I'd like to remind my darling readers that this is an adaptation. Therefor the actual flow of this story will not follow EXACTLY the same time line as the 2004 movie. Let's let our imagination run wild together.
The Opera house was alive with gossip. The huge success of last nights show had gone off without a hitch! Everyone was buzzing around with news of how last nights performance had went with the leading soprana, Ms. Christine! She was now the official talk of the theater. You couldn't finish a conversation with anyone without the name Daia being mentioned at least twice.
It was now mid-day and the word had spread like wild-fire. For those who had performed in last nights premier they now took the day off to celebrate and bask in their job-well-done. For those less fortunate than others, they spent their day immediately preparing for the next premier which was only weeks away. Artists, Composers, Directors, Back-up singer and dancers all began rehearsals and new stage designs for there was no time to waste when your opera house was now the place to be for anybody who was anybody.
For Eve and Neeta they were less than un-lucky. After her little visit to her friend; Eve later learned that Madame Giry had indeed discovered Neeta's little escape routine. She decided that the perfect punishment for a relentless seamstress would be to work from sun up to sun down practicing stitches on old costumes the opera would never use again...by hand. This was Neeta's least favorite thing to do. She'd gladly chew on needles and nails than toil away with her sewings. It was pure torture for her to constantly prick her fingers! Whatever garment she had been working on now looked as if it belonged in a museum for war with how many blood stains it had accumulated.
Apparently, spending a few hours with Neeta last night meant that she had willingly enabled her friend to skip her responsibilities and therefor she was as much responsible for skipping duties as Neeta was and so she had shared the same punishment with her friend. At first she had tried to defend herself and brought up the point that she had finished all her work for the day and had already started on her projects for the next rehearsal but Madame Giry was having none of it. And like a mother to an errant child she gave this look that stopped any and all protest from both women.
The day had gone by extremely slowly for the two of them. In the beginning they had tackled the work load with high spirits and a lot of laughter. They chatted about the performance, how horrible of a stitch Neeta had, of how many people had turned up for the premier, and how drunk some of the handy men had gotten. Neeta spoke of her ideas for her future, she wanted a husband and three children, a large home full of music and messy hallways splattered with memories of her family and memories, she also spoke of throwing grand parties full of laughter and expensive champagne! The pictures she painted for Eve were by defiinition magical.
Both women took turns throwing ideas of their futures at each other. Where Neeta spoke of nesting and high-life living, Eve spoke of dark adventure. She talked about leaving the opera house and using her sewing ability to discover new things! She spoke of setting out and leaving the city to discover and entire world out there full of danger and excitement. She wanted to dance under the moonlight in nothing but her skin, learn a new language maybe, go to a ball where no one knew her and grab everyone's attention as if the ball had been just for her and maybe...just maybe at this ball there would be a masked man who capture her heart for the night only to disappear the next day leaving but one clue for her to forever remember him by. Neeta had been less than satisfied with her version of a future. Why on Earth would anyone want to have their prince charming for one night? 'You should reel him in while you have the chance', she had said. Apparently the mystery aspect of her romance wasn't good enough for her.
After seven or so hours past of straight talking and sewing the two had run out of things to share with each other and had fallen into a state of comfortable silence. The day wore on and eventually the sun had began to set. In the workshop there wasn't much light to be offered from the outside so their sight relied on the many lanterns that illuminated the large space. A few more hours passed and night had finally settled in on the opera house and the women were now feeling the edge of exhaustion.
Eve finally set her sewing needle down upon her lap. She had moved herself around the workshop many times to get a change of scenery, now she was sitting at her sewing desk with her head bent and the world's worst neck cramp settling in on her bones. Her fingers were now almost white from the amount of use and abuse they had suffered all day, she even made it out with only pricking herself about five times! That was a good sign. With a heavy sigh she straightened her back she hadn't noticed was slumped over, almost every bone from her tail to her ears cracked in perfect unison. The sudden sound brought Neeta out of her drowsy trance which was fixated on her bloody macabre of a bodice, and up over to her friend.
"I don't think I could make even one more stitch if I tried", Eve said. She set her sewing kit down on her desk then stood with one hand placed on the small of her back to aid in ridding herself of the discomfort.
"I promise you this is inhumane! I've lost all feeling in the tips of my fingers and I'm sure I've lost at least half of my weight in blood to this pointless task", was Neeta's response. She tossed her scrap to the side without a care in the world and all but jumped out of her sitting position on the floor.
As if on some sort of que the door to the workshop opened wide and there stood the statue like figure of Madame Giry. Her face was its usual grim lack-luster, her hands were placed ontop of one another on the tip of the cane she always seem to sport around. Both of their heads snapped to attention as all thoughts of pain and suffering disappeared.
"Girls", she said.
Following routine, both of the women slowly hobbled over to Giry with low hopes. It was just bad luck that the one moment they took to pause and stretch themselves out would be the time that Madame would happen to come in for a visit.
"I see we've decided that our punishment is over?", she questioned sarcastically.
"But...!", Neeta started but was cut off by a single wave of Giry's hand.
"I've not come to argue, Aneeta. I've come to tell you that your dinner is ready and that you may take leave now. What good would two half-starved seamstress' be to me?"
The amount of relief that rolled through Eve's shoulders was tremendous! No more stitches or bead work! Neeta nearly jumped out of her skin with excitement if the pain she felt hadn't nearly crippled her. Nevertheless her face lit up with a large smile that almost touched both of her ears.
"Thank you so much Madame Giry, we will take our leave now", Neeta chirped.
"I expect you to learn from this", Giry said while casting the two of them a look that almost taunted them to see what new sort of punishment she could come up with. Not wanting to take her up on the insinuated offer, Eve left the mess in the workshop as it was and followed her friend out of the room, sliding past Giry with a curt nod.
"Are you going to come with me to dinner?", Neeta asked.
Even after all of the slave labor she had just gone through she couldn't say she had much of an appetite. What she wanted to do was move. Too much time had been spent sitting down and crouched over! She had spent enough time in the past being forced to bed rest after her accident so now long periods of sitting tended to make her skin crawl and her muscles ache.
"I'm sorry, but I think tonight I'm going to try and get a bit of practice in. Would you mind saving me a snack for later?"
Neeta paused in her springy step and faced her friend. She knew that look. It was the look of a mother about to scold her daughter. Everytime she mentioned going out to her "spot" Neeta always had something to say about. Today though, she just wasn't feeling the pressure. To stop the on coming speech Eve held up her hands defensively.
"Neeta, I won't be long, it's already so late. I just need to work out some of these poor bones before bed, yeah?"
She let out a heavy sigh before she spoke. "Look, Eve. I care for you I do, I always will. You just be careful going down there alone. If you're not back in your room by the time dinner is done I'm coming to drag you back myself, yeah?".
She just shook her tightly-knotted head. It was as good as a quick speech that she'd get for tonight. The two of them hugged their goodbyes before splitting off to go their separate ways. The hallways were relatively quiet tonight compared to the last few days. The candles that burned along the paths flickered in joy and warmth to whom ever they were guiding that night. Ever so often a stagehand would pass her on their way to do who knows what which meant most of her walk was spent in silence. This didn't bother her one bit.
As she strolled along she thought of many things. She thought of the new coming shows, how many garments she had made today, if Neeta would actually save her a snack, and if today would be the day she'd accomplish something in her practices. But as she began to get closer and closer to her make-shift nook her thoughts began to wander to a more darker side of things. She began to recall the story Neeta had told her of the Opera Ghost. Though she did not believe in such fairytales, her friend had a way about her that made even the most ridiculous seem quite possible. Just what if...what if this Opera Ghost was a real person, and even worse yet what if he had indeed been watching her practice?
The chill in the air and the force of her own thoughts cause her skin to pimple. She rubbed up and down her exposed arms to maybe return some warmth to them as she was making the final stretch to her curtained off area. From what she could see everything looked to be in order. The heavy black curtain laid just as it had when she left it. The candles were snuffed out leaving only her imagination to make up what could be behind said curtain. She stopped by a close candle and picked it up. The gentle glow from the flame calmed her nerves about the darkness, but did little to warm her skin.
She took in a deep breath before pushing her way through the curtain and into her sanctuary. Every atom of her being hummed with adrenaline. What little light the candle offered cast menacing shadows on the many trinkets and pillows she had collected but now wish she hadn't. She took a few more steps into the quiet abyss and began to light the many many candles strewn about as quickly as she could. In her mind she was thinking the faster there was more light, the faster her heart could return to a normal rhythm.
It took her only seconds to get the candles lit and bask herself in brilliant light. Once again the sanctuary looked its normal comforting self. Everything was as it should be exactly! Nothing was missing or out of place which meant no one had come snooping around. For some reason this did little to aid her heart, in fact it almost seemed to make it feel achingly disappointed. Had she wanted to come back to find something...odd? As she lost herself in her thoughts of contemplation she chewed on the inside of her lip which was her staple trait of distress and concentration.
'Of course I wouldn't want to find something out of place! I must be going mad', she thought to herself as she shook herself free of her trance and set her candle down at a safe distance.
It was time to get down to business. Neeta was more than serious with her threat of coming to fetch her if she wasn't back in time; which meant she had little time to get some practice in. She went to work clearing a bit more room for herself this time, just in case she happened to have an accident again. Once everything was in order she took her place in the center of the clearing and began to do her stretches. It was always this time that her mind quieted itself and fell into a trance like state. All thoughts of adventure and feelings of emptiness left her and replaced themselves with pure raw emotion. Emotion so strong it uncoiled itself from her belly and stretched through her veins to ignite the passion that fueled her soul.
With her eyes closed her hands moved about her head in graceful dips and swoops; her feet and legs bent then slid across the floor in effortless grace that took many years of practice and devotion. These stretches had been engraved into her mind since childhood and had been altered only in her adult life to better accommodate her imperfection. Instead of bending completely at the waist, as she would normally do, she could only bend halfway before her leg muscle would sear in warning. She would give and take with this pain. Sometimes she'd release a position to avoid the burn, other times she would push herself until the burning sensation began to travel higher up into her ligaments. Somewhere in her mind she played an old melody to herself as she warmed up. It was a melody she created herself years ago that would always lift her spirits into the rafters and charge with the motivation to accomplish great goals!
As her stretches came to a close she found herself in such a pleasurable state of mind she flowed straight into a silly twirl that sent her skirts flaring up around her and sending small gusts of wind about her that in turn, danced with the candle flames about her. This small twirl was ended by a pointed right toe extended away from her side. Her arms were arched high above her head then swooped down to the side then down and back up with momentum that turned her body as her extended leg came up and around to once again twirl her about. As her body spun and spun around she let out a happy laugh. It was exhilarating in the way her body seemed to fall back into routine. Every inch of her skin felt alive and no longer cold from her earlier fear. Her tiny feet danced about the hard floor making little to no sound except that of her heavy clothing making soft clashing sounds.
It was now that she was more free than ever. These moments away from work, away from Neeta, away from the busy bustle of everyday life that repeated itself over and over. It was this small corner of peace that her soul seemed to unleash itself and paint the room in an aura of serenity and acceptance. The emotions that whelled up inside of her tiny body became so great she cast all caution to the wind and danced her heart out, releasing a pent up aggression she hadn't known she harbored.
What were soft gentle sways of dance became quick demanding slices and jabs. Her legs began lifting higher in her extends then ever before while her chest heaved and hoed as her breathing became labored with strain. She threw herself forward and then back, her feet making solid connection with each step. Her brow was creased from the expression of sheer frustration and pure animosity that radiated from her aura. Deep inside of her chest there seemed to be a heavy stone that weighed so much and ached even more so. What was this strange presence inside of her? Where did these emotions come from and why were they so strong all of a sudden?
The moments began to loom by as if time had began to slow down for her. The opera house was already silent but to her everything seemed to become muted and still. Something was building within her small chest and needed to come out. More and more she pushed her already strained body to its breaking point. She needed to continue till exhaustion, needed to release whatever it was that was trapped. It was as if some demon had taken possesion of her very soul and was controlling her to become a dancing nymph! Her body was on fire for a cause she did not know...her mind had already become blank except for the shrill tune in her mind that seemed to progessivley become more speratic.
All caution was gone. Her arms dramatically splayed out to her sides with palms wide open and accepting. Her chest gave three strong heaves before her torso dropped to her knees and her right arm snaked about her leg to grab her ankle. The cresendo was beating away inside of her mind now. If she didn't move now she feared she'd burst right out of her skin and shatter into a thousand tiny pieces! All around her there seemed to be a sense of danger and dark need, it called to her in a way, tempted her in many more ways. With her head cast down her eyes sprung open and her body launched upwards bringing her leg with her. The wind whisked by her ears at an alarming rate that only amplified her adrenaline. She didn't so much as focus on what was around her but what she was feeling; and that is pure release. Her arm extended above her with her leg perfectly aligned with her body straight in the air. Her left hand was out at her side in a graceful point as her left leg stood firm and balanced to support her weight. Finally.
Time stood still.
After all she had tried and failed...after the sweat and tears she'd gone through in the last years she had accomplished something. A small sliver of her past self seemed to fall back in place the moment her leg extended and remained straight. The thick weight that had been upon her heart shattered in waves of ecstacy and joy that washed through her being and instantly heated her by ten degrees. Never before had she felt something so overwhelming! Her eyes began to come into focus to the world around her and the tune that had been crashing about in her mind had fallen silent. This moment would be forever burned into her memories as the time she had began to take back her life, for herself.
From her lips burst a sobbing laugh of triumph. It was short and gurgled but it revealed so much at that moment. It was the only sound she was capable of making at the moment and dammit, that was okay! She looked down at her left leg and almost cried in satisfaction. There had been no pain at all! She couldn't remember exactly when the pain had faded away, but as she stood there in her perfect dancers pose there was no warning signs, or unbearable feeling of pain! Everything was as it should have been. Her eyes went to skirt back up to what she was doing but caught on something in her peripherals. Something that made her blood turn ice almost instantly and her senses soar with danger.
The color drained from her face and whatever sense of freedom she had came crashing down upon her like an icy cold bath. The same fear that had vice gripped her heart from the last time she had come here had returned ten fold. If her eyes could bulge from her head, they would do that now and happily fall to the hard floor beneath her. A floor in which she wished would swallow her whole right now.
Before her was the grand curtain as it should be. It blended in well with the dark backdrop that made it seem like a wall of darkness that would stretch on forever, but it was what was there at the opening of the curtain that shouldn't be there...or who was standing there. It was a man. A very well dressed man who stood stock still as if he was made of stone. His hair was perfectly slicked back and cut short to his head. A bright white mask covered part of his face in a perfectly sculpted grimace of pain, his suit was masterfully tailored to perfection; it left little to the imagination as to what strong abled body was laying beneath it. Around his shoulders was a heavy cloak that blended him in perfectly with the darkness which is probably why she hadn't noticed him in her crazed moment of passion.
It seemed as if forever passed between the two of them. No one said a word, or moved, or even blinked for that matter. It wasn't until she realized she had been holding her breath that she broke whatever spell had been over them. Once she realized she needed to breath in order to live all of the pain she thought had been gone came crashing down upon her. It took over every sense she had and buckled her instantly. Her body came tumbling down in a heap of arms and legs once again and hit the ground very hard. Her knees slid out from under her, her arms tangled themselves within her own limps and her head came smacking down to the side making a sickening "smack" sound as it made contact. The vision before her dimmed considerably and was replaced by a haze as if something had gotten into her eyes. Everything spun around her and made her stomach lurch in response.
The sound of buzzing could be heard all around her as she desperately tried to focus on the dangerous situation she found herself in. The Opera Ghost had appeared! He was real! He was a living breathing creature and he was here with her, away from safety! She should have listened to Neeta and went to dinner and the none of this would have happened. As she lay there in a heap of pain, her fuzzy vision made out the form of the Ghost's cloak swooping in towards her. This was it. This is how she met the end of her fate, but at least she could say she had obtained one piece of herself she had lost before the end.
Her body was gently rolled over and detanlged from itself with skilled gloved hands. She felt the rustle of her skirts being organized back around her legs. Heaven only knows what sort of mess she looked like right now, and did she care? No. There came a sense of pressure upon her left leg that made her burst out in a loud agonized yell. The sound caused her head to split even more and turn into a moan of despair. This man was touching her now? Was her going to murder here and now? Neeta would be coming for her soon! Dinner had to be almost over and any moment now her friend would come through that curtain and save her. Or so she thought in her haze of confusion.
If she had any strength left in her body she would have tried to escape like the heros in her books. She'd have miraculously sprung back from the pain and fended off the evil goon who was now working on blowing out some of the candles around them.
'Oh no, not darkness', she thought. Fear began to strangle her and muddle her thoughts. What was she to do in this situation? Why couldn't she move any of her limbs?
In the pained form she was in she let out a few soft moans of pain and tried to wriggle about but two strong hands came down and clamped her arms above her head. There was a sudden sense of heat and pressure upon her chest she couldn't place...and then she saw him. He was holding her body in place on the floor with his own and his face was now inches from her own. Even within these close of quarters her eyes refused to obey here and focus so he was but a dark blobbed figure above her, looming. Her nose however was as strong as ever and picked up the dark musk that was the Opera Ghost. It invaded her senses and took over the nerves in her brain in a calming trance. Each section of her body slowly began to calm down and dim from the pain. So far, he hadn't actively attacked her or strangled her, so things could be going worse for her.
Something soft and deep reverberated against her chest before she realized he had been talking to her. There was no understanding the mumbo jumbo that was being said, but the tone of his voice rattled her rib cage in such a delicious way it confused her. He must have noticed the sudden change in mood for his heat was removed from her body instantly and replaced once again by the chilly opera air. Before she could protest the act she was startled by his arms coming underneath her legs and shoulders and picking her up effortlessly.
The world went topside around her and the noise of everything muted. Her tiny frame fell to this side against his hard body to which made her thing of how many times was she going to collide with something hard tonight? Could she survive much more of this? The two of them brushed out from under the curtain and into the darkness of the opera house. He said nothing more to him, and she said nothing even if she could! With each step they took into the darkness her vision blurred more and more. Wherever this man was taking her she was sure it would be the last place she ever ventured to, and what a pitty she wouldn't be able to witness it.
With heavy lids and an even heavier heart she used what last amount of petty energy she had and turned her face up so her nose was flush against his jaw line. She breathed in deeply his scent to tickle her mind once more before saying her last sentence. "Thank you, Opera Ghost". Her vision disappeared and her body went limp.
The Opera Ghost held the tiny woman in his arms as he descended into the dark depths of the opera hallways that he knew like the back of his hand. Somewhere behind him he could hear the alerted sound of a females voice calling out. "Eve?! Eve, where are you?!", she called. He bothered not with the lass and kept on his path to darkness with the woman he now coveted in his arms. It seemed he has stumbled across quite a gem tonight. Finally his form disappeared into the depths with only the sound of his cloak swooshing behind him as the night swallowed both of them up.