Performance Day (3)

Annaleigh couldn't wholeheartedly say that she had nothing to feel guilty about, so she tensed up in fear of a potential scolding when Heina stopped in front of her.

"Annaleigh, look at me."

"Yes..."

Once Annaleigh hesitantly turned to face Heina, she suddenly felt a soft, moist touch on her forehead. She flinched from the realization of what just happened, but Heina spoke with effortless ease and sincerity.

"Thank you for protecting our stage."

Confronted by Heina's warm smile, Annaleigh found it hard to remove her eyes from those supple pink lips and her face turned red as she tried to process the experience.

"I, I, I, I-"

Heina chuckled at her panic while the other members shook their heads and sent Annaleigh looks of pity. Heina would have loved to continue teasing her, but she remembered her role as her senior so she turned her around.

"I'll give you a better thank you once the recital is over. For now, watch princess' conclusion."

Though she was glad to be released from Heina's clutches, Annaleigh was initially worried that she wouldn't be able to focus on Liella's performance, but that worry quickly faded along with all other distracting thoughts.

The end of the performance was near, but that didn't make it any less impactful. The princess had overcome many difficulties since meeting her prince, but she still had one final decision to make. Would she leave with her prince or remain in the kingdom?

Liella's dance perfectly expressed the struggle the princess had while trying to choose between these two precious things, in a way that could appeal to the audience which was made up of those who constantly had to make such choices. She had likely also been faced with a choice like this, so Liella was able to present it even better. According to the story, the princess chose to stay in the kingdom, but Liella left that part open-ended so that the viewers could make their own choice. Even the stiff-faced members of the audience had to nod in appreciation and look forward to the future of the Asteria Dance Club's ace.

Once the curtains were down and Liella came backstage, Annaleigh was the first to appear in front of her with the bright eyes of an overjoyed fan. The other members also wanted to commend her, but they agreed that Annaleigh deserved her attention the most so they gave a quick word and left the two alone.

Liella had wanted to inquire about the dance and techniques that Annaleigh showed onstage, but once she saw her pure eyes, she relented.

"Did you like it?"

"Of course I did! If it wasn't for those damn nuisances I could have focused all of my attention on you, but I was still able to capture every single movement."

"Oh, is that so?"

Liella thought that she would be used to Annaleigh's passionate praise by now, but she found herself in an awkward position. Annaleigh didn't hug her because she didn't want to mess with her makeup and costume, but Liella could tell that she was definitely eager to grab unto her. In order to satisfy her desire to embrace, Liella slowly stretched out her hand and gently landed it on Annaleigh's head as if she was an unfamiliar pet.

"Thank you for protecting me."

As Liella nervously moved her hand back and forth, Annaleigh wanted to laugh, but she soon changed her mind and indulged in it instead. The two of them gave the image of a pet being intimate with its nervous master, so many of the girls couldn't help showing warm smiles.

Soon after Liella's solo was the final group performance, so Liella had to leave Annaleigh to change and go onstage. As she had seen many other excellent performances, Annaleigh believed that this would another one to look forward to, but her expectations were raised even further once she realized that Heina would be dancing as well. Although she had gotten ready early, Heina hadn't danced on stage since the start of the recital, and Annaleigh rarely saw her dancing during club sessions so she wondered how great of a performance the President of the Asteria Dance Club could give.

A little before the dancers began, Annaleigh was startled by a voice from behind.

"Are you a new member?"

When she hurriedly turned around, Annaleigh found the club's advisor standing behind her. It wasn't as obvious onstage, but she was much taller than Annaleigh, even more than Heina, and her stoic expression only added to her intimidating atmosphere.

"Ye, yesh!"

"A permanent one?"

"..."

"Well, no matter. Even if your focus isn't on dance, I suggest you pay close attention to them. With your insight you should be able to gain something from it."

"Yes!"

Fortunately, the advisor left afterwards, giving Annaleigh about two seconds of relief before she locked her eyes on the girls who started performing.

The curtain raised with the fairies asleep, but they soon awoke to the gentle sound that filled the auditorium. Each common fairy had their own way of getting ready for the day, but once finished, they all paid respect to the three royal fairies.

The two princess fairies, who were played by Liella and the Vice-President, each did a dance to arouse the queen from her slumber. The queen was pushed and pulled by their coercive dance moves until she eventually opened her eyes. Once her eyes were open, the queen led her young fairies to express their joy at the arrival and disappointment at the ending, of a new day.

A layman wouldn't be able to see anything special about Heina's performance as the queen, but Annaleigh was shocked to her core. Even if her other persona came out, they would still be in awe of Heina's technique for it had surpassed the level of simply being a good dancer.

Annaleigh had thought that since Leilla was their ace, Heina wouldn't be much better than her, but the gap was so glaring that Annaleigh couldn't look away from it. Heina didn't show off on stage even though she was the queen, but she still manipulated the crowd with her dancing. Annaleigh had already noted that members of the club could improve suddenly during a performance, but what she was seeing couldn't be explained with such simple logic.

Not just a few, or a couple of the new members, but all of the dancers were dancing better than in their prior performances. This sort of improvement seemed fishy, but a careful look at Heina's movements and her doubts were cleared. Although Heina didn't appear special in the queen role, she was the linchpin to their performance. By following her, everyone was able to figure out what to do next, how to do it, and when it should be done. Like a puppeteer, Heina controlled them to create a mesmerizing garden of fairies.

Heina's own dance was naturally beautiful, but there was something more to it that couldn't be explained with mere words. Although she wasn't an expert on the topic, even Annaleigh could tell this wasn't something that could be achieved by practicing normally. Only those who could touch upon the world's truths would be able to draw out the abilities of others like this.