Cursed

by Smith, Ava

  Wednesday morning and Sarah and her fellow dancers get dressed in the changing rooms as it’s business as usual. Everyone ignores Sarah and they only speak amongst themselves. She ignores them too and carries on tying her ballet shoes, but she stops when she realises she’s tied them the wrong way round and immediately tries to unravel the ribbons. The others leave while Sarah sits alone on a bench and deals with her shoes. She pulls on the ribbons but only makes the knot worse. After several more seconds of frustration, she pulls her hands back and cries out,

  “Daniel MacGregor!”

  She cups her mouth as though she has said something terrible, but gazing round she realises that she is all alone. Then something else catches her attention, the clock. The time for her dance lesson is looming and she dashes out the room.

  Just down the corridor from her, Daniel is reading a copy of Swan Lake in

  Rehearsal Room Three. Beside him are copies of The Nutcracker and Coppelia. He raided the local library yesterday but what he found were mostly children’s books and therefore easy to read. The page he’s on shows a painting of the Prince holding out his hand to Odette by the lake-side. A caption below reads “‘The Prince and Odette fall in love’”. Sarah rushes in and positions herself beside Ian and her eyes immediately fall on Daniel reading the book.

  “Look at your partner, Sarah. Remember, the two of you are madly in love,” Elizabeth yells from the side.

  Sarah focuses on Ian and starts to dance. A few seconds pass and she glances at Daniel again.

  “Sarah, what did I just say?” Elizabeth shouts out. Sarah looks at Ian and dances properly once more and Elizabeth encourages her, “Good. That’s more like it. You’re getting it.”

  Sarah glances at the book cover for Swan Lake and seeing a near identical image to her Swan Queen poster, she trips and tumbles to the ground. Daniel looks up and sees Sarah staring up at him from the floor. He moves to get up but she picks herself up quickly and runs out of the room. Isobel and the others smile broadly to one another and can barely contain their joy at Sarah’s misfortune. Then the atmosphere changes; it becomes more tense, and no one dare make a sound.

  “You’re on, dear,” Elizabeth murmurs to Emily.

  Elizabeth is fuming on the inside. Leaving rehearsal during a crucial dance sequence is not to be taken lightly. Miss Smith doesn’t say anything about it but everyone knows she is furious with Sarah. Sarah, on the other hand, has fled to the theatre changing rooms and is gaping at herself in an elongated mirror. To make things worse Elizabeth’s stark words from a week ago swirl about in her head. “The part of the Swan Queen is not set in stone!”

  “What on earth is wrong with me?” she asks, putting her hands to her face.

  Sarah makes no attempt to leave her refuge and half expects Elizabeth or at the very least one of her classmates to come begging for her return. This doesn’t happen. The hours fly by and Sarah stubbornly refuses to go back and before she knows it, it’s lunchtime. The dancers barge into the changing room gossiping about Sarah’s odd behaviour. Sarah has no wish to listen to idle gossip and so slips away without being noticed.

  Once again the entire theatre congregates in the canteen for lunch. The room is crowded with people on every table and the gentle buzz of conversation hovers over the place. Isobel and Robert gather at the far side of the room and speak emphatically about something, a little too emphatically actually. Their boss, meanwhile, sits at a table on his own and continues with his reading. A short while later Sarah slams her tray on the table and sits opposite him. Daniel looks up to see a very angry young woman.

  “Something wrong?” he asks softly.

  “Nice of you to let me know that you can read.”

  He puts the book down. “Don’t mention it.”

  “You know, if I were your mother I would’ve raised you not to be so blasé,” she declares, piercing a drink carton with a straw.

  “My mother died when I was nine.”

  “Oh.” Sarah puts the carton down and tells him, “I’m sorry... So you’re suddenly interested in ballet now?”

  “More the stories behind them.”

  “Then you know why people like these stories?”

  “Well the author has imagination I’ll give him that. But to be honest, I found the stories strange.”

  Sarah draws back. “Strange?”

  “Bizarre, abnormal, grossly exaggerated. It’s like they have no idea what life is,” Daniel concludes.”

  “Really?” She engages a sneaky look and poses, “Then I’m sure there’s no more truth in them than say - a young girl metamorphosing into a swan each night?”

  “How ridiculous! I mean you know and I know these stories are the product of an overactive imagination.”

  She laughs out loud.

  “Did I say something funny? What’s the matter?”

  She finally stops laughing and composes herself.

  “It’s just that I’ve never met anyone so sure of themselves. You never cease to amaze.”

  “It’s an annoying quality. But you should have dinner with me,” he dictates.

  “No.”

  “Tomorrow night. I’ll drive you there and back and I’ll be the perfect gentleman.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Why not?!”

  Those in front turn round and Daniel speaks at a lower volume.

  “You’re always trying to avoid me. It’s like I have some kind of disease.”

  “I’m not trying to avoid you.”

  “No? Then what is it?”

  Sarah turns away and Daniel sits back. This is the third time she’s refused him and clearly hurt by the rejection he leans forward and tells her,

  “One day you’ll be forced to give up your secrets, Miss Mitchell. And everyone will know exactly who you are!”

  Sarah glances round to see that the whole room is staring at her. They’ve been watching her all along but it’s only now that she notices them. The lunch hour ends and Sarah walks out of the canteen. She doesn’t care about Daniel anymore and her only concern is getting back to rehearsal – and redeeming herself. When class begins Sarah prepares herself to do a good job. She and Ian dance the love scene from Swan Lake while Elizabeth encourages them.

  “That’s it. Keep your head up, Sarah. Ian when you pull her in make sure your feet are a little firmer.”

  Sarah delivers a perfect sequence and everyone, including Miss Smith is mesmerised by it. Many of the dancers break out into spontaneous cheers and Sarah revels in her triumph. Her happiness is short lived because Elizabeth is a difficult woman to please and Sarah’s perfect dance is not enough to make her forget the events of this morning. Smith stares at each and every one of her dancers, holding her gaze on a few of them.

  “We have less than three months to deliver a brilliant performance, and that’s not very long, ladies and gentlemen. It will go,” she snaps her fingers, “like that. So for the next few hours all I ask is that you try your best.”

  The dancers look perturbed and a few of them tremble. Sarah, however, holds her gaze on Elizabeth and doesn’t move.

  The hours creep by and Miss Smith makes everyone, including Sarah, dance like their lives depend on it. Drops of perspiration fall to the floor and the dancers’ breathing becomes more rapid. Still, Elizabeth pushes and all the dancers can hear are phrases like:

  “That’s not good enough. Try again!”

  “Isobel James, you are a disgrace to this company.”

  “Emily, don’t twist your foot back like that.”

  “Again you slothful creatures! Again!”

  When 5pm finally comes round a few of the dancers glare at Sarah since it’s obvious Smith is punishing them all for Sarah’s mistake. Isobel takes it one step further.

  “Next time you fall over, do it in your own time!” she shouts.

  Sarah merely stares at Isobel and doesn’t seem that affected. She walks into the changing rooms and changes out of her outfit, but all the while someone is ta
lking to her. Sarah’s too preoccupied to notice until she hears,

  “Yoo-hoo, Miss Distracted. You still here?”

  Sarah turns to Anne Crawley, a pretty redhead with piercing blue eyes. The same Anne Crawley she met at her audition and the only friend Sarah has.

  Anne asks again. “I’m asking if you’d like to come for a drink, Miss Mitchell?”

  A voice from the back yells, “Sarah’s not going to come! It’s like getting blood out of a stone.”

  A few sniggers are heard and Anne shouts at them, “Shut up cretins! I wasn’t talking to you!”

  Sarah once again looks helpless but Anne’s seen that look before.

  “Oh no, you are not going to cancel. Not again.”

  It is obvious Sarah really wants to go but she answers, “I’m really sorry, Anne, but I can’t. Maybe next time.”

  With that, Sarah continues to get changed.

  That evening, Sarah and Victor make the short journey to Hope Lake and she looks intently out of her window. Her odd behaviour prompts Victor to glance at her repeatedly but he ultimately stays silent. They arrive at the lake and Sarah walks to the edge of the water. Something has changed in her since last night, and instead of accepting her fate with indifference she now looks at herself with repulsion. She sees her reflection as human in the water, but as she lifts her fingers she notices they’re becoming longer. She still refuses to walk in and tries to hold back the transformation as long as she can, although inevitably she must walk into the lake and become what she is.

  As night descends, Sarah and Victor fly over the lake under a pitch dark sky like they always do. They swoop up and down over the water, completely in control. They crisscross one another when she suddenly edges forward. Victor shrieks at her in dismay, but Sarah ignores him and continues with her pace. Being younger she is able to fly much faster than Victor and he soon falls behind. All Victor can do is shriek at her again; Sarah continues undeterred and gets further away from him with every flap of her wing. When she hears him shriek for a third time she turns and shrieks back. She then looks to the front – and smacks into a tree. Victor throws a fit when he sees his niece plummet to the ground and rushes to her aid. He finds Sarah lying haphazardly on the ground with her wing twisted back. There is nothing he can do except wait for the sun to come up. It’s the most anxious wait of his life since he doesn’t know if she’s broken anything and hospitals are not an option. The moment the change occurs Victor examines her arm and sighs when he realises it’s not broken.

  “Let’s go home,” he tells her firmly.

  After getting dressed Sarah lumbers towards the car and gets in. The whole drive home Sarah clutches on her arm as it’s starting to hurt. When they return to the house Sarah goes straight upstairs while Victor leaves for work. She can hear him drive away and closes her eyes as she grasps the stupidity of her actions.

  Later on, Sarah sits on her bed and wraps a bandage around her left arm which is covered in bruises. She grimaces as she deals with the pain and completes the task ever so slowly. Someone knocks on the front door and Sarah looks up but makes no attempt to move, but whoever it is continues to knock, and then pound.

  “Okay, I’m coming!”

  Seconds later she flings open the front door and her eyes widen in disbelief.

  “What on earth are you doing here?” she asks abruptly.

  “Elizabeth said you had the flu.” Daniel glances at her bandaged arm and points out. “Bandaging your arm always does the trick.”

  “I didn’t want her to know. She’s paranoid as it is.”

  “How did you ...?”

  “I fell. While I was practising in my room.”

  Daniel doesn’t really believe her. “I take it your Uncle’s not home?”

  She shakes her head and Daniel nods and takes a few steps down the drive.

  “Come with me. I have a remedy that’s guaranteed to work,” he says.

  She watches him, uncertain whether or not to proceed, especially since the previous trip wasn’t exactly a pleasant one. The grandfather clock chimes noon and Sarah turns to it swiftly. The noise from the chimes rings out and when it stops she takes a breath, because there’s a whole seven hours before the change and it encourages her to step tentatively out of her home.

  CHAPTER 13

  Sarah and Daniel drive down the long country road and she begins to fidget. She is in familiar territory now and they soon pass the large mound where Victor parks the car just before the change. She stares at it as long as she can and the 100 or so swans on the lake begin to screech and cackle in high volume. It really is an amazing sight and Daniel can’t help glancing at the lake from time to time.

  “Looks like they’re starting a war,” he comments.

  “More likely it’s mating season,” Sarah replies quickly.

  The noise is deafening and she closes her eyes to ease the tension. However, the fact that the lake runs five miles down the road doesn’t really help. She feels the car turn and opens her eyes again to see the landscape has changed drastically and the road ahead has an unusual number of Oak trees lining the route. A moment later she notices the enormous house sprawled in front of her. Nothing could prepare her for the overwhelming awe of the place. She tries not to act surprised but Daniel glances at her and grins as he guesses what she must be thinking. They reach the front of the house and Sarah spontaneously blurts out,

  “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

  “Wait until you see the inside!” Daniel mentions proudly.

  They get out of the car together and as she walks to the front door, she starts to feel nervous about being there. She realises that the MacGregor family is in a league of its own, perhaps not royalty but definitely part of the upper-class. With this is mind she presses the doorbell and Hargreaves opens the door to her.

  “Good afternoon, Miss. I trust your journey was comfortable?” he asks.

  Sarah blushes a little and replies, “Yes, very comfortable, thank you.”

  She walks inside and immediately gazes round like she’s witnessing the ‘Sistine Chapel’ for the very first time. Her unique perspective on buildings has given her a love of architecture and she wanders around wide-eyed and tries to take in the splendour, but before long Daniel grabs her hand.

  “Come on, I want to show you something,” he tells her.

  They walk through a maze of corridors that seem endless before finally entering the garden. He immediately glances over to the pool and breathes a sigh of relief when he sees there’s no one there. She lets go of his hand and runs deep into the garden like a child running into the sea.

  “Wow, I can’t believe you live here! It’s amazing!” she says spinning to him.

  “Technically speaking it’s my dad’s house. I’m just a houseguest,” Daniel replies, striding towards her.

  “Not bad for a guesthouse.”

  She walks further into the garden and notices it’s actually a lot bigger than most parks. Daniel follows and is relieved that she’s enjoying herself for once. He catches up and they make their way to the Oaks at the back. She places her hand on the tree bark which feels coarse against her skin. There are bits of moss between the crevices and someone has carved the words “‘Victoria loves John’” on the bark.

  “I bet you could see all the way to the city if you reach the top,” she says looking up.

  “You could if you were a squirrel,” Daniel jests.

  She glances at him before walking on. The two continue through the garden and chat about silly things that are of no concern to anybody. For the first time in her life she has a genuine worry-free smile on her lips. Even the birds don’t disturb her today; they seem to sense that she needs to be alone. After a few more minutes of walking Daniel spoils it a little by suggesting,

  “If you’d like to stay for dinner I could conjure up something?”

  Sarah tilts her head again. “How about I stay for lunch instead?”

  She runs back to th
e house and Daniel gives chase and manages to reach the back door before she does.

  “Then would you at least consider a guided tour?” he asks cautiously.

  She beams and this time he knows he’s asked the right question.

  A short time later the couple stroll through long corridors and browse the 30 or so rooms one by one. Each one is kept in pristine condition even though they are never used, but as they enter yet another room, something catches her eye, and she gazes up at a Latin inscription: “‘Amor caecus est.’”

  “Love is blind,” Sarah translates.

  “I didn’t know you were a linguist.” Daniel sounds surprised.

  “I’m not. I just know that one phrase. But do you think it’s true? That it’s possible to love someone despite their faults?”

  “It all depends on their faults,” he replies casually.

  Sarah nods and turns away. For some reason this room captures her attention more than the others. She looks out of the window and is rewarded with a magnificent view of the lake. This is the only room in the house where one can see it clearly. Daniel also looks at the lake but seems less bothered by it, but he does notice that his guest fixes on it like it is some kind of a treasure trove. The pain in Sarah’s arm returns threefold and she grabs on to it. Daniel lifts her arm up gently and examines it. He’s not a doctor but it’s obvious there’s a large amount of swelling there.

  “You should really have this x-rayed. It might be fractured,” he concludes.

  “I thought you said you had a cure that’s guaranteed to work?”

  “Well I mean ... yes I do ... follow me.”

  He marches out of the room and she has to walk quickly just to catch up but she can’t help glancing back before she leaves. Daniel and Sarah cover the equivalent of one mile round the house and finally reach the kitchen. She takes a seat at the counter and her eyes scan the room. It is exquisite, but some of the decor, like the gold-plated taps are a bit too decadent for her taste. Although, the place does have a personal touch: there’s a ‘Home Sweet Home’ sign next to the door, shiny copper pots that hang on the back wall and a photo of Daniel with his father on a fishing trip which rests on the counter. She picks up the photo and examines it thoroughly. Daniel actually has a smile on his face in the picture and looks happy.