Hey it's PhantomAngel15 here, this is a take off my first Phanfic called "Choose". I am a really busy high schooler so I may not necessarily update every week. I hope you enjoy reading his story as much as I love writing it, and as always Read and Review! ;)
Marie's POV
The doors were huge. Never had an opera house seemed so large. Certainly she had seen large theaters, for she was a ballerina. But the sight of the Opera Garnier was... overwhelming. It was dusk, and small flurries of snow danced in the chill December wind.
Marie stepped out of the carriage. Since the death of her foster parents, she was left with little money, very few clothes, and almost no health. She had thought her foster father to be a good man, but after their carriage accident she discovered he had gambled away all the money she had saved. She was lucky to have the clothes on her back.
She was a young girl, only seventeen. Petite, but curvy, with thick, wavy dark brown hair. Her birth parents died when she was only seven. Their best friends had taken her in. Since they had taken her in, she received a good education, and was put in the ballet studio immediately, as she proved to be a good dancer. The studio was also a small theatre and boarding school for the actors and dancers. So she almost never saw them, as they barely ever bothered to visit. But she was grateful for what they gave her. She much preferred that to being on the streets.
After they died, her ballet mistress informed her that she could no longer stay at the the theatre. But she was a kind woman, and very much like a mother to the girl, so she inquired of Madame Giry, who was a ballet mistress at the opera Garnier, and an old friend. Madame Giry informed her that Marie could come dance at the opera house, if she was approved by the managers to be worth taking on.
The opera house had recently been rebuilt after a fire that raged through the opera some five years ago. Rumor was that the opera ghost who burned it to begin with, was still terrorizing the managers there. Marie had been nervous to go, for the fire had nearly destroyed all of the buildings structural integrity. But it had been rebuilt precisely as it was before the fire. In the news,she read the the fated chandelier that fell had been rehung, and everything glimmered with life as it had before.
Yet no one dared to go beneath the opera house... The ghost that haunted that building was not gone. Far from it. Everyone in all of Paris had seen what the phantom's anger was capable of. They dared not risk their lives, or the lives of those who lived in the opera Garnier. All this was told to Marie by her old governess, Suzette. Who had chattered throughout the entire ride to the opera. Technically she wasn't even her governess, and had not been since she was placed in the boarding school. Yet old habits die hard, and Suzette had never ceased to school Marie; whether or not she wanted it.
As she exited the carriage, the wind bit her fiercely on her cheeks. She wrapped her thin tweed shawl around her shoulders, wishing she had something warmer to wear. She was horribly cold, but there was nothing she could do about it. Suzette started to fuss over her.
"Oh mon deiu! Your cheeks are starting to flush child!" She started to readjust Marie's shawl, and then grabbed all her bags. Marie tuned her out as she observed her surroundings. The cobblestones streets were eerily quiet as the snow drifted down. She looked up, and saw many beautiful statues on the rooftop. It was then that she noticed something. A shadow of a man was standing up there, a black cape billowed in the wind. She looked away, and it was gone. She figured it was just her imagination, yet she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being directly observed. Suzette's voice gradually faded back into her realization, and she hurried up the steps to the Opera house.
She pushed on the door, and it opened to reveal the entrance to the opera. The two managers who owned the opera house, Firmin Richard and Andre Moncharmin turned around at their arrival.
"Oh. You're here," Andre finally said.
"Well come on, come on, lets have a look at you." He gestured for her to come forward. Slowly, she obeyed, stepping forward, so they could get a better look at her. She noticed that Madame Giry was absent from the room. Her brow furrowed in frustration.
"Where's Madame Giry? I thought she was going to test my ballet skills and see how well fit I was for the opera." Andre looked at Firmin in confusion.
"W-w-well she's not here. I thought you had received our latest letter. She's off attending to some uhh," he cleared his throat," business."
This time Firmin spoke up.
"Do you mean to tell me that Madame Giry has not already approved you?" The irritation was prominent in his voice.
"No Monsieur, I received no letter." I was beginning to get a bit worried that they were going to fling us out into the streets. Firmin made a strangled sound in his throat and turned around. Andre just looked embarrassed and confused.
"I-I mean we- we naturally assumed..." He sputtered. Firmin turned around and faced me again.
"Well we'll just have to sort it out at the end of the week then. Madame Giry will be back, and in the mean while you can sleep in the ballet dormitories." Andre clapped his hands together.
"Perfect! In the meanwhile we'll show you to where you sleep." The managers motioned for her to follow. Suzette hadn't said a word the entire time but started to follow with my bag. Andre stopped in his tracks.
"Madame, I believe you can give the girl her bag, and we'd appreciate it if you left now." Suzette looked dumbstruck, as if she hadn't realized she wouldn't be staying as well. She set the bag down and looked at me with tears in her eyes. I quickly hugged her, and whispered goodbye. Suzette left without a word, and the managers once again started to show the way. I followed them through the halls. I had a very cold feeling that I was being followed. I looked over my shoulder and thought I heard footsteps behind me. Again there was nothing there. Andre and Firmin continued on, without noticing anything unusual. After they showed her he stage, and passing through many halls they came to a dormitory. Andre tried one of the doors. he looked a little flustered upon it's being locked. Firmin and Andre started to Argue about why it was locked.
Marie stood out of the way while they fumed.
"you're the first one to be brave enough to come here," a voice whispered in her ear. She whirled around but whoever the owner of he voice was, it wasn't behind her. She turned around the corner, and again was met wih nothingness. She shivered, and despite her thin clothes, it wasnt from the cold.
Marie quickly walked back to the managers who were still arguing. She interrupted them.
"Excuse me Messieurs, but doesn't one of you have a key?" Firmin practically shoved Andre out of the way in frustration.
" As a matter of fact we do!" Firmin unlocked the door and straightened his coat. "This will be your room mademoiselle. We'll leave now, I assume you've had a long day." They left her in the room by herself, with no lights, and nothing but her bag.
Marie sat on the bed and shivered. She silently changed into her nightgown and pulled open the covers. She stepped back, as she saw a single scarlet rose with a silky black ribbon tied to it. Quickly, she changed back into her dress despite the fact that her bones screamed with fatigue. She grasped the heavily perfumed rose in her fingertips and brought it to her lips. She dropped onto the nightstand and rushed out the door. She wandered through the halls, the darkness whispering at her mind. She pushed away her fear and kept walking. Eventually she found a jacob's ladder that led to the stage. She went down and opened a door and found herself standing on the stage, overlooking the sea of boxes and seats. I wonder what it would be like to sing on this stage...she thought. Then she noticed something on the stage that she hadn't noticed before. A red rose..
Suddenly the black curtains swirled like ink on a page, and a man dressed all in black stepped out. His cloak floated out behind him. He was very tall, at least six foot two. But what struck something inside her was his bone colored mask. He was already very pale, and his white mask made him seem even paler. His jaw was square, and he had very full lips. He was handsome.
She took a step beck, and the rose fell out of her hands. "Who are you? What do you want from me?" The man merely smirked and crossed his arms.
"Pardon me mademoiselle, but you haven't told me your name. I believe it is very rude to ask someone's name before you've introduced yourself." she was shocked at how beautiful his voice was. She shifted in her place.
"My name. It's Marie." She stepped forward, and took a better look at him. Her eyes widened."You're him aren't you? The phantom of The Opera." He walked toward her and he searched her eyes, but didn't answer. "Why have you shown yourself to me?"
"Because I need a pupil, and I want it to be you."
She was confused.
"You want me for a pupil? What kind of pupil?" He spread his hands toward the stage.
"I'll give you singing lessons and help you with your dancing. And in return, you will become a star, and they will know never to scorn my name again."