When Maddy woke, she had slept for at least 3 more hours. She stretched in the bed and sat up on her elbows, taking in her surroundings and remembering her situation. "Still not awake yet..." She sighed and looked around. Getting up slowly, and walking to a window she peeked out over the ground and saw carriages bustle about, hurrying people to their destinations. She noticed that the room she was in was rather dark.
She tried the door, suddenly a little intimidated by the vibe she was getting. "Something seriously doesn't-" She was stopped though, for the door was locked, and she couldn't manage to open it. "Well, crap." She turned around scanning the shadows. "Hello? Is...someone there?" She was suddenly very afraid, and felt as if she was being watched.
A familiar smell filled her nose, and she recognized it from when she was in the Phantom's Box. She suddenly wondered, what he might be doing in her room, considering she was a "ballet rat" now.
She waited a few moments, but nothing happened. No one came to take her away like her imagination was telling her. She sighed, deciding she was letting her paranoia get to her. She finally just decided to sit down and calm herself. She took a few deep breaths, and felt a little better.
She looked at herself in a small mirror on the wall. "God! I look horrible!" She scanned the room and found a brush. Taking her hair out of the messy bun, she stroked the brush through the knots and tangles of her head. Once it was laid down in smooth black waves again, she set the brush down and wiped at her eyes.
They were stuck together with sleep, and she was ever so irritated at it. When her eyes were clean, and she felt she was awake enough to move without needing support, she tried the door again, finding it strangely unlocked. Sighing with relief she then decided to find Madame Giry, and see what her dream would eventually bring her to.
...
She found Madame Giry in the stage room, directing ballerinas and yelling at set shifters when they didn't do their job. She kept the performers in good line, and knew how to make them listen. With a careful tap on the shoulder, Madeleine gained Madame Giry's attention. "Ah, Mademoiselle. Good to see you awake and walking. I meant to retrieve you after rehearsal, but it appears I've already got you!"
Maddy nodded and smiled kindly. "Yes, you have." "Good good! Well then!" She clapped her hands and signaled for the ballerina's to gather their things and head off to their rooms. "You have a very important meeting, my dear. Tell me again, what is your name?" Maddy was ashamed of herself for not mentioning it before. "Madeleine, Madame. Madeleine Renee." "Ah, Good good. Well it's certainly nice to have you, Madeleine. Come with me." She took maddy by the wrist carefully and drug her about the opera house.
They soon came to a door, marked 'Managers'. She knocked once, and was greeted by Firmin himself! Maddy couldn't believe it! She and Madame Giry were ushered inside, and sat down in the leather chairs. "So, Madeleine is it? Well it's obvious you are here for work, so what are your professions?" Maddy was a bit surprised but answered honestly. "Well, Monsieur...I don't really have a profession, but I am quite good at singing. Or at least I've been told..." Monsieur Andre looked a bit skeptical. "Can you sing for us now?" Maddy was suddenly nervous, but she nodded, and wracked her knowledge for a song she knew well.
Deciding on 'Think of Me' considering she knew they had probably heard it before, she began to sing. "Think of me, think of me fondly, when we've said goodbye." She gave a quick glance to Firmin, who was smiling already. "Remember me once in a while, please promise me you'll try." Andre was smiling now, which gave Madeleine a boost of confidence, resulting in her singing louder. "Then you'll find that once again you long to take your heart back and be free. If you'll ever find a moment, spare a thought for me."
Andre signaled for her to stop, and so she closed her mouth. "Thats very nice Maddy, very nice." She smiled as he called her what Marcey normally did. Thats when she thought about what might be happening back home. She thought about how much she missed Marcey, and her bed and her comfy blankets. "Do you think you could audition to sing in one of our newer opera's?" The question snapped Madeleine back to reality at once.
"Wait...what? Audition? Already? Surely I'm not trained enough-" Firmin cut her off. "My dear child, with talent like that, there's no need for training! You will be put on stage at once!" Madame Giry clapped, but Maddy just stood there.
At once? The words echoed through her brain. Madeleine had terrible stage fright. If she tried singing in front of Marcey, let alone her mom or anyone else, she froze, and just simply couldn't do it.
"Sir, I have a terrible-" "Oh, non-sense! At once I say!" He was smiling and laughing, but Maddy was ghost white, and terribly frightened. She wasn't ready for such a big step! She'd never even sung at a school talent show, and now she had the chance to sing in an opera! It wouldn't be possible! She would totally humiliate herself!
"Monsieur, I assure you I am not at all-" With great annoyance, she was cut off again but this time, by Andre. "Firmin you must take into consideration that this child is not ready for such a big step. Tell me Maddy, do you have an experience with performing in front of a crowd?" Madeleine was relieved and once. "No Monsieur, that's what I've been trying to tell you. I have terrible stage fright, and can't even sing well in front of my own mother." "Ah, see Firmin? If you had put this child on stage, she would have been scared to death! The performance would have been a tragedy!"
Firmin nodded, and too his words into consideration. "Very well, very well. We'll just have to find you a tutor in that case. Exercise your voice, and boost your confidence." Maddy gulped but she some how felt she could do this. Her dreams had once been occupied by the fantasies of singing at an opera house. Having the chance to sing here, dream or not, was going to be the most amazing experience of her life time. Madame Giry smiled, and thanked the managers, as did Madeleine.
She was lead out then, and patted on the back as they headed to somewhere Maddy had no idea of. "Now, now. I have the perfect tutor for you my child. Though you must promise me to keep her a secret. For the opera folk know her well, but as like her husband, prefers not to be spoken of."
Maddy froze. "Who...exactly are we talking about Madame Giry?" She figured she already knew, but couldn't fathom the idea. "Why, Christine Daae herself!" Madame exclaimed in a hushed whisper. Maddy's eyes went wide with surprise and excitement. "You mean to tell me, that I'm going to be coached...by Christine Daae? The once and still famous singer of this very opera house?" Madame Giry hushed her at once. "Yes, yes my dear! You will become sensational!"
Madeleine had no idea what had happened next, for her mind was rushing, and her heart felt as if it would jump from her chest, and as her vision faded to a sudden blackness, she swooned and fell to the ground.