III
Never in my life had I moved so fast. It was as if my body teleported itself behind the mirror. Sweat ran down my back and suddenly the cold passageway felt like the fires from hell. I tried to tame my ragged breaths as quietly as I could while my body shook with adrenaline.
"Phantoms?" I heard Christine sighed with a tone of disapproval. "I need to have a word with Meg tomorrow, in the meantime, gather your belongings, Madame Giry secured a carriage for us." I heard Christine informed, by the looks of it, a still confused Elizabeth.
Elizabeth clutched her hand to her chest and began to inspect the room. She walked behind the dress screen and, after mere seconds, appeared on the other end.
"Are you listening, Lizzy."
"I am." Elizabeth replied as she opened Christine's ivory dresser. "Tsk." She clicked her tongue.
Christine eyed Elizabeth's odd behavior. "Is something wrong, Lizzy?"
"Not particularly."
"Are you looking for something?"
Elizabeth halted her search as she came upon the reflective gateway between my world and hers. "Treasure." She whispered while she placed her hand on the mirror.
"Ah," Christine rushed to her young friend's side, "I - I think such treasure, if any, would be buried elsewhere. Wouldn't you agree?"
I placed my hand upon the two-way glass, and for a second, I thought I could feel her warm hand on my own. Though it wasn't long before Christine started to pull Elizabeth away from the mirror...away from me, knowing what kind of monster stood behind the glass.
Yes, Christine, save your friend from this cruel, dark world. A world I represent and was thrust upon. In fact, I should have been grateful for Christine's quick thinking and yet, I felt a grave disappointment. Disappointed Christine did not take longer in rehearsal, disappointed Elizabeth did not pry more of the Phantom's haunting throughout the building - disappointed Christine was taking Elizabeth out of the room.
"Let's wait by the main doors. It's getting rather late, and I'd hate for us to keep the coachman waiting long." Christine handed Elizabeth a black cloak and put on her pastel pink cloak on her own body.
While Christine readied herself, Elizabeth gathered her papers, glancing at the mirror every now and then. "The mirror is cold."
Christine opened the door, ushering Elizabeth out of the room. "Hm, I suppose this room can get a little drafty."
With that said, both girls disappeared, and I let out a breath as if I had been under water for far too long. I remained behind the mirror for a good while, trying to decipher what had occurred. I hid like a husband who was caught being indecent with another woman. Though, as much as I wanted it to be real, Christine was not my wife, nor my lover for that matter. From my perspective I might have been courting her, but was I really?
Christine only viewed me as nothing more than her tutor and when I would initiate any talk of my feelings or give little way to them, the expression of uncomfortableness would appear on her porcelain face. She would coax me into speaking about the opera, the lesson at hand, anything else but not my inner thoughts on her. It was a pain knowing I would go nowhere with her. Her mind would always be of that young man she so cherished.
He was the reason for my long absence. Christine had lied to me, saying she would be attending to Meg for the evening and yet, I had caught her sneaking into a carriage with a smiling vicomte waiting within it. I had followed them to a quaint restaurant where they sat under the stars, smiling, laughing, enjoying each other's company.
The boy had commented on thanking little Meg for the alibi she would be providing. Yes, yes, they laughed at my expense and for a moment - I hated them both.
