Chapter Four: The Opera House
I reached the grand doors of the opera house, panting heavily. I had taken off after the strange woman who had snatched my bag. The doors parted before me, held open by two, well-dressed men. "Welcome," one of them said, smiling warmly. The other stood cold and stiff, not even looking down at me. I smiled back at the one who greeted me, walking forward slowly into the building, trying to slow my heartbeat. The woman who had taken my valise was standing there with the rest of the group, with her arms around Marcy. "Maman!" Marcy squealed as the woman spun her around. They stopped when they caught sight of me and Marcy rushed over to me. "Amanda, this is my mother, Madam Giry. She's the dance instructor here." Madam Giry smiled at me, her brown eyes crinkling at the corners, "call me Gypsy. Everyone does." I stared at her for a moment, taking her in. She was the opposite of her daughter in almost every single way. The only thing that matched was their sparkling brown eyes. But the similarities ended there. Madam Giry had short, brown, curly hair, shot through with silver here and there. Laugh lines surrounded her eyes and played at the corners of her thin lips. She was slender and pear-shaped; her hips curved out under her long wild skirt. She walked up to me, bells that I hadn't noticed tied around her bare ankles jingling with every step, and pulled me into a big hug. "Welcome my child!" Her voice dropped lower in my ear, so only I could hear her, "we've been waiting for you." My eyes opened wide, "what did you j-" I was cut off as "Gypsy" let go and danced away.
"I see you've taken the liberty of weirding out the students already, Madam Gypsy," boomed a loud voice to the left of me. Everybody turned their attention towards the source. There stood a tall man with slicked back brown hair and thick eyebrows shading his eyes. Everything about him commanded respect and exuded elegance. Beside him stood a wiry, grey-haired man, who stood there quietly with a nervous look in his beady black eyes. "I am Monsieur Firmin, your headmaster. And this, is my assistant headmaster, Monsieur Andre'," The taller man said, gesturing to himself and the shorter man beside him. Monsieur Andre' waved nervously at the group and let out a small, stuttered, "h-h-h-hello." His eyes caught mine, and I smiled encouragingly. He lowered his gaze to the floor immediately, as if I had glared at him. What's his problem? I hissed inwardly, waves of offense rolling over me.
"Now if you'll follow me this way, we shall begin the tour." Monsieur Firmin's voice floated in the background of my thoughts. I followed slowly, losing myself in the beauty of the opera house. Gold and marble was everywhere in the entry way. It was almost like the place had been carved out a solid piece of marble. The auditorium held soft, plush looking, red chairs and the walls were covered in red velvet drapes and elegantly sculpted statues. Awe shown plainly on my face as we walked backstage and through the rooms where we'd be having classes, I couldn't help myself, it was all so magnificent. We finally, after what must've been hours of walking, we came to the dorms. Monsieur Firmin divided us into pairs and gave us our room assignments. I was one of the last ones. "You will be paired with Charlotte and Marcy as there is an uneven amount of students this year. Now then," he finished, turning to everybody, "good night. Breakfast is at 10 sharp." He and Monsieur Andre' walked down the hall, leaving us alone. "This is unacceptable," shrieked a familiar whine. I turned to see Charlotte throwing a temper tantrum that would put two year olds to shame. She was bright red in the face, hissing and spitting as she pushed people to rush after the headmaster. "Good Lord…" I whispered.
I heard a low chuckle from behind me and whipped around to find myself face to face with Mme. Giry. "She's gonna be a handful alright." The older woman laughed, alleviating the tension in the air. Then she dropped her gaze to me, smiling gently, and with that same voice she whispered, "Good luck." And with that, she turned to follow her employers and my roommate. I turned to face Marcy and the rest of the girl's and found myself to be alone. "Um…where's my room?" I wondered aloud, my eyes darting around to search for some sign of life. My bags had been delivered to my room thankfully, so I didn't have to drag them around as I wandered through the maze of hallways in an attempt to find my room. This place is huge. I thought idly. I could get lost if I don't pay attention. Turns out, that's exactly what I did. "Shit," I hissed under my breath, taking a right. I had no idea where I was. Sinking to the ground in frustration, I closed my eyes in the semi-darkness. A chill wrapped around me as I sat on the stone floor. I opened my eyes again and glanced around. Suddenly this place seemed very familiar. I got to my feet, dusting off my jeans, and began walking down the corridor I was in. This is the place from my dreams. Cold sweat broke out on my neck as I realized it. My feet took off automatically. I raced down the hallway, panic overtaking my senses. What the hell am I doing? I screamed, willing my legs to stop. They moved still, pulling me forward over the stones. The air grew colder and wet around me, sending shivers down my spine. "Amanda! Where are you!?" I stopped dead in my tracks, "Marcy?" "Yes," the blonde's voice echoed to me. I turned towards it and started walking as fast as my unwilling legs would allow. "I got lost!" I yelled. "I figured," Marcy's laughter guided me to her and I breathed a sigh of relief. Then suddenly it swept over me, the same feeling as I'd had back home the night Dorian attacked me, only not as unnerving. I looked around to see if anyone there, but was greeted with only darkness. "You coming!?" Marcy called, reminding me where I was. "Yeah," I shook myself and took off towards her voice again.
(Next chapter might be somebody else's POV for at least part of it. I'm not quite sure yet. But I do know that the Angel will be appearing soon, in the next few chapters, so please have patience with me. I'm trying not to take things too fast. Leave me comments about whether or not you think I should switch POV's in the next chapter and whose POV it should be.)