36

Despite Margot's promise to herself to relax more, most free time she made for herself she tended to spend at the dog shelter with Estel, as most of her friends were just as busy as she was. The only friend who wasn't busy found her practicing her harp for their orchestra rehearsal the following day in the music room.

"Oh, Margot! You practicing for the rehearsal?" Roze asked in a friendly voice.

"Yeah, I was. If you need the room, I can practice somewhere else." Margot reassured.

Roze shook her hand in front of her face. "No, no, don't worry! I wouldn't kick you out." Roze held up her cello with a smile. "Wanna practice together a bit, though? I figure I should probably get some practice in with someone else before having to play with the entire orchestra."

"Sure, sounds good!"

Roze settled herself in a chair near Margot and pulled out her cello. "Ok, so start from the beginning?"

For music class, they'd had to learn the songs of the second half of the Nutcracker ballet, which made it easier to remember which song came first as they were numbered.

"Yeah, that sounds good." Though Margot had quickly become quite good at the harp, there was something so natural about the way Roze played her cello that made it clear she'd been playing since childhood. Each note rang pure and deep, and Margot found herself falling in love with the sound of it.

Though her part of the song was mostly an accompaniment and had quieter, but quicker notes than Roze's part, Margot was more than happy to be the background that added fullness to the already rich sound of the cello.

When they reached the 'Pas de Deux', they achieved a whole new level of beauty that Margot hadn't expected to ever be a part of. Each scale that she played had her body moving in tandem with it, the sound like waves of fulfillment washing over her. The rich cello brought out something amazing in her own music that she was unaware she was capable of.

For an hour, the two of them just played, occasionally stopping to go over difficult parts slowly, but all in all, it was a very productive practice session.

"Hey, Margot, have you found a partner for the exam yet?" Roze wondered.

For the music class, students were expected to perform one solo piece and one group piece, and in her lack of free time, Margot had completely forgotten that she needed to find a partner.

"No, I forgot that I needed one, honestly. Would you mind being mine?" Margot asked in return.

"Yeah, of course!" Roze replied eagerly.

The next fifteen minutes was spent choosing a song, and since Margot knew she didn't have enough time in the day to waste it listening to every song, the two of them decided on the first one that the sheet music appealed to both of them. Margot internally thanked their teacher, Sebastian, for having hundreds of hundreds of arrangements for different combinations of instruments.

They ended up deciding to do a medley of Rapunzel and Mother Gothel's songs just for the irony of it all, which Sebastian somehow had sheet music for. Both girls laughed at their choice.

Their first try ended up being a bit of a disaster, and after laughing together for a few moments, the girls agreed that some solo practice would be needed before attempting to play the new piece together.

"Do you have your solo piece picked too?" Margot wondered.

"Yep! Danse Macabre by Camille Saint Saens. You?" Roze replied.

Margot smiled sheepishly. "I'm still thinking. Part of me wants to challenge myself, and the other part remembers that everyone is going to be at this performance so I don't wanna screw up."

"I get that, but screw them. Just play whatever song you like the best, and if you mess up, no one will kill you. It's your first year playing an instrument anyways." Roze told her.

"I guess that's true. Still, performing in the middle of town is nerve-wracking for the solo. Especially if I make a mistake." Margot said.

"Don't worry about that! You're really great, especially for how long you've been playing. Just relax and have fun with it!" Roze encouraged. "Do you have any songs you're narrowing down?"

"Well, I was thinking of doing Swan Lake, but it's not the most beginner-friendly so I don't know if I'll have enough time to master it. Same thing with Clair de Lune." Margot explained. "I think I'll likely choose an easier song, like a pop song arrangement."

Roze was already looking through the harp pieces, scanning title after title. "Why don't you sing along with it? That would make the harp part simpler, and you'd get extra points for singing while playing an instrument."

Margot blushed nervously. "I mean, I guess I could, but I'd rather just play the harp."

"Come on! I'm sure you have a great voice!" Roze urged.

"If I find a song I like, I'll consider it." Margot replied.

Roze grinned. "Don't stress, I'll find it for you."

Margot's lips pursed in stress as she watched Roze go through all the scores, and pick one out with a worrying grin.

"Here you go. Done and done." Roze said, handing her the sheet music she'd picked out.

"Beauty and the Beast? Seriously?" Margot asked. "Wouldn't that be kinda, I don't know, arrogant of me? Overstepping? I don't think it's really my place to play that."

"Come on, it's an easy piece, you can sing along to it, and you're besties with the entire Royal Family, so who would fault you?" Roze implored.

"No. I'll just do the simplified version of Clair de Lune." Margot decided with finality in her voice.

"At least learn it." Roze begged. "You don't have to perform it."

Margot stayed silent for a few moments. "Fine. Only because you insist."

Roze snorted lightheartedly.

"What?"

"Have you noticed that your way of speaking has become kinda business-y?" Roze pointed out. "Like, it makes sense since you're constantly doing work for the kingdom, but you speak all fancy now."

The curly-haired girl's lips spread into a slow smile as a pink blush spread on her cheeks. "I guess so. I guess I find it a little empowering."

"You're adorable." Roze smiled fondly, messing up Margot's careful updo. "No wonder the King's in love with you."

Margot's eyes widened quite noticeably, and her cheeks burned bright red. "He doesn't. We're just friends."

"Mm-hmm. Suuure." Roze was unconvinced. "You didn't see the way he was looking at you at that dinner while you were humouring Jennie."

That familiar prick of unworthiness felt like a knife twisting in Margot's chest as it battled with her fluttering heart. Though she had managed to make herself feel worthy of her current position, which she earned through the regular hours of work she put into it, being given something as wonderful as romance freely (from the King no less) was something she still couldn't seem to allow herself, no matter how tempting.

"I'll let you live in your little denial land for now, but you'll have to acknowledge it at some point." Roze forced the sheet music into Margot's hands. "Just learn the sheet music though."

"Yeah, I will."