Unholy Nights: A Twisted Christmas Anthology (28 page)

Act II Scene IV

Gina, Callie, Kelsey, and Sharon huddled together in the shack near the globe exit. They’d filled me in on how Mikhail had seduced each and every one of them—promising them free lessons, fame, and love. Apparently after that dream that I’d had where I’d seen them, Svetlana had enough and tried to escape, hoping to alert and save me before it was too late. She’d run to the exit but Mikhail had caught her and thrown threw her out of the globe. No one was certain how she had ended up in the Charles River, though they suspect that while I was passed out on his sofa, that Mikhail had taken her and thrown her in the river.

I was chilled thinking that she’d ended up dead because of me.

The plan was for them to hide by the entrance and I would stay in the cottage, waiting for Mikhail. Evan would lie in wait with me, and try to trap Mikhail so we could escape. The girls knew that they were risking their lives trying to escape, but they wanted to try. I begged Evan to leave with the girls, but he wouldn’t consider it.

Night fell and the globe lit up. It was very beautiful, lit up with the Christmas lights. The girls had told me that it wasn’t all bad in here. They could visit other neighboring snow globes. There was an abundance of food, and drinks. The snow globe city council was very supportive of the arts and neighbors from surrounding globes all came out to support the ballerinas. Still—they all missed their freedom.

Evan and I sat in the cottage. The silence was deafening. “Evan, I’m so sorry I didn’t listen to you and I dragged you into this.”

“It’s okay, Nieves. You didn’t know. I get it. Let’s just try to focus on getting out of here.”

How had I been so stupid to never appreciate this great guy who had always been by my side? Sure, he’d dated all the girls in the company, but straight male ballet dancers were always trying to prove to the world how masculine they were.

The vibration of footsteps shook our globe. Evan nodded at me, and went to hide in the closet.

Mikhail opened the door, carrying a dozen roses, coffee, and a bag of sweets. “Nieves, my love, you look scared. Are you okay?”

My blood burned. “I’m fine. Where were you?”

He placed the goodies on the table. “Just shopping for my Snow Queen.”

He approached me for a kiss but I recoiled. I was a dancer, not an actress.

His eyes narrowed. “What’s wrong?”

I knew my script, what I needed to say to Mikhail. But I didn’t know if I had the strength to stand up to him. “Nothing, I just missed you.” I let him kiss me, but his smell revolted me. I couldn’t hold back, knowing that my words would risk any chance our plan had of succeeding. “I know about Sveta. And the others. What are you? A demon? What about everything you ever said to me? Was it all a lie?”

No impulse control. I’d just blown my cover and I knew I’d have to pay.

Mikhail’s hand clenched, and a vein bulged in his neck. “Ha, little girl. I’ve been in love with your dancing since I met you. The perfect addition to my arsenal. I’m not capable of love. The only woman I ever loved was Sveta, and she betrayed me. This is now the only place I can dance, and become alive. But don’t worry, I’ll treat you well in here, providing you behave.”

Evan burst out of the closet, yielding a sword we’d found from a Mouse King costume. “Don’t touch her, Misha. You sick fuck. I always knew you were behind the disappearances. All of the girls were in love with you but I saw through you. You can dance in here but in the real world, you are nothing but a has-been.”

He looked sharply at Evan, then me. “Sorry Nieves, I thought you were different and that you would be happy in here.”

I thought Mikhail would rush toward Evan, try to fight him. But Mikhail until the end was a coward. Evan lunged toward Mikhail, and Mikhail bolted out the door. He
grand jetéd
toward the opening in the globe. Evan and I bolted after him, but our leaps were no contest for Mikhail. He’d been a danseur, and we were still in Cambridge Ballet II.

The “Waltz of the Snowflakes” was ending. And when the song ended, so did our chance to escape.

We watched as Mikhail leapt through the globe. My heart broke as the opening began to close. I started to execute one more leap, but Evan took my hand and held me back. “There’s no point, Nieves. It’s closed. We’re stuck here.”

At least the girls had escaped and were hopefully reuniting with their families.

I wrapped myself up in Evan’s arms. “I’m so sorry. You must hate me.”

He pushed my chin up with his thumb. “No, I could never hate you. I’ve loved you since I first saw you attempt an arabesque when you were nine. And the way you yelled at Madame Anna for telling Chantal that she was fat. You fight for what you believe in. You were so different than the other girls. When they were distracted with clothes, shoes, new cars, you were always focused on your dancing.” He tilted his head and kissed me.

The globe sprinkled snow around us. His warm, soft lips, had a tenderness that Mikhail’s lacked. I wiped the tears from my eyes. We’d just lost our freedom, but we’d found each other.

Apotheosis

The snow pelted down from the top of the globe, reminding me that I would be trapped forever.

But I didn’t mind.

We’d settled into our new life quite nicely. Being trapped in a snow globe wasn’t that bad. Evan and I still danced, and inside the globe we never made mistakes. We had free health care, food, and housing. Our little bungalow was small but cozy. I’d gone to the local craft globe and decorated our home with pictures of the world outside the globe to remind me of home. We’d even made friends with people in neighboring globes.

I finally understood why Mikhail wanted to live in here with me. Everything was perfect. No crime, no poverty. Just a picture-perfect year round winter wonderland.

Had Mikhail explained it to me, I might have considered living here with him. But I just felt so trapped and abandoned. And he didn’t want to reside here full time with me. He wanted to visit me on his terms and still maintain his freedom in Boston, like he had with Sveta. I deserved more than that life. More than he could give me.

Evan stoked the fire. His bare chest glowed against the backdrop of the flames. He wore long dark pajama bottoms that hung over his perfect body. I was so lucky he had decided to stay with me. And I was so happy that the other girls had been able to escape. Their freedom was worth my sacrifice.

“What did you want to do today, babe? I was thinking we could go sledding with the dogs?” He pointed to our two American Eskimo dogs that we had recently adopted from a neighboring globe, both asleep by the fire.

“Sure, sounds great.” I stood up and kissed him on the lips. He melted back into me. This was love. Not that fucked up idol worship relationship I had with Mikhail. How had I not seen that he had groomed me since I was a little girl? Evan had always been there for me. We grew up together, trained together, and now we would be together forever. I just wished I had let myself fall for him sooner. But he forgave me for being with Mikhail. And I had forgiven him for hooking up with every girl in our company, trying to make me jealous. But we were both just finding ourselves. I mean how many people meet their soul mates when they are nine years old?

Evan scooped me up and carried me to the bedroom. He covered my body in kisses.

I gasped in delight. “I’d rather spend a lifetime with you trapped in this globe, than be free in Boston. You are my home. I love you, Evan.” I stared down at the small diamond ring on my left hand. He had proposed to me on New Year’s Eve. We planned a small wedding and he was trying to rent out a sand globe from Hawaii for our honeymoon.

He kissed my neck. “Love you, too.” I couldn’t be certain—but I swear the light snowfall turned into blizzard. Dammit—Mikhail must be shaking the globe again.

Tears welled in my eyes. This was all my fault. Guilt swept across my face. “We’re stuck here forever. Unless he lets someone else in the globe and we can escape.”

Evan let out a laugh. “Don’t worry about it, Nieves. I’m happy here. No auditions, no stressing about contracts. Just you and me. The girls are probably trying to scheme a way to save us—since no one would believe them if they told the truth. And one day, he’ll slip up and we’ll be able to leave. I’ll be ready for next year’s
Nutcracker
.” He turned on his iPod and blasted some heavy metal to drown out that damn “Waltz of the Snowflakes” song. Pulling off my slip, he looked like he was going to devour me. “Let’s give him something to watch!”

I giggled and he threw me down and we made love.

Even sex was better in the globe.

Encore

The blizzard blanketed the small Ukrainian town in a sheet of snow. Mothers huddled with their children under warm coats, as they scurried home before the roads were closed.

Inna Danilova didn’t mind the cold. She loved the pristine beauty of the snow. So pure, so untouched, so innocent.

She slugged her pointe shoes in a bag over her shoulders. The shoes were old, her sister’s. But her family couldn’t afford new ones and Inna was grateful to have the pair. She had only been on pointe for the last year, but since she had just been cast as Masha, the role Americans called Clara, in
The Nutcracker
, she was eager to focus on her training.

The old, decrepit, ballet theater had recently been renovated by a mysterious handsome man. He spoke perfect Ukrainian, and rumors had it that he had once been a ballet star back in the United States. He walked with an affected gait, and Inna assumed he had been injured dancing. She didn’t dare ask him about what had happened—everyone in the town was just so thrilled that this wealthy man had brought the arts back into their town. Classes were free and this year they were going to stage the town’s first full-length ballet in over one hundred years.

The door opened and the man was sitting in a chair, as if he was waiting for her.

“Innichka, I have a present for you. For the production of
The Nutcracker
.”

He handed her a pair of beautiful satin pink pointe shoes, adorned with Swarovski crystals. Inna had never seen anything so beautiful. She pushed her long blonde hair out of her face to get a better look. “These are gorgeous. But I can never repay you for them. My family barely scrapes by as it is.”

He clasped his hands over his face. His dark hair had a few streaks of gray and there were tiny lines around his deep blue eyes. “You don’t owe me anything, Inna. I’ve watched you dance. You remind me of two ballerinas that I once danced with. You move like them. One day, you will make a beautiful Snow Queen.”

The snow queen! That was Inna’s favorite role! Before this man had moved here, Inna dreamed of dancing the role ever since she saw a production of the Bolshoi Ballet’s
Nutcracker
on television. But with the closest ballet school fifty miles away, there was little hope of that every happening. “It’s my dream to be a ballerina. I will work so hard—I won’t ever let you down. You’re the best thing that ever happened to our town.”

He smiled and turned away from her. His eyes seemed to be staring off into the distance. She followed his gaze and realized that he was fixated on a small snow globe. It had a beautiful ballerina and her king, twirling inside, dancing to “The Waltz of the Snowflakes.”

~

A
Note from the Author

You can find Alana Albertson at
AlanaAlbertson.com
or on her
Facebook Page
.

About The Author

Alana Albertson never was fortunate to get cast as the snow queen though she did play the soldier. She has extensive collections of snow globes and nutcrackers but none of them have ever been enchanted.

––––––––

C
HAPTER ONE

I must face the truth tonight: Mercy is long gone from Humble Grove.

Through slits in my front door window blind, I spy on a modest moving van parked across the street. Two burly men unload blanket-covered furniture out of the van’s open back. They take a break, their puffs of breath creating a thick orange haze in front of the trailer’s storage light.

After resting, the men hoist a draped piece unto their shoulders. From the shape of it, the mystery furniture must be a table. Why do these people need another table anyway? Or those overly ornate lamps? Or those three rolled carpets? Mercy left the place fully furnished—as if she would be returning, as she did every fall, as she always promised.

The movers pass beyond the orange light and shuffle down the loading ramp’s incline, becoming silhouettes in the night though every light is on in Mercy’s house. The front door opens, casting more warm light onto the deep blue snow. A tall figure nearly fills the doorway before moving to the side to let the men enter. Squinting, I try to make out who’s there, if I know him, but he follows the others into the house and closes the door before I can see him clearly.

I chew on my thumbnail as I stare at the closed door. I’ve bitten all my other nails down to pink while spying and worrying. Who moves during the holiday season—and in the middle of the night? By now, Mercy would have the porch decorated with garlands of holly, evergreen needles, and pinecones. She always buys a fresh Christmas wreath from Humble Grove’s Music Boosters and two boxes of Florida oranges; one for her, the other for me. My stomach grumbles in complaint. It’s been two months since I had fruit in the house—at least the kind that didn’t need a can opener.

Mercy’s porch is familiar but cold, like a friend turned stranger. Tightness grips my heart as I feel this loss. It’s a deep loss, more profound than most might understand or even believe. Everything is different. I waited so long for Mercy. Even when Thanksgiving passed by I thought she would return. She left me behind—without a warning.

I bite too deeply into the corner of my thumbnail and wince. My thumb blossoms with a ruby blob that becomes the trail of a red tear. Almost immediately, my thumb begins to throb.

Great. Just the kicker I need for a miserable night.

An impatient meow comes from below. Pixie, my diluted calico, blinks back at me.