Note: After ‘The Voice’ we are back with this new story! We hope you’ll enjoy reading it!

 

Mauka – Weetum – Useless-girl:

The Swan Princess

Chapter 1


The quiet whispers were echoing in the great hall. It was already semi dark there as a warning that the performance will start soon sounded. Finally the guests found their places - only a few people came in the last minute. Dave was sitting there leaning back in his chair - he didn't want anyone to discover who was sitting there with his wife. He wasn't here completely from his free will. Jen always wanted to come with him to a ballet performance - she found it elegant and chic - like those exhibitions where she dragged him with. But at least he found something in those evenings, because he loved art. But now he hadn’t got any mood to watch a ballet performance. What did she think?

He prepared to spend a very boring three hours ... yes, that was how long Jen had said it would be, so he stretched out in his feline way into the chair, temporarily forgetting where he was and raising his arms over his head, causing Jen to look round at the sudden movement - and the lady in the seat directly behind him to tut-tut disapprovingly! That was all Dave needed - cranky old bitch behind him! He turned round and smiled sweetly at her, even dared a wink before saying "Wait till I start throwing popcorn, darling!"

Jen punched him in the arm and told him to behave - kissing him on the cheek and rubbing his thigh. "Listen if the worse comes to the worse, and you fall asleep, don't SNORE!" she said through gritted teeth - Dave rolled his eyes "Yes dear" he said.

He was still mumbling under his nose when the light started to fade away and they were warned by a kind voice to switch off their mobile phones. A few people reached into their pockets and after everyone calmed down, the heavy curtains started to open while the soft music filled the hall slowly. Dave sighed again and started to think how to escape from the situation. Earlier he checked the possible exits and found out that there was no way to disappear from the fifth line where they were sitting nearly in the middle. So he thought he'd try to think about what they arranged with Mart and Fletch today.

The first scene started to evolve in front of the audience, but he didn't pay too much attention. He looked at Jen who was watching the show calmly. He sighed again and closed his eyes. He was tired from the all-day-long running around. Maybe now he can rest a bit - if the music will not be too loud.

Dave folded his hands in his lap and tried to drift off, but the music was too loud - lots of brass instruments - oh shit, he thought and sighed noisily - this made Jen turn her head and frown... Jesus he was so sick of her treating him like a little boy - he was there wasn't he?

Yes he was there with his running thoughts. Suddenly he was a bit angry at Jen, but tried to clear his thoughts - it wasn't the time to think about these things - he was fed up with them. Instead he tried to focus his gaze on the stage, thinking about how he missed his own stage... After a few minutes it came into his mind that it was Swan Lake - to tell the truth he never liked this tale, so his mouth curved into a skeptic smirk while he started to watch the dancers.

"Men in this kind of stockings? Oh God..."

This escaped from his lips before he realised what had happened ... and created a stir in front of him, as well as making Jen stamp on his foot with her stiletto ... when he looked at her she was livid - eyes blazing, mouth tightly drawn and Dave was a second away from bursting out laughing. Why did it all have to be so damned serious? He returned her outraged stare, and saved some for the pair of dragons, who had turned round in their seats …

A sharp change in the music announced the arrival of the chorus which came onto the stage and Dave was suddenly drawn to observe the dancers closely ...

He didn't realise that spot when he started to listen and watch the play. It was because of the dancers. He barely noticed the male performers. His bored gaze was following the women. He always liked women with these features - okay not such skinny ones like the main dancer. He shrugged unconsciously and watched further.

Dave was caught by surprise by the acrobatic movement the prima ballerina made on stage. She seemed to fly or swim in the air, like she would have no weight at all. She was like a butterfly flying to flower from flower.

But after a few seconds he saw something from the corner of his eyes. A yellow glint. A mop of hair. He turned his head and noticed the woman whose hair was flying in the air while she was dancing. And that was that moment when Dave narrowed his eyes. She caught his eye and never let him look away.

He followed every movement of hers with eager attention. There was fire, the fire of life in the petit ballerina. Her face was calm but was shining from the joy she felt while dancing.

He felt she was different from the others - even from the prima ballerina. Yes she made beautiful and amazing figures, but this little ballerina in the background... he nearly felt the life radiating from her. She was beautiful in his eyes - although he wasn't that close to examine her face more.

Something in her was attracting him like a magnet - he couldn't understand it - even when the action was elsewhere on the stage, and her group of dancers was just standing waiting for their next part, she was mesmerizing him... the line of her collarbone, the way her mouth pouted like a pale pink rosebud....

He forgot the world around him as she forgot the world around her. She was concentrating inwards and just danced and danced and danced. And Dave was just watching her. Time was flying and soon it was the end of the first part of the ballet.

"What is it? Is something wrong?" he heard Jen's voice from his right side and felt her fingers on his arm.

"No... not at all..."

"Well, well... Mr. 'I-don't-want-to-go-to-that-ballet-play-tonight' seems to enjoy the performance?" she lifted one of her eyebrows with a little smile on her face. Dave looked at her red lips for a moment, which seemed so unnatural to him after the blonde beauty's image. He shook his head.

"I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"Nothing... just work" he added quickly.

Jen looked at him again and sighed, but didn't push it just stood up.

"Do you want to go out during the break?"

"No. I stay here, but feel free to go."

A little anger ran through her face then she managed to stay calm.
"Fine" she added and turned her back to Dave. He was alone in their line - finally.

The stage was empty already, the curtains were down but he still saw the feather light, small girl flying and jumping in the air. She was a swan, a real one, he thought. And he started to muse on it who she could be.

He found a brochure on the nearby seat and looked through it. It was a play with American and Russian dancers. Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. Yes he remembered now Jen's sentences about it. She was speaking about this evening quite a lot. Fortunately there was a cast on the back of the brochure, but he couldn't decide which name belonged to the fragile beauty.

He stood up because his legs went numb and decided to have a short walk in front of the stage. He was pacing up and down, when the curtain moved and some workers came out arranging the scenery, changing it and when they were ready somehow they left the curtain a bit open so Dave could have a peek in. There she was with a bottle of water in her hands but not chatting like the others, she was standing in the closest corner to Dave. He leaned forward to see her better and she noticed him.

She stayed calm. It was part of her work that people stare at her and the other dancers. Her blue eyes met his dark-green ones. Dave felt instinctively that she was from another world. Her cool beauty hit him hard and he needed to take a deep breath. Her eyes... it seemed they've burnt into his mind.

Then the eye-contact broke when another dancer touched the girl's arm and whispered something into her ear. She turned to her and took a last sip from the bottle, then before going on with the conversation she looked back at him for a last short gaze.

He was left there standing mesmerized. He had a strange feeling in his stomach and he shook his head. “Oh my, no....” he started smiling inwardly. The clean lines, the lovely features moved something in him.

He decided to sit back into his seat with a little smile under his nose. Something was going on here, but he didn't know what - yet. He just knew he wanted to see her again, dancing in the background. And after a few minutes and Jen's quiet words the second part came. He was quite tense and inpatient. "Where are you?" he thought and scanned the background. Then she came and he thought the whole stage started to live from that moment when she put her slim and long legs onto the board.

He was watching her mesmerized, but his face didn't show it. After a while a little smile spread on his face - he caught her gaze for a moment and when the background dancers disappeared, she stayed near the curtains and was peeking there time after time.

Dave was thinking hard how to move closer. He noticed a couple he knew his wife hates immensely and he was tossing and turning himself as the woman noticed him. She was in love with him head over heels and her rapidly changing partners didn't mind her crazy ways she acted, calling each and every one of them Dave. The man on her side was looking somewhat like him. He started laughing silently.

The woman, Sadie was walking bristly toward him tugging her unfortunate boyfriend along with her. When Jen noticed her, however jealous she was usually she was fleeing in panic leaving her husband there as a prey. Dave knew what he wanted. When he was sure Jen was gone and his ballerina wasn’t watching, he whispered something into Sadie's ears and she nodded. And in the next minute she wasn't there. Dave told her to wait for him in the nearby café and now he was smiling contented, he was alone. No way that his wife comes back in ten minutes.

He approached the stage and softly called the girl who was playing hide-and-seek behind and among of the curtains. But before he could reach her a man stepped in his way, it seemed he was a security guy.

"Sorry Mister, but you can't come here, this is only for the performers."

He was thinking about a good objection, when he heard a soft voice, which’s sound pulled out a picture from the back of his mind about a fresh mountain creek. He looked behind the big man's shoulder to see that fragile ballerina standing there, one of her hands lightly touching the man's shoulder.

"No problem Warrick, he wanted to talk to me. You can leave, there'll be no problem."

“Hmm, hello, thank you. Well, my name is David and I, I just wanted to tell you, that you are not among the others but a prima ballerina. Hope your director notices it soon.”

The girl was giggling like the rain is dripping from the eaves.

“Hello, Da-vid, my name is Natasha.”

"So you are one of the Russian dancers?" he asked and when she looked at him a bit strange, he hurried to give an explanation "I mean I hear it from your accent and I've checked the brochure..." here he showed her the piece of paper which was still in his sweaty hand. She smiled again and nodded.

"Yes, Mr. Gahan, you're right" she smiled so naturally that he nearly forgot to answer.

"Ehm... you... you know me?"

"I've heard about you. My younger cousin is a fan of yours" she shrugged lightly.

"Natasha, come on, we are leaving soon!" they heard a woman's voice from the background.

"Coming!" she answered and turned back to David with a silent smile "Well... David... I guess this is good bye. Thank you for your compliment. It was nice to meet you" she held out one of her graceful hands to shake his.

---

In the next couple of days he was frequently thinking about the little ballerina. He just couldn't expel her from his mind, so the following week he bought a ticket for himself to the next performance.

He was sitting there. And not just on that evening. The following performances couldn't pass without him. He was sitting always close to the stage, and after a few nights he knew she discovered him and from that evening she always gave him a sweet smile at the end of the play. Jen didn't know about these visits, he told her he was arranging some work stuff. But instead he went to watch his little ballerina and her graceful moves. After a while every night he sent her a card with a single white rose into her dressing room. And Natasha was always smiling while she read the cards, but never answered.

She was afraid of him. She knew all too well she was just a little sparrow from Russia and he was a famous singer, so she kept distance between them though she was dreaming about him day and night. She knew how famous he was and one afternoon she spent all the money she had with her on his new album and the former one. In the next couple of days she bought them all what he did with the band Depeche Mode. And she too saw him on stage if only on DVD.

She smiled quietly on the sofa while watching the One Night In Paris DVD when her friend, a fellow-dancer, came in and handled her the strong tea she asked from her.

"What's this?" she nodded towards the TV.

"A live performance from Depeche Mode" she smiled again and took a careful sip from the hot tea. They sat there in silence for a few minutes while Dave was singing When The Body Speaks softly. Natalia felt herself in another world - just like when she was on stage. First she didn't even hear her friend's question.

"Sorry, I wasn't listening. Would you repeat it, please?" she looked at her apologizing.

"He's so familiar... Isn't he the one who always sits in the first row, who sends those cards and roses?"

"Well… he is" she felt a light blush on her pale face.

"Wow, Nat... You have a famous fan!" she laughed "Why don't you accept his court?"

"You know well, that I can't" she answered and the smile slowly faded away from her lips. She took another sip from the tea and concentrated on the rest of the show.

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