nothing to lose and nothing to prove {Giselle}

[jim]

He felt ridiculous. Jim shook his legs out anxiously. Sweatpants weren't a great look for him. In fact, he was fairly certain that sweatpants were the most abysmally miserable garment ever to have been created. They were so clingy, and thin, and soft. They felt strangely free and movable, especially compared to his usual sturdy cargo pants, and even compared to his worn out old jeans.

At least the tee shirt was normal enough. Though the V-neck did look a bit silly. He stared at his reflection in the mirror morosely in an attempt to convince himself he didn't look as idiotic as he felt. It helped when he reminded himself that in a moment he would be dancing and then the attire would be much less concerning than the fact that he was doing unnaturally graceful things with his body. That was the reason he'd chosen this unnaturally early hour to come - with any luck, no one else would be in the dance studio. Two hours before dawn wasn't a popular hour with most students he'd known. Gritting his teeth to steel himself with determination, he stepped out of the change room into the studio and immediately felt overwhelmed by the mirrors covering the walls. This was absurd.

Just do what the doctor ordered, he commanded himself and lowered his body to the floor to begin stretching and warming up.

[Deleted]

Giselle was up very early this morning. She had always been a morning person anyway. But last night she had decided to sleep under the stars and this morning she had found herself woken up to the sounds of many birds in the tree above her and the morning was just so lovely that she had to stay awake and make friends with the birds.

And then along came a butterfly. And butterflies were just so lovely and she followed where it went because it seemed to want her to follow. And no one else was up yet so it was lovely. The grass was wet with dew as she followed the butterfly along barefoot like she would back home in Andalasia. “Butterfly, where are you taking me?” she called to it as it fluttered on ahead. “Are you taking me to Edward? Did Edward send you? Is he here?” But there was no answer from the butterfly because they didn’t talk here like they did back in Andalasia.

So she followed the butterfly into one of the school buildings and down the halls until it floated into one of the rooms and it wall filled with mirrors. “Butterfly, why are we here?” she asked. Then she noticed the young man. “Oh hello! I hope I’m not intruding. I was just following a butterfly you see,” she explained.

[jim]

Jim was in the middle of a particularly awkward squatting thrusting split sort of stretch when the woman walked, and his expression as he looked up was one of incredulous disbelief. Of course. Of course he would come here in the middle of night, find himself in sweatpants, legs twisted all akimbo and groin thrust out inappropriately, and someone would walk in at just that opportune time. "Um," he managed eloquently.

He exerted massive strength of both muscle and willpower and was able to extricate himself from his splayed position on the floor into a normal seated position. "Hello," he said flatly. "Intruding. No, not at all! I love for maidens to catch me when I am in such a glorious and masculine position. I find it best sets off my errrmm... assets."

[Deleted]

Giselle was one of the most innocent people you could ever meet, so when Giselle walked into the dance studio, she just thought that the young man was stretching. She didn’t understand that there was anything else going on or could be anything else going on. No, she didn’t quite understand how this could possibly be an awkward situation.

So she just stared at Jim, very confused and wondering what he was talking about. “I don’t understand,” she told him innocently because she neither understood sarcasm nor what he was implying. Plus, anything sexual went right over her head anyway because she didn’t even know there was anything past kissing.

[jim]

Jim cocked an eyebrow in some kind of disbelief. His mind could offer only two reasons for her response. Either she was embarrassed and enough of a lady to ignore the indecency of the situation, or she was so insipidly stupid that she really didn't understand the implications of what he had just said. Either way, he was more than happy to let it go. He had never really understand the whole business about what a 'lady' was anyway. They had tried to train it into him at the military academy, but he hadn't quite understood. Why were they different from regular women? Were they different? Why did they have to be treated gently? Why did they screech so when they were treated indelicately? All were burning questions in his mind, but they didn't seem the type of questions it was appropriate to ask. So yes, he let the matter slide and moved on. Scrambling off the floor, he tucked one hand behind his back in military fashion and extended the other for her to take.

"Jim Hawkins, at your service, madam. I fear have stumbled upon me while I was, er, occupied in, um, learning the gentlemanly art of, of, dancing," he managed to get the sentence out in a fairly coherent fashion, then, worried he hadn't been austere enough, added "Just so. Verily. Er. Indeed. You're quite lovely." She wasn't quite his type, but wasn't that what men were supposed to say? Bother all this nonsense. He felt out of sorts, and somehow, he had the distinct impression that courtly behavior was something unlike him, or at least unlike him as he was before his accident.

[Deleted]

Giselle was really quite surprised but utterly delighted to hear that this Jim Hawkins was training for dancing! How wonderful! How utterly delightful! So many people danced here! First Bartok, now Jim! Dancing was just so lovely! She was of the opinion that everyone should learn to dance. She took his hand enthusiastically. “I’m Giselle from Andalasia and I love dancing!” she cried excitedly. “Dancing is lovely! My very very best friend Bartok dances too! Here’s a very good dancer!” She nodded enthusiastically too.

Giselle didn’t really understand what the word verily meant, or why Jim had said that in the first place, but then he called her lovely. And wasn’t that just so nice of him. “Oh, thank you! How very kind of you to say.” She smiled brilliantly at him. He was really very nice. She always ran into the nicest people here! If it wasn’t for Pip she might never go back to Andalasia.

[jim]

Jim was a little disarmed by the sheer force of her bright smile. He didn't think he'd met anyone so enthusiastic since, well, ever. She pratically radiated optimism. "Urm. All right then. Bartok. Sounds like a nice fella," he offered uncertainly. He really thought the man sounded like a bit of a nancy, but he didn't really want to judge. After all, here he was himself, all trussed up and ready to try the whole dancing thing. Which he really needed to get to, before morning rolled on and more people arrived.

"I don't suppose you'd mind, um, leaving, good lady?" he stumbled a little. "I uh, mean not to offend, I ehhhh fear that my, skills, are less than exemplary and such such ungracefulness would surly be an insult to yourrrr uh royal sight." Was ungraceful a word? Was she even royalty? Jim didn't really care, as long as she took the hint and scrambled before he could be further embarrassed.

[Deleted]

While to most people Jim would have sounded a little unsure and like he was just agreeing to appease her, Giselle really thought that he meant everything he was saying. Because that’s what people did in Andalasia. They said what they meant, but always tried to be kind. So of course Giselle would think that Jim really thought that Bartok was nice. And anyone who knew Bartok would think he was a nice guy too! “Bartok is very nice,” she told Jim. “That’s why he’s my very very best friend.”

An insult to her royal sight? Oh, well that was quite wrong. It’s wouldn’t be an insult at all! Not at all. “Oh no,” she told Jim cheerfully. “Not at all. It wouldn’t be an insult at all. And I’m not a princess. Well, not yet anyway. I will be once my Edward comes to find me. And then we’ll get married and live happily ever after. Isn’t that lovely?” She sighed romantically.

[jim]

Jim stared at her in semi-disbelief. He could swear that every day he spent here, the people got stranger and stranger. If it wasn't the surly Viking guy in the caf, it was a crazy woman with a sunglass fetish, and don't even get him started on the cave encounter. Now this incessantly cheerful woman who appeared to love people so much it made her totally oblivious to everything else.

"That is - truly beautiful, lady," he offered. "To see a love as blind as and simple as that is deeply moving. I - I feel- I might weep at the thought. You should go, milady, and not witness my shame at being found so unmanly. It is quite embarrassing." He looked away and forced himself not blink for several moments til his eyes watered, then looked back at her with teary eyes.

[Deleted]

Giselle was quite astonished by feeling she had seemingly stirred in Jim. To be so moved by her love for Edward was beautiful. No one had ever reacted quite like this before. Cinderella had been very interested in the story about she and Edward had met, but she hadn’t cried. Oh dear, Giselle didn’t quite know what to do.

He even had to turn away. And when he turned back there were real tears in her eyes. Well this would not do at all. Giselle quickly pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and handed it to Jim. “You must be quite the romantic to weep over just hearing about how I love my Edward. You haven’t even heard the whole story about how he saved me from a troll. I only hope that one day you will find such a love.” She hoped her words would have a soothing affect so he would stop crying. Giselle had never liked for anyone to cry.