She ran as fast as she could towards the prima donna's room. Rumors poured out of that room like water from a spring. Most of them were rather extravagant. Ranging from that being the place where the phantom took his female victims and took advantage of them, to more tame rumors such as, that was where the entrance to the Opera Ghost's lair was. Which was exactly why Sophie was sneaking out in the middle of the day, when she was supposed to be at rehesals. She needed to see for herself if what the other girls where whispering about held any truth. All of the sudden Sophie stumbled on something in the dark hallway down to the room that Carlotta used. Carlotta was a prima donna in every sense of the word. She was very conceited, tempermental, and belived her 'talent' to be unparalleled. She had heard that behind the full length mirror in said room, was a corridor that leads to the Opera Ghost's lair.
If what she found down there was truly the phantom she knew it could be be the last thing she ever saw, but she couldn't help herself. The temptation was truly impossible to resist. She continued to walk for a minute or two and found herself in front of the large wooden door, belonging to Carlotta. She slowly reached a trembling hand out to the handle and turned it to open the door. The room was covered in posters for all the performances that Carlotta had the lead female role in. The air was rich with some sort of French perfume. It smothered Sophie and her lungs coughed in protest. She walked the rather long distance (for a dressing room at least) from the door to the large ornate mirror. She ran her hands along the edges searching for some sort of latch or lever to open the mirror.
There. She mentally exclaimed. She kept quiet seeing as she really didn't fancy getting caught by the red haired opera queen. She lifted the tiny lever and heard a sort of machinery unlatch and she discovered that now she could easily push the mirror to the side and walk down what looked to be a dark, damp, stone passage. The thought of getting lost down there was enough to give her a moment's pause.
Come on Sophia. She thought. Don't be afraid. What's the worst that can be down there? Suddenly she heard the loud heavily accented voice that could only belong to Carlotta, echoing from the stage.
"These things do happen. For the past two years these things do happen. Until you stop these things from happening, this thing does not happen." This was quickly followed by her voice calling for her 'doggy'
Shoot. Sophie thought after some quick thinking she decided that she could either get caught by the obviously enraged diva or retreat to the dark corridor that might lead to the phantoms lair. The latter seemed like a safer option. She took a deep breath and started her way down the stone stairs. As she started down she felt the unnerving sensation of being watched. She shook it off blaming it on the adrenaline of almost being caught by Carlotta. She gathered her courage back up and continued on her way
Surely there must be another way out, she thought. She walked one stair at a time and held on to the railing as if the floor would give way. Suddenly, and very loudly in fact, a door slammed shut. It wasn't the dull thud a wooden door makes though. It was the sharp clang of a metal door and the click of a lock. The phantom. Panicking Sophie ran faster down the stairs, still keeping to the side. She could hear the footsteps behind her pick up and begin a fast paced chase down the stairway. Heart thumping, lungs struggling she finally reached the bottom of the stairs and saw a sort of lake. A crazed, desperate smile came across her face and she approached the water, knowing that every second that she wasn't running her chaser got closer. She took a deep breath and jumped. The splash of water never came. Instead she felt a large, clearly masculine hand around her throat. She just closed her eyes, knowing she had been caught.