Colors of the Roses
~ chapter 1 ~
A much awaited encounter
So you think you know the story of the Phantom of the Opera. We all know how the tail goes, Christine comes to be part of the opera, meets the mysterious "Angel of Music", Raoul comes to the opera, the Phantom tells her to stay away from him, Phantom steels her away, Raoul rescues her and they live happily ever after. But that's not the real story that's only the cover up. The true tell was only know by the Author and the characters themselves. The true reason will be unraveled in the story I'm about to tell you.
Rachel got off the plane witch had landed in Paris, France. Her plane had been delayed due to a thunder storm so she was quickly running to the baggage claim to pick up her duel swords which she had forgotten to ship the month before with the rest of her things. She came up to some officers who were holding her briefcase, according to airports policy the swords had to be delivered by officers and I could not take them as a carry on. "Hello officers" I said relieving them of their duty, "Thank you and I'm sorry about all the problems this caused." I turned around about to run to the train when they said, "Miss we need your signature so we can be assured that this belongs to you" I quickly turned around aggravated. I scribbled my name down on the paper and turned to run to the train when I remembered I had forgotten were the train station was. I turned around and asked, "Gentlemen do you know where the train going to Rosé villa is?"
"Just down the stairs over there and to the right" replied the officer.
I turned and ran to the stares and shouted a thank you as I went.
I got to the train just before the doors closed for the train to leave. I caught my breath and relaxed for the first time since arriving in Paris. The train zoomed through the maze of tunnels below Paris before coming out to the beautiful country side. The sun had already started to set and the colors emphasized the beauty of the meadows and fields. For the first time in a very long time Rachel felt at peace with the world. I leaned against the door and watched the sun till it despised behind the hill. Rachel look down at her watch it was already 9:45 I am so late!
As the train pulled into the station Rachel was the first one off, I ran to where my grandmother, Aunt Lilly, and best friend Meg were standing. The girls almost takled each other as they ran into a hug, "I missed you so much!" both girls said in unison. Rachel stepped back to get a good look at her best friend who she had not seen since she was 11. Meg was still the same height as Rachel, thin, with shoulder length brown hair, light brown eyes, and pretty. "Gosh girl you haven't changed a bit" Rachel said relieved. "Neither have you! You would thing going 4 years without seeing each other we would change more then we actually have." Both girls shared as heart filled laugh. "Do I get a hug from my wannabe niece as well or did I come for no reason?" Aunt Lilly stood there with open arms waiting for a hug. Rachel smiled and gave her a hug. Aunt Lilly was still tall, her hair was pulled back into a bun with a few prices falling out with some silver strands showing. Her glasses where set on top of her head were they were most of the time unless she was reading or driving. "My Aunt Lilly, if you keep getting gray hair I'll have to start calling you grandma Lilly."
"I'm good with just Aunt Lilly thank you very much."
Last but not least I turned to my beloved grandmother. She gave me a warm hug and said "It's wonderful to see you again my little flower" her grandmother said sweetly, "It's nice to see you again as well grand mama." Then Rachel made a little pout face and said "And I'm so sorry I'm late!" Rachel's grandmother smiled at her and replied, "It's fine dear we would have waited for you as long as it took." Rachel made a sad smile and stated more to herself then any one in particular, "I wish my parents were that way about the engage meant." After that they all piled into her grandmothers old truck with the girls in the back and aunt Lilly and grandma in the front. Rachel and Meg talked the whole way home, Meg was extremely interested about how Rachel's life was in America.
Before they knew it they were pulling into her grandmother's mansion which was towed the outer part of town. The mansion was styled to match the colonel arrear. It was white with candles glowing in each window. The many plants on the outside with flowers in full bloom added to the houses outside beauty. The inside was just as beautiful as the outside with its colonial decorative. In the backyard were a maze of gardens with Rose bushes in many different colors. There were Red roses, blue, yellow, white, and even combinations of colors. As they pulled into the drive Rachel smiled she had missed her Grandmothers beautiful house and never ending gardens. As they were getting out of the car Rachel's grandmother said, "Rachel go up and change into something more comfortable then join us at dinner" "yes ma'am" Rachel said running up the stairs of the porch and through the door and up the stairs in a hurry to get to her bedroom.
When she opened the door she smiled her room had not changed one bit since she was 11. The walls where still pale pink with her pine wood furniture. Her bed lend against the single wide window with the best view of the back gardens. Her bed spread still looked like a flower garden and the same soft, white, velvety pillows lay at the head. She put the brief case down by her dresser and collapsed onto the bed. After a few wonderful moments on her old bed she quickly put on a red tank top bellow a cream colored sweater and black yoga pants. She kept her hair in a ponytail and put on a clean pair of socks.
Rachel then ran down the stairs to join the rest of her family and friend for dinner. When she came into the dining room no one was there. She was slightly confused by this so she headed to the sun room toward the back of the house were they usually had breakfast. "What took you so long?' came Meg's cheerful voice as Rachel walked into the room. "Ha-ha very funny" she commented with extreme sarcasms as she took her seat next to her best friend. Dinner was crescent with buttered pasta and shrimp. They all enjoyed the delicious meal and talked about old times.
After dinner the girls went to the back porch and Aunt Lilly and grandmamma cleaned up. The girls flopped onto the porch swing. "Man I'm pooped" said Rachel who was already starting to get tired "What did you bring me out here for anyway?" Meg got really quite for a moment. "Hey" Rachel said a little worried now, "What's up?" Meg had a serious look on her face as she stood up to face Rachel. "What is this I hear about an engagement?" Meg said very bluntly. Whatever happiness Rachel had was shattered, the last thing she wanted to talk about was THAT! "When were you going to tell me about this?" Meg continued obviously mad. "I mean seriously I'm supposed to hear these things from you not your grandmother!" When Rachel finally looked up at Meg she was crying. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry" Meg said in a hurry to get Rachel to stop crying. Rachel wiped the tears away from her eyes and said, "No its fine you have a right to be mad, I shod have told u myself I just didn't like it so I didn't want to tell you" Meg gave a half smile, she knew this was hard on Rachel so she had to be the supportive friend. "You know what" Meg said in a cheerful voice, "You don't have to say anything I should have figured if you didn't tell me that meant you didn't want to talk about it." Meg sat back down next to her best friend and waited for an answer. "No" said Rachel, Meg had a surprised look on her face at this, "You deserve to know and you are probably the only one who is going to understand why." There was a short phase as Rachel figured out how to explain her situation, "Okay, I'll start from the beginning, when I found out I was going to marry Raoul and that the arrangements had already been made it ticked me off, I was more made that my parents had not asked me first then I was that they did not tell me why, because trust me saying that you were both so close when you were little is NOT an acceptable reason!" They were quite for a moment, Meg leaned back against the chair and said, "Not to make matters worse, but the rumors that were their when you left have gotten worse" Rachel did a small smirk and replied, "Trust me I plain to take care of that and relive him of the rumors I caused him in the first place." Meg looked surprised she knew her friend was mad at the rumors but she never knew she blamed herself for the reason they started. "It's not your fault your fault you know" Meg said trying to reassure her. Rachel leaned back and covered her eyes with one arm, "Yes it is" she stated harshly, "If I would not have wanted to become friends with him and see him smile just once, then he would not have had to endure all those rumors for so many years" warm tears started to run down Rachel's face. Meg stretched out one arm and said, "Come hear" to her beloved friend. Rachel scooted a little bit closer and leaned her head on her friends shoulder and continued to cry. "It's okay" Meg said in a reassuring voice, "You were only doing what came naturally to you, you believe everyone deserves to be happy and that's all you were trying to do was make him smile." Rachel continued to cry, but of in a nearby tree a boy with black hair and purple eyes was listening to their conversation and did a tiny smirk. "So she did care" he whispered to himself, "But what does she plain to do about it?"
I hope you enjoyed the first chapter I know the beginning sounds like a creepy old guy but I hopped that would help make it more interesting. Please review and I'm new at this so if you have any tips or pointers please add those as well. I hope to add a new chapter in as soon as I can so hope to see you again soon :-)
