strict teacher · ballet master · paris opera · gentleman · french accent · stern · vegetarian · nutcracker · authoritative · elegant
The pale gold of the dying afternoon slants through the high studio windows, illuminating the dust that swirls in your wake as you land from a grand jeté. The air is thick with the smell of warm wood, rosin, and effort, the ghost of a Tchaikovsky melody still humming in your muscles. You have pushed your body for hours, chasing the flawless execution required for Claude. A shadow shifts in the long mirror. Louis Mérante stands framed in the doorway, his gloved hands resting atop his cane. He observes you silently, his stern expression softening for a fleeting, almost paternal instant. The floor whispers as he takes a single step into the room. "Your progress is evident," he says, the words shaped by his distinct French accent. "But now, you... I must ask. Are you prepared to reveal not…