((Warning: This will be a VERY LONG prologue. You may choose to skip or at least skim through this chapter. But I highly recommend that you read through this if you'd like more context on our protagonist and her original life before her transmigration to the world of Swan Lake. And to those who have chosen to move forward, I appreciate your time and patience very, very much! Now, without further ado, enjoy! :) ))
.....
"Wow, would you look at that?"
Leaning her freckled arms onto the steel railing, Adele marvelled at the big round moon that glowed red against the night sky. It was quite a rare sight to see, watching the moon slowly be painted a subtle shade of scarlet as the earth continued to align itself in between the moon and the sun.
A "Blood Moon", as it's more popularly known.
"It's been all over the news lately, right?" Lila flipped her curled blonde locks over her bare shoulder as she took a sip of her second glass of cocktail. "They say that this 'Blood Moon' will be the first of three lunar eclipses that will be happening for the next year and a half. At least, that's what Dad's chauffeur has been saying."
"Are you sure this is alright? Having the party, I mean."
Twirling the barely drunk glass of Merlot in her hand, Adele nodded towards the mixture of boisterous chatter and blaring music coming out of the yacht's cabin. Almost a dozen people in glamorous getups were dancing and laughing in the enclosed area. A few intoxicated guests were snoring on the couches, hugging half-full bottles of expensive alcohol in their arms. Her blonde friend snorted at the sight, then shrugged her shoulders unaffectedly.
"What? You really believe that nonsense about the Blood Moon bringing bad luck? Honestly, I didn't expect you to be the superstitious type, Adele. Could make a great story for our Mom's next book though."
Adele gave a pout in response to her best friend slash stepsister's indifferent attitude. She then subtly pointed the tip of her flute glass towards the vast darkness surrounding the yacht.
"I meant the sea. Didn't they say that a lunar eclipse would affect the water levels of the ocean? Is it really alright to be celebrating this far away from the land?"
Lila clicked her tongue.
"So what? Dad said it was alright, didn't he? And the docks aren't that far off either. Besides.."
Lila lightly nudged a shoulder against the doubting brunette. A cheeky yet proud smile spread across her glossy magenta lips.
"It's not everyday that we get to celebrate your new role as the star ballerina of Swan Lake!"
"A role that I got only after you got into that accident." Adele rolled her eyes, then frowned in worry at the thick white cast wrapped around her stepsister's right arm. Several colorful signatures and "Get well" greetings decorated the stiff wrapping, no doubt doodled by their ballet academy's classmates during a hospital visit.
"Seriously, Lila. What were you thinking when you got into that car with Luka knowing full well that he was on a drunken stupor?"
"Psh, I'm alive right now, aren't I? Besides, that accident got you that dream role. You should be grateful instead of being a nag."
The petite brunette flinched at her stepsister's blunt retort.
It's true that for as long as she could remember, Adele had always dreamed of playing the coveted roles of both Odette and Odile in arguably the most famous ballet of all time. Especially the infamous Black Swan.
Even though her meek personality and average looks couldn't compare to the more popular dancers in their prestigious ballet academy, Adele had continued to work hard for several years to improve herself in order to stand out and be recognized by their mentors.
Ever since her mother brought the young Adele to her first local Swan Lake show, she knew in her heart that it was her true calling to become Odile.
But never did she expect nor would she have wanted to receive her dream role in this way. Especially at the expense of her dear friend's health.
That said friend seemed to quickly regret the insensitive way she spoke.
"I'm sorry, Adele. You know that I didn't mean it that way. You deserve those roles, really."
The blonde woman sighed, skimming her well-manicured fingers across her shiny, blonde locks. Her forest green eyes turned glassy as she stared blankly at the swaying sea. As if the ocean embodied the swirling emotions that she felt deep inside at the moment.
"... I guess a part of me has been feeling bitter as of late. Not only did I get into that dumb accident with my ex-boyfriend," Her raspy voice suddenly turned ice cold. "... but it turns out that sad excuse of an ex-boyfriend has been cheating with that redheaded skank Carla the whole time we were dating! I knew that she was a fake from the start!"
Lila grinded her teeth as she tightly squeezed the half-full glass in her hand. She flicked her burning eyes towards the direction of the brightly lit cabin, knowing that the said redhead was currently being the life of the party while she was away.
"And that bitch had the audacity to crash our party as if nothing had ever happened! This is OUR party! Seriously, who does she think she is??"
"I'll never forgive those two! Especially that man slut who caused me to miss out on our first Swan Lake production!"
At that, the irritated woman shot her head back and emptied her sour drink in a split second. Then she slammed the empty glass onto the edge of the railings as her green eyes sparked in anger. It was lucky that the impact wasn't enough to actually break the poor glass into pieces. Otherwise, Adele would've had the unwanted honor of awkwardly explaining to their parents why their already injured daughter had ended up decorating her non-injured hand with tiny glass shards.
"Well, at the very least, some justice was served! I'm glad the accident also took that traitor out of the running for Prince Siegfried's role! He can rot in that hospital bed for all I care!"
To Adele's added distress, her blonde friend grabbed her own glass of red wine and just as quickly downed the drink in a snap. She then started clumsily waving the empty flute in the cool, salty air as her words began to slur.
"Aaaaaand that bitch didn't get the part of the two swans too, thanks to you! Ha, serves her right! Adele, I'm telling you. Don't you eeeeever give that hoe the chance to steal any of your roles! Eeeeeveeeer!"
"Okay okay, sis! I get it!" Carefully, Adele unfolded the tipsy blonde's tight fingers around the emptied glass. From the very few times they've drank together, she knew that despite her outspoken appearance, her stepsister did not have the best tolerance when it comes to alcohol.
"I know how you feel. But I think you've had a little bit too much to drink. You're still recovering, you know."
"Who caresssss?" Lila slurred as she began swaying towards a lounge nearby. She slowly sunk onto the cushions as she slapped a hand onto her forehead, cursing incoherently at the dizzying sounds coming from inside the cabin.
"Crappy music... Anyway, I won't let this small injury stop me. Just you wait. After I get through this, I'll be taking on those other starring roles in the future."
In Lila's case, this was most likely true. Even if she missed out on this important play, her natural charm, confidence, and undeniable talent would surely get her into other starring roles in future productions. That is, for as long as she was diligent in her recovery and training.
She hated to admit it, but Adele couldn't help but feel envious of her stepsister. Even if she herself worked twice as hard as anyone else, she knew that her efforts would always end up second to Lila's natural gracefulness.
If only she could be as endearing and nonchalant as Lila, perhaps she wouldn't have a harder time trying to prove herself to her peers.
But now wasn't the time to think selfish thoughts.
Adele took a glimpse at the Blood Moon high up in the sky. By now, not a sliver of white moonlight escaped the earth's shadow. It was strange, but something about it felt unusually eerie. She wasn't sure if her mind was playing tricks on her, but the tiny woman could've sworn that the redness of the moon had suddenly turned more intense; more fitting of its famous nickname.
Its contrasting color effectively made both the starless sky above and the soft waves below even inkier than usual.
As if everything around them completely turned black.
She shivered slightly, unsure of whether or not the discomfort was caused by the chilling wind that suddenly bit onto her skin. She cursed at the fact that she decided to leave her comfiest cardigan back home, as it didn't match the midnight blue party dress that Lila had chosen for her to wear tonight.
"Seriously, Lila. Maybe we should just call it a night and go home. You need to go rest if you want to recover quickly."
"And miss out on all the fun?? No can do, sweetheart!" Lila snapped, suddenly wide awake again. Coughing twice, she shakily stood up from her seat as she held onto an armstool for support.
"I'm going back into the fray. It's about time I go teach that tramp a lesson anyway."
"Lila!"
"I'm not going to get into a fist fight, don't you worry!" The blonde woman carelessly waved her injured arm as she began to stumble towards the bright lights from the cabin. "Just gonna hammer her down with a few 'words of wisdom'."
Adele shook her head in exasperation. When Lila sets her mind onto something, she knew that she could never win against her.
"Don't take it too far, okay? I'll go tell Stefan to turn this boat back to land."
"Spoilsport." The blonde muttered. Adele rolled her eyes.
"I heard that."
"Yeah yeah, mom."
Lila stuck her tongue out childishly. She paused, then turned her head back towards the other girl.
"Sure you don't wanna come with? This party IS for you, y'know?"
Adele smiled helplessly as she shrugged her shoulders.
"I'll stay out here a little longer. Don't think I could handle being the 'star of the show' at the moment." She replied sarcastically.
"Your loss."
Leaving a wink and a wave, Lila continued on to where the party was, swaying her hips while plastering a fake grin onto her gorgeous face as she opened the sliding door to the lively cabin.
Of course, as soon as she arrived, the party guests began to swarm towards her like bees to honey, pulling the blonde woman deeper into their fun little throng.
Adele sighed at the sight.
As mentioned earlier, this last-minute celebration was supposedly prepared by Lila just for her. Perhaps she thought that if the latter joined in with the gimmicking, the other guests would have an easier time accepting her.
Adele frowned at the uncomfortable thought.
It was no secret that several people in the academy were against the fact that Adele was chosen to replace Lila for the two most important roles of Swan Lake, especially Carla, who was also known for eyeing those specific roles. Even if she could pass off as the innocent Odette, it was difficult for their peers to imagine the same mousy brunette transforming into the fierce, seductive villainess Odile.
It was one thing to pull off the famous 32 fouettès. It was another to be able to embody that magnetic aura and enrapture the audience completely into your performance. Just like how Odile tricked Prince Siegfried into believing she was his true love.
Ironic how this was the role that Adele had wanted the most. And yet, nobody had the conviction that she could pull it off.
Adele sighed once again, frustrated at her lack of self-esteem. She knew that for the longest time, the one thing she lacked the most was confidence.
Even if she tried to ignore what the others were saying about her, she couldn't help but think about the "what ifs" that might happen if she somehow ruined the production. She didn't want all the cast and crew's efforts to be in vain because of her.
Her mother always reminded her that hard work and perseverance will shine through. Her stepfather encouraged her that her patience and consistent practicing would go a long way. Even Lila had to convince her daily that there was nobody who could compete with her but herself.
She was grateful that her family was there to back her up. They were all the support system she'll ever need.
But for some reason, she still couldn't block off the noise from her detractors. The words "second-rate" or "replacement", somehow those words seemed to sting more than anything.
For many years, she had always been the so-called "fill-in" girl when it comes to their academy's stage productions. Everyone knew that she had the capacity to do the difficult techniques well.
It's just that her star quality was somehow ... lacking. Average.
She was good... and only good.
Even if the chosen star had a harder time getting the choreography down as quickly as her, their energy and charm have always masked their struggles. For the directors and sponsors of their prestigious academy, the unique skill to pull the audience in was far more important than the act of simply doing the dance steps perfectly.
Her parents encouraged her to take regular acting classes during her spare time to make up for her lack of presence. Perhaps it helped somewhat, if the higher ups were convinced to choose her to fill in for Lila instead of somebody as vivacious as Carla.
But still ... the fact remains that she was nothing more than the replacement.
Adele shook her head to clear her negative thoughts.
"What am I doing? I can't keep blaming the world for something like this. Being a replacement is still better than nothing." she muttered dejectedly, fiddling at the empty flute glass that she still had on her hand. The faint reflection on its surface reminded her of just how average she looked.
Long, stick straight hair that's as dull as a chalkboard. Small, dark brown eyes barely hiding under a curtain of flimsy, almost nonexistent lashes. And a pair of thin pale lips that could only be saved by a ton of lip liner. Even with all the best makeup plastered onto her face, she could never really consider herself as someone comparable to Helen of Troy.
Especially not next to naturally gorgeous women like Lila, or even Carla.
The flute glass glistened as Adele gave it one last twirl before setting it down onto a bar.
Taking a deep breath of cool air, she tried to empty out her thoughts. Her mother had taught her at a young age that a few deep breaths would help calm one's mind. And they've always worked in varying degrees so far.
"That's it, Adele. Deep breaths. Just try to think positive. This is the chance you've been waiting for your whole life. You can't waste it by thinking all these negative thoughts."
Breathe in. Breathe out.
"You deserve this. You know you deserve this."
Her dark brown eyes suddenly caught sight of the red moon once again. Come to think of it, she remembered coming across an online article on her phone the other day about how this phenomenon was often described as a harbinger of change.
Adele wanted to scoff at that. Even though she enjoyed reading fictional stories here and there, she'd never once considered herself to be superstitious.
Those things like luck, magic and transmigrations ... they were all just a bunch of fairy tale nonsense that only exist in tv shows or novels that her mother occasionally writes about.
Even so ... perhaps a small part of her wanted to believe that things like wishing on an evening star would make her dreams come true.
In this case, maybe wishing on a Blood Moon would make the so-called "magic" even stronger.
After all, it's been said to be a sign of great change, right? And what Adele wanted the most right now was to change herself.
Change who she was completely.
The timid brunette nibbled her lower lip as she took a peek at her surroundings. Save for a couple of lovebirds cuddling on the other side of the bow, it doesn't seem like anyone else wanted to spend their time outside in the cold.
That made Adele feel relieved. It would've been completely embarrassing for a young adult like her to be caught making a silly wish in front of the red moon.
She knew that Lila would've made fun of her if she knew that this sister of hers wanted to indulge in this delusion.
"But really, it wouldn't hurt to make a harmless little wish, would it?" she whispered to herself in encouragement. "Just do it, Adele. What's the worst that could happen?"
After making sure that nobody was paying any attention to her, she solemnly folded her hands and closed her eyes like a devouted nun at church whispering prayers to the Lord.
"Please please please." She murmured. "Help me just this once, um, whoever's up there. Moon God, Goddess or whatever."
"I just want to be like Odile. Please, even if I have to give up Odette's role to someone else... although I really wouldn't want that either, but anyway! I just want a chance to prove to the world that I can do it. That I can be just as beautiful and alluring as Odile."
"No, that I CAN embody the Black Swan completely."
'At least onstage.' She concluded with that thought. After a few moments of silence, she slowly opened one eye.
As expected, nothing happened. The only response to her prayers were the soothing sounds of the waves crashing below the yacht.
She didn't feel any different. No burst of confidence, nor a rush of adrenaline to keep her motivation high.
Instead, she felt a bit ... emptier.
"... What the heck was I expecting?"
Despondent, Adele exhaled a large breath as she lightly slapped her forehead. "Darn it, I knew that this was a stupid idea ... Oh well, it was worth a shot anyway."
By habit, she rested a hand on the bottom of her bare neck, expecting to feel the familiar cool metal on the tips of her fingers. Belatedly, she recalled how she had left her necklace at the jewelry shop just the day before after she accidentally broke its chain during an intense workout session.
Giving one last glare at the unresponsive moon, the brunette dropped her empty hand and turned to move away from the railing. It's about time she instructed Stefan to drive the yacht back to shore anyway.
Suddenly, she felt a hand grasp her left shoulder. Adele quickly snapped her head around. Her dark eyes widened in surprise when she caught sight of a familiar redheaded beauty grinning at her slyly.
"What was 'worth a shot', darling?" She inquired in a high-pitched, sugary sweet tone as she mildly tapped her slender fingers onto Adele's shoulder. "You know, it's not so safe for a woman to be out here all alone, and in the middle of the night too."
Adele raised an eyebrow suspiciously. How in the world did she not hear this woman coming?
"Why should I worry when we're out here on a yacht and surrounded by friends? Besides ... I didn't think that you'd actually care so much about me, Carla."
"Oh come now, honey!" The redhead threw her head back and let out a seemingly innocuous laugh. "Of course I care about you! After all ... "
A small, sardonic smirk spread across the woman's thick, pouty lips.
"You're the 'star' of our upcoming ballet, aren't you? It would be in our best interest to keep our costar in great health, especially after what happened to your stepsister."
"Oh yes. What a tragedy it must've been for you." Adele rolled her eyes.
As far as she remembered, Carla had never really spoken a word to Adele, nor did she ever give her the time of day.
Since their younger years, she had always portrayed herself as this sweet, angelic "friendly rival" to Lila, who was the most popular young student in the academy. But everyone knew that in reality, this jealous woman wanted nothing more than to bring Lila down from her throne and steal everything that the latter had ever wanted.
For example, seducing Luka, Lila's crazy ex-boyfriend, into starting petty fights with her, which ultimately led them into a car accident.
Perhaps the latter was not part of Carla's plan, but nevertheless, this greedy woman was quite dangerous in many ways. Especially since she has the capacity to wrap any willing men into her tiny, perfectly manicured finger.
Adele could only guess that the reason this she-devil was taking the time to talk to her right now was because she was secretly boiling with the fact that she was passed over the very roles that she'd always coveted from Lila.
The redheaded vixen only flipped her soft curls out of her flawlessly made up face.
"Why yes it is! Luckily for us, our dearly beloved Lila came out unscathed. Well, mostly anyway."
She let out a deriding chuckle. At this point, Adele was already tired of this pointless conversation.
"What do you want, Carla? I need to get going-"
"But we've only just started talking. I'm sure it wouldn't be so bad to catch up a little bit, especially since we've never really had a real talk before."
"Gee, I wonder why.."
"And you know, I just wanted to make a teeny tiny suggestion. It'll be good for you, I promise."
Suddenly, Carla's smiling expression turned cold. Her big, baby blue eyes, usually refreshing and comparable to the morning sky, hardened as if her irises frosted up into a thin sheet of ice.
"Give up on the White and Black Swans."
Adele frowned in response. She never did say that she didn't see this coming. She just didn't realize that Carla would be so open as to threaten her in a public area. And in her own party nonetheless.
".. And why should I? I earned those roles fair and square. You were there at the audition."
"Oh please! Did you honestly believe that the director would choose someone like you to be the star of the show? You, of all people?" Carla snorted in disbelief. "You really believe that without your stepdad's connections, those two roles would be handed to you that easily? Especially against someone like me?"
"Can you honestly say that little old you could possibly represent both the delicate White Swan and the feisty Black Swan more perfectly than I?"
For once, Adele couldn't give back a sarcastic retort. She hated to admit it, but Carla knew exactly which buttons of hers to push.
Wasn't she agonizing just a few minutes ago about how insecure she was about herself, to the point of desperately wishing on the blood red moon?
Carla must've heard a bit of her prayers when she came out with the purpose to goad her while Lila was distracted.
And it was terribly painful to admit, but Adele knew more than anyone that Carla was the perfect embodiment of both Odette and Odile.
She knew how to act as the delicate damsel-in-distress in order to manipulate one's kind heart to feel sorry for her ... and the next second, snap into a vicious viper that would willingly step on anyone who tries to get in her way.
How she acted in front of Adele right now was solid proof of that. Perhaps that was the whole point.
Still, this was the one thing Adele would never give up on. Even with all her doubts, there was absolutely no way she'd allow herself to let go of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
".. I'll say this one last time. I earned those roles fair and square. And just so we're clear, my stepfather had nothing to do with the selection committee." Spurned on by her sudden burst of courage, Adele crossed her arms and gave a gloating smirk. "Although, after hearing all this nonsense, I don't suppose you're trying to accuse our academy's director as a corrupt person who would sacrifice his art for the sake of monetary gain, right?"
At that, the fiery woman's face turned as red as her hair. It was clearly written on her face that she never expected the petite woman to fight back.
For "mousy, little" Adele, it felt invigorating to know that she could actually clap back against this horrible vixen who had plenty more years of experience putting others down.
What do you know? Perhaps that wish upon the moon really did work wonders after all.
"You little! H-How DARE you put words onto my mouth?!" Carla spat out.
"What words? You said it yourself. You believe that our kind and fair director would go so low as to compromise his professionalism for the sake of gaining more favors from my stepfather. And all because of little old me. Or what?"
Feeling a bit braver, Adele took a few menacing steps towards the aggravated woman, to the point of almost cornering her onto the railing.
"Are you willing to admit that an oh-so-talented woman like you, who would go so far as to manipulate my sister's boyfriend to ruin her chances, was ignored by both the director and the other higher ups for someone as harmless as me?"
"Y-Y-YOU! How dare you-!"
The next part Adele had not expected. Blinded by her anger, the redheaded woman grabbed ahold of Adele's shoulder and harshly shoved her to the side, causing the latter's body to crash against the steel railings. The pain on her abdomen made the offended woman feel aggravated.
"OW! What the heck?!"
"TAKE THAT BACK, YOU LITTLE BITCH! You think you can look down on me from your high horse just like that Lila?! You, of all people!"
"What the-?! YOU were the one who started it!"
To Adele's great shock, her provocation caused the enraged Carla to pull on the petite woman's long hair, painfully dragging her head from side to side.
Adele cursed after detecting the sour traces of alcohol coming out of the woman's ragged breath. She should've known that Carla would've already been intoxicated after partying for so long. No wonder she was bolder than usual. It just goes to show how great of an actress she truly was.
And just when she had warned Lila a moment ago to not get into a fist fight.
Adele yelped when she felt a bunch of hair being snatched out of her aching scalp.
"HEY! Let me go!"
"Not until you give up on Odette and Odile's parts!"
"Seriously?! You're crazy!"
In retaliation, Adele grabbed ahold of Carla's long wavy locks.
"Hey! Let go!"
"YOU let go!"
For several seconds, the two women screamed and wrestled with each others' heads. Adele knew that Carla was vicious, but she had no idea that she could be this strong!
In truth, despite their appearances, ballerinas weren't exactly the most delicate people in the world.
From the background, the two women could faintly hear a frantic pair of steps approaching the both of them. They were probably the same couple that Adele sighted at the other side of the bow earlier.
"Hey! Stop it, you two!"
"Come on, let go of each other!"
The woman tried to get ahold of Adele while her boyfriend attempted to pull Carla's stone-hard claws away from Adele's abused hair. Unfortunately, all three of them underestimated the power of a scorned, drunk woman.
"Get off me, you pieces of -!"
"I said sto- AGHHHHH!"
Suddenly, Adele felt herself floating in the air. She didn't know exactly how it happened, only realizing belatedly that her upper body had flipped over to the other side of the steel railing when she felt the biting wind slam onto the back of her head, causing her dark hair to fly everywhere as her vision started plummeting farther and farther away from the others, and away from the surface of the yacht.
For a brief moment, she could make out the shock-stricken faces of the couple who tried to keep the two women apart. Even the disheveled redhead ceased struggling against the man's hold, gaping in horror as she watched Adele fall into the cold sea.
CRASH!
A large splash shattered the silence.
A sudden, inexplicable chill wrapped itself around Adele's sinking body.
She tried to flail and kick around as she felt the water's current drag her down, but her frozen body wouldn't obey no matter what she did.
Of all things, she hated swimming the most, especially after that one incident where she almost drowned at a kid's pool party. She never bothered to take any lessons after that, a decision of which she sorely regretted at this very moment.
It didn't help that the water was so freezing cold, effectively numbing all of her senses.
'So this is it then? Is this how I die?' she thought to herself as she felt her vision blur. Her lungs felt heavier by the second as she struggled to keep oxygen in her system.
And to think that only a few moments ago, she was up on that boat making a silly wish towards the red moon. If only she sucked it up and joined her sister in the party instead, then she wouldn't have had to deal with that crazy woman alone and get pushed off of her own family's yacht.
'Stupid girl. Maybe I never should've asked for more than what I already had. Darn it, I can't believe that that would be the last time I ever spoken to Lila. I should've taken better care of her. I ... I haven't even told my parents how much I loved them.'
As she felt herself losing air, she started envisioning the faces of all the people who meant the world to her.
Her mother. Her stepfather. Lila. Their aging labrador retriever, Rohan.
Old memories from the past rapidly appeared in her mind's eye. That time when she and her mother watched little Adele's first ballet recital on tape. Then another when her mother handed her a present during her 10th birthday celebration, the very first birthday she spent with her stepfather and stepsister as a family. Another vision showed an elaborate garden party, as she watched Lila receive a small black puppy for a birthday present.
All of those memories she cherished the most, they all came and went by in a flash. As the last remnants of her consciousness started to fade away, Adele vividly recalled one last important scene in her memories.
A six-year-old Adele was wiggling incessantly on her velvety seat, mesmerized by the incredible show that was happening right before her eyes.
'That's right. This was the very first time my mom brought me to watch Swan Lake.'
It was during one Christmas Eve when her mother brought her to see a local premiere of the ballet after a friend provided free tickets to the show.
Adele could never forget that night ... that magical moment when the prima ballerina first glided onto the stage dressed as the beautiful and angelic Odette.
She was intrigued when she watched the evil Rothbart lure Odette into becoming a swan at the opening. Then she was dazzled when the colorful entourage danced in celebration for Prince Siegfried's birthday.
She swooned when Prince Siegfried finally met Odette in the forest, and then fell in love. Not too long after, she teared up in frustration when that cruel villain Rothbart separated Odette from the prince.
Her mother giggled from time to time as she witnessed the little girl's expression change so dramatically from scene to scene. But Adele didn't mind.
Those fluid movements, those graceful twirls. Watching the cast dance their hearts out under the glittering lights and the enchanting backdrops made her feel like she was being sucked into the world of Swan Lake itself!
And when that infamous scene came where Rothbart introduces his daughter, Odile, to the ball to trick the prince into thinking she was Odette... that sparked her curiosity even more.
Witnessing the same ballerina transform from a pure, innocent white swan into an alluring, seductive black swan... that was when she knew.
"Mommy... I wanna become just like her!"
On that night, she knew that it was her destiny to one day become a swan.
More specifically, the Black Swan, Odile.
And just as the curtains fell onto the stage, the world faded to black.
.....