The Red Swan (The Demon vs A Dancer)

The whole story in this novel has absolutely nothing to do with the music/song. The whole story is fiction. If there are similarities in the naming, we did not intend to.

And the author herself has not been able to write in good English. If there are any criticisms/suggestions about writing/grammars/punctuation, please contact the author. The author welcomes suggestions and constructive criticism.

There are still some terms in foreign languages ​​that may not be understood, such as en pointé (which is tiptoe to toe while performing ballet movements), or pas de deux (is a dance duet in which two dancers, usually a boy and a girl, performing ballet moves together), or also pointé shoes (are the type of shoes worn by ballet dancers when performing the en pointé dance).

For other ballet dance terms such as fifth position or first position, the author invites readers to search for the term in the search engine.

The author also invites readers to fantasize widely, including all the ballet dance movements in this story, please fantasize and imagine as freely as possible how the movements are performed.

Readers are also advised to watch ballet dance videos before reading this novel, The Red Swan, to make the fantasy more beautiful.

Stories in ballet such as The Swan Lake (The Swan Queen), Giselle, Cinderella, or stories in other famous ballet dances, readers can search for them in search engines, because these stories will not be discussed too much in this novel.

Thank you, happy fantasizing!

*For my second child, Baby N*

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Glossary

En pointè : the dancers moving gracefully on the tips of their toes.

En pointè shoes : specially made shoes worn by ballerinas to allow them to dance on the tips of their toes, usually female ballerinas wear this kind of shoes.

Flats shoes : shoes worn by male ballerinas to allow them to dance.

Marionette : manipulated, is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings.

First Position : the heels are together, with toes turned out until the feet are in a straight line.

Fifth position : the feet are turned out and pressed closely together, the heel of the one foot against the toe of the other, usually a professionals do this movement.

Plie : knee bend in ballet. It is used in jumps and turns to provide spring, absorb shock, and as an exercise to loosen muscles and to develop balance.

Demi plie : the dancer bends the knees halfway, keeping the heels securely on the ground.

Pas de deux : s a dance duet in which two dancers perform ballet steps together.

Releve : it is one of the basic ballet moves. The dancer starts in a demi-plié and then rises up into demi-pointe (on the balls of the feet) or en pointe (on the toes), either on one foot or both feet.

Pirouettes en pointè : is a simple ballet turn in which the ballerina spins 360 degrees on one foot.

There was a story, from time to time: that within this Earth, there were actually two worlds. The lowest world was the human world, which, according to the story, was a mortal world. They could be sick and die, as human beings. Humans could not, and did not have magic powers, however, there was something interesting about them.

Humans had deep feelings, emotions, and souls. Sometimes, humans would think with their hearts and feelings first, then they would think by logic. Although humans did not have any magic powers, they could still carry out daily activities, such as planting rice, farming crops, or even working as fishermen, to fulfil their daily needs.

It was undeniable that although humans were weak creatures, they were not, actually. Humans were created not only given emotions and feelings, but also reason and thoughts. Even though they did not have magic powers, humans could make anything, like bicycles to travel anywhere, or even a cart to carry and collect their crops.

It was also written in the story, that humans were the weakest creatures whose world was at the very bottom. The needs of human life were not only about food, clothing, or boards, but also entertainment. Humans loved art, such as drawing, and there was also the art of dance.

In a small town with not too many people, there was a luxurious and spacious theatre. Inside the building, every three months, it would be having a big show, a ballet dance performance, with a variety of interesting stories.

Even though it was just a dancing performance without dialogue, and even though the show was more about ballet and classical music, the audiences who attended each show can always guess the storyline.

Some people were interested in being an actor or dancer for the show, however, the requirements were not easy. They had to master ballet dance at least at an intermediate level.

Because the performance in the theatre always attracted the attention of many people, the wizards who lived in the wizard world were also interested in watching the ballet performance at the theatre. The wizard world, which was completely different from the human world, whatever they wanted, with just a snap of a finger, it would instantly appear before their eyes.

Shortcuts, as they were called.

Wizards were born with their own magic power, however, their magic power had to be honed from a very young age.

Currently, there were three classes in the wizard world, lower class wizards who still did not really understand how to control their magic power, and there were also middle-class wizards, who could already know how to control their magic power but still could not focus on it, so sometimes, the result was not what they want, and because of this, they still have to learn to focus on their own inner strength.

The highest class in the wizard world was the high-class wizard. They were already able to focus and concentrate on their own desires and already knew enough how to use their magic power for anything. Those who were already at this highest level, they could open a portal to enter the human world.

No wonder that some wizards sometimes liked to go back and forth from the magic world to the human world, just to enjoy the food or drink that only existed in the human world, there were also those who enjoy the beautiful scenery of the human world, and those who enjoy performances, such as the ballet dance performances inside the town's main theatre.

Not very often too, high class wizards could also bring their friends or relatives, or their lovers, who were still in lower-class and middle-class wizards, into the human world just for entertainment. Because wizards could not die unless killed or seriously ill, it was very common for some wizards who were already hundreds of years old but their faces still looked very young.

However, there were some rules when they wanted to enter the human world: one, the portal had not to be seen by humans, two, they had not to use their magic power in the human world, because it would be causing chaos. Humans really did not like wizards.

They would kill and burn the wizards, if found. Because according to humans, wizards were witches, a group of bad people who used magic power to enrich themselves and others easily, or doing evil deeds to other humans.

Wizards or witches made things worse, humans think. There was also a rule that the wizards had to obey on the highest priority: NEVER EVER TO FALL IN LOVE with humans.

Falling in love with humans was the most forbidden thing in the wizard world. The reason was unknown until now, however, there was one theory that most wizards believe in, that if they fell in love with a human, then they, the wizards themselves, would have great misfortune.

So, until this moment, there had not been a single wizard who seemed to love a human. And also, wizards had not to fight against their own destiny, such as healing others or themselves when they got sick, nor could playing with time, unless they only wanted to look into the past.

Let's return to the main theatre. Amazed by the ballet dance performance, some wizards then pretended to be humans, taking a ballet dance class which was always held in the theatre building. According to the wizards who had seen a ballet performance at least once, ballet dance was very elegant in its every movement.

Because not all wizards could open a portal to the human world, there was one young female wizard who really admires ballet dance, and decided to open a ballet dance class in the wizard world. And unexpectedly, she had many students not long after. This young female wizard called Rae, a high-class wizard with white hair and golden eyes.

She was one of the casts in every ballet dance performance in the main theatre for a short time, but she decided to stop after opening her own ballet class in the wizard world. Because her ballet dance skills were already very good, and she was even able to perform en pointè very well, she then decided to bring the art of ballet dance to the wizard world.

When Rae first opened a ballet dance class in the wizard world, there was only a little interest among the wizards, however, because high level wizards always enjoyed seeing ballet dance performances in the main theatre building of the human world, the ballet dance classes that Rae had opened before, became more and more popular.

Promotion by word of mouth from one wizard to another, began to spread. Small children to adults, began to learn ballet in the wizard world. When the class already got too crowded, Rae then decided to hire some wizards who have ballet dance skills on par with her, to teach the ballet class.

This ballet dance class now had been years in the wizard world. More and more wizards now were able to dance ballet well and beautifully, some even surpassing Rae herself. Proud of her students' achievements, she decided to teach younger wizards who have just joined, while her former students who had graduated were allowed to open their own ballet dance classes.

There was a very young female wizard that had caught Rae's attention. Since childhood, this young female wizard had shown extraordinary talent. She was already able to do en pointè at a very young age.

Lyxia, a child from high class wizards, whose parents were teachers for young wizards. She had beautiful black eyes and waist-length black hair. Time had flown by, and she was now already grown into a beautiful female wizard.

Lyxia herself was still a middle-class wizard, who still had to learn to control her magic power. Due to Rae's strict upbringing, Lyxia, who was getting older day by day, now had gotten used to doing difficult moves, perfectly. Rae really liked all the dances Lyxia did. Very beautiful, she was like a white swan dancing with soul.

One day, Lyxia was seen alone in her house. Her father and mother were already out to teach the young wizards at the wizard school. Bored, Lyxia then decided to get out of her house and coincidentally from afar, she saw two old females who were high class wizards, passing some distance in front of her house.

The two of them were opening a portal to the human world. Because the only ones who could open portals to the human world were only high-class wizards, Lyxia then secretly followed them, and once they entered the portal that one of them had just created, Lyxia then quickly walked over to enter that portal as well.

She then entered the portal after those two old female wizards had entered it before. Because Lyxia's footsteps were very silent, those two old female wizards did not hear at all that someone was following them from behind. The portal disappeared as soon as Lyxia and the old female wizards had entered it.

The portal took Lyxia and those two female wizards, inside a forest where sunlight could penetrate all the trees. There was a river where the water was clear and flowing fast, but there was not a single human in sight around.

Amazed by the natural beauty of the human world, Lyxia then mumbled softly, "How beautiful..."

However, Lyxia's soft voice had made the two old female wizards in front of her, startled. They looked back, and were very surprised when they saw Lyxia was already behind them.

One of them then approached Lyxia, and said, "Since when have you been behind us?! What are you doing here? Did you follow us through the portal just now? Ouch, later your parents will find out that you are with us, and they are going to scold you! You should better go back to the wizard world, Lyxia!"

However, Lyxia did not hear the old female wizard at all. She was still in awe of the beautiful scenery of the forest, then muttered again, "How do I open the portal to the human world? I really want to be able to see this beautiful view, whenever I want!"

Another old female wizard then approached Lyxia and said, "No way. You are still a middle-class wizard. Only high-class wizards can open portals to this human world. Besides, the rules here are very strict. We are not allowed to use magic powers here. If the humans know that wizards enter their world, they will burn us down. We are enemies to humans, and that is why we must always be careful while using our magic powers. You better return to the wizard world before your parents find you."

Lyxia shook her head, then suddenly hugged one of them tightly, and said, "I don't want to go back just yet, I still want to enjoy this world. It's so beautiful! Please!"

She kept asking, and begging them to let her travel around the human world. At first, they did not allow Lyxia to come along, but because she was so persistent, finally one of them said, "Okay, but you have to stay with us. Don't disappear or leave without us knowing."

Lyxia was overjoyed to hear that. The two old female wizards finally allowed her to follow them from behind. While walking, Lyxia also looked at the whole world around her with focus.

Out of curiosity, Lyxia started asking, "Where are we going?"

One of the old female wizards replied, "We are going to the market. Humans have a lot of things they are selling in the market. Incidentally, we are eager to enjoy some fresh food and drink. Ah, you know, there is no such food and drink in our world."

Lyxia nodded even though she did not really understand what they meant. The three of them then walked down the river, and after walking for some time, they arrived at a small town.

Right in the middle of the town, there was a very busy and crowded market. Lyxia was amazed, there were so many people in the market who seemed to be doing their own thing. There were several sellers and buyers who were bargaining for an item, there were also children running around, and some people were also seen carrying big sacks into a stall.

Lyxia followed wherever the two old female wizards went, while looking for eye-catching items throughout the market, and not to forget, they also bought some items that caught their eyes. After they had arrived in front of a shoe stall, the two old female wizards stopped for a moment while looking at the things that belonged to the shoe seller.

Lyxia was starting to feel bored by following them, then looked left and right, saw many people passing by, and suddenly, a human man from a distance, stole her attention. The man was very handsome. He was seen carrying a large sack, which she did not know what was in it, into a stall owned by a vegetable trader.

Lyxia immediately walked towards the vegetable stall with slow steps, and even the two old female wizards could not hear the sound of her footsteps. After she had arrived in front of the cart that belonged to the handsome man, Lyxia then stopped for a moment, then looked at the man with teary eyes.

The man realized that he was being watched by Lyxia, he then turned his head to her, while asking, "Miss, is there anything I can help you with?"

Lyxia was still looking at the handsome man with a blush on her face, and replied, "Ah, I just moved here from the big town next to this small town. However, this is the first time I visit the market within this town. Very interesting! And, what are you doing?"

The man smiled, and replied, "Miss, I am a farmer, and these are the crops from a few days ago, which have been collected and wrapped in big sacks, and after that, my job is to bring them here to be sold by the vegetable seller in this stall."

Lyxia was still in focus, however, what she admired was the man's posture. She never saw such a man in the wizard world.

"Ah, my name is Lyxia. If I may ask, what is your name?" Lyxia asked the man.

"Me? People here call me Muscle Man, but my real name is Mikhel. Nice to meet you, Miss Lyxia! If there's anything else I can help you with, you can come see me straight away," the man replied with a smile at her.

For some reason, Lyxia's heart was pounding at the sight of Mikhel's smile, while her face was red. Suddenly, Lyxia's arm was pulled by someone. Apparently, one of the old female wizards who was with her earlier, had been looking for her, who suddenly disappeared, and found her here, at the vegetable stall.

"You, I told you not to go too far without us! We better go home now! It's dangerous for you, Lyxia!" whispered the old female wizard who pulled her arm before.

Lyxia still looked at Mikhel, then smiled, and asked, "Mikhel. Can we still meet again?"

Mikhel chuckled, and replied, "I will always be here every Monday morning, because I have to deliver my crops every week for this vegetable stall!"

The annoyed old female wizard then grabbed Lyxia's arm again, and whispered softly, "Let's hurry!"

Lyxia, who was still staring at Mikhel, was forced to obey them to go back home. The old female wizard then led Lyxia to the back of an empty stall, then with her right hand, she opened a portal to return to the wizard world.

She then pushed Lyxia's body into the portal, and after Lyxia entered it, the old female wizard hastily closed the portal. Even though Lyxia had returned to the wizard world, she still stood frozen, recalling Mikhel's face and physique that captured her heart.