I stepped on stage and I noticed a woman standing near a group of ballerinas, one I recognized immediately.
"Excuse me," I said, tapping her on the shoulder, and the woman turned to look at me. I was right; she was the woman I had seen at the Populaire.
"What-" she stopped, looking me up and down. "Oh, it's you," she said stoutly. She held out a hand. "It seems we meet again. Well I am Madam Giry,"
"Alanna Belle," I responded, accepting her hand. "And what do you do here at the Garnier?"
"I instruct ballet." She said simply, "And I hear that you are our new leading lady for the next few seasons."
"Yes ma'am." I said with a smile which she did not return. Her face remained cold. I bit my lip, trying to find something else to say, but I was saved the task of trying to make small talk with the woman by Alice.
"Alanna," she said, grabbing my hand, "we need to get you fitted,"
"Alright," I said, and I followed Alice backstage, pushing through the throng of busy cast members. There was something off about Giry, I couldn't put my finger on it, but I knew there was something wrong with her. Alice brought be back to my dressing room with a basket of pins and measuring tapes. She began to measure me, my height, around my waist, all the usual places.
"So you are a singer and a seamstress too?" I asked.
"Yep," she said, "my mother was in the business, and I was apprenticed under her." She shrugged. "It is also the reason Velluae keeps me around."
"You are a good singer," I said, and Alice smiled.
"I am not as good as some," She muttered.
"How long have you been at the Garnier?" I asked.
"3 years," she said. "I arrived around the same time as Rufus, and we were both casted almost immediately. Velluae seemed desperate for cast members since the Garnier was finally getting notice after the downfall of the Populaire."
"I see,"
There was a knock on the door, and I called "It's open!" Rufus stuck his head into the room.
"How are you ladies doing in here?" he asked.
"Fine," Alice muttered, "I'm just about done doing her measurements."
"Alright then, Velluae wants us on stage in 10 minutes for our first rehearsal."
"Good," I said excitedly. "We'll be along in a few then,"
As Rufus pulled out of the room I turned my attention back to Alice.
"What do you know about the accident at the Populaire?"
"They say that the Opera Ghost caused the accident, and kidnapped a girl. That is about as far as my knowledge goes."
"Opera Ghost?" I inquired, curious.
"Yeah, it is said that he lurks under opera houses, stealing the souls of any who wander into his domain." She shrugged. "I wasn't there, so I don't know much about it."
The Opera Ghost? It sounded farfetched that it was an actual ghost, but perhaps it wasn't a ghost, but a person.
"Well enough ghost stories," Alice said, clapping her hands and jotting a few notes in a little journal she had been using to record my measurements. "Let's get back to the stage."
"Sounds like a plan," I said.
