“Good,” she replied decisively. Then she paused, and stared back at the stall she had just come out of. “This one isn’t hungry,” she added quietly.
Scarlet snorted. “I’m going to go and give one a new hairstyle,” she said, grabbing a brush and wandering off across the yard.
But she hadn’t noticed which horse Rose was talking about.
Stall number four. Raven. The big black horse that belonged to …
Miss Fox.
I stepped closer to Rose and lowered my voice. “Why isn’t he hungry?” I asked.
Rose leant the shovel back against the wall, then gestured at me to follow her over to the stable door. She pointed inside.
Raven was lazing in the far corner, lying down and looking – though perhaps it was just my imagination – a little fatter than he had before. But what I wasn’t imagining was what Rose was trying to show me: there were bits of treats left scattered in the straw. A carrot top. An apple stalk. A few loose shavings where the big horse’s teeth had carved slices off the veg.
It was clear from the puzzled expression on Rose’s face that she wasn’t responsible for them.
“Maybe it was the other girls,” I said, trying to reassure us both. “Maybe some of the first years thought they’d give him some extra treats.”
Rose nodded, her long blonde locks bobbing gently. “They do that sometimes,” she whispered.
“Look!” Scarlet called from across the yard. She’d plaited a horse’s hair over its eyes. I sighed and walked over to her. “Scarlet? Remember not getting into trouble?”
My twin just grinned. “The horses can’t make me write lines,” was all she said.
The weekend had been fun, but for once I couldn’t wait for it to end. We’d walked to the village shop and bought midnight feast sweets, as was our tradition, even if it felt strange to do it without Ariadne.
But I was waiting for Monday. Not only would I get to do ballet, but also I’d get my extra tuition with Miss Finch.
I was restless for most of the day, but I made sure to not get in too much trouble. The last thing I wanted was another blasted detention.
At least Ivy had stopped incessantly asking me what was on my mind. I knew I ought to say something, but there was a lot I ought to do.
Ivy tells you everything, my brain insisted.
Pfft. It wasn’t as if my extra practice would have to be a secret forever. Just until I got the part.
Ballet was the last lesson of the day, and I felt both excited and, well, a little nervous.
To my relief, everything went fairly smoothly – even queen witch Penny seemed to be on her best behaviour. We practised a small section from the beginning of Sleeping Beauty.
But I couldn’t stop second-guessing myself. Was my leg as straight as Nadia’s? Were Ivy’s jumps higher than mine? I didn’t even dare look at Penny, because if she was any better than me, I didn’t want to know.
It’s all fine, I told myself over and over. You’ll get your extra practice. Then you’ll be the best.
It was all I could do to not say anything to Miss Finch when the lesson was over. I really wanted to make sure she hadn’t forgotten, or worse, changed her mind. But if I said anything, I’d give myself away. It’d be one thing if Ivy found out, but I couldn’t risk Penny knowing. I’d be utterly humiliated.
So Ivy and I traipsed back to room thirteen, and I pretended nothing was different.
“Oh!” I yelled suddenly, as we reached our door.
“What?” asked Ivy.
I spread my empty hands out wide. “I forgot my toe shoes. I must have left them in the studio.”
My twin looked exasperated. “What’s wrong with you this week? You never forget your shoes.” Her own soft pink shoes were dangling from her arm.
“Dunno,” I said. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I’ll go back down and get them. I’ll see you in a bit.”
“Try to make it back before dinner,” she replied.
You’ll be lucky, I thought.
I was almost out of breath by the time I reached the studio. What if Miss Finch changed her mind? I had rather guilt-tripped her into it …
But there she was, sitting at her piano stool, just as she always did.
“I’m back!” I announced.
She smiled at me. “I can see that. Let’s get started.”
She watched as I pirouetted over and over, trying to get it just right.
“Engage your core muscles,” she said. “Keep your eyes up.”
Every time I did a pirouette I felt a little less dizzy, and a little more confident. But I was still wobbling.
“You don’t need to push yourself quite so hard. You’ll throw the turn off. You’re not trying to spin as fast as you can.” She pointed to my head. “Imagine yourself doing it perfectly, in a controlled way.”
I took a deep breath, and made sure my starting plié was right. That final time, I spun the pirouette without a wobble.
“Excellent!” said Miss Finch, clapping her hands. “Keep it up. I think that’s enough for now.”
I had to say something. “Miss?”
“Yes?”
I couldn’t quite meet her eye. “I’m sorry if I made you feel bad. What Miss Fox did to me wasn’t your fault. I hope you don’t think you have to help me just because of that.”
She looked up, her eyes searching my face. “Oh, Scarlet. It’s quite all right. You haven’t had as much time as the other girls, so I don’t mind doing this bit extra for you.”
“Are you sure?” I really wanted that to be true.
“I’m sure. Now come on, you need to get up to dinner. There’s still time if you go quickly.”
“Yes, Miss! Thank you, Miss!” I beamed.
“Don’t forget to get changed,” she said with a grin. That was a good point. I’d get all manner of questioning if I turned up at the dinner hall in my ballet clothes. Not to mention I’d probably never get the smell of stew out of them. “I’ll see you again on Friday.”
“Thank you,” I said again. I was repeating myself, but I meant it. This time she didn’t reply, just went back to happily playing the piano.
Things were finally looking up.
When I reached our dorm, Ivy had already gone to dinner without me. I threw my uniform back on and headed down to the dining hall to join her.
She was not entirely pleased.
“Where on earth have you been?” she demanded loudly over the racket