Celeste was enjoying a brief moment of peace, talking idly with Christine and Meg as they walked through the Opera House, when Carlotta appeared in the corridor and bustled past the girls, pushing them out of her way with her shoulders.

Celeste ignored her, merely glad that she didn't have to deal with the woman, but Christine turned and glared at her retreating figure.

Meg just frowned. "I think Carlotta has a dead bird on her head." she commented, glancing back at the hat perched atop the carefully styled hair.

Celeste smiled mildly. "There's no need to be unpleasant, Meg."

"There's every need." Meg huffed. "She's foul to everyone and everything. You in particular could be as unpleasant as you liked."

Celeste shook her head. "It's not worth it. And she doesn't bother me anymore."

"Celeste's the Prima Donna now;" said Christine with a grin. "She's above it all."

That made Celeste smile again. "I just have better things to do than worry about Carlotta, that's all."

"You're right." Meg announced dramatically, linking arms with the other two. "Forget the flouncing harpy."

"Not quite my sentiment, but I'll go with it."

Despite her words, Celeste found that Carlotta remained in her mind.

She remembered her first view of the Prima Donna when she had first joined the Opera House as a young girl: the flowing red hair, the impressive voice, the aura of cool confidence.

Carlotta, over the years, had become less and less the idol Celeste would have liked to have had. Her declining popularity led to a more unpleasant behaviour, and as her elevated view of herself began to clash with the whisperings of others, she began to treat the rest of the members of the Opera House as inferiors.

The initial awe wasn't shattered, exactly, but she had gradually realised as she worked her way through the corps de ballet that the woman below the extravagant costumes and the

wasn't the woman Celeste wanted to become.

"How about you, Celeste?" Meg's voice broke through Celeste's thoughts, and she blinked back to the present to see her friends looking expectantly at her.

"Sorry, what?"

Meg sighed patiently. "Lorin and Purcell were arguing over who was a better violinist and they're going to have a competition in half an hour. Everyone's going to watch and vote for the winner, and Mavis has promised a kiss to whoever wins, so they're both getting intense over it. Will you come?"

Celeste hesitated, thinking of Erik. She had a scheduled lesson with him, and she always stayed for longer than she technically needed to. "Sorry Meg, I can't. A Prima Donna needs her practice, and her rest."

"But I'll be on my own." Meg pouted.

"What about Christine?"

Christine shook her head, unsuccessfully trying not to smile as her cheeks tinged pink. "I'm going for dinner with Raoul."

"Very nice." Celeste commented, grinning.

"So neither of you will come?" Meg asked despondently.

"Sorry, Meg." Celeste shook her head, smiling sadly although it was hardly a chance she would have jumped at had she been available.

"Besides, you won't be on your own." Christine pointed out. "The other ballerinas will be there."

"True." Meg perked up quickly and grinned at the others. "I'm going to find them. Have fun with your boring evenings, you two."

Christine laughed. "Thank you."

"See you tomorrow." Celeste said, smiling, and received a farewell shout in return. "So..." She looked sideways at Christine, cocking her head. "Another dinner with Raoul."

"Mmhm." She glanced away, blushing again.

"And are we going to hear wedding bells ringing at any time?"

Christine's left hand twitched and she tried to cover it by smoothing out her skirt. "I hope so. Raoul's mother seems to be disapproving of me less, slowly."

"But surely." Celeste smiled. "You could win anyone over; the two of you will get there soon enough. And at any rate, Raoul loves you enough to wait however long it takes for you."

Christine's gaze met hers. "You think so?" she asked quietly, her expression uncertain.

"I do. He looks at you like you're the sun in his world."

Her face lit up, eyes shining happily. "Thank you."

The two of them smiled at each other, then Christine's manner suddenly dimmed to one of concern.

"Are you going to be alright tonight?" she asked quietly.

Celeste blinked, surprised. "Of course."

"I worry about you being all alone." her friend continued gently.

Celeste swallowed. "It gives me time to collect my thoughts."

She felt the ache of the lie inside her. She regretted keeping so many secrets from her best friend, but what could she say? She could hardly explain about Erik, and she knew she could never convince Christine that she was completely fine - she couldn't even convince herself.

So much had changed between the two of them, even before her mother's death. Celeste had begun to hide secrets without noticing, until they had piled up too much to turn back.

"I'm fine, really." Celeste continued, trying not to choke on the words.

Christine shook her head, and Celeste's heart sank for a moment before her friend spoke.

"You're managing. And that's enough." She squeezed Celeste's arm as they came to a stop, Christine's dressing room door to their left. "Just take care of yourself, alright?"

Celeste smiled, a slightly hollow feeling pulling at her heart. "I will." She forced her smile to brighten and took a step back, trying to escape before her resolve broke. "Enjoy your meal tonight."

"Thank you. Have a nice lesson."

Celeste nodded and stepped back again as Christine entered her dressing room. The door closed and she released a sigh, pushing her hair back and rubbing her face.

A headache was starting to press against her temples and she just wanted to vanish to the lakeside.

That's probably not healthy, she thought reluctantly. Hiding from every difficulty was not the way to live, she knew, yet she couldn't help thinking a little wistfully of the way Erik had managed to disappear from the world.