Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in Phantom of the Opera.
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Madame Giry hurried down the corridor to the Managers office. She was pulling her daughter Meg Giry behind her. "This is absolutely ridiculous! What could be so important as to pull us out of bed in the middle of the night?" She stopped short in front of the door and knocked briskly.
"Ah thank you so much for coming Madame Giry!" Firmin exclaimed nervously.
Madame Giry stood with her hands on her hips, "Yes and you'd better have an exceedingly good reason for having called us down here in the middle of the night!"
Armand nodded anxiously and said, "Yes, well um, we have uh, a new student here."
Madame Giry threw her hands up in a rage, "And you couldn't have waited to tell me this tomorrow? We get a new girl every month! Why did you have to call me down for that?"
"I'm sorry to have caused you trouble Madame," a rich voice said from the shadows. A girl of about nineteen years stepped out from the corner. She was hooded in a traveling cloak. Reaching up she lifted it from her head. Her hair was a dark brown, almost black, and snaked down her back in silky curls.
Madame Giry understood at once why the managers were so jumpy. The girl was dark, unlike all of the other girls in the opera who made sure their skin was as pale and milky as possible. She was almost a toffee color, tanned as if she had spent her entire life in the sun. Her features were dark; she had smoldering intense celery green eyes that seemed almost black unless you looked closely.
The girl stood with an amused look on her face, obviously finding the whole awkward situation entertaining. Madame Giry was the first to regain her composure. "You will have to forgive us; we are not used to new pupils coming at such a late hour without an escort."
She nodded, "Of course Madame, I apologize but I have just arrived in Paris tonight. I did explain to the doorman that there was no need to wake the managers, but he insisted. I truly am sorry for the inconvenience."
"Don't fret dear, it is quite alright." She turned to Meg, "Meg take…" she paused and realized that she had not yet asked the girl's name. "I'm sorry; I did not yet ask your name."
The girl pushed her hair behind her ear, "I am called Arianna or Aria if you prefer."
"And your Surname?"
Aria stopped short, "Ditore, just Aria Ditore."
Madame Giry nodded, Ditore was an Italian name, so the girl is Italian, that might account for some of her coloring, but I've never met any Italian as dark as her. "My daughter Meg will take you to the girls' dorms and show you where to sleep. We will sort other matters out in the morning. I have something I must discuss with Monsieur Firmin and Monsieur Armand" Meg shyly picked up Aria's bag. Aria looked up at the willowy blonde, and followed her out of the room.
"Um, so what brings you to the Opera?" Meg asked timidly.
They had walked onto the stage, Aria stopped. She gazed trancelike into the seats that surrounded them, "This, this is what brings me here." She shook her head, "among other things."
"Oh well then did your parents send you here to dance?"
Aria chuckled darkly, sharing in a private joke. "Yes my parents are the reason I am here."
Slightly disturbed and fascinated by her companion Meg began to chatter nervously, "And to think only a few moths ago the opera had been in ruin! There was a great fire you know. The Managers spent millions to restore it, but I'm oh so glad they did! Maman and I would have been crushed if we couldn't return here. Oh well I'm sure you'll here all about it, it really was quite thrilling."
Somewhere high above them in the flies, Aria heard a rustling and knew that they were not alone.
Unbeknownst to Meg, the Phantom looked on high above the two girls. He made it a habit to know all who came to the opera. Something about the new girl struck him, she was unlike anything he had seen in Paris, but she was like an echo from his past. She was so different from the other girls. She was too dark, too forbidding, too exotic. It will be interesting to see where she falls here. He sunk further back into the shadows when she looked up. Huh, she is very observant, too observant. This could bode ill. Carefully he sunk back into the shadows, away from this girl who saw too much.
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Madame Giry, back in the manager's office was still fuming, "What was the reason for that? You made fools of yourselves, acting so perturbed by a girl!?
Firmin approached her, "Madame Giry please calm down! The doorman simply said a new student had arrived, we weren't prepared for… well…. someone like her. We had hoped you would know what to do."
Madame Giry whipped around, flipping her long braid over her shoulder. "You, two, are, the managers! Her appearance has nothing to do with it. If she is able to perform then there is no problem. You two made absolute fools out of yourselves. Now if you do mind I am going to bed. Goodnight!" And with that she stormed out of the office.
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The next morning rumors had already started to fly around Aria. She had come in the dead of night escorted by twelve men with dark moustaches and turbans, carrying giant machetes. "I heard that she had been riding a horse adorned with gold and Indian silk, and that her twelve bodyguards carried her to the door on a chair made of ivory," Whispered Rosaline, a young redhead to the rest of the ballerina rats.
"Actual," a voice said casually, the group jumped, "I only brought ten with me." Aria leaned against the pillar in the shadows smirking. "Twelve would have been simply extravagant." She was having fun torturing the younger ballet rats, but then an older girl stepped out from the crowd. Aria's eyes narrowed in instant dislike. The girl was tall, blonde, and had her nose stuck up in the air.
"Well we certainly wouldn't dream of insulting a girl who is so well off she won't even wear a proper costume." Aria looked down and stroked the silky material of her simple free-flowing skirt that ended right above the knee. It was gold and a-line worn over her red leotard. It was quite different from their traditional stiff short tutus.
"You might want to pull your nose down before it gets caught on a hook, or is it stuck that way?" Titters came from the crowd of girls, the girl's face contorted in anger.
"Watch yourself, they may have let you in, but I doubt they'll keep trash like you for long."
Aria shrugged and said, "They kept you, didn't they?"
The girl chortled and choked on her own words as she tried to think of a good comeback. "Just shut up Jacqueline," muttered Rosaline.
Aria continued, "Incase anyone else was wondering, Madame Giry has not yet made my leotard, so I was forced to wear one of my own things. Any other questions or rumors can be directed to me for clarification." With that she spun in a whirl of silk and ran to Madame Giry's office. The girls burst into excited chatter.
From the rafters the Phantom scoffed at them. So the new girl had spunk, he may have to deal with her sooner than her thought. She would not talk back to him.
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OOOOOOO, Has the phantom found his new protégé? Review and find out! Haha
I'm making the chapters shorter (unless the story calls for a longer one) so that I can update more frequently and not make you guys wait as long. I value your opinion so feed the Muse and review!