Ashes (Dance Academy Fanfic)

Ashes

It was beautiful. This was my first thought as I stepped out of the cab and onto the street in my sturdy, brown, shoes which rubbed my feet a little too much to be deemed comfortable. What if my shoes were too shabby to enter this beautiful building! Stop it, Tara, I scold myself. I've got to calm my thoughts down, I think, otherwise my rambling speech will get me into trouble on the first day. This small town was a short way from the city that we rode through, and I was glad that the awful stench was gone. Coming from a farm, I was used to smells of all sorts, but the stench of dirty, unwashed bodies was a little too much to bear. My attention flittered from shoes and smells to the building before me. It was grand, something unlike all the other buildings on the street. It seemed like a building for dancing, for making stars. I wanted to walk through those doors as a new student, not a new scullery maid, but money was dwindling back home, and I had to leave my lovely little village school and come to work. I'm fortunate enough to be here though, at the brand new National Academy of Dance. Who would have thought it? A ballet school? Oh, my mind is dizzied by the pure wonder of the idea. Imagine, a whole career, flying to and fro countries like stepping over puddles. The lights of the stage, the pause of the audience as the dancer rises and sways with the music... I could just imagine me up there. Maybe it was here, in this wonderous place, that I could finally rise from the ashes. Maybe it was here that I could dance my dream. I jumped as my silly fantasies were intruded by a sharp voice.

"You there. Girl" I turn. A stern looking woman was approaching me. She was wearing a dress that trumped my own, with a thick protruding skirt, a velvet bodice. Her bonnet was black with silk ribbons attached. 

"Hello. Um, I'm Tara?"

"Who?" She eyes my appearance with visible distaste. 

"Come on, girl." She snaps. "No time for dilly dallying" 

"I'm Tara Webster" I say. "It’s my first day here? I'm the new maid" 

"Ah! Yes, the scullery maid" 

I wince at the word. My low position isn't one to be proud of, but for a girl my age I should be counting my blessings. At least I'm not working in the mills.

"Come with me" the woman storms off, leaving me to stumble after her. She wasn't exactly welcoming, and her cold approach had left me yearning for home. I can't be homesick now, I thought. I've only been gone less than a day. She walks around the side of the building and up the street to another, less grander building. Using a key from around her neck, she opens it with a loud creek. I follow her into the hallway, and am told to wait, and she disappears into another room. I drop my case, stretching my arm out to try and shake out the ache. I’m nervous now; I can feel the butterflies rising up in my stomach. There's a staircase in front of me, large and wooden. Students will be running up and down these stairs for the next year. Will I have friends here? I know that I am not the same as them, but I still hope for companionship. To think that I could have friends who are set to become the world’s best ballerinas excites me. I know we’re from different worlds, different classes, but I’m sure they can overlook it. We’re different to the adults in our lives, after all. I turn to hear two footsteps approaching me. The woman from before steps forward, introducing herself as Ms Raine. She's the principle of the Academy. The woman in charge. I courtesy to her, something my mother taught me to do before I left. The woman next to her looks drab in comparison, her plain blue dress and apron no comparison to the silk number Ms Raine was wearing. She shakes my hand, introducing herself as Ms Abney. She is the kitchen maid, and I will be assisting her. 

"You will be shown to your room now. Ms Abney will show you your duties, and you are to do as she says." 

"Thank you for this job, Ms Raine, I-"