Hey everyone! This is my new story A Sons Promise. Instead of Erik moving to Coney island, Raoul and Christine were the ones to move to america. Erik went back to the opera house and became the Phantom again, but what happens when Gustave comes to Paris searching for Erik? hope everyone enjoys the story!
Gustave's POV
I stood outside the old building watching people come in and out. Above the entrance there was Writing that said "Opera Populaire." On the sides there were posters hanging; they read "Angelina Delleris, Starring in Penthesilea" I closed my eyes and imagined my mother's posters hanging there for me to see, but when I opened my eyes again they were gone. I sighed and made my way into the building. The inside was elegant. There were grand stair cases leading up to a room, most likely the stage. I stood in the room, unsure of where to go next. I was only ten years old and not sure who I could trust yet. I stared at the letter had in my hands reading it over and over trying to find a clue of where to go.
Suddenly a woman with blonde hair came towards me.
"Can I help you?" she asked.
I looked up at her and thought she looked pretty trustworthy.
"Umm, I need to speak to someone here." I said choosing my words carefully.
"And who would that be?" the woman asked.
"I don't really know his name. " I said. Then a thought popped into my head.
"Actually I'm looking for a job." I said
She stared at me for a second and I wondered if she could see through my lie. "Well then you will want to speak to my mother, I'm Meg Giry by the way." The woman said smiling, "follow me."
I quickly recognized the name from many of mother's stories, grabbing my stuff I quickly trailed behind her. We passed though many long hallways till we stopped and turned into one of the rooms. The room was an office from what I could tell. There was a desk, a couch and many papers stacked all around. There was an older woman and two older looking men with her.
"I just don't think it would be wise to have them add this part to the play." One of the men said.
"I agree, it has no point." The other chimed in.
The woman sighed and took the cane lying next to her and pounded it onto the floor. "You know as well as I that you have no choice, but to do what he commands."
The three of them looked up at me. I lowered my head, not wanting so much attention.
"Meg who is this?" The older woman asked.
"This is….umm." she paused realizing she didn't know my name.
The woman gave her daughter a look and then turned her attention towards me.
"What is your name darling?"
I stood with my head down staying silent. I wasn't sure whether I should lie or be truthful.
"Gustave." I whispered deciding that the truth wouldn't hurt since no one knew who I was anyway.
"And what are you doing here?" she asked.
"I'm…I'm looking for a job."
"Oh well I'm sorry, we don't have any jobs for younger boys, why don't you come back another time." One of the men said.
"No please!" I begged, "I have nowhere else to go and I really need the money. Isn't there anything I can do here?"
The men both started to answer, but the woman shushed them.
"I guess we can find you some odds and ends to do around. First how old are you and where are your parents?"
"I'm ten, and my parents became separated from me when I was very young and I haven't seen them since." I lied; I didn't want them to know that mother was patiently waiting at home for me to return.
"That's just terrible, consider yourself hired." I'm Madam Giry the older woman said. "I teach the ballet here."
She then pointed to the two men, "This is Andre and Firmin, the two men who own the Opera house."
I gave them a small smile as Madam Giry led me out of the room for the tour. She showed me all the ins and outs of the opera house and how to do my job. She seemed very strict, but kind; exactly how mother described her. It was just about dark when she finished up the tour.
"Well here is where you can sleep." she said. "I'm sorry, but we don't really have any other rooms, most of the adults go home at night and the girls who live here sleep in the dormitory, but that is strictly for girls."
She opened the door and I stepped inside to see the room. The floors were made of wood and the walls were a red color. Against the far wall was one long mirror. There was a dark brown dresser, bed, and vanity in the room, but besides that the room was empty.
"I know it seems old, but it's all we have." She said. "This used to be the old dressing room for all the divas, but we don't use it anymore now that we are using one of the bigger rooms down the hall. Please make yourself comfortable, this is your room now."
"Thank you, this is perfect." I said smiling.
She was about to leave when she suddenly turned back towards me. "Oh and one more thing, don't ever go down into the catacombs of the Opera house."
"Why not?"
"Because, it just isn't safe for a young boy like you to be down there, there are lots of old things down there that you can get hurt on." She said sternly. "Do you understand?"
"Yes, Madam Giry." I said.
"Well goodnight then."
I said goodnight back but she was already gone. I turned back towards the room and thought now would be the best time to unpack. I laid my bag on top of the faded red blanket covering the bed and began to pull the contents of my bag out one by one. I took each shirt and pair of pants and placed them in the dresser, I then pulled out my other pair of shoes and placed them by the door, next was a few things like a small bottle of my mother's perfume that I had stolen from her incase I became home sick, one of her bracelets, and my stuffed bear that my mother had given me when I was two. I placed all of these on the vanity. Finally I pulled out some of my music sheets, a small bottle of ink, a quill, and all the letters and information my mother had given me before I left. I laid them all out on the bed, but then decided to put them all back into the bag, and hide the bag under my shirts in the dresser; that stuff was just too important for me to lose.
After I was done I looked around the room for anything interesting, I checked under the bed and in the vanity drawers, but all I found was one very old rose petal that fell apart when I touched it. I sighed and climbed into bed, reminding myself of why I was here.
I was woken up very early the next morning by Meg Giry. "Get up Gustave, Mother is not going to be happy if you're late on the first day!"
"Late? But it's only six in the morning, I said stretching.
"Well here the day starts at six so you better start getting used to getting up early, I'll cover for you today, but that's it." She said leaving the room.
I got up still in a sleepy haze and got dressed, then I ran to where the stage was afraid of being fired; I really needed this job.
When I got there I had to stop to take everything in. The stage was set like a beautiful night sky, in one corner there was a small fountain and on the other some fake trees. There were tons of people all over the stage.
I walked over to where Madam Giry was standing near her was about a dozen girls of all ages dressed in white. I was guessing they were the dancers, I saw Meg with the group and she waved at me.
"Good morning Gustave. Ready for work?" Madam Giry asked.
"Yes."
"Then you can start by handing the ballerina's their baskets of flowers as they go on stage." She directed me to a spot behind the curtain where there was a stack of baskets. She lined up the girls and told me to hand them each one as they moved by.
The stage got quiet, the music began to start, and I started handing out the baskets. Most of the girls just took the baskets without looking at me, but I didn't mind they were much older. Then a young girl moved to the front of the line. She looked about my age and I could tell she was definitely nervous, I handed her the basket and gave her a smile. She smiled back at me and moved on stage, I handed out the last few baskets and then watched the performance. I couldn't take my eyes off the girl who had smiled at me; she seemed to be a really good dancer.
I did many other odds and ends though out the day and by the end I was exhausted. Before I went back into my room Madam Giry handed me a few francs for a good first day. I headed into the room and placed the money in my bag along with the other important items. I was tired, but I had to remember why I was here. I took out the letter my mother had given me and scanned it for any ideas of where to look.
Mother had asked me to go to Paris to find a certain man. She wanted me to see him and give him a letter she had written. I promised her that I would and I wasn't going to break that promise, she was at home probably worried about me and waiting for my return.
I noticed something about a chapel in the letter and decided to try there. I waited till everyone was gone and everything was dark and then I went off to find the Chapel.
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the story, i'll try to have another chapter posted soon! Please Review, i'd love to hear what you think or any idea's you have. Thanks again and please REVIEW!