There weren't too many people, but it was a considerably sized group. Anna recognized Monsieur Firmin, who was sitting at the head of the table with two tired but smiling men. Andre pulled a seat for Annabelle, who politely thanked him and sat. After she was seated he sat on Firmin's right, who was at the head of the table. Annabelle was on her Uncle's right, with her right side vacant. She didn't mind sitting next to Uncle, it made her feel better knowing that she was next to someone she knew. She assumed that the rest of the guests were Patrons of the theater, and that the two tired looking men were the old managers.
Monsieur Firmin then stood up with a glass full of champagne, "First off, I would like to thank you all for coming to this fantastic Farewell ceremony! It was wonderful to meet you all," He then gave a smile as the guests politely clapped. He then continued, "But I also want to thank our previous managers for keeping the Opera Populaire in such good condition. I promise you, that with the help of my assistant manager," He motioned to Monsieur Andre who gave a smile nod. Monsieur Firmin continued, Annabelle however, noticed that her Uncle's smile was a tad bit forced.
Monsieur Firmin raised his glass high, "Here's to running the best Opera House in all of France!" The whole table lifted a glass and said in union, "To the Opera Populaire!" Everyone then took a sip of their champagne, except for Annabelle, who put her glass down and asked for a glass of water instead to the confusion of most of the guests. The waiter looked at Uncle Andre confused, but he just nodded to get what she requested. The waiter took her glass and left, leaving Annabelle to sit quietly to herself.
Most of the guests were chatting amongst themselves and started eating the dinner prepared for them. Annabelle was quietly eating and kept to herself, so it made sense that she didn't notice when the masked figure came and sat down next to her. The waiter came back with Annabelle's drink, and then turned to the masked gentleman to ask if he wanted a drink as well. This caused Annabelle to turn to her right, causing her to gasp and exclaim, "You are the Opera Ghost!"
The whole table turned to the mysterious masked man, and some people even offered him a drink. Annabelle stared at him curiously, he actually looked a tad bit handsome up close, and she felt her cheeks go slightly pink at the thought. Then the man spoke, "Did you know, Joseph Buquet almost died, and recently quit?" His voice silenced the whole room in only a second, for it was unnatural to say the least. The previous managers however, were more concerned with what the man was saying than how he sounded.
"Monsieur Buquet quit!" one of the previous managers exclaimed, "He almost died?" the other one choked in disbelief. They both turned white with fear and looked at each other in a dreadful way. Annabelle went silent, she promised she wouldn't tell a soul what had happened until after the festivities, but apparently word travels quickly in the opera house. Firmin however, had a hearty laugh thinking that this was schemed by the ex-managers for them. The guests, relieved from the dissipation of the tension from the words before chuckled with him. Annabelle gave him a stern look before standing and saying to him, "It's true Monsieur Firmin! I was the one who found him!"
Silence seized the table, and Annabelle found that she was under the weight of several pairs of judging eyes. She slightly fidgeted and sat back down in her seat, looking ashamed of her little outburst. Her Uncle looked over at her worried, he knew that Annabelle would never lie about such a thing, regardless, he asked quietly, "Are you sure Annabelle?" She looked up at him with pleading eyes, "I promise you, if you ask any of the chorus and ballet girls, they will vouch for my honesty!" This caused the table to be littered with concerned murmurs and accusations, which caused one of the managers to stand, "Monsieurs, may we have a word with you in our old office?"
All the managers stood up and were starting to head to the office, when one of the old managers got Annabelle's attention, "Mademoiselle? Perhaps you should come along as well…" Annabelle was surprised to say the least, but she got up minding her right side so she didn't bump the other guest- She then realized the masked man had disappeared once more, 'Peculiar, and more peculiar!' she thought to herself as she followed the ex-manager into her Uncle's office.
Once inside the office, Monsieur Firmin demanded that Rémy shut and lock the door so outside ears wouldn't be able to hear what was being said. He gave a quick nod to Annablle who smiled softly in return, as he locked the door. Firmin turned to the ex managers and asked, "What in the Deuce is all this nonsense about an Opera Ghost?! And why do you look as if I have summoned the devil when I speak of this mysterious phantom?" The reason for his 2nd question came because ex-managers Debienne and Poligny went pale at the words 'Opera Ghost'.
Annabelle simply sat and listened, not wanting to interrupt the fuming Fimrin, who just wanted a simple first night being the manager of the Opera Populaire. Monsieur Debbine and Poligny looked at each other uneasily, as if they knew what they would tell the new managers would not be easily believed. Poligny sighed and went to his old desk and grabbed a copy of the memorandum-book, which had some bookmarks in several places. Annabelle curiously looked at the book, she could tell that there was something off about it, but she didn't know what it could possibly be.
"I hope you both know that this book is the guidelines for what must be done at the Opera house, and that the rights of the Opera House can be taken away if you don't follow the conditions of this book," Firmin and Andre nodded. Debbine motioned to Poligny who opened the book and went to the first bookmarked page. At first glance it seemed like any other memorandum, but then Annabelle saw something that made her shiver. There at the bottom of the page was a paragraph written in red ink, reminding her of the color of blood. Debinne looked at the new managers and spoke word for word of the paragraph, as if he could never forget what it said, "Or if the manager, in any month, delay for more than a fortnight the payment of the allowance which he shall make to the Opera ghost, an allowance of twenty thousand francs a month, say two hundred and forty thousand francs a year."
Annabelle looked at the ex manager in surprise, '240,000 francs a year? That was so much money to be required of her uncle and Monsieur Firmin!' Andre took a step back in surprise, "You must be joking!" Firmin pounded his fist on the table, "This is an outrage! Are there any more egregious conditions?" Poligny silently went to the next bookmark, and read aloud, "Box Five on the grand tier shall be placed at the disposal of the Opera ghost for every performance." Annabelle gasped in realization, 'Box Five is the Opera Ghost's box? No wonder everyone was so scared of it! So the man that sat next to her must have been the voice she heard!' Her skin went pale and she sat down wearily, 'This Opera Ghost must have done some truly gruesome thing in order to be feared by the Opera house, so how had she managed to escape his wrath?'
Rémy hurried over concerned, Uncle Andre looked at her anxiously. She waved at him and gave a reassuring smile to let him know she was alright, she wanted her Uncle to focus on the task at hand instead of her. Uncle Andre still looked worried, but went back to the business concerning the so-called 'Opera Ghost'. Firmin yelled at Poligny in frustration and confusion, "First this phantom wants twenty-four thousand francs a year, and now you're telling me it wants our most expensive box to itself!" Debinne and Poligny nodded silently, much to Firmin's displeasure. Then Andre spoke curiously, "Have you ever tried to arrest this man? Surely someone who causes this much annoyance would be deserving a life sentence in prison…"
Debienne and Poligny smiled weakly, "How can you arrest a man you don't normally see? Tonight was the first time that we've met him," Debinne answered. Poligny added, "We have tried on several occasions to try to capture him, but have failed and suffered the consequences. I advise you not to make the same mistakes as us, and heed unto our advice. You must always heed to his wishes, or disaster will surely follow…" He said this in such a serious and knowledgeable tone, that Annabelle fully believed him. Firmin on the other hand, did not.
"I will not be chastised by two weak, superstitious men on the night of my triumph. We will consider your admonition, but I refuse to believe that this… PHANTOM exists!" Andre put his hand on his partner's shoulder, "Firmin, please. Control your temper, it's unbecoming for a manager to be so reckless…" Firmin took a deep breath in, and apologized to the ex-managers for his behavior, "I blame the excitement and the stress of the situation for my attitude. I bid you two a pleasant evening and a prosperous life." Annabelle sensed that this was his way of letting the ex-managers know that their stay was no longer needed, and they seemed to as well.
"In that case, we will leave this copy for you two to have." Debinne replied, then he nodded to Andre and Annabelle and left. Poligny gave a curt nod to Andre then walked over to Annabelle. She held out her hand to shake his farewell, when he held hers in both of his hands, "If you value your life Mademoiselle, please heed unto our warnings, and try to convince them to as well…" He stared at her with tired and pleading eyes, she wondered if he was warning her because he didn't want any more accidents or if he couldn't live with the guilt of more innocent lives getting hurt. She gave a reassuring smile and replied, "I promise I will Monsieur. You have my word," He let out a sigh of relief and muttered a "Thank you," He let go of her hand and left the office.