Unspoken Secrets
By Mademoiselle Emmi
Summary:
Two orphans by the names of Taylor and Mariah go to France with their orphanage. Sick of their lives, they leave their group and take housing in the abandoned Opera House. Erik, of course, is there, having survived somehow. Come on, you can guess what happens, can't you? But take into account this little spin-off… Mariah is mute.
Disclaimer:
I don't own The Phantom of the Opera. If I did, I'd be purchasing the Opera House right now instead of writing some silly fantasy.
I do, however, own the characters Taylor Smith and Mariah Matthews. I also own the drawings of them. Credit for the development of Taylor Smith goes to my good friend, Sensei. She knows who she is.
Relativity to real life is purely coincidental, such as times, places, names, and buildings. For instance, if there really are young ladies by the names of Taylor Smith and Mariah Matthews, the names are pure coincidence and have no relation to any such existing persons.
Chapter One : And So The Dream Begins
If one were to enter the Dallas/Fort Worth airport, Gate C8, at 3:57 a.m., he or she would lay eyes upon a group of twelve teenagers, most of whom were sleeping. Ten of those young people were between the ages of sixteen and eighteen. The other two were girls who, by age, did not belong. They were fifteen, and therefore fortunate to be going on the Mortensen Orphanage Foreign Studies trip. Yes, these teens were all orphaned at some point in their lives. In some, the effect of being orphaned had manifested itself more than it did in others, especially in the case of one of these girls. But that is a story for later.
This year, the Foreign Studies group was going to Paris, France.
Suddenly, a voice cried out, sternly, "Taylor! Come here, now!" It was the voice of Ms. Abigail Mortensen, the current Headmistress of Mortensen Orphanage. The loud quality of her voice caused several sleeping teens to stir, but almost immediately fall into slumber once more.
In response to Ms. Abigail Mortensen, a young woman stood. "Coming, Headmistress." Taylor was a very tall girl, with large, glowing emerald eyes. Her hair was long, about two inches past her shoulders, red with brown undertones in color, and very wavy. She also wore glasses. All in all, she was a very pleasant sight to behold. She looked much older than her years accounted for. But that would soon be remedied: her birthday was in four days. Imagine spending your sixteenth birthday in Paris!
Two of Taylor's most distinguishing features were her smile and a necklace. When Taylor smiled, the sun shone through even on the cloudiest day, just to catch a glimpse of it. As for the necklace, it was a black-velvet choker. Dangling lightly from it was a gold locket which depicted a cat. It was a gift from Taylor's only friend, Mariah, whom she sometimes called Ri.
((A/N "Ri" is pronounced "Ree".))
"Yes, Headmistress?" said Taylor as she approached the middle-aged woman.
"Ah, Miss Smith."
Smith was not really Taylor's last name. All orphans who came to Mortensen with no last name to be found were given the name 'Smith'. Taylor was just such a child.
"Yeah, you called for me, Headmistress?"
"Yes, I did." Ms. Mortensen glared at Taylor. Taylor was definitely not one of her favorite orphans.
"And….?" Taylor returned the glare. The feeling of dislike was most certainly mutual.
"And, Miss Smith. I'm going to warn you that should you try any funny business while in Paris, anything at all, you will be sent to another orphanage. I'll let some other old woman try to handle your rebellion."
"Why, Headmistress, I don't know what on Earth you mean!" Taylor played up the 'innocent little girl' part to a tee.
"Don't get attitude with me, Taylor Smith! You know very well what I mean! I won't tolerate any malarkey from you!"
Taylor silently mimicked every word spewing from the fool's mouth.
"Do you hear me, Miss Smith?"
Taylor looked down at the woman. "Yes, I hear you. No foolishness." She rolled her eyes, thankful that Ms. Mortensen was a foot shorter than her and therefore unable to see.
"Good. Now, go to your seat and get your carry-ons. We'll be boarding in five minutes."
"Great."
Taylor turned away snottily and walked back to her seat next to a sleeping girl. Obviously, she was the other fifteen-year-old. With uncharacteristic gentleness, Taylor awoke the sleeping girl.
"Mariah…. Mariah, wake up…. We're going to Paris soon."
Quietly, Mariah awoke. She blinked her eyes several times and stretched her arms.
"Wow, Mariah. You get yourself a good rest?"
Mariah only nodded.
"You've got such a dreamy and happy look in your eyes…"
Mariah smiled softly.
"What did you dream about?" As she spoke, Taylor got a notepad and a pen from her messenger bag and handed it to Mariah.
Not wanting to loose memory of the dream, Mariah quickly wrote the following:
((A/N All italics is when Mariah is writing.))
I was in a very old, dusty building. It didn't look beautiful at all. Then, as soon as I thought that, the dust flew away and everything was scarlet and gold! Somewhere, brilliant music began to play and I started dancing! I was wearing this same outfit I am now, but then it melted into a ball gown! A man came behind me and spun me into a dance and I was spinning everywhere! I couldn't see his face, though. He wore a hood, but I could see a smile tugging at his lips! He said, "Sing. Now." and I began to sing! I could actually sing!
It took a while to write, but once it was done, Taylor smiled. She knew that nothing would please Mariah more than the ability to sing. Nothing except the ability to talk.
"Well, I'm glad you've had that as a dream. Maybe someday, it'll come true."
Mariah smiled and wrote:
Thanks Taylor. I hope you're right.
Taylor hugged Mariah momentarily and said, "Mariah, I know it will happen. What with science and the progress it's been making, you'll be talking and singing in no time!"
A voice came over the speaker system. "Now boarding flight 714 to Paris, France. All passengers present your tickets and passports. Repeat, now boarding flight 714 to Paris, France."
The girls grinned excitedly.
"Now let's go have a great time away from this mess!"
Mariah quickly scribbled the word "Let's!" before grabbing her backpack and shoving the notebook inside. Grinning, she and Taylor boarded the airplane, looking forward to a great time of learning and sight-seeing.
Little did they know that they'd soon cause a great stir of emotions and actions. They would cause a great sensation of choices on their behalf, some which could show them a new existence, and some which could show them Hell.
((A/N Anyone who wishes to see pictures of Mariah and Taylor are free to e-mail me and request the pictures. Now you all must review! HAHAHAHAHHA!))
