had retired as a dancer and moved on to be a principal character actor.

"Here it comes," Leon whispered.

"Hmm," was Mai's reply as she looked at her nails.

"For the role of Indigo," Mr. Roux said, raising his voice to shush the groups that had their leading roles. "Marie-Anne, Natalia, Zedina, Marie-Cher and – provisionally – Princess Mai."

Mai looked up from her nails. "Eh?"

"Your Highness," Madame hissed, "That's no language for a lady."

"I was summoned to the palace this morning," Mr. Roux said, gently setting the silken bookmark in place and closing his notebook, "Called to His Majesty's private court where he asked me to make my case to have you as a lead. He wanted to know if I believed you good enough to carry the show and if my company and I would be willing to continue to hide your – and Prince Zet's – identities during our busiest time of year."

Mai stared at him and he turned his deep blue eyes on her.

"I told His Highness I thought it a crying shame to not let you live up to your full potential as a dancer and we could, without doubt, continue to shield you. I pressed the matter that you, when allowed, exhibit such a level of talent it's almost as if you were blessed and, if you weren't given the chance to try one of the company's hardest roles, you'll never struggle and never truly feel like you've danced. That seemed to convince His Majesty that you should be allowed to at least practice the role. Whether you do end up on stage for at least one of the performances remains to be seen. Make no mistake however; you shall be practising with principals, who have danced this role many times, if you cannot keep up with them, if I feel I gave your talent too much credit, I won't think twice about taking the role from you. You are a principal in name alone so far, I need you to prove you really deserve it."

Silence followed the speech and everyone looked at Mai.

After a moment, she smiled at the director.

"You needn't worry, Sir," she said, "I'm more than ready to take this role."

"Good," he said, turning to the doors. "Then you'll be happy to know you'll be learning the roles of The Swan Princess and The Sleeping Beauty. Let's see how you match up to our principals, Your Highness."