She gave a tired sigh as she sat down on her sofa in a bathrobe with a glass of wine. Tonight’s performance had gone on for quite a long time. While she greatly enjoyed dancing for the various different noble houses, she was always happy to be home again afterwards. On top of that, not every house was as enjoyable to perform for. The Barlow house, for instance, had this large hound that had the annoying habit of barking while she danced. Luckily, there were also the decent houses, such as the Clarindelle house for which she performed tonight. There were quite a lot of esteemed guests and all of their eyes were glued to her body and that of her dance partner of the evening, Lord Edmon Clarindelle. It gave her great joy to know that they enjoyed watching her. For now though, it was finally time to relax. After all, she did not have any new shows planned for the foreseeable future.
She was a young woman of 25 with flowing brown hair. She had light brown eyes and a fairly slim figure. She had grown up a noble of the queen’s court. This meant that she had been taught etiquettes from fairly early on. How to eat, how to walk, how to talk, and, most importantly, how to dance. Most etiquettes expected of a noblewoman of her stature bored her greatly but dancing had always been a huge passion of hers. So much so that she had decided to become a professional dancer. Her parents had initially been against it, but nobody could really deny her skills, her elegance and her love for the art. As such, she had come to be known as the butterfly.
“My lady?” came the voice of Maria. It was her handmaiden, who was roughly the same age as her and had only started working here earlier that week. As such, she was still rather careful and timit. It was fine for now but she was far too uptight still. They were both people after all. There was little reason for such inequalities.
“Yes, dear?” Lady Davelon said, sitting up just a little bit straighter again.
“A message has arrived for you,” Maria said, placing it gently on the table, after which she simply stood by her side, expecting further orders.
Quickly scanning the envelope, it would appear that it was sent by the Horton house. “Oh, I have only just finished a show and the next invitation is already waiting for me. Can’t a woman get any rest?” the dancer chuckled as she opened the envelope to read its contents.
Dear Tanya Davelon,
Hereby I invite you to dance at my gala in 6 days. It simply would not be complete
without the Butterfly after all.
My brother, Alphonse, would of course love to be your dance partner again for this night
but I have a perhaps somewhat… unorthodox request. You see, I have always wanted to
be up on that stage with you. Therefore, I ask of you to please consider me as your dance
partner instead. I wish to dance with you like we used to. Should you accept, it would be
grand if you could wear an outfit of my choosing so that we could make this truly a night
to remember for my guests.
Please respond to my message at your earliest convenience and I will see you next week.
Love,
Ophelia Horton
Now this was certainly a letter that Tanya wasn’t expecting. Yes, it was another invite to dance, but this? It was so out of the ordinary that she wasn’t really sure whether people would even accept seeing a woman dancing with another woman.
Tanya had known Ophelia ever since they were children. After all, they had the same dance instructor. During classes, they would always dance with male partners of course. Afterwards though, Tanya would often ask Ophelia to dance so that she could practice some more. She had always thought of it in that manner but it seemed that Ophelia really enjoyed that time so much that she wanted to do it again now.
She really should decline this. Even if most of the guests knew that the two of them were just good childhood friends, Tanya knew from experience that people are always going to gossip. People would start to think twice about inviting the Butterfly to their galas and parties. It would be the scandal of the century!
But… on the other hand, this was Ophelia. This was her dear friend. Her friend who was always far too meek and shy for her own good. To see a request like this from her was certainly a surprise. It didn’t seem like something Ophelia would just ask without any reason. There was more to this than a mere request to dance. To Tanya, this all felt rather… enticing. Teasing almost. Perhaps she should accept this after all?
“Do you wish for me to send a response message, my lady?” Maria spoke up, breaking the silence.
“Ah… yes,” Tanya replied, jumping slightly. “Tell Lady Ophelia that I…” she halted then. Her mind was telling her not to go through with this but an ever growing part of her was incredibly curious. She chuckled. “Tell her that I accept her request,” she said, taking a sip from her wine.
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Two days later, Tanya already found herself in a coach on her way to house Horton. She always visited the location of her next show beforehand for some initial planning. Plus, she knew that the Hortons had an impressive wine cellar, which was a nice bonus. Since this was a fairly informal occasion, she had decided to wear a simple green gown. She had braided her hair and wore a green hat on top of that.
Maria was sitting opposite her, nervously looking outside. She insisted on coming along as part of her job as handmaiden. Tanya guessed that she must simply still be adjusting to her new role. She wore her typical maid’s outfit. A skirt reaching down to below her knees, a top with puffed shoulders and for this occasion, she was also wearing a hat, though a rather plain one at that.
When the horses carrying the coach finally left the tight streets, they reached the bridge that connected the two hilltops in their hometown. Both hilltops of Anderville were covered in mansions and estates from the various different noble houses, while the common folk lived down in the valley. It was now that Maria suddenly looked inside again, straight ahead.
“My dear, are you afraid of heights?” Tanya asked.
“Y-yes…” she admitted.
“Hmm… we could take a different route next time if that is more comfortable for you,” Tanya proposed.
“N-no, my Lady. This… this is the fastest route. I will manage,” Maria replied hastily.
“I insist, Maria. When we go out to the gala, we shall take the route through the lower city,” Tanya smiled.
“A-ah… but… yes, my Lady,” the handmaiden said meekly.
“And please… call me Tanya. I do not want you to feel as lesser than me,” Tanya continued.
“I-I… I can’t do that! I am merely your handmaiden, my Lady” Maria gasped, flustered.
“Maria, dear. Being my handmaiden does not make you less of a person. Whatever they have told you during your training does not define you if you ask me,” Tanya said calmly.
The maid sighed then and looked down. “It would be unbecoming of a handmaiden… what if somebody heard?”
“Well, I certainly do not care for what anybody says, and neither should you. This is what I wish of you,” Tanya continued.
Maria simply stared in front of her for a few seconds, thinking, until she finally spoke again. “Very well then, my l-... Tanya,” she said softly, still sounding very much ashamed of herself.
Tanya smiled again. “We’ll work on that,” she said as they got to the other side of the bridge.
The area here wasn’t all that different from the other hilltop but at least Maria was able to calm down again somewhat from the high bridge. Only about five minutes later did they finally reach the Horton estate. While the house itself wasn’t particularly big compared to some of the other mansions, its garden was quite large. It would take at least another minute for the coach to actually arrive at the front porch. Once there, the driver got off and opened the door. Maria quietly stood up, took the driver’s hand and carefully exited, after which Tanya did the same. The two women then simply approached the front door. All the while, Maria still did not seem to feel all that comfortable. Again, Tanya simply guessed that this was because she was still adjusting to her new role. Not to mention the conversation that they had had earlier.
When Maria knocked on the door, it was answered by one of the Horton butlers. “Good day, sir. Lady Davelon has arrived,” Maria said, though her voice seemed to tremble a little bit. The poor girl was so intimidated.
The butler nodded. “Lady Horton has been expecting you. Please enter,” he said as he opened the door fully, letting the two women enter. The butler then proceeded to take their coats and he was about to lead them to the guest room but Tanya refused. After all, she had come here often enough to know the way herself. Maria just meekly followed her.
The interior of the house was what would be expected of a noble family. The Horton family was especially proud of all of its oaken furniture as you could find this everywhere. Something that was really leaving an impression on Maria. There were also a fair amount of animal trophies displayed here and there, since Ophelia’s father was quite the avid hunter. Something that never failed to make Tanya uncomfortable. By the looks of it, it was the same for Maria.
When they arrived in the guest room, Tanya simply sat on one of the sofa’s while Maria took her place behind it, standing silently. A mere ten seconds later, Ophelia entered the room as well.
“Tanya! Welcome, love,” the woman said. She wore a blue dress and had her straight, black hair hanging down freely and casually. Her green eyes never failed to stand out. Tanya always thought of her friend as a very beautiful woman.
“Ophelia, dear,” Tanya said, standing up to give her friend a hug.
“How have you been doing?” Ophelia asked.
“Busy but otherwise fine,” Tanya replied as she sat back down again. “What about you?”
“Oh, I am simply divine!” Lady Horton replied, sitting down herself. “I am so happy I was able to get a hold of you. That has been harder and harder ever since you’ve become a professional dancer.”
“Oh, I know. I can barely rest from the previous gala when the next message is already lying on my doorstep,” Tanya chuckled.
“My sincerest apologies for that, love. I simply had to invite you.”
“T’is okay. I simply cannot refuse an invitation coming from you.”
Ophelia gave a broad smile at that. She clapped her hands then, after which the butler from before entered the room. “Would you like a refreshment, love?”
Tanya nodded. “You know what I like, my dear,” she chuckled as she crossed her legs.
Lady Horton nodded knowingly. “Year 1819, please,” she told her butler, who nodded and then left the room silently again. Turning her attention back, Ophelia smiled again. “I bet that you have danced with every single male noble in this town by now.”
Tanya chuckled. “Is that why you requested I dance with you this time?” She figured that now was probably a good time to get to business before the smalltalk started.
This caused Ophelia to laugh a little bit too loud, clearly embarrassed. “Ever the sharp one. Yes, that is indeed at least part of the reason why.”
“Part of the reason?” Tanya asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Well, most of all, I… I simply wish to relive the times of our younger years,” Ophelia admitted, turning slightly red. “You may have seen it as mere practice but I must admit that I have always loved our dancing.”
Behind her, Tanya could hear Maria breath in a bit louder than usual. Was the maid imagining what it must have looked like to see Tanya and Ophelia dance together? “I must admit that it was fun, yes. You were by far one of my better dance partners,” she chuckled.
“I have seen you dance now on several occasions but could never really shake this desire to be up on stage with you. I just… never really built up the courage to actually ask until now.” Ophelia gave a cheeky smile when she said that.
Just then, the butler returned with a rather old looking bottle of red wine. As he poured it into two glasses, Tanya thought to herself how to continue from here. As she had thought, Ophelia seemed to have enjoyed the training sessions much more than she probably should have. As the butler left again, she picked up her glass and shook it slightly. “Do you know why I accepted?” she asked before taking a sip from her wine. The taste certainly did not disappoint.
“Because you are as nostalgic as I am?” Ophelia asked.
Tanya shook her head. “I know you. There’s something more to this and I simply could not contain my curiosity.”
For a moment, Ophelia’s smile vanished from her face but she quickly started laughing. It was again just slightly too loud. After this she picked up her own glass of wine and brought it up to her face. “I can’t keep a secret from you, can I?” she said as she took a sip of her own. “I am sure you are aware of the recent scandals.”
“Oh, yes,” Tanya nodded. How could she not be. They were the talk of the town after all. Supposedly, there was an affair going on within one of the richer houses, where a young man had fallen for their gardener. Certainly something unbecoming of the nobility, at least according to most.
“Situations such as these are happening more and more frequently. It’s one scandal after the other and I for one am getting tired of them. Why would something like that be such a problem?” Ophelia sighed.
Tanya nodded. “I agree with that. Honestly, do people have nothing better to do?” she added.
“Exactly! Hence why I have decided to try and… loosen things up a little. I wish to try and shake up the town and make people realize that a lot of these ‘issues’ are not issues at all,” Ophelia explained.
“My… how noble of you,” Tanya chuckled.
Ophelia grinned in return. “I am hoping to send out your outfit for the gala within two days. I ask that you wear it before you leave, as I wish to begin our show on the front porch.”
“My my my. You have already fully thought things out, have you,” Tanya said.
“Of course I have, love,” Ophelia chuckled. She must have known from the start that Tanya would accept this invitation to dance.
“Very well then, my dear. Let us plan the evening,” Tanya smiled.
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Roughly two days later, Tanya was sitting in her own study, going through some of her letters. There were invitations from several different houses from various nearby towns. Most of which she sadly had to decline because of her commitment to Ophelia’s invitation. There was even some fan mail, though Tanya had always felt slightly uncomfortable reading those.
The conversation with Ophelia had left Tanya with a feeling of anticipation. Her friend was definitely hiding something. Tanya had always been able to read her like an open book after all. She just wasn’t able to discover what this secret was.
As discussed, Tanya was to put on whatever outfit she would be sent before leaving her home. The dance would already be starting the moment she left her coach after all, where Ophelia would come and pick her up. The two of them would then proceed to dance their first dance, after which they would move to the indoor stage where they would continue with Tanya’s regular show. After that, there would be the usual mingling with the guests for the remainder of the gala. Of course, Tanya expected to be dancing with many more guests that evening as well. It was all par for the course as a dancer. It seemed fairly standard procedure, all things considered.
“L- uh… Tanya?” Maria said as she entered the room. True to what they had discussed the other day, Maria had been making an effort to start calling Tanya by her name instead of the usual ‘my lady’.
“Yes, dear?”
“I… forgive me for being so bold… but are you really going to dance with Lady Horton?” The handmaiden shrank a little as she said that.
Tanya tilted her head slightly. “Why do you ask?”
“Well… this is all very unorthodox for noblewomen. And after you’ve worked so hard to gain everyone’s respect too…” Maria said, a little bit quieter now.
Tanya smiled. The maid was certainly very thoughtful alright. “I trust my friend and I trust myself to go into this with confidence. After all, if you do anything with confidence, people will treat you with respect,” she said. It was true too. In the past she may have had insecurities and negative thoughts but she never showed those. Instead, she always carried with her an air of confidence. It could be tiring sometimes but it was the best way for her to gain the respect of her peers.
“I see…” Maria said.
Tanya stood up and walked up to Maria. “You are a very considerate friend, my dear, and I appreciate your concerns,” she said, turning almost motherly.
“... Friend?” the handmaiden asked, surprised.
Tanya nodded. “I hope you don’t mind me saying that.”
Maria was about to open her mouth when the bell rang. “Ah… I will get it,” she said, quickly turning around and leaving the room. Tanya did not mind this all that much. She did kind of put the maid on the spot.
It wasn’t until a few minutes later when Maria returned to the study. “I believe Lady Horton’s outfit has arrived for you,” she said, still sounding a bit flustered.
“Excellent!” Tanya said excitedly. She was finally going to uncover at least part of the mystery surrounding her upcoming dance. She calmly followed the maid down to the living room, where a rather large wooden crate stood ready. “Goodness, she spared no expense, did she,” she chuckled.
Maria forced back a chuckle of her own. She then lifted the lid of the crate which finally revealed… nothing?
Tanya and Maria both looked at the empty crate, speechless. What in the world was going on here? Had there been a mix-up? Had someone stolen her outfit? Was this some sort of prank?
Maria reached inside the crate, revealing a tiny note that she simply passed on to Tanya. There was only one sentence on it.
I trust you know what this means. Love, Ophelia
Tanya couldn’t believe what she was reading. There was no way that Ophelia, of all people, would ask this of her. This simply couldn’t be true! And yet, here it was…
“I… will call back the men who delivered this…” Maria said, standing up. She was about to head out when Tanya spoke up.
“No… there is no need,” she said, still looking down at the note.
“But they have obviously made a mistake!” Maria cried out.
“This is no mistake…” Tanya replied, finally looking up at the handmaiden. Her face was beet red as she spoke the following words. “Ophelia… expects me to come nude.”