Chapter 14
****Gabriel's POV****
I felt both guilty and accomplished when I shook hands with Mr. Phantom. Guilty because I lied to him about why I wanted to work for my Great-Uncle and accomplished because I had succeed in part one of my plan. I had successfully tricked the Phantom of the Opera. What was my plan? Well that's just it I don't really have one, actually I have one but it is fuzzy, besides Gabriel's secrets are Gabriel's secrets.
Anyway, Mr. Phantom disappeared into the walls after I had agreed to be his apprentice, leaving me alone with Madame Giry and Mr. Kahn.
"How does he do that?" I asked in amazement, going over to the wall, feeling around for a switch of some kind.
"That is one of Erik's secrets that he may never reveal young one," said Mr. Kahn placing one of his hands on my shoulder moving me away from the wall.
"Erik?" I asked curiously.
"The Phantom's name, don't be caught calling him that," explained Madame Giry.
"I wasn't planning on it, just curious that's all," I said. More information about him perfect, so far my plan was right on schedule, the pieces were already falling into place. "I should get back to work, rehearsal should be over soon, don't want my Uncle to worry."
I walked away in silence, hearing Mr. Kahn and Madame Giry talk amongst themselves. Their voices faded away as I walked farther but I was able to tell that they were talking about me, though to the extent I am not sure.
An hour or so may have passed before I received a letter that fluttered down from above, from the rafters of the stage. It had a skull imbedded in wax as its seal. I looked around as I picked the letter up from the ground, slipping it into my coat pocket. When no one was looking, I sneaked behind one of the unused set pieces to read the letter.
The script was elaborate and neat, ink blotches were at minimum, it read:
Dear Boy,
Your apprenticeship begins tonight at 9:30. Meet me in the music room adjacent to the dressing rooms. Do not plan on getting a lot of sleep.
O.G
I slipped the letter back into my coat pocket before walking back over to my position next to the Managers. For the next two hours I had to deal with Madame Toad's impression of Marguerite, then listening to my Uncle and Mr. Andre give her praise, having to forcibly nod my head in agreement. If Mr. Gounod was dead and in his grave he would be rolling in it.
As soon as I had the right to leave I rushed to the unused room that I had set up as my apartment. It was mostly a dark hole in the wall but I found it oddly homey. I pulled out the letter and placed it down on my cot, then pulled out another piece of paper from my small dresser. Comparing the handwritings I concluded that they had been written by the same person.
As 9:00 drew nearer I began head down to the music room to meet Mr. Phantom….
REVIEWS PLEASE! A couple of Reviews are 'All I ask of You".
A/N: Hmmm what could Gabriel's plan be, you might already have an idea. Please continue to read as the mystery unfolds itself, feel free to PM me with questions or guesses or even ideas for how apprenticeship should be like. I will try to leave brief hints on Gabriel's true identity, a few of them are in this chapter and at least one was in the previous chapter. Oh and before I leave you all I would like to say this, yes Gounod is the man you wrote Faust and in the time this story takes place he would still be alive. End A/N.