Chapter 3

The opera house was all a flutter with the very idea of a Count being in the midst of our opera house. There had been many that had visited before, it was the Opera Populaire, everybody visited it, but very rarely did they have a man so very interested in it.

I stayed away from the group that had formed in the middle of the stage that was conversing about the upcoming show. It seemed that everyone was suddenly more inclined to rehearse than before and make it their best show yet.

From the outside looking in, you could tell that there would be no possible way to get the rest of the cast and crew able to go back to practice, so I slowly crept off the stage. As soon as I knew that there was no one watching me and that I could not be seen, I ran off backstage. Through it, I ran straight through to the corridors where those of us that had no other home stayed. There was nobody behind the stage because they were all running around elsewhere trying to get things that would make the show much better.

The halls were empty and my footsteps echoed throughout them. The dim lights that lighted them up flickered with the wind that swept through them. At the first intersection I took a right and went down to my room. At first I was feeling ashamed of myself for leaving everybody and going my own way, but I started not caring after I realized just how tired I was. The previous night's events had kept me up later than usual and I was basically a walking body.

I pulled the key to my room out of the small pocket in my frock and unlocked the door. That is, I tried to. I moved the key every which way that I possibly could, but it just wouldn't budge. After a few minutes I finally gave up and slumped my body down to the ground and leaned against the door. I sat for a moment before I heard the creaking of the door and my back was falling. Luckily I caught myself before I fell down to the dirty, cold stone floor.

I pushed myself up off of the ground and stepped into the small room that way mine and Meg's. I turned around to shut the door, but it quickly slammed behind me. Slightly spooked, I spun around the room and searched for somebody. Although no one came out, I could tell that I was not alone.

"Are you the one? The one that dropped the note down?" I asked to whatever- or whoever- was in my room with me. There was no immediate answer. I sighed and sat down on my bed. "Well, if you're not going to answer me I'm just going to make all of the assumptions I want." I said to myself in a bratty tone.

"Do I detect a hint of anger in your voice." The voice I had heard from the night before came from everywhere in my room. There was possible way for me to figure out where it was coming from directly. I stood up from my bed and looked around for the melodic sound which was my ghost.

"You know who I am, but I don't know you. It isn't fair. I believe that is enough to cause some anger in anybody's life, sir." I replied back quickly. I was feeling feisty in my sleep deprived state. Although Meg would have probably said that I was often like that. His reply was just as quick.

"Yes, but I think it would be better for all of us that you not know who I was. Nobody would believe you anyway, darling." He called out in almost a fatherly manner. From what I could tell from the day before, he did seem a few years my senior, but not very much. He was indeed quite handsome, the part that he showed at the very least.

"They all think that I am crazy anyway. And from the looks of it, I am." I laughed to myself. "Here I am, sitting in my room-alone. There is no visible person except for a voice that seems to be emanating from all around me. If I had not seen that you were a visible person last night, I would find myself going off my rocker as well." I sighed in depression. "Unless it was just a dream and I am just making you up in my head." There was no other reasonable explanation. Except the note, that was the only form of physical evidence I could provide myself with to make me believe that I wasn't completely insane.

"I can assure you that you are not crazy. You shall be soon though if you do not get some sleep soon. I shall leave you to rest." His voice faded away from my room and I lie down and let my head on my soft pillow. I fell asleep the moment I did.

My dreams were filled of nothing. I did not remember them. I awoke immediately when I could hear Meg's soft pitter patters of feet enter the room. She tried to be quiet, but I was too much of a light sleeper to be able to not wake up.

I rolled over on the bed to look at her staring at me.

"You left early." She told me. "No one really noticed except for some of us. Lucky for you though. We did nothing but talk of Mr. De Changy, Carlotta is positive that he was looking at her. You know how she is though; always thinking that she is what is on everybody's mind."

I sighed. "Unfortunately, yes." I sat up from my sleeping position and placed myself at the end of the bed.

"Dinner is soon, and you haven't eaten at all. Come, we'll go together." She held her hand out to me and I took it as we walked out of the room together.