Porcelain

20

"Why?"

"No, it's not why, it's more like how." Eleanor corrected Meg as they as well as Fleurette sat with their legs dangling over the edge of the stage.

"Okay, how?"

"What? While you lot were rehearsing who had to sit and watch and take notes?" Fleurette asked rhetorically.

"You." Meg still answered though, of course she did.

"Exactly, Meg. Me." Fleurette nodded and drunk some of the water from the cup she was holding.

"Alright, alright, stop lording it out, Fleurette." Eleanor said while huffing slightly and frowning. The three of them were having a break. Previously they had been dancing and the current conversation revolved around Fleurette somehow managing to do the routine better than those who had been practising it for the past two days.

"What can I say? I'm a quick learner," Fleurette shrugged and suffered a playful punch to the arm from Eleanor.

"I said stop!" She laughed, Meg sat on the other side of Eleanor and shook her head at the two of them.

"Say," Meg said disturbing the sisters from their childish argument. "A few of us are going out after rehearsals are done with. Did you two want to come too?"

"We can't," Eleanor said sadly. "Our father...he wishes us to visit him."

"Yay," Fleurette said dryly while drinking some more water. "Just how I want to spend my evening."

"But Fleur doesn't want to go, well she doesn't seem to want to. Why should you both go if you know it's going to be a bad time? Come out with me and the others! Please!" Meg clapped her hands together pleading with them to go out with her.

Eleanor frowned at Fleurette, who still had a very unamused somewhat sulky expression on her face. "Maybe another time, Meg. We are sorry."

Meg's shoulders sagged from defeat yet smiled and nodded. "I'm holding you to that!" She chimed and jumped up. She walked briskly off to her mother who had previously called her over.

"Why do we have to go? I would much prefer to go out with Meg." Fleurette smiled and put the cup down beside her.

Eleanor sighed and ran a hand through her hair, unlike her sister she hardly ever tied her hair up when they were rehearsing. "Fleurette, you know so would I. No part of me wishes to go tonight-"

"You did say that the next time we'd have to go we should just ignore it." Fleurette smirked, Eleanor had previously said something along those lines. She distinctly remembered her saying it. So why was Eleanor now going back on her word? Why was she wanting so desperately to visit their father?

"It seemed important though."

"He makes everything seem important. I quite frankly don't care." Fleurette stood up and brushed herself down.

Eleanor looked up at her and stood up too. "We go, and if he does not get straight to the point we shall leave." Eleanor said, "How is that?"

"Fine! If we really must." Fleurette frowned and walked off to go back to rehearsing. Somehow she didn't feel like that was going to happen. It wasn't that she didn't believe her sister, but something in her gut just twisted, she had a bad feeling.

——

"Come on, Fleurette I know you do not wish to go but let's just go and get this over with." Eleanor said while pulling her sister by her arm. Fleurette had dug her heels into the floor, as the day went on she was becoming more and more reluctant to leave the opera house. Eleanor didn't see anything strange with this. She knew her sister had grown rather attached to the building. She frowned and gave her another tug when Fleurette pulled back. "Please, just this one meeting then we can tell him to stop bothering us! How is that?"