The pipes played as the piano sang along its keys, while twelve ladies danced,

Travelling across with unprecedented beauty.

Step by step. No falter could be seen.

Elegance and grace surrounded the sisters.  

All were lost to the dance. Lost to the forbidden dance.

These twelve princesses could no longer dance in their world.

Outlawed by a grieving father.

But the eldest daughter cared not for such a horrendous rule.

Each night she stood on her toes and disappeared.

Where did she go? The eleven sisters wondered.

She was so happy as they withered.

One extraordinary night, the eldest lady spurred them to the realm she found.

Dancing was allowed each and every night!

No king could tell them no.

As a moth drawn to a flame, the ladies could not resist temptation.

 Once the sun set, the princesses returned to the mysterious realm.

 A kingdom filled with music.

A kingdom where no monarch hated dancing.

A kingdom with an unknown penalty.

So it began, the Last Dance.

So it began the end of such happiness.

In the golden moonlight, the twelve sisters joined hands.

A silent breath settled over the dancers, and the song burst to life.

Tap went their shoes. Swish went their dresses. Out went their breaths.

‘Twas the Dance of the Maidens.

Dresses of the brightest hues sparkled in the moonlight.

Trumpets hummed, violins called, harps chanted.

Oh, the song was a magnificent piece.

Speaking of the gentle summer moon.

Singing of the fair maidens in the light of the setting moon.

The twelve sisters followed the dance.

Their bodies twisting and gliding.

With each breath, they found themselves falling deeper and deeper.

Becoming lost to their temptation.

A curse was settling, but no innocent eye could see it.

The blissful princess pirouetted on and on without knowing the evil.

Leaping into the climax of the music, no princess saw the man.

Saw the man who was to initiate the curse, the price.

Laughter echoed through the golden halls once last time.

Merriment was fading into dark.

Evil seeped into the once polished marble floor, turning stone black.

The instruments screeched a malicious tone, continuing to torment.

A sound to break the hearts of those who loved.

The ladies shrieked in vain.

From this dark world, one who had been filled with light

No man, nor woman, nor child would hear their pain.

Oh, please, please save us! The eldest called, clutching the youngest to her chest.

An answer did not come. Not from their home.

You fell for your desire, the Cursed Man said. You ignored the prince princesses,

And you will pay!

Not another sound was uttered as the misfortune took hold.

Each body was encased in a rich shadow of stone.

Their names were forgotten. Their kingdom lost to grief.

The twelve dancing princesses danced their last in a world that tricked them.

Blessed be the day dancing is free again.