Paris. An ornately beautiful city of progress, and yet, great history. Christine waved to some of the crowd that had gathered to greet the arriving cast members at the airport, flashing camera lights being among the people. The star was ushered into a cab, being immediately driven off to the centrally-located flat she was to live in during the filming. For once she thanked herself for smoothing out and styling her hair up, for the summer sun beamed down mercilessly over her, and her natural curls would've kept her head far too warm.
Christine couldn't help but stare childishly out of the window and admire the sights. Even the crammed restaurants in small corners of each rue were absolutely marvelous to her. The sight of landmarks like the shining Sacre Coeur or the high-rising Eiffel Tower were almost too much for the excited girl. Her blue eyes remained widened throughout the entire ride to her building.
"Bonjour, Mademoiselle Daae. We'll take your luggage up." A uniformed man greeted her upon arrival.
"Oh, merci monsieur. That is very kind of you." She smiled gratefully and followed behind him up to her new living quarters.
The towering double-doors were opened by the kind man guiding her, revealing the awe-inspiring room. There was a neat crown molding framing each wall, gilded décor pieces placed around the room, pale-colored furniture arranged to fill the open space, fragrant fresh flowers in crystal vases, pristine marble floors, and elegant paintings hung up on some of the walls. Christine spun around slowly, taking in her surroundings with a dropped jaw that morphed into a bright smile.
"Well, what do you think of it, mademoiselle?" The man asked, a hint of nervousness in his voice.
"It's absolutely breath-taking!" She exclaimed.
"Would you like to see the balcony?"
Her eyes impossibly widened even more as she eagerly followed behind him, "Of course!"
The parted French doors led to a small balcony, just big enough for the black iron table and chairs overlooking a view of the city. Christine was especially delighted at her ability to see the Eiffel Tower a little distance away amidst the old-style architecture of the buildings. She thanked the man in uniform as he arranged her suitcases and left her to the room.
Her eager hands opened one of her cases, removing her own camera to capture the view from the wonderful room. Christine knew she would enjoy waking up every morning whilst staying here for the film. The sights almost made the thought of her work slip away, seeming to be the setting of a dream.
- - - Next morning - - -
The actress woke up with a groan, faced with the reality of having to go to work. She quickly realized she wasn't in her own pale green bedsheets, but rather in fluffy white ones. In fact, the whole room was unfamiliar to Christine until she remembered the long trip she'd endured to this new city. She got up rapidly, seeing the city just begin to wake up with her and started to freshen up before going to work. A bowl of fruits and an elegant tea tray loaded with pastries awaited her in the kitchenette.
As soon as she drank down the last sip of tea and finished her breakfast, Christine merrily sped down the two flights of stairs leading to the lobby area. Gold vases of ivory-colored lilies dotted the spacious, and quite luxurious, area. The young star bid the staff members goodbye as she exited the front doors, walking down the sidewalk to the office building for the cast meeting.
This place was much sleeker than any other place here- white walls, minimal decorations, and very angular-shaped furniture. A very abstract painting hung in the center of the accent wall as the only colorful object in the room. There was a neatly-dressed woman sitting at the front desk, writing away and flipping the pages of what appeared to be an agenda. Christine quietly walked up to her, asking for where the meeting was being held and then kindly being escorted to the elevator so she could join everyone on the third floor.
The elevator immediately opened up to a room similarly decorated to the downstairs office, except there were many more people staring up at her. A long table took up the majority of the room, many of the most important cast and crew members gathered around each side of it.
"Pardon me if I've interrupted something." Christine said, taking one of the two empty seats left.
"Not at all, please join us Miss Daae." The director replied, taking a swig of coffee from the mug in front of him.
She smiled gently at those who she'd gotten to know better, glancing around nervously through the complete silence and wondering what they were waiting for. Soon her question was answered, as the elevator doors opened to reveal quite a character.
He stood quite tall, dressed in the most debonair clothes that hung loosely over his thin frame. A stark white mask covered one side of his face while the other appeared quite handsome, even through the hardened expression of it. His gait was almost ominous, as if he was a fictional villain, and he sat down in the only other empty chair- the one opposite of Christine's.
"I bid everyone a good morning. Usually I have a good friend to accompany me, but he is otherwise occupied at the moment. For those of you who do not know me, I am the musical director for this project and I take partial charge over the general directing as well." He introduced himself.
Christine piped up quietly: "What may we call you, sir?"
The man raised his golden-brown eyes up to meet her blue ones.
"Erik will do."
"It is nice to meet you, sir." She said with a slight bow of her head.
"Yes, well let's have the director, Mr. Rogers, begin the topic of this meeting." Erik continued, eager to get on with the business.
The groggy man perked up instantly, "Um, yes. The business. I think we'll start doing some, uh, scenes-"
Erik suddenly interrupted the man's stuttering: "We will begin shooting the opening scene in the quaint village. Our star must be prepared to sing over the speakers which will be playing the pre-recorded background music."
The director continued, finally being able to regain control of his words: "Yes, shooting for everyone here will begin at 6 am the day after tomorrow. There will be cars arranged to take most of you to the location, which is the sectioned-off region along the Seine. I will give the address to those who need it."
Christine did her best not to fall asleep amidst the dull conversation, gazing outside the window at the sunlit city. She had no interest for the difference between the effect various flowers would have on the overall picture. Of course, the young woman was overjoyed to be working on such a project and took it as a great responsibility, but arguing over the tiniest details seemed pointless.
"Bored, Miss Daae?" The musical director questioned with a sharp tone, bringing the singer out of her daze.
"Oh no, sir. I apologize if it seemed so." She said, cheeks flushing in embarrassment.
"This discussion is finished, any further debates can be made later among those who they may concern. Everyone is dismissed." Erik announced.
Christine got up from her seat, her cheeks still pink, when the mysterious man called her out once more: "Although I'd like to ask Miss Daae to stay a moment."
The brunette's eyes widened briefly in surprise, feeling even more bashful that this austere man was requesting her to remain after the meeting with him. Perhaps he would scold her for appearing to feel careless, or threaten her position in the film if she was caught tuning out again. Soon the room was empty, other than herself and the intimidating man now standing across from her.
"Well, what did you want to discuss with me, sir?" She asked, trying to mask the anxiety in her voice.
He cleared his throat, "Are you always so focused during business meetings?"
"I did apologize and I didn't mean t-"
"Never mind. If my friend was with me, he'd suggest I move on and stop my short temper from bothering others. Now, this room may not have the best acoustics but I insist that you demonstrate your abilities with this music." The man stated, pulling out several pieces of sheet music from his file folder.
Christine's blue eyes scanned the sheets, quietly humming the tune written on the papers to herself before attempting to sing before the mysterious musical director. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she sang the opening line of the introduction piece and gradually became more confident in tone as she continued. At the end of the brief song, her gaze slowly met that of Erik's.
"Better than expected."
