Disclaimer: This is for the entire story. I do not own the Phantom of the Opera.

Chapter 1

It has been exactly two years since Jamie, my little brother, and I came to the Opera Populaire. Time seems to go by rather quickly here. It feels just like yesterday that Jamie and I first came to the Opera House. I remember when Madame Giry came for us in Scotland.

My mother had died the week before from Scarlet Fever and my father had already been dead for many years. We were now orphans. After the grief subsided enough for me to think clearly, I realized that we only had one option. We would have to go live with Grandmother. I didn't know how I could live with that disagreeable woman. It wasn't that she was mean to me directly. It was the fact that she treated Jamie with such disdain that I couldn't stand to be around her.

Jamie was born special my mother used to say. He has always been a little slower than the rest of the children his age. The doctors said that it was something in his brain. They also said that he wouldn't live to see his seventh birthday. When Mother asked why they thought such a horrible thing would happen to him, they simply said that they had seen this sort of thing before in a little girl once. She had died two days before her seventh birthday.

After we got the news, Mother became very paranoid about Jamie. She was constantly worrying about him; so when she was lying on her deathbed, she grabbed my hand in a surprisingly strong grip and made me swear that no matter what happened, Jamie and I would stay together, and I would take care of him. I immediately promised her that I would do whatever it took to keep us together.

That was why I was so concerned about living with Grandmother because I knew she would take Jamie away from me somehow. As I was worrying over this, our family butler came in and said that we had a guest. At first I was confused because I couldn't imagine who it was. Grandmother had written to say she would collect us next week, so I knew it couldn't be her. Since I knew it wasn't her, I had no idea who else it could be. As I was pondering these thoughts, a woman I had never seen before walked into the room. When her eyes landed on me, her gaze softened and she smiled sadly. For a few minutes, neither one of us spoke. We just stared at each other.

Finally, she spoke. "I assume that you are Jennifer?"

I stared at her with a questioning gaze. "How do you know my name?"

She chuckled softly. "I used to be good friends with your mother. She wrote about you and your brother often."

I was still confused. "Forgive me, but I don't know who you are."

"Of course, of course. My name is Madame Giry. Your mother and I went to school together when we were young. When I got a letter saying that your mother had died, my condolences by the way, I also received a letter from your mother. She wanted me to take you and your brother back to the Opera House in Paris. She said she would rather you two live in France than have you go live with her mother. So here I am. Would you like to come live with me in Paris?"

"My brother can come too?"

"Absolutely."

"And you won't try to separate us?"

"I would never do such a thing! You are all the other has left in the world."

"If that is the case then I would love for us to come and live with you."

"Splendid! How long do you need in order to pack your belongings?"

"Well, we don't have much that is worth taking to Paris. If you want we can leave tonight."

"That is even better. I don't want to be away from the Opera House for too long. My dancers will start to get lazy," she said with a slight chuckle.

"Your dancers?"

"Why yes! I forgot to tell you. I am the ballet mistress at the Opera Populaire. Which reminds me, can you dance?"

"Oh, how I wish I could! But I'm afraid I have two left feet."

"Can you sing or play an instrument?"

"Unfortunately, I have no musical talent whatsoever. Is that a problem?"

"No, of course not. I was just wondering because then I thought I might be able to put you in the next opera, but since you don't have any special talents, I hope you don't mind being a maid or something like that."

"I don't mind at all. I've never liked being the center of attention or anywhere near a stage, so I would prefer being a maid."

"Marvelous! Why don't you go pack and tell Jamie that you're going to live with a friend of your mother's."

"All right. I will be back in a moment Madame Giry."

"Oh, no formalities! Since we will be living together and you will not be one of my ballet dancers and because I knew your mother so well, you can call me Aunt Ann," she said with an affectionate smile.

"All right then . . . Aunt Ann," I said with a tentative smile.

Her only response was an even wider smile. As I raced up the stairs, my excitement grew. We wouldn't have to live with Grandmother! We were going to live in Paris, and I wouldn't have to worry about Jamie being taken away from me! I couldn't wait to tell Jamie.

He took it rather well when I told him we would be going with Aunt Ann on a grand adventure to France. Of course, he didn't respond to me when I told him, but that was normal for him. Because of his condition, he rarely spoke or looked at me. When he did speak, he sounded like a toddler learning to talk for the first time even though he is four. That was fine with me because, no matter what, I love him with all my heart. He is my whole world.

I had just finished packing the belongings we would probably need in Paris when I heard Aunt Ann call up the to ask if we were ready to leave yet. As I was about to shout back that yes we were, I thought of something that I could not go to Paris without. I just hoped that I could find it before it was time to leave.

I ran to Mother's room and went straight to where I knew it would be. It would be in her jewelry box on her vanity on the left side of her bedchamber. With trembling hands, I opened the lid and saw the most beautiful necklace in the world, a locket made of silver instead of gold with a single intricate rose on top of it. I quickly clasped it around my neck and made a promise to myself that I would never take it off for it was the only thing I had left of my mother's. As long as I had it, Mother would be with me always. I put Jamie on my hip for he was small enough to hold like that, and then I grabbed our luggage and we made our way to where Aunt Ann was waiting.

We were about to start a new life in a new country, and I couldn't be more excited!

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