The king's congratulatory party was much like the one we attended after our first ballet, only now every high-ranking noble packed the ballroom of the palace. Everyone outdid their neighbor in glittering silk and lush fur, and with the company's State funded dresses, we were not an exception to the rule of elegance. As the guests of honor, we were surrounded by throngs trying to catch a word with us. They flashed bright teeth, and ringed fingers gripped ours in sweaty embraces. The word 'genius' was showered so heavily around Mr. Lennox that I half expected to see it floating in the air above us. Everyone made sure to ask for a private performance of the Royalist Ballet, as they took to calling it. Mr. Lennox navigated them with ease, never quite committing but also not shutting the door on opportunities. We didn't need their money anymore, but we could always use good connections to those with the power to give impressive favors.

As the princes and archdukes expressed their appreciation of such a patriotic ballet in these times, I could not help but think of the Common Army officials that had gathered in our practice room not so long ago, commissioning a dance that they wanted the king to see. I couldn't imagine what they thought this ballet might do, but I knew it was not what all the dazzling nobles thought it was.

A passing waiter bared a tray of small glasses of wine, and I grabbed one as he passed. Downing it in a few gulps, I tried to nip the growing unease in my stomach.

Mr. Lennox and I stood near to the king and his family while the corps broke up into the crowd. I saw no familiar faces besides Mr. Lennox until I caught a glimpse of painfully familiar blonde hair.

Snatching another glass of wine and kicking it back for courage, I headed toward Ferdinand. Somehow, though he was too far away to see or hear me, his gaze turned my way. His eyes softened and he stood still, waiting for me to reach him. I felt like running to him, but my legs wouldn't cooperate with me. I could only walk, slowly, to where he stood while my breath came quicker.

I pushed by a particularly plump archduke, who slowed my progress, and while I was squeeze past his ample side with a mumbled apology, a hand rested on my arm and halted me mid-step. Turning, I saw Mr. Lennox behind me. His eyes briefly scanned over Ferdinand and rested back on me. His lips flattened and his fingers dug just slightly into my shoulder.

"Nadia, I need you to come with me for a moment. There is something I would like to talk to you about," he said, all his words sharp and dangerous.

I wanted to crane my neck around to see if Ferdinand still waited for me, but Mr. Lennox's grip was too tight. I knew that if I asked to see Ferdinand first, it would only anger Mr. Lennox. It had become my new habit to avoid Ferdinand in any shape or form in order to stave off the storm that my ballet master could become.

"Yes, of course," I finally replied. Ferdinand would still be there when Mr. Lennox and I were done, I told myself.

Mr. Lennox took me to a door mostly hidden behind a pillar topped by flowers. Behind the door was a larder of some sort, with shelves full of spare dishes and glasses, table linens, and extra chairs. I stood awkwardly in front of a stack of black napkins while Mr. Lennox closed the door and turned to face me.

"There is a great change coming, Nadia," he said. "You know this. The evidence is everywhere. It won't be long until a second uprising, and we will soon see what outcome that brings. At any rate, aside from this, there is still something that should be addressed. Something, perhaps, overdue."

I gripped the ruby fabric of my skirt and waited for him to continue. My mind kept flipping back to Ferdinand, but I tried to keep my attention focused while Mr. Lennox talked to me.

"Ever since you grew into your beauty, there has been gossip and rumors spread about your living with me. The king himself was hesitant to fund us because of it. The nobles are not comfortable with our living arrangement."

My mouth ran dry. I had, of course, noticed the stares we gathered when we were together, but I had not thought that it had caused as much trouble as all that.

"But you're practically my father. Can't they see that?" I asked.

"It goes beyond that," he said, crossing to stand closer. "I want to protect you, Nadia. I want to make sure your life is what it should be, and that your lessons continue and you only become even more and more of an angel of dance. And I can't do that if you are not all the way mine."

"What..." I said.

"Your magic comes when you dance my steps. It is when we combine that the world stops to watch you, Nadia. I want you to marry me so that you might reach that dream."

My knees nearly gave out as his words smashed against me. "Mr. Lennox," I gasped. Marry the man I looked to as a father and mentor? The thought had never occurred to me, and it sent a ripple of cold down my spine. I could not deny the looks of judgment I received from the duchesses and ladies when they thought I could not see, but I could not imagine such a marriage. "Surely we can carry on as we are now? I am more your daughter than anything else, and they cannot find fault in that."

Mr. Lennox shook his head gravely. "It is marriage, or I will have to find a new canvas for my dances. You may be an angel of dance, but there will be another talent out there that, under my teaching, can soar to the heavens as well. You do not have the power here, Nadia. I don't wish to lose you, but if you don't choose me then I will never help you achieve the kind of perfection needed to be known throughout history."

My mind fought against the cage it suddenly found itself in. Gone were those lazy, girlish daydreams of a handsome husband and quaint house with children. In front of me now was the Lennox Company and endless days of what I'd always known. Dancing, the theater, new shows and classes with Mr. Lennox. Something inside me shrunk from the thought of staying there forever, and with that I realized he was right. Somehow, my heart had grown two dreams that were conflicting and against each other.

The dream I'd had since childhood was as part of me as my heart or my mind. I ached to reach that level of dance that Mr. Lennox promised me. When was I of any use, if not on the stage? I had no skills or talents beyond my dance, and nothing that interested me either. No one noticed me until I was on the stage, making them see a soul that longed for acceptance. I was only steps and combinations, a product of hard work and dedication. And yet some other dream had grown from nowhere, threatening the only thing I'd ever known. A normal life with Ferdinand felt new and exciting. I could see his face and feel his love when I closed my eyes at night. Somehow, in the time since I'd met him, I'd imagined what it would be like to leave with him.

Mr. Lennox had seen the reluctance in me, and now I saw it in myself. The hesitation each night as I danced, knowing that each set of steps led me further and further from Ferdinand and a life outside of the ballet.

"Can I answer later?" I asked, not able to let go of either dream yet.

Anger flashed in Mr. Lennox's eyes. "That puppy still tempts you," he said.

I remembered then the way the cane had slammed down on Ferdinand's skin and bones the last time we had defied Mr. Lennox. I had thought I could have both dreams back then, but had cost Ferdinand his position and earned him broken bones and welts.

Mr. Lennox took a step forward, his teeth clenched as he spoke. "You forget so easily all the years I gave to you? The training you can get nowhere else, and the dances that fit you as closely as your own skin? You'd throw all that away for a handsome face?"

"No, I don't want to. I only want to have a family. Something that can belong to me outside of dance—"

Mr. Lennox looked toward the door to larder. "Perhaps I should bring the puppy in here. Maybe he would like to explain how he can seduce a young girl away from her divine purpose."

I heard in his voice a hardness that made my blood run cold. There was violence in his eyes and a hatred for Ferdinand that made my heart slam against my ribs.

"No! Please, leave him!" I gasped, clutching his arm.

"You have to pick right now, Nadia. You choose dance and continue to fulfill the purpose you were born to carry out, or you leave my house and my company and you follow the puppy. If he's there to even follow."

"I—" Fear at his veiled threat made my arms shake.

"But think carefully," he said. "Think oh so carefully about if that life you think you'll gain will last for very long."

A flash of Ferdinand, beaten and limp in a street, ran across my mind. It had no basis in truth, but somehow the hardness in Mr. Lennox's face made it feel like a startling reality. I knew, somehow, that Ferdinand would not be safe if I chose to leave it all behind.

"So what are you going to do, Nadia?" he asked.

I bit down hard on my tongue to stop the tears that burned behind my eyes. The betrayal, of Mr. Lennox and of myself to Ferdinand, felt like fire in my chest. Yet, I could do nothing to stop it. I was exactly what I had always thought myself. A useless shell of a girl until I was filled with dance. What right did I have to risk Ferdinand's life for someone like me? A coward and a blank canvas.

"Fine. Fine, I'll do it. I'll marry you," I choked out, hating the words but knowing that they were all I could say.

No joy flooded Mr. Lennox's face. He didn't wear the happiness of a suitor. Instead, he smirked as if he had just won a bet, and leaned in to kiss my cheek.

"I knew you would not fail me," he said. "I knew you would see what truly belongs in your heart."

"Dance became my life the night of the first Vigilant Men attack," I whispered, dull and drained. "I cannot escape it."

"You couldn't even if you tried," he whispered. "It would always find you." With that, he folded my freezing hand into the crook of his elbow, patting my knuckles. I kept my eyes down as he opened the door and we rejoined the party. I let him guide me while my mind struggled to come to terms with the fact that I would soon become Mrs. Lennox.

The next thing I knew, Mr. Lennox and I stood at the top of the room commanding the attention of the crowd. I glanced around at the faces turned toward us, my hands shaking in Mr. Lennox's grasp. How they all came to stare as us with their champagne and wine forgotten in their hands, I didn't know. Mr. Lennox must have made some sort of indication that he was going to speak, for they were all silent and watchful. Ears and eyes strained to see the girl and her ballet master who had created such scandal amongst their noble ranks.

"My apologies for taking over a few minutes of your evening, your majesty," Mr. Lennox said, sketching a short bow to the monarch, who smiled indulgently.

Mr. Lennox continued. "There is an announcement that I think all here would want to hear first-hand, so I decided to say it here before the newspapers run it tomorrow."

Everyone whispered in excitement with glowing eyes and rapt attention.

"It has recently come about that I asked Miss Nadia Surikov's hand in marriage, and she gave it." Mr. Lennox said. "Come soon, you will be witnessing the perfect union of ideas with dance as I will release a new ballet devoted to my future wife."

Applause exploded in the room, along with cheers and shouts of congratulations. An engagement and a new ballet, all in one evening. The nobles rushed to shake Mr. Lennox's hand and the women clung to me like ivy.

"How dreadfully romantic," one gasped. "The ballet master falling for his muse."

Another kissed my cheeks and gripped my hand so tightly my bones creaked. "What a marvelously lucky girl you are, darling. It's almost like a fairy tale or a dream to have such a luscious engagement."

Though their well-wishes were meant to make me feel special, but they made me feel sick. They had no idea of the violence Mr. Lennox hid behind his cold exterior. They did not know that Ferdinand dangled above a precipice, and the only way I could save him was by saying "yes". 

From somewhere to my right, Mr. Lennox talked to an admiring duke and duchess. "I'm planning to partner her myself. A dance for a bride, and she will do it with her husband."

Even though his words were about the as of yet unwritten ballet, it brought my mind back to the partner I'd danced with in the past. And as I remembered Ferdinand, the ballroom seemed to somehow dim and narrow until I had sought out his face amongst all the others. He stood at the back of the room, a glass of wine still frozen halfway to his mouth. Even at such a distance, he stared at me with his lips just barely parted and skin blanched of color.

My heart ached to see those blue eyes watching me so mournfully. I knew that I should forget him immediately and move on with the life I had to live. Yet, I couldn't look even look away from his face. Without breaking eye contact, I started toward him, not knowing what I'd say or even what I wanted to say. I only knew I could not leave him there without speaking to him at all.

I was only a few feet along when two women pressed so close around me that I was forced to stop. They chattered on about my engagement, but I mumbled my excuses as I tried to push through. They didn't budge, and tears pricked in my eyes as frustration and so many other feelings overflowed. Ferdinand, seeing my dilemma, dropped his wine glass and stepped over the spill as it grew on the floor. He walked toward me, and I reached over the shoulders of the ladies, my hand stretching into the air for his. He sped up, his hand extending...

Mr. Lennox stepped in front of me, grabbing my hand and spinning me around to walk away from the two women. I stuttered in surprise, unable to form words as I stretched my neck sharply back to look over my shoulder at Ferdinand. He had stopped pursuing me and now stood alone amongst the crowd, his hand slowly closing on empty air.

Without really noticing the steps I took to get there, I found myself at the area where the servants brought guests their coats and cloaks. My mind was still in the other room, trying desperately to come to the realization that I had left Ferdinand behind.

Mr. Lennox snapped his fingers and a boy leapt into action to fetch our belongings. As Mr. Lenox wrapped me in black fur, I glanced once more back at the party. Ferdinand was no longer in sight.

"Come now, dear," Mr. Lennox said. "It's time we headed home. I'm afraid today may have taxed you too much"

I had been far more exhausted during almost every rehearsal, and Mr. Lennox always told me to push through the pain. I knew that protecting my health was not his real reason. I didn't press the issue, though. I knew he was not going to budge, and something told me that Ferdinand had already retreated to some safe place far away from the girl who had nothing to offer him.

I let Mr. Lennox lead me out into the biting wind and hand me into the carriage without a struggle. My body felt heavy and all I wanted was to crawl into bed and sleep.

The carriage trundled into the darkness, heading toward our new boarding house. The streets were silent and still, and a fresh blanket of snow dampened any noise further.

Mr. Lennox set his hat on the cushion next to him and stretched out his legs until they brushed against my skirts. I ignored him, watching the passing streetlamps instead. The tears had vanished somehow, and I knew that I would not cry for what I had lost. I would grow numb. I had to.

"I'm sorry I never told you about the new ballet I created in your honor. It was perhaps not the best to announce it in front of the king at the same time as you, but really I couldn't be blamed. Until I asked, I honestly couldn't be sure what your answer would be."

This was not the nervous doubts of most grooms. He watched me sharply, seeming to see my thoughts jump to Ferdinand.

"I'm with you now," I replied.

"Good. I did not train you to have you throw everything away over such a ridiculously girlish thing."

I knew he meant the way Ferdinand and I had danced his Funeral Dance, but I didn't respond. Instead, I closed my eyes and ran over the steps I knew he would expect me to know the next morning. They were the only comfort I could muster in the suddenly lonely world I found myself in.