Hello everyone! It has been a while for sure... the only good thing that has come out of this pandemic so far is that I have been able to get caught up with this story! I am about to upload five chapters as an apology for taking so long!
January, Dresden 1881
Winter in Germany was much harsher than Lisette remembered. It had been years since she'd returned to her beloved home, much too accustomed to the busy seasons laid out for her at the Palais Garnier. When she had given Debienne notice of her month long absence he seemed rather strange when they parted ways. He had shaken her hand eagerly, as if it was the last time they would see each other, and she left hurriedly, as if afraid they might ask her to accompany a performance at the last minute.
She was staying with her eldest brother, Leopold, in downtown Dresden where he resided with his wife and three children. Their apartment was just above Leopald's office, where he practiced law with a friend he had met during his studies in Berlin. It had been strange for her to see how Dresden seemed small, almost quaint, compared to the enormity of Paris and the booming personalities of the Parisians.
It was New Year's Day, and Lisette sat relaxing in the parlor sipping on strong coffee with her brother and sister-in-law, Anna. Her brother was the eldest of all the siblings, older than her by nearly ten years, but that didn't prevent her from getting along with him better than all of her previous siblings. As children, he had been an excellent cellist, and they had spent many hours together playing duets and sonatas.
"Freust du dich darauf, nach Paris zurückzukehren?" Anna asked in German. "Are you excited to return to Paris?"
"Ja," Lisette responded, "But I'm very much enjoying my time here. There's nothing quite like a harsh, German winter to make one feel at home!"
Leopold laughed at her comment. "I envy your adventures, and your French is so perfect! I wonder… if I improved my French I would be able to travel abroad with my law studies."
"Don't get so carried away," Anne replied, playfully hitting him with her handkerchief. "Besides, it must be terribly lonely not to have anyone to speak German with!"
Anna's comment immediately made Lisette think of Erik. He hadn't left her thoughts for a moment since their encounter on Christmas Day. She was terribly nervous to see how he would act around her upon her return to the Opera House.
She shrugged. "It's not so bad, really. I get to practice often enough at the Lutheran church. It seems all the German immigrants congregate there on Sundays!"
"How much longer do you intend to stay at the Palais Garnier?" her brother inquired.
Lisette cocked her head to the side. "What do you mean?"
Leopold shrugged. "We all certainly miss you here in Dresden. And there are more than enough churches who would be more than willing to hire an organist as qualified as yourself."
Lisette scowled at the recommendation, standing up to look out the nearby window. It was nearly impossible to see out of the pane glass due to the amount of frost and blurry snow. She watched a lamppost just below them flicker dimly as it fought against the terrible wind "Don't you think I'm a bit more qualified than just a church organist?"
She heard silence and waited patiently for a response, keeping her eyes fixated on the lamppost.
"I'm going to go check on the children," she heard Anna say to Leopold, before footsteps were heard and the door closing behind her.
"Lisette—"
She turned to face her brother. "I know what you're going to say... I've only heard the same from Mama and Papa since I moved to Paris. You all want me to return here and stay with the family."
Her brother stood, walking to the mantle of the fireplace and staring intently at the burning embers below. "You know all we want is your happiness."
Her gaze softened upon hearing his words. "Yes," she said softly. "But is it possible for me to be happy in Paris?"
"It is," Leopold replied. "But I don't believe it will remain that way forever. At some point you will need your family."
Her eyes narrowed at her words. "What do you mean by that?"
Her brother turned to look at her, his eyes directly fixated on her scar. One of the things that made Leopold so special to her, was that in the handful of times they had seen each other since her accident, he had made no mention and no notice of the scar on her face. However, he had no need to speak of what was on his mind. His intentions were made very clear from where his eyes were lingering.
"I know what this brings me," she scoffed, trying to hide the red in her cheeks as she motioned to her face. "I am well aware, trust me. You and Mama and Papa are not the ones who have had to live with this. The difference between Paris and Dresden is that people in Dresden have known me without this, unlike most of the people I know in Paris. It is easy for me to blend in, simply be in the shadows. Here, it is different. I'm well known! Haven't you noticed that I don't see anyone other than you all when I am here?"
Her brother rested his hands behind his back. "Who will support you out there in Paris?"
"Support me?" she asked. "I don't need anyone to support me! I have a perfectly good salary in my current position. I've even auditioned for an assistantship at the Conservatoire! Soon people in this family will be coming to me for support."
Leopold's lips pursed at her final statement. "Paris may be more progressive than us Germans, but I promise you that they are not ready for a female teacher at the Conservatoire. Especially one with your… features."
His last words stung.
"Believe what you will," she responded. "But I will be ready for whatever comes my way. I don't need to depend upon you all for the rest of my life."
She left the room and spent the next few days avoiding the presence of Leopold and Anna, investing most of her time playing with their children and practicing on the small spinet they kept upstairs. She was due to leave on the 12th to return in time for the first performance of the New Year at the Palais Garnier, however, her stay was cut short that following Saturday morning when she was eating breakfast with Anna.
The maid had brought in the morning mail, a usual routine that Lisette never paid much attention to. However, when Anna handed her a small envelope, her eyebrow raised. Lisette saw the letter was from Paris and hastily opened it.
Lisette,
I hate to disturb you during your holiday, but your presence is urgently needed back at the opera house. Debienne and Poligny's retirement gala is being held on January 10th where they will be introducing the new managers. I would advise that if you would like to keep your position as prima pianist to hurry back!
Yours,
Armel
It took her two full reads before she was able to comprehend what was happening. Was this why Debienne had looked so sorrowful when she had left a few weeks ago? She quickly wrote a reply back to Armel, just in time for Anna to inquire what had happened.
"I'll be returning to Paris a little earlier than expected," she replied after hastily writing her signature and giving the letter back to the maid. "Something has come up. Is it too late to buy a train ticket for Saturday?"
"I hope you brought extra change with you," Anna said, eyeing her suspiciously. "The sooner you leave, the more expensive the ticket."
"At this point, price doesn't matter," Lisette said, thinking wearily of what Erik was up to at that very moment. She stood from the table, excusing herself, before running downstairs to enter her brother's office.
"Ah, Lisette," her brother said, bidding adieu to a client who quickly shuffled past her. "What can I do for you?"
"I need a ride to the train station," she said. "Something has come up at the Opera House and I must return as quickly as possible."
"Nothing serious?"
Erik's face flashed before her eyes once more. "I certainly hope not, but I would rather be safe than sorry."
When the train pulled into the Gare du Nord the following afternoon, Armel was waiting anxiously with one of the carriages from the opera house outside.
"How did you hear?" she asked, not even bothering to greet him as he helped strap her small bag into the back of the carriage.
"It was impossible not to," he said, brushing snow from his hat as he climbed in with her, motioning for the driver to carry on. "As soon as we returned from the New Year, Debienne and Poligny made the formal announcement at one of the orchestra's rehearsals. You should have seen Reyer's face! I've never seen him in so much shock."
"Do we know their replacements?" she asked anxiously, trying to ignore the queasy feeling in her stomach as the carriage bounced to and fro.
"Not yet," Armel frowned. "Their replacements are to be announced at the retirement gala tonight. It's all the talk! Carlotta is convinced that she will become even more famous under the new managers while Reyer's faith in the future of the opera company has faded into nothing."
"Surely we are not set up for ruin!" Lisette said anxiously, reaching across the carriage to grab his hand. "Debienne and Poligny hardly did any management with the Opera Ghost tormenting them at every chance!"
"Not you too," Armel groaned. "It seems that the Opera Ghost has been even more mischievous since the New Year began. At the very same rehearsal, a small mouse climbed out of the third trombone's bell. There have never been any pranks performed with the orchestra members!"
"Perhaps the trombonist was a poor player," she said softly. She saw Armel raise an eyebrow, but he did not ask her to repeat herself, for which she was grateful for.
They stopped at her apartment briefly for her to put away her things. Armel sat at her small kitchen table with a cup of coffee while she quickly unpacked her belongings and did what she could to prepare herself for a gala. Fidgeting with her braids, she settled on wrapping them into a small bun on the nape of her neck before wearing a dark, red dress she had worn at her brother's on Christmas Eve. Armel looked surprised at her appearance when she emerged from the bedroom, but she waved his stare away.
"If the new managers are to be at the gala, I must make myself look presentable."
Bundled in cloaks and scarves, the pair made their way across Paris against the formidable wind and snow. There were a handful of times Armel slipped, nearly bringing Lisette down with him. When they reached the steps of the Opera House, they let out a sigh of relief and shook the snow from their cloaks and boots as they stepped inside.
Lisette was shocked to see the sheer state of panic the opera house was in. When she had left in December, just after Christmas, it had been eerily quiet, with many people away for the holidays. It seemed as if every living person in Paris had decided to visit the opera house this evening. The cleaning staff were bustling about, sweeping and mopping without a care in the world that people were treading up and down the stairs. Costume makers that normally concealed themselves in the small rooms beneath the dressing rooms were running about with ribbons and lace in their arms. Even Madame Giry could be spotted at the top of the Grand Staircase, bellowing orders to young ballerinas who were taking too long to ascend to their dormitories.
"My God," Lisette said, barely acknowledging Armel tugging on her arm towards the rehearsal room. "How long has it been like this?"
"Too long," he groaned once more. "Come, most of the orchestra will be gathered upstairs. They can bring us up to date on what has happened since we've been away."
For once, the orchestra members seemed more like the gossiping ballerinas with the amount of chatter that surrounded Lisette at once when they entered the room. Many wanted to know her thoughts, others wondered if she had heard anything else since being away. Reyer sat thoughtfully in the conductor's chair up front, his lips pursed and immensely focused on the score in front of him.
"Please, please," Lisette said, waving her arms. "I know nothing! In fact, I'm here to learn from you!"
One of the cellists spoke first. "I've heard that Debienne and Poligny have grown tired of the opera. I've heard they are retiring to Germany!"
"Germany?" Lisette said with a shock.
"Yes," the cellist said, turning to her. "Have you heard anything about where they might be going?"
"No," she replied. "I am quite shocked. Germany is not the place I would expect two Parisians to go with all the excitement and society there is here!"
"I've heard it's because they are tired of the society. They want to settle down and take time for themselves," another member cried from behind her.
"You are all fools!" a trumpeter cried, pushing his way to the front. "It's the Opera Ghost! Haven't you noticed that Poligny barely comes to the operas anymore? That's because the old man is too superstitious to deal with the constant pranks and demands! Debienne is being forced to deal with him all on his own. It's too much!"
"Are you complaining that the Opera Ghost has driven them out?" a violist behind her said with a snip in his voice. A few members of the orchestra chuckled at his comment.
"Not particularly," the trumpeter replied indignantly. "But I do worry for the new managers. Debienne and Poligny have worked in the opera for many years and they just finished building a good reputation with La Carlotta. Imagine, we will have to go through her demands and attention-seeking when these new managers take over!"
A unison groan echoed around them. Lisette did her best not to smile, but she saw the corners of Reyer's mouth twitch upwards in response to the comment.
"Come," Armel said. "It's time for the gala. All of our fears will either be confirmed or denied within the hour."
It was quite the evening performance. Gounod himself was present to perform the Funeral March of a Marionnette, Reyer conducted one of his original compositions, Massenet performed one of his unpublished works that was to be premiered at the opera house during the upcoming season, and Lisette even performed a reduction of La damnation de Faust by Berlioz to honor the current production. What came as the biggest surprise was that rather than Carlotta stepping center stage to perform a handful of solos, Christine Daae was given the place of prima donna for the evening.
Armel explained that since Lisette had been in Germany, Carlotta had been mercilessly targeted by the Opera Ghost. It came to the point where she was so full of stress that she lost her voice and was unable to perform the role of Marguerite at the previous evening's production, thus giving Christine the opportunity to give her first debut as the leading soprano.
Christine began by singing selections from Gounod's Romeo and Juliet before continuing to sing selections from Faust in the role of Marguerite. Lisette was so astounded by her voice that she almost forgot to play. Her voice had improved significantly since the last time Lisette had heard her sing, which she didn't think possible. She could hear Erik in every note that Christine sung, from the breathless phrasing to the way that her vibrato was so slight that it was barely noticeable until she swelled to the top of her range, where her voice opened up and seemed to fill the entire space of the performance hall. She was requested to give two encores before they were dismissed to the Grand Foyer for dancing and drinks. Just as the applause began to die down, Christine turned a very sickly white before fainting into the arms of Sorelli who was there before she hit the floor.
Lisette caught Armel's eye as the guests began to file out of the performance hall into the Grand Foyer. He had a small smirk on his face, probably from Christine's reaction to the crowd's reception of her performance.
"Isn't it incredible?" he said as they made their way from the stalls to the foyer. "I've never seen someone make so much progress in such a small amount of time."
"It is rather incredible," Lisette replied softly, her eyes darting towards Box Five. There was no sign of Erik and she tried to ignore the feeling of longing she carried with her at her return to the Palais Garnier.
When they entered the Grand Foyer, the room wall abuzz, just as it had been a few months ago at the closing night of La roi de Lahore. Reyer was chatting happily with Gabriel, Debienne and Poligny surrounded by well dressed opera-goers. Meg was twirling in the ballroom in the arms of one of the chorus members, her blonde hair catching the chandelier's light in every spin. Armel seemed content to turn to the table covered with wine, champagne, and spirits, but Lisette settled herself into a nearby corner. She knew that Erik could not resist discovering who the new managers would be and tried to see if he was hiding in the sea of people laid out before her, but the many powdered faces and slicked back hair almost made her dizzy as she tried to stare at each face intently.
"I suppose you've heard?"
Sorelli's voice made Lisette jump.
"Heard what?" Lisette asked, turning to face her. Sorelli was the picture of beauty, still in her skirts from the evening's performance. Curls had come loose from the bun perched on her face and sat in ringlets by her rouged cheeks. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy as the count caught her eye, standing just a few feet away.
"Joseph Buquet was found in the third cellar."
Lisette rolled her eyes. "Of course now he goes down there, superstitious old man. He all but refused a few months ago to even consider going into the cellars."
Sorelli grabbed Lisette's elbow, pulling her close, her dark eyes darting about as if paranoid someone else would overhear. "He was found hanging by the neck."
As Sorelli spoke these words, the count suddenly shifted his weight to his other foot and immediately turned the other direction, casually chatting with a nearby ballerina. Lisette's heart leapt into her throat, as she immediately glanced upward at the painting of Apollo, half expecting to see Erik's green eyes peering out from the painted face. The painting simply stared back, unfeeling, and she tried to hide the shiver that was forcing its way up her back.
"Dead?" Lisette asked, barely above a whisper.
Sorelli nodded. "He must have been down there for hours, maybe all night."
Lisette pulled herself away, an overwhelming sense of dread coming over her. "Please excuse me," she said hurriedly, picking up her skirts to dash out the nearby door. She didn't stop until she reached the end of the dark hallway opposite the Foyer, grabbing her chest and panting as she tried to still her beating heart.
"Fraülein."
She turned around, her arms in front of her to protect herself. She knew it was Erik, no one else's voice could imitate music through simply speaking. But Sorelli's words were still running through her head. Third cellar, third cellar, third cellar…
Despite recognizing Erik's voice, Lisette was appalled at the man who stepped out from the shadows. She had grown so accustomed to the white mask and dark suits that she was shocked to see him in more colorful attire, imitating the suits of the men present in the Foyer, and a flesh colored mask against his skin. From a distance, it almost looked part of his face if not for the lack of eyebrow and the shininess of the material.
"Erik?" she inquired softly, still keeping her arms stretched in front of her.
"Who else?" he responded, his voice growing cold at her pose.
"Have you heard the news?" she said softly, taking a step back. Erik's piercing gaze which was usually so entrancing to her now had her heart wanting to leap out from her chest.
"Everyone has heard of Debienne and Poligny's retirement," he remarked, stepping towards her.
"That's not the news I'm referring to," she said quickly, her hands awkwardly curling into fists. She must have looked terribly pathetic staring up at this tall man who was at least ten years her senior.
His expression grew even colder. Was that rage in his eyes? She couldn't tell from the way the lamps flickered back and forth across the exposed part of his face. She saw his gloved fists clench and unclench, before finally leaning against the wall and crossing his arms.
"I was the one who found him, you know," he at last said, his voice barely above a whisper.
She instantly felt her hands relax at his words. "You… found him?"
"Yes," he said softly. "I was making my way backstage for—" He paused. The subject of Christine's lessons was a still a sore subject for them to discuss. "I was making my way backstage when I heard shouting from the third cellar. Quite unusual, as you know, for no one dares enter their except for you or myself. By the time I had arrived, I found him, swinging between a farm house and one of the sets from La roi de Lahore.
The shiver that had been at the bottom of Lisette's spine finally rose and she turned, trying to cover her mouth in case she were to throw up. When she had gathered self control, she turned back to him.
"So it wasn't you?" she said timidly.
"Me?" His facial expression darkened. "Why would you ask such a thing?"
She shook her head. "It doesn't make any sense. Why would he have been in the third cellar? What could he have possibly needed down there. We're in the middle of performing Faust with no new production in sight!"
She could tell that Erik was still thinking about her previous comment. As much as he might like to think that he was a non-threatening figure, Lisette still had her doubts about him. She had seen the ways that he maliciously teased Carlotta and Poligny over the last several months. Was it too harsh of her to consider Buquet's death Erik's responsibility?
"I will need to keep a closer watch on who is entering the cellars," he said at last. "I do not want you coming to our lessons that way, we will find another rendezvous point. If anything happens down there, I need to know it's coming from an outside source."
She nodded, feeling her heart at last beginning to slow down. It wasn't until she heard laughter burst forth from the Grand Foyer did she remember why she was here in the first place.
"Why the change of mask?" she asked, stepping closer to him to analyze his face more closely.
"This is my attempt to… blend in," he said with a smirk. "I have grown tired of trying to guess and observe the new managers from a distance that I thought I would meet them in person."
In person? she thought.
With wide eyes, she watched Erik stroll past her into the open light of the gala, placing a slouch hat on his head, dipping the brim low to cover the masked side of her face, before stepping inside.
She instinctively walked back into the Foyer, her head swimming with the amount of information she had just learned. She knew better than to follow Erik, but she wouldn't have been able to keep up within him anyway. Even though she had walked into the gala mere seconds after him, she had already lost him in the crowd of people and would be lucky if she saw him again this evening with his skill for sneaking around. She decided to join Meg and Jammes at the end of the hall, barely paying attention to their chatter as she kept an eye out for Erik.
She carefully studied the faces of the people swarming the Grand Foyer. Philippe was with Sorelli near one of the entrances, standing very close to her with a hand that was barely noticeable placed on her hip. Lisette tried to ignore the rush of jealousy upon the sight. Debienne and Poligny were now talking cheerfully to a pair of well-dressed men. Lisette wouldn't have been surprised if these were the men that were to take over the opera house as the new managers. She was not surprised to see that Christine was not present, probably still recovering from her fainting spell earlier. However, the young viscount was nowhere in sight, something that surprised her greatly as the count and viscount were rarely seen apart.
She noticed Debienne give a slight nod to Sorelli, who gracefully made her way to the center of the gala and clapped her hands lightly.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," she said, her voice oozing with sappiness. "We are so glad to have you all here this evening as we celebrate the retirement of our beloved managers, Monsieur Debienne and Monsieur Poligny."
The Grand Foyer burst into thunderous applause.
"As the prima ballerina, I have the honor of dedicating—"
"THE OPERA GHOST!"
Lisette must have jumped a foot in the air, her champagne glass tumbling from her hands and making an ear-splitting shatter upon the floor. However, she barely noticed as she followed Jammes's slender finger, pointing accusingly into the crowd of people at a half covered face with piercing green eyes.
Please don't forget to rate and review! I really depend on your feedback to help me get a better gauge of where this story is going!
