The Many Faces of the Opera Ghost
By Ashley Hovey
Chapter 1
A small carriage made its way through the streets of Paris, and pulled up in front of the newly rebuilt Paris Opera House. The carriage was built for two people, but only one person traveled inside. As the carriage stopped, out stepped a woman donning a grey dress.
Gabrielle Rothschild was her name. She was a painter who'd been imported from London by the new manager to paint scenes of productions at the Opera. A young woman barely in her twenties, Gabrielle stepped onto the sidewalk. She gazed at her new home. The Paris Opera House. Paying the carriage driver, she picked up her luggage, which was only one suitcase. With confidence, she held her chin up, and walked inside.
She made it to the middle of the grand hall, before she had to stop and just look at the place. It was exquisite. Marble floors, golden staircases, crystal chandeliers, and candelabras were everywhere. Gabrielle thought to herself. She closed her eyes and reminded herself that she was here to work. She would have to concentrate on her real goal after she finished her first job there. What no one really knew was that secretly Gabrielle was a portrait painter. Her life's dream was to paint a face, not just any face; but a face that was special, a face that the world would always remember and never forget. Gabrielle stood there for a moment longer when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder.
"Oh!" she said.
"Oh, excuse me, I didn't mean to startle you." came a woman's voice.
Gabrielle turned around. Standing there, were two women, one middle-aged and the other probably close to Gabrielle's own age. The older woman looked stern as stone all dressed in black and holding a cane. The younger one, however, stood up straight in white and pink dance rehearsal clothes, and ballet slippers.
"How was your trip?" asked the woman in black.
"It was lovely, thank you. My name is" –
"Gabrielle Rothschild, yes, we've been expecting you. You are our newest scene painter."
"That's right."
"I'm Antoinette Giry, but you may call me Madame. And this is my daughter, Meg."
"Bonjour," said Meg smiling.
"Oh, hello," said Gabrielle, who barely knew French.
"Come, we'll show you to your room. It's not too far from the ballet dormitories."
"Thank you." said Gabrielle.
As they walked down the halls, Gabrielle could feel a strange sense of sadness around her. The place seemed so dark and lifeless. Looking down the halls, she saw that all the doors and windows were shut. Suddenly, she saw an open door. The room had red interior walls on the inside. As Gabrielle poked her head inside, Madame Giry quickly pulled her arm, yanking her out of the doorway. She quickly closed the door and locked it. She then looked at Gabrielle.
"I'm sorry; I should've told you before. That room is not to be disturbed. The door is to remain closed and locked." She said.
Gabrielle was puzzled.
"Then why was it open before?" she asked.
Madame Giry didn't say anything, but quickly glanced at Meg as if telling her not to say anything to Gabrielle.
"Here we are. This is your room."
Gabrielle blinked.
Her room was right next door to the room that was to remain undisturbed..
Gabrielle's room was rather nice. It had a double bed, a vanity, a changing screen, a bookshelf, a desk, and a full length mirror in the corner.
"This room used to be a dressing room." said Meg.
"I see." Said Gabrielle.
"Well, we'll leave you here to unpack and get some sleep. In the morning, you are to report to the manager's office." said Madame Giry.
"Yes, Madame Goodnight." Gabrielle said.
After the two women left, Gabrielle closed the door. She tossed aside her suitcase and threw off her hat and coat. She splashed some water on her face and sat down at the desk. She pulled out her sketchbook and began to draw.
Two hours later, Meg knocked on Gabrielle's door to see how things were going.
"Things are fine." said Gabrielle.
"Good. What's that? What are you drawing?" asked Meg.
Gabrielle held up the finished picture. Meg's jaw dropped. It was a portrait of her; a perfectly drawn portrait; with every detail imaginable.
"How did you do that?" Meg asked.
"Practice." Gabrielle said, while blushing.
"It's beautiful, Gabrielle. Thank you." she said.
"You're welcome."
The two young women continued to talk.
"You're lucky to have your own room." said Meg.
"But don't you have your own room?" asked Gabrielle.
"Not really, the new dancer will be here in a week. She's here to replace Christine."
"Who's Christine?" asked Gabrielle, who was now very interested.
"Christine Daae." Meg said.
"Daae? You mean Gustave Daae's daughter?"
"Yes, we were best friends." Meg replied.
"What do you mean? Aren't you still best friends?" asked Gabrielle.
"No, I haven't seen her since she left the opera." She said..
"Why did she leave?"
Meg was silent for a moment.
"Because of him."
"Who?" asked Gabrielle.
"The Opera Ghost" Meg whispered.
The next day, Gabrielle woke up early. She washed her face and hands. She put on her favorite green dress and an emerald broche that her father had given her. Stepping into her shoes, she sat down at the vanity. She took some pins and swept up her dark brown hair. Putting on her trademark scent; Jasmine, she stood up and walked over to the full length mirror. She spun around in her green dress. Leaving her room, she met Meg for breakfast. Forty – five minutes later, she returned, grabbed her painting materials, and set out to work.
The opera was putting on a production of the classic Romantic ballet, Giselle. The rehearsal was interesting. First, Gabrielle took a look at the ballerinas to see what they would look like up close and what they would look like far away from the audience's point of view. Second, she had them all take the classic poses from the ballet itself, to get an early start. Then, she let them all take a break while she concentrated on the sets themselves. Finally, after about three hours she worked with the ballerina who would play Giselle herself: Meg Giry.
It was a long day. Everyone was exhausted except for Gabrielle. She was a hard worker and a perfectionist. She loved working long hours, never quitting until she was completely worn out. She shook hands with everyone and thanked them for their time and bid them goodnight. As she walked onto the stage towards the halls, she looked up at where the stagehands were working.
"Hmm, the theatre must look absolutely brilliant from up there." She said to herself.
She thought for a minute.
"No, it was too risky. What if someone saw her or if she fell? What if… oh who cares! Sounds like fun anyway!" she said to herself.
With that thought in mind, Gabrielle walked backstage, opened the stagehand door, and began to walk up the winding steps taking her up all the way to the rafters. After a few flights, Gabrielle found herself staring down at the stage. An exhilarating feeling washed over her. She kept her sketchpad and pencils in her bag and over her arm. She held onto the railing and stayed out of sight
Moments later, the people had all vanished. This was her chance. She lifted her skirt and decided to walk down the middle beam to center of the stage. But before she could take her first step, a large, black rope hooked her by the waist and yanked her back onto the platform. Gabrielle let out a little squeal before her mouth was covered by a large, cold object. The large hook tightened on her waist.
But then something happened. She felt something near her ear. It seemed to be another cold, object made of some type leather. She looked over at it. Inside the object she saw something that made her heart stop. It was a beautiful green eye. It stared down at her. Whatever was holding her began to loosen its hold on her just a bit. Gently, the person with the beautiful green eye guided her backwards, into the darkness.
Author's Note: I apologize for the mix-up in the later chapters, but Gabrielle's name becomes Emmeline.