HES Part 7

“Again!” Bartholomew sternly demanded. Yvette continued to twirl, she had been practicing the same dance sequence for the past hour and a half. But no matter how hard she tried, he kept acting like he was disappointed in her dancing.

“I’m doing the best I can!” She cried out in frustration. “If you keep pushing me like this, you’re only going to ware me down! I’m getting a headache! If I pirouette one more time, I swear I’m going to throw up!”

“Well at least you would be doing something surprising enough to get some sort a response out of me!” He snapped.

“What is that supposed to mean?” She asked, as she continued to feel angry and frustrated.

“It means that right now, your dancing is subpar, and that you keep giving me the same boring routine!” He replied with a stoic expression.

“What are you talking about?” She cried. “You’re the one who keeps having me dance this same routine over, and over again. My body is getting tired, and I don’t think I can take much more. I told you that I am doing my best!”

“And I warned you that I was a bastard to work with!” He answered coldly. “Not because I’m a sadist, but because I demand perfection! As of now, you are not even getting this simple exercise right! You’re going through the steps, but that’s all you are doing! Normally if a dancer would tell me they were doing their best, I would berate them, and tell them that their best wasn’t good enough. But you and I both know that isn’t true. You are a much better dancer than this. So you’d better figure out what is holding you back!”

“I don’t want to talk about it!” She cried, as tears ran down her cheeks.

“Do not think those tears will sway me!” He exclaimed. “If you keep holding back, and not dance to your full potential, than I am wasting my time here! I might as well get on a plane, and head back to Germany! Then you can explain to everyone why I left the production!”

This frustrated her even more, how was this the same man from earlier? The emotional pain that she carried inside of her, was almost too much for her to bare! But the hell that he had just put her through, as well as the pain she had been suffering due to Alex’s death, caused her to reach her breaking point. Before she could even try and control her own emotions, they exploded in an eruption of pain and frustration.

“I feel guilty, alright!” She cried out. “I shouldn’t be dancing with you! I should be dancing with Alex! He was the one who was supposed to play Von Rothbart! You were his idol! But I am the one who has the opportunity to work with you! And the only reason I even have this opportunity, is because of him! Alex is the one who got me the audition in the first place! He was my best friend, and my rock!”

No matter how hard she tried, she could not stop her tears from falling. Her emotional dam had finally broken, as a flood of emotions continued their rampage.

“I don’t feel that it is right for me to dance without him.” She said, as she kept weeping, “ I am honored to work with you, but I wouldn’t even be working with you if he was still alive. I just don’t know why he killed himself! And as saddened as I am by it, I am also angry! I hate to admit this, but I can’t understand how he could do this to me! He’s dead, my best friend is dead, and all I can think about is how he hurt me! I’m a horrible person, because I care more about how it effected me! I should care more about the pain that he must have been feeling, but I don’t! I just want to know why! Why did he leave me?”

Bartholomew’s face softened, as he let out a sigh. “I don’t know either. I wish I could tell you that I had some clue in our correspondence, but I don’t. And your emotions are understandable, you are angry at him, because he had some control over the situation, when he decided to leave you. Of course you are hurt, but you are hurt because you loved him.”

Bartholomew then looked at her, and gave her a caring smile. “I have no idea why he took his own life. All I know is that he saw true potential in you. I see it too. But if you truly want to honor your friend, than you must give this performance your all. I want you to take all of the pain you have, both your anger and your sorrow. The guilt, the pain, and the anger you feel towards him, as well as yourself, I want you to use it. Release all of the hurt that is building up inside of you, but release it through your dance!”

As she listened to his advice, an inner strength came through, as she began to pirouette and dance around the room. It was as if her mind had reached a new plateau. In that moment, she truly felt like a swan flying through the air. She felt so alive, so free!

“That’s it!” He cried. “Dance for me my Swan Queen! Dance for me the way you used too! Bring out who you truly are, and who you truly shall be! Become one with Odette! Become one with me!”

As she continued to spin around, he made his way over to her. He then grabbed her by the waste, and lifted her up in the air. They were soon spinning around, as they were now in perfect sync with one another. In all of her years of dance, Yvette had never reached such a feeling of euphoria.

All of a sudden, there was a knocking sound. Bartholomew soon stopped, as he gently lowered Yvette to the ground. As they both looked over, they saw Ariana looking back at them.

“Well.” She said with a jealous smile. “I’m glad to see the two of you are working so well together. How kind of you to offer so much personal time with Yvette. after all, she is still technically an amateur. She likely needs all the help she can get.”

“And yet you saw potential in her when you cast her as Odette.” Bartholomew replied.

“Yes, well, I suppose I did.” Ariana said, as she folded her arms. “But it is seven, and the regular rehearsals are starting. I demand that all my dancers be on time. I’m sure you understand that, Mr Rothman.”

“Of course my dear.” He replied, as he smiled, and bowed his head. “You are the ballet director, and it is your vision. You are the one who is in charge.”

“Wonderful.” Ariana replied, as she smiled at him. She then shot Yvette a look of resentment. “Then let’s all head down to the main studio for rehearsals.”

As she headed out the door, both Bartholomew and Yvette followed her. All of a sudden, she stopped, and quickly turned around to face them.

“Oh, by the way, Yvette.” Ariana began. “Fredrick called. He said that you left your scarf at his place last night.”

“Fredrick?” Bartholomew asked Yvette, as he had an inquisitive look upon his face. As Yvette opened her mouth, Ariana interrupted, before Yvette even had a chance to respond to him.

“Oh yes!” Exclaimed Ariana. “Didn’t Miss Walsh tell you? She’s engaged!”

“Yes, we just didn’t get around to talking about it.” Yvette replied, as she turned to look at Bartholomew. “A little over a year now.”

“Well congratulations.” Bartholomew said, as he smiled at her. “I couldn’t be happier for you. Have you set a date?”

“No, not yet.” Yvette replied. “We were starting to plan the wedding, but Alex’s death ended up putting things on hold.”

“Well, I’m sure that you will soon get your wedding plans back on track.” He told her. “I am very happy for you. You know what? I left something in the apartment, I just need to run and go get it. I will meet you ladies, as well as the rest of the corps, for rehearsals in just a little bit.”

“No problem, Bartholomew.” Ariana said with a triumphant smile. “Take your time.” It was obvious to Yvette that Ariana had a romantic interest in him, and that Ariana wrongly thought that there was something going on between him and Yvette. Not that Yvette could blame her for being jealous. If Yvette had been single, than she would be more that interested in Bartholomew.

Yvette just sighed, hopefully Bartholomew would be wary of Ariana trying to sink her boney fingers into him. Oh well, he was a big boy, he could take care of himself. The only one who was likely to get hurt was Ariana. Yvette made her way down to the rehearsal studio, where the rest of the corps was waiting for them.

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As Bartholomew made his way back to the apartment, he was seething with rage. He soon growled in frustration, as he grabbed a bottle of red wine. He then pored himself a glass, and downed it all at once. Still feeling frustrated, he poured himself another glass, and downed it as well.

Anger continued to build up inside of him. Fredrick! Siegfried! Why was he not surprised? The very thought of that spoiled prince, that son of a bitch, trying to steal his beloved again, angered him even more. As he looked at the glass, it began to tremble in his hand.

He couldn’t handle the intense hatred, or the intense anger anymore. As he cried out in a fury of unbridled rage, he tightly grasped the glass as it shattered within his hand. Then with great furor, he took out his smart phone, and quickly called his niece.

“Hello?’ She said, as she answered the phone.

“It’s me!” He growled through the phone. “I need you here as soon as possible! If you want to be free from the curse that I have placed upon you, then you will come and fulfill your role as the Black Swan!”

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