Chapter 3
"Oh, Giry, you little fool," Meg muttered to herself, breathing deeply to still the racing of her heart. "Why did you run away like the coward you are? What ever did you think would happen? Nothing! Nothing was going to happen! You are simply an idiot! A ridiculous idiot is what you are! You were never in any danger. You'd no reason to take to your heels in such a - EEP!"
Her muttering rose into a startled shriek as a hand reached out and seized her shoulder, dragging her roughly through a door into a warmly-lit room.
"Hey, Meg, what's your problem?" a small red-head demanded, laughing.
"Yes, Miss Meg, you look like you've seen a ghost," a small dark-haired girl added, concern in her eyes at the dancer's ashen face and wide eyes.
"Miss Lina! Miss Amelia!" she gasped. "Thank goodness!"
Lina raised an eyebrow, sending Amelia a questioning glance. She shook her head, telegraphing her confusion and worry back to the sorceress. Lina took Meg's shoulder gently.
"Maybe you'd better sit down. What on earth happened to you, anyway?"
"Well.oh, it's so silly! I was a little goose to be so badly frightened by something so small. You see, I was in the hallway, taking your friend some blankets, and I heard a noise. I...I thought for a moment that it was the Phantom come to murder me," she finished, blushing and smiling self- deprecatingly.
"Um...Phantom? What Phantom?" Amelia choked out nervously.
"Oh! It is rather a long story, and I certainly don't know it all very well, but would you like to hear what I can tell?" Meg gazed at the small princess, awaiting her answer.
Amelia considered for a moment, then nodded, leaning forward eagerly. Meg took a deep breath.
"Alright, here's what I know. Oh, I'm almost afraid to tell it! If I should get a fact wrong, and he should hear me...what am I talking about?! This is the story, such as I know it..."
[One very interesting and chilling recount of the events in POTO later.]
"Oh!" Amelia sniffed, eyes wide. "How beautiful! A man, cruelly rejected by the world, but with a miraculous gift, his love for a beautiful young singer doomed from the start, seeing the light at the very last, and setting free the one he loves most!"
"Uh...yeah," Lina replied, glancing warily at her dark-haired friend. "More creepy than beautiful, if you ask me. You're beginning to sound like Martina, you know."
"Oh, Miss Lina," Amelia sighed, "you have no sense of romance. Don't you see how gallant it was of him simply let her walk away with another man when it must have torn his heart out to do it?"
"Yeah, whatever, Amelia," Lina replied. Then she turned to Meg, her eyebrow raised. "So, how do you know all about what happened at the last, anyway?"
"Well," Meg began guiltily, glancing nervously about the room, "I sort of...arrived ahead of the mob, but I couldn't find my way in. I heard what was happening, but I couldn't call to them, warn them."
"Oh, Meg, I don't understand how you can be afraid of anyone who could do something so just." The young woman clasped her hands, her eyes growing starry.
"It's fairly simple, really," Meg replied, smiling briefly. "He let Christine go for her own sake. It had nothing to do with the Vicomte."
"So...?" Lina prompted.
"So, he did it because he cared for her. He made no such considerations for anyone he didn't care for. He did it out of love, not out of justice."
"Love and justice go hand in hand," Amelia declared staunchly.
"Not if you're the Phantom of the Opera, eh, Meg?" Lina caught Meg's eye. The dancer smiled weakly.
"I wish now that we hadn't spoken quite so freely," she admitted, her gaze searching the darker corners of the room once again.
"That's right, Meg," Lina smirked. "The very walls have ears."
"It often seems like it in this place," Meg replied ruefully. Lina waved her comment off.
"Oh, come on! Let's eat some chocolate and forget about it!"
"Oh!" Meg slapped her hand to her head. "I forgot the chocolate in my own room! I'll just run out and get it."
She stood and walked to the door, then hesitated.
"What's up, Meg?" Lina asked.
"Erm...nothing, nothing at all. It's just..."
"It's just what?" Amelia prompted.
"It is very dark out there, and I'm still a little shaky, and..."
"Meg," Lina interrupted dryly. "Do you want one of us to go with you?"
"Thank you for coming with me, Amelia," Meg whispered gratefully to the small Seyruun princess as they crept noiselessly down the silent, velvet- enshrouded hallway.
"Not at all, Meg," Amelia whispered back with a smile. "I understand completely. I don't think I'd want to be all alone in this place at night."
"I believe your friend thinks I was being silly," Meg mused ruefully.
"Oh, Miss Lina!" Amelia scoffed. "Pay no attention to her. She laughs at everyone else for being scared, but that's only because she doesn't let anything scare her noticeably."
"Oh, I'm sure things must scare her," Meg protested.
"Yes. Slugs. Any insects, actually."
Meg shivered.
"I can relate. I hate bugs, too."
"...Meg?"
"Yes?"
"What hallway did you say that your friend Christine's old dressing room was in?"
"Erm...why, I believe it was this one."
"You said that the door to it was always locked and barred?"
"Why, yes..."
"Then it would be rather unusual if, say, the wooden boards were lying in splinters on the floor and the door was standing wide open?"
"What?"
"Look."
Meg glanced in the direction that the princess indicated, then laughed in relief.
"Oh, the boards are off because Monsieur Firmin removed them earlier when he offered one of your friends this room. After Monsieur Firmin left, I advised them to share a room." Then a frown chased the laughter from Meg's face. "Although, it is odd that the door is still open. I know I closed it."
Amelia gasped. "Do you suppose that Gourry and Zelgadis went in? What if the Phantom has returned and done something to them?!"
Meg's eyes widened.
"Oh, my goodness! But...why would he have?"
"Surely he would have been angered at someone venturing into a room that he declared should never be tampered with! We must go in and look for Mr. Gourry and Mr. Zelgadis!"
"I...I don't think that's a good idea..."
"What else can we do?"
"They might not have gone in..."
"But, Meg, you said you closed the door! If they didn't go in, some other poor soul did! We can't just leave them at the mercy of this mysterious Phantom!"
"I may have just forgotten to close the door..."
"You said you clearly remember closing it!"
"It really isn't so clear. In fact, now it all seems rather fuzzy. I likely did simply forget to close the door."
"Oh, that sounds awfully unlikely to me! We must go in and rescue the poor soul that has fallen prey to the Phantom!"
"But Amelia, it's ridiculous! We aren't prepared to fight, or even to run very, very fast. We can't just go charging in there!"
"But we must! We don't have time to prepare. Our comrades are in danger! We must bravely venture in and rescue them! For the sake of JUSTICE!!!"
If she had been able, Meg certainly would have sweatdropped at the dramatic pose that Amelia had assumed.
"YOUR comrades are in danger," she muttered under her breath.
"What was that?" Amelia demanded.
"Oh...nothing at all," Meg assured her.
"No, I heard you! Well, if you don't want to come with me, that's just fine. But I am going to go in." Amelia crossed her arms and fixed Meg with an icy look.
Meg sighed in defeat.
"Is there really nothing I can do to dissuade you?"
"Nothing." Amelia set her jaw firmly. Meg threw up her hands in exasperation.
"Then I suppose I must go with you."
A huge smile broke over Amelia's face, and she engulfed Meg in a warm hug.
"Oh, thank-you, Meg! I know I'd do the same for you if it were your friends!"
"Yes, well, the next time my friends wander blindly into the lair of a madman supposedly gone for the last four years, I shall take you up on that."
Sharing a mutual smile, the girls crept into the room, slowly closing the door behind them.
A few seconds later, a faint sound emanated from the closed door of something heavy sliding against something solid and stopping with a click, accompanied by two small exclamations of surprise. "Well, let's go in!" one of the voices insisted. "For JUSTICE!"
"Ooooh," the other moaned in despair. "Shall I get out of this alive?"
"Oh, Giry, you little fool," Meg muttered to herself, breathing deeply to still the racing of her heart. "Why did you run away like the coward you are? What ever did you think would happen? Nothing! Nothing was going to happen! You are simply an idiot! A ridiculous idiot is what you are! You were never in any danger. You'd no reason to take to your heels in such a - EEP!"
Her muttering rose into a startled shriek as a hand reached out and seized her shoulder, dragging her roughly through a door into a warmly-lit room.
"Hey, Meg, what's your problem?" a small red-head demanded, laughing.
"Yes, Miss Meg, you look like you've seen a ghost," a small dark-haired girl added, concern in her eyes at the dancer's ashen face and wide eyes.
"Miss Lina! Miss Amelia!" she gasped. "Thank goodness!"
Lina raised an eyebrow, sending Amelia a questioning glance. She shook her head, telegraphing her confusion and worry back to the sorceress. Lina took Meg's shoulder gently.
"Maybe you'd better sit down. What on earth happened to you, anyway?"
"Well.oh, it's so silly! I was a little goose to be so badly frightened by something so small. You see, I was in the hallway, taking your friend some blankets, and I heard a noise. I...I thought for a moment that it was the Phantom come to murder me," she finished, blushing and smiling self- deprecatingly.
"Um...Phantom? What Phantom?" Amelia choked out nervously.
"Oh! It is rather a long story, and I certainly don't know it all very well, but would you like to hear what I can tell?" Meg gazed at the small princess, awaiting her answer.
Amelia considered for a moment, then nodded, leaning forward eagerly. Meg took a deep breath.
"Alright, here's what I know. Oh, I'm almost afraid to tell it! If I should get a fact wrong, and he should hear me...what am I talking about?! This is the story, such as I know it..."
[One very interesting and chilling recount of the events in POTO later.]
"Oh!" Amelia sniffed, eyes wide. "How beautiful! A man, cruelly rejected by the world, but with a miraculous gift, his love for a beautiful young singer doomed from the start, seeing the light at the very last, and setting free the one he loves most!"
"Uh...yeah," Lina replied, glancing warily at her dark-haired friend. "More creepy than beautiful, if you ask me. You're beginning to sound like Martina, you know."
"Oh, Miss Lina," Amelia sighed, "you have no sense of romance. Don't you see how gallant it was of him simply let her walk away with another man when it must have torn his heart out to do it?"
"Yeah, whatever, Amelia," Lina replied. Then she turned to Meg, her eyebrow raised. "So, how do you know all about what happened at the last, anyway?"
"Well," Meg began guiltily, glancing nervously about the room, "I sort of...arrived ahead of the mob, but I couldn't find my way in. I heard what was happening, but I couldn't call to them, warn them."
"Oh, Meg, I don't understand how you can be afraid of anyone who could do something so just." The young woman clasped her hands, her eyes growing starry.
"It's fairly simple, really," Meg replied, smiling briefly. "He let Christine go for her own sake. It had nothing to do with the Vicomte."
"So...?" Lina prompted.
"So, he did it because he cared for her. He made no such considerations for anyone he didn't care for. He did it out of love, not out of justice."
"Love and justice go hand in hand," Amelia declared staunchly.
"Not if you're the Phantom of the Opera, eh, Meg?" Lina caught Meg's eye. The dancer smiled weakly.
"I wish now that we hadn't spoken quite so freely," she admitted, her gaze searching the darker corners of the room once again.
"That's right, Meg," Lina smirked. "The very walls have ears."
"It often seems like it in this place," Meg replied ruefully. Lina waved her comment off.
"Oh, come on! Let's eat some chocolate and forget about it!"
"Oh!" Meg slapped her hand to her head. "I forgot the chocolate in my own room! I'll just run out and get it."
She stood and walked to the door, then hesitated.
"What's up, Meg?" Lina asked.
"Erm...nothing, nothing at all. It's just..."
"It's just what?" Amelia prompted.
"It is very dark out there, and I'm still a little shaky, and..."
"Meg," Lina interrupted dryly. "Do you want one of us to go with you?"
"Thank you for coming with me, Amelia," Meg whispered gratefully to the small Seyruun princess as they crept noiselessly down the silent, velvet- enshrouded hallway.
"Not at all, Meg," Amelia whispered back with a smile. "I understand completely. I don't think I'd want to be all alone in this place at night."
"I believe your friend thinks I was being silly," Meg mused ruefully.
"Oh, Miss Lina!" Amelia scoffed. "Pay no attention to her. She laughs at everyone else for being scared, but that's only because she doesn't let anything scare her noticeably."
"Oh, I'm sure things must scare her," Meg protested.
"Yes. Slugs. Any insects, actually."
Meg shivered.
"I can relate. I hate bugs, too."
"...Meg?"
"Yes?"
"What hallway did you say that your friend Christine's old dressing room was in?"
"Erm...why, I believe it was this one."
"You said that the door to it was always locked and barred?"
"Why, yes..."
"Then it would be rather unusual if, say, the wooden boards were lying in splinters on the floor and the door was standing wide open?"
"What?"
"Look."
Meg glanced in the direction that the princess indicated, then laughed in relief.
"Oh, the boards are off because Monsieur Firmin removed them earlier when he offered one of your friends this room. After Monsieur Firmin left, I advised them to share a room." Then a frown chased the laughter from Meg's face. "Although, it is odd that the door is still open. I know I closed it."
Amelia gasped. "Do you suppose that Gourry and Zelgadis went in? What if the Phantom has returned and done something to them?!"
Meg's eyes widened.
"Oh, my goodness! But...why would he have?"
"Surely he would have been angered at someone venturing into a room that he declared should never be tampered with! We must go in and look for Mr. Gourry and Mr. Zelgadis!"
"I...I don't think that's a good idea..."
"What else can we do?"
"They might not have gone in..."
"But, Meg, you said you closed the door! If they didn't go in, some other poor soul did! We can't just leave them at the mercy of this mysterious Phantom!"
"I may have just forgotten to close the door..."
"You said you clearly remember closing it!"
"It really isn't so clear. In fact, now it all seems rather fuzzy. I likely did simply forget to close the door."
"Oh, that sounds awfully unlikely to me! We must go in and rescue the poor soul that has fallen prey to the Phantom!"
"But Amelia, it's ridiculous! We aren't prepared to fight, or even to run very, very fast. We can't just go charging in there!"
"But we must! We don't have time to prepare. Our comrades are in danger! We must bravely venture in and rescue them! For the sake of JUSTICE!!!"
If she had been able, Meg certainly would have sweatdropped at the dramatic pose that Amelia had assumed.
"YOUR comrades are in danger," she muttered under her breath.
"What was that?" Amelia demanded.
"Oh...nothing at all," Meg assured her.
"No, I heard you! Well, if you don't want to come with me, that's just fine. But I am going to go in." Amelia crossed her arms and fixed Meg with an icy look.
Meg sighed in defeat.
"Is there really nothing I can do to dissuade you?"
"Nothing." Amelia set her jaw firmly. Meg threw up her hands in exasperation.
"Then I suppose I must go with you."
A huge smile broke over Amelia's face, and she engulfed Meg in a warm hug.
"Oh, thank-you, Meg! I know I'd do the same for you if it were your friends!"
"Yes, well, the next time my friends wander blindly into the lair of a madman supposedly gone for the last four years, I shall take you up on that."
Sharing a mutual smile, the girls crept into the room, slowly closing the door behind them.
A few seconds later, a faint sound emanated from the closed door of something heavy sliding against something solid and stopping with a click, accompanied by two small exclamations of surprise. "Well, let's go in!" one of the voices insisted. "For JUSTICE!"
"Ooooh," the other moaned in despair. "Shall I get out of this alive?"