Porcelain

30

"If I were venting, Erik; I would be muttering and cursing while hitting this viciously against the stage."

"Well you are doing one of the things you have listed. You do have a habit of sometimes talking to yourself. As for cursing, it is not polite or decent to see young women curse." Fleurette stopped hitting the shoe and looked up in his direction. "I am merely saying the truth."

"I honestly can't argue with you and the truth you stated." She grinned and hit the shoe against the stage one last time before setting to giving the other the same treatment.

"When did your others break?"

"Breaking, they're not totally gone, yet." Fleurette answered, "I'm only getting these ready for when the time comes." She paused and looked at them, "I reckon though by tomorrow I'll be wearing them." She nodded seemingly thinking her old ones would break tomorrow. Tomorrow, Erik looked up at the high ceiling and frowned. She wouldn't need them tomorrow, the day after yes. But not tomorrow. "What are you doing up there anyway?"

"It's my private box, Fleurette. Have you forgotten that?"

"But you have free rein over the whole building. Why are you skulking up there for?"

"I'm not skulking, I'm sitting comfortably while watching you vent on your ballet shoes."

"We've already been through this, dearest. I'm not venting." Fleurette smiled and stood up, flinging the shoes over her shoulder by the ribbon she looked up at him. "Night, Erik."

"Oh this is shocking, no late night dancing? Are you feeling all right?"

Fleurette let out a laugh at his words and nodded slowly. "I'm feeling fine. Just...tomorrow we're starting rehearsals of a new show. So you and I both know that it's going to be hectic. I'm just trying to get a jump start on rest."

"You will most likely be back out here in an hour."

"I know," Fleurette rolled her eyes. "It's a little disturbing that you know my sleeping patterns, Erik. Cut back on how much you happen to watch me, some may start to think you are a stalker."

"I prefer admiring from afar."

"Afar, pfft." Fleurette rolled her eyes and grinned, "Night, Erik," she repeated as she waved up in his direction and bowed.

"Women don't bow remember?"

"Old habits! Shhh," she put a finger to her lips and disappeared off of the stage again. Erik smiled lightly and stepped back into the darkness of his private box, turning out it took him little less than ten minutes to get down below the opera house and look at his home from the opposite stone shore.

——

The fair, Fleurette soon discovered, was a rather suspicious area. She had never been to one before, and the fact that Eleanor had freely stated that she was taking her there only added to the suspicion. There were people everywhere, it seemed like the whole city had flocked out in its vast numbers just to come here.

Hearing a man shouting about some lady who was apparently half fish and half human caught Eleanor's attention. Fleurette soon got dragged along and was soon squished tightly in a crowd of people listening to this man. Admittedly Fleurette didn't know her sister had such bizarre interests. "You know it isn't real, right?"

"Shh," Eleanor had shushed her quickly with a wave of her hand, her eyes never left the sharply suited man in front of them.

Rolling her eyes, Fleurette crossed her arms. She personally, hadn't ever heard of something more ridiculous. Coming from someone who read a lot of books about the world, and about what creatures inhabited it, the reason why she'd never come across a half human half fish before was because they simply didn't exist.