Hello again ladies and gents! I know this is a really quick update but I don't have a lot to do at the moment so I decided to update. As always, enjoy and please review!
Elliot woke to the sweet melody that was a factor in leading him here. He rose from the small guest bed and walked through a black curtain to find a woman sitting at an organ. Instantly he remembered everything from that night. Evangeline turned to see him awake. She rose from the bench and went to the small kitchen part of the lair.
"Are you hungry? I don't have much but it will hopefully keep your stomach full until you go back." She said. Elliot walked towards her.
"Thank you. Some food would be nice." He replied. She smiled sweetly and began to make his breakfast. Elliot wondered how she had acquired all of the things she needed to survive such as food and water. He had lived in this opera house most of his life and had never seen her enter or leave. He decided to ask.
"I must ask you Evangeline, how do you obtain the things you need?"
She continued to mix the ingredients together. "I know some people here. When they go to town they get the things I need and sneak them down here but you must not tell a soul." She said.
"Why can't you get them yourself?" He asked. "I'm not meaning to be rude in anyway, but you do know you can go out to town too. I will go with you if you'd like." He offered. Evangeline shook her head and covered the right side of her face as she set a plate on the table for Elliot. He went and sat at the table, prepared to eat.
"I can't. I tried a long time ago. The people up there aren't very polite to people like me." She replied a little sadly.
"People like you? Evangeline I don't understand. You aren't any different from anyone else." He told her, but she shook her head again.
"Sadly I'm not like anyone else." She said. Elliot rose from his seat and untouched breakfast to stand in front of her.
"And why are you not?"
"I'm just…different." She replied. Elliot knew she was talking about what it was behind her right hand. He almost didn't do it but he had to. He grabbed her arm and pulled her hand away from her face.
"Is this what you're talking about?" he asked and she shoved him back, placing her hand back over her face.
"Why did you do that!" she exclaimed. Evangeline was furious.
"Is that what you're talking about?" Elliot repeated, ignoring her reaction. Evangeline stood there staring at Elliot. They stood in silence for a few long minutes before Elliot started walking to Evangeline.
"Why do you cover it up?" he asked her. She looked as if she was about to cry.
"No one wants to see it."
"No one else is around." He placed his hand around her wrist and pulled her arm down slowly. This time she didn't pull away and put her arm back over her face. She didn't shove him back; she just stood there.
"Its hideous." She said.
"No its not. Why do you think that?" Elliot asked.
"People tell me every time I go outside. When I was a child, my mother would make fun of me, saying I was worthless because I wasn't perfect." She said. She shed a tear and tried to pull her hand back away from Elliot but he didn't let go.
"Why did you believe her?" Elliot said. He was furious at a woman he never met all for what Evangeline had told him.
"I was little and I trusted her so therefore I believed her every word."
"How did you get away?" Evangeline took a deep breath before answering. Elliot led her to the table so they could sit down.
"Gypsies." Was all she had said.
"Come again?"
"One night I was with my mother and when I woke up I was on a train with a bunch of gypsies. They forced me to become a contortionist for a long time. Even when I was doing that, people laughed at my face. They didn't pay attention to what I was doing. They were only interested in my scar. Soon, the owner discovered this and made me one of the attractions." She shed a few more tears but these for tears of anger, not sadness. Elliot stared at her.
"You face is not that awful at all." He said and it was the truth. He didn't mind her face at all. It was defiantly something he had never seen before, but it was different and he liked it.
"Well I'm glad you think so but not everyone is like you are." She said. Elliot wasn't hungry anymore. Evangeline rose from her seat and then held her hand out.
"Soon they will start to wonder where you are. Come. You must return." She said and Elliot followed her. He didn't want to and became a bit worried when she got in the boat.
"How will I get back here?" he asked her.
"Would you like to go alone?" she asked, but he said no.
"But I want to know how I will get back here. You will have the only boat with you."
"Well you can ask. Whenever you would like to come down, just go to the chapel and call for me. I will bring the boat to you." She said as they paddled through the lake and finally got to the dock.
"Can you go from here?" Evangeline asked. Elliot nodded and thanked her for everything. When Elliot had turned the corner to go up the stairs, he heard her row the boat back to her lair.
-,-
Mr. Dubois was furious! He looked for Elliot everywhere, but he was nowhere to be found! He had lost two of his leads and it wasn't even his first week! But, he thought, this will get the opera house some more publicity.
He arrived in his office to find a note on his desk, stamped with a red, wax skull. He peeled the envelope open and pulled out the small paper with black edges. As he read it his anger grew.
Mr. Dubois,
I wanted to remind you about my salary. I have not yet received my 20,000 francs. Also, Elliot will be playing the male lead in the upcoming production, not you other actor who is a dreadful singer in my opinion. Therefore, he shall play as an extra is he does wish to come back. If my instructions are not followed, you should be prepared for a horrific incident to occur. I remain you obedient servant.
The Opera Ghost
There was no way on Earth Mr. Dubois was going to let Elliot come back as a male lead when he just disappears after the first performance! Yes, this was free publicity but the public hates to be cheated! They will all walk out of the performance and demand a refund! They will have to give everyone back their money and the opera house would be stuck with bad reviews in the papers!
Mr. Dubois kept pacing back and forth in the opera house just as someone came through the doors. A woman stood there and he recognized her immediately.
"Ah Bernadette, how lovely to see you. Tell m, how is your father?" he asked. Bernadette's father was the new patron of the opera house and his daughter came to visit every so often.
"He is fine thank you. Mr. Dubois, I came here looking for Elliot but he is nowhere to be found. Have you seen him today?" she asked. The owner shook his head.
"No I haven't. He seems to have just disappeared." He replied. Someone else barged through the doors.
"What is the meaning of this!" they shouted. The old male lead came limping across the large room and stopped in front of Bernadette.
"What have I done!" she asked him, clearly shocked and confused.
"You sent me this!" he held up a note in her face and she took a few steps away.
"I have not sent anyone anything."
"Tell me, Henri, when did you receive this letter?" Mr. Dubois asked. Henri turned to him.
"Just this morning." He replied. The owner walked to him.
"May I see it please?" Henri handed him the note and he read it out loud.
Your days here are coming to an end. Elliot will take your place as male lead. Be prepared for a disaster if you should try to take your place back in this opera house.
"I wouldn't send you anything like that! I can't believe you assume I would!" Bernadette exclaimed.
"Calm down please! It's all just a misunderstanding. Henri, if you are feeling up to it, you may have your place back. But, you will have to do something about your leg. I would hate to have you limping all over the stage." Mr. Dubois said. Henri nodded once.
"I get all this off today sir." Henri pointed to his leg which had a piece of wood under his leg and it was wrapped in Indian leather.
"Well alright then. Now that this is settled, we need to rehearse." Mr. Dubois turned and headed for one of the seats in the audience to watch rehearsal.
-,-
Alright our male lead finally has a name! I tried not to play off of the movie so much and do my own thing but I'm not sure how well I did with it. Anyway please review and tell me what you think!