Beneath the Opera House: Élise Chagny
Phantom of the Opera fanfiction
immo - immo@hamena.org
author's notes: So here's the second part of this story. :) I've used some french phrases in here, and I don't know
if they're correct or not... but for you people who know french, I hope you get the gist of it and I haven't
murdered that language in this harmless fanfic. For the people who don't speak a word of french, don't worry,
there's gonna be translations at the bottom of the story when this is done. I will not do it any more after this.
Its just to set some character.
Love it? Hate it? Reviews tell me a lot. They also prompt me to work when I see there's an audience. Happy readings,
boys and girls.
~~~
"Élise... again?" Her sister looked at Élise wearily. She could tell, even from far away, that something was
wrong with her little sister. She leaned heavily onto Danielle for support, and gave Anna a jaunty wave when she saw
that she had been spotted.
"Élise!" Anna hurried over to them, and caught her face between her hands, tilting Élise's face this way and
that, looking at her newest collection of bruises. Anna's face darkened significantly, when her little sister hissed
in pain at her gentle touch. "I'm going to kill that flea-blown bitch."
"Your sister always has the most creative swear words, Élise." Danielle grinned, and thanked Anna when she
moved to support Élise on the other side.
"Oof! Élise, you have GOT to stop eating all those sweets." Danielle complained, as she slipped into the
Volkswagen Jetta beside the girl. "Ow! Watch it, I'm injured!"
"Serves you right!" Élise stuck out her tongue at her friend. "You're the loser who made fun of my weight!"
"Kids! Enough!" Anna turned around and glared at them. Élise looked down, in mock shame, and Danielle just
sat there, grinning at Anna.
*"Ah, mon chéri, vous ne pouvez pas rester fou à moi." Danielle purred.
"You. Are. incorrigible." Anna shook her head, but Danielle had worked her magic already; Anna's lips pulled
up into a tentative smile, but quickly went all serious again. "But really. We need to do something about this
situation with Kristin."
"I'm not leaving." Élise took on a stubborn tone. "I will not be bullied."
"If I can't beat some sense into you, I'm going to beat some sense into that little brat!"
"No! Sis, please. If you do, you'll get in so much trouble!" Élise had no doubt in her mind that her sister
would try to do exactly as she said. Kristin liked to bully other girls. And if they fought back, they were never
seen again. Never seen again, in the sense that Kristin asked her daddy to threaten the management until the
offending member of the chorus/ballet/stagehand/whoever pissed her off, was gone. And if Kristin couldn't get Anna,
Élise would be the next best target. Élise wasn't even a permanent resident of the Opera House. She was hired part-
time for the summer, doing oddjobs. Mostly, she fetched stuff for people, looked for wayward ballerina shoes, helped
people into costumes...
"Élise, it really hurts me to see you like this."
"Don't worry, Anna. Kristin will probably find a new target soon." Élise lied. "Then she'll forget about me,
and I'll be alright."
"When you become a prima donna, little sister, remember what I said: It *is* fair to use your power to make
someone's life miserable. Especially if its Kristin's."
The car pulled up at the side of the road, next to a building that was like all the other buildings that
lined the road. The only difference about this building was that Élise and Anna called it home. Anna and Danielle
helped Élise up the stairs to the little flat they called home, and into her room.
"Girls? Are you home--mon dieu!" Monsieur Chagny ran forward and caught Élise by the shoulders. "Again? Tch,
Élise, I am glad you want to be a singer and not a ballerina, you've fallen down the stairs so many times!"
"I'm sorry papa, I'm just clumsy." Élise smiled bravely. "I am no pushover. Don't worry, I'll be alright."
Anna watched the scene helplessly, and opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when she felt
Danielle's lips, whispering against her ear.
"Don't, Anna. You know how she loves to sing. She will go whether her father knows the truth or not."
Danielle placed a firm hand on Anna's arm. "It will save him much anguish. Élise is an adult, even though you still
see her as a kid, she has to fight her own fights."
Anna seemed to be fighting some internal battle, then finally gave in and nodded listlessly.
"Good girl. Now, we're going to go grab a cappucino at that nice little place, just down the street!"
Danielle started pulling Anna towards the door. "Monsieur, I'm borrowing Anna for a bit, I'll be back soon!"
"Mademoiselle Beauchamp, bring her back by midnight!"
"You must be mistaking her for Cinderella, monsieur! Anna's not pretty enough--ow! Stop hitting me, Anna!
Ah, okay, no more cracks about your hideous face! Ah! That hurt! Monsieur Chagny, I don't think I want her anymore--
ow! Okay, that *really* hurt..."
Their voices faded down the stairs, and Élise couldn't help grinning. Danielle had been one of the best
people to have around. The brunette was well-liked, even by the evil Kristin. The older girl was currently enrolled
in one of the ballet schools that were within the building. That was how the family met Danielle, actually. Anna had
been enrolled in the school also and had met Danielle there, and the mischevious girl had wormed her way into
everyone's hearts. Unfortunately, Anna had to give up ballet when their mother died. Since Anna wasn't in the school
anymore, and worked most of the time, Danielle took care of Élise and watched out for her, and was like a dear
sister.
Élise had been ten at the time, and Anna had been twelve when their mother died.
The whole tragedy of their mother dying, was life-altering, but they were taught by their maman well. She
had been sick for a long time before finally succumbing to the disease. She had lectured them, told them the best
way to honour her was to smile through adversity. To take care of their papa who could be so scatter-brained some
times. And also to take care of each other.
Yes, the sisters listened closely and tried their best to smile through adversity, and they did persevere.
But neither of them could hold back the tears when they closed the lid to their beloved mother's coffin. They wept
bitterly that day, and many other days, in private.
~~~
...there was a boat... a house in the middle of a lake, in a place where night was... eternal...
And, right there...
She could just see if, if she squinted... a man. Holding a lantern...
Mist curled at her feet, and she looked down, then did a double-take. She was in a dress. A very old-
fashioned dress by the looks of it.
...Christine...
She wanted to ask the figure 'who are you?' but found that she couldn't speak, as the most enchanting music
coaxed its way out of the man's throat. The voice compelled her, called to her. And she answered the summons.
Come with me.
And she trusted that blissful message, and stepped onto the boat...
~~~
Élise drifted out of her dream slowly, awakened by a slight pressure on her chest. Then the pressure moved,
and walked up to her head and plopped itself down on face.
"Pbbbbblleeeaapphh!!!" Élise spat/threw the monster cat to the foot of her bed, where it let out an
indignant yowl. The tabby waddled back to Élise, lay down on Élise's stomach, rolled over, and began to purr.
"You are *the* strangest cat in the world, Lily." Élise rubbed the cat's belly, and he let out a satisfied
groan. "Of course, you're also a guy cat named Lily. So who can blame you?"
The gender-bending cat purred some more.
"Breakfast, Élise!" Anna hollered, her voice carrying to the room Élise and Anna shared.
"Coming!" Élise called back. "Come on fatty, lets see if I can sneak you some food. That diet Anna has you
on is not working. And maybe I can finish up the chores early and head over to the Opera House. I'm *positive* there
was a man in the tunnels who helped me out."
"You finish your food, and don't give any to fatty-cakes over there, okay?" Anna shot the fat cat a glare,
and it meowed piteously. Miserable, he batted at the rice in his food dish. "Don't even try to topple that, you're
not getting anything else if you do."
The cat growled rebelliously, and left the room, tale waving agitatedly in the air.
"As they say in english, diet is just 'die' with a 't' added to it, sis."
"Don't listen to the english."
"But their MTV is so good! Especially The US MTV."
Anna frowned. "Don't get me started on the United States. Think they can throw their weight around all the
time... accuse people of harboring terrorists..."
Anna continued ranting, and Élise ate quietly, blocking out her sister with her own thoughts. Both her
thoughts and her sister were interrupted by a knock at the door.
"That must be Danielle." Anna wiped her hands on a tablecoth, and went to get the door. Her prediction was
right, there was Danielle standing there grinning.
"Cooked me breakfast, hun?" Danielle leaned forward and greeted Anna with a kiss on either side of her face.
"Smells good."
"Help yourself." Anna closed the door behind Danielle.
"Morning, Élise." Danielle leaned down and landed a kiss on Élise's cheek, before sitting down for a
breakfast of pancakes. Loading up her stack of pancakes, butter, strawberries and other things readily available
that were for pancakes, Danielle dug in. "You feeling better?"
"Just hurt a bit. Howabout you?"
"I got this huge bruise across my side. You should see it!" boasted Danielle.
Élise's eyes sparkled. "Well, look at my face! It looks like I got hit by a truck!"
"I think I broke a rib!"
"I think I should get my leg x-rayed, I can barely walk!"
"You two sound like you're so proud of your injuries." Anna shovelled a few strips of bacon onto Élise's
plate.
"You'll grow as fat as my cat, Danielle."
"More of me to go around." Danielle replied. Anna just sighed, knowing she had as much luck stopping Lily
from eating, as she did Danielle. She plunked down a glass of milk for the ballerina, who muttered a 'merci' through
a mouthful of pancakes.
"I'm going to get dressed, than I'll be back."
"You..." Danielle paused to take a gulp of milk. "Look good in that. What's wrong with what you're wearing
now?"
"I'm in a bathrobe." Anna rolled her eyes. "And its not appropriate for where I work."
Anna went to her room, shutting the door. Anna worked in an office, while their papa took the jetta and went
to work in a factory. He was gone by the time Élise was awake. Danielle would wake up early every morning and offer
to drive Anna to work.
What are friends for, right?
"Okay," Anna came out of the room, her hair put up, her work clothes on. "Lets go, Danielle."
"Oui." Danielle finished off the last of her milk and used a finger to wipe off a drop of syrup from the
plate and lick it up.
"Clear the dishes, okay, Élise?" Anna grabbed her purse. "Call me at work if you need anything, and I'm
giving you permission to drop a sandbag on Kristin's head."
"I'll be okay!" Élise waved goodbye. "Bye Danielle!"
"See you later, shortstuff--hey!" Danielle turned to Anna, who had just taken her keys. "That's my keys!"
"I'm driving. You're a maniac on the road."
"I'm okay, really!"
Soon as they left, Lily wandered back into the room, and wound himself around Élise's leg, purring.
"Okay, but don't tell Anna!" Élise passed down a fluffy pancake. While Lily devoured his breakfast, Élise
cleared the table, and straightened up the house.
There was another knock at the door, suddenly.
"Coming," Élise opened the door, and smiled at the person at the door.
"Bonjour," Sean smiled. He stuck his head in and took a deep breath, then let out a depressed sigh. "I
missed your sister's world famous breakfast?"
"Yes, you did. And are you going to stand out there or are you going to come inside?"
"I don't know, your hallway is especially dark and dreary..." Sean grinned at Élise's look. "Alright, I'm
coming in--Jesus! What happened to you?!"
Sunshine poured through the windows of the flat, clearly illuminating the ugly bruise on Kristin's cheek.
Sean closed the door behind him, and dragged Élise over to a chair and sat her down, despite her protests.
"I'm alright, really--"
"Yes, yes. You're fine, you're alright, you're not made of glass." Sean held up a warning finger. "Sit."
Élise obeyed meekly, watching Sean go to the fridge and take out an ice-pack.
She protested again, but he just slapped the ice-pack onto the side of her face that was puffed up.
"No excuses. Keep this over the bruise, fifteen minutes at least. It'll take the swelling down." Sean's face
was a mask of fury. "It was Kristin, wasn't it? I don't usually hit girls, but for her, I'll make an exception."
"Sean, no."
"I've stood by long enough, Élise!" Sean knelt down in front of her. "She hurts you again, I'll hurt her."
"Sean, you know what will happen--"
"Your dream is not worth you getting beat up like this." Sean stood up, hands on his waist. "She's a
malicious bitch."
"My dream is worth everything," Élise said, dead serious. "Singing is my life."
"And you have a beautiful voice..." Sean pursed his lips together. Élise did have a beautiful voice. But it
was weak... so weak. And she'd been hanging around the Opera House for years now, even before her mother died. Élise
was still a meek little thing, and when she was with the chorus, working with them, she could not be heard. But she
rejoiced in being able to go there and be allowed to sing. The chorus overlooked her presence because they liked
her. She didn't pay for lessons there, but she spent every second she could sneak away to be with the singers. She
learned the songs along with the chorus, hummed and sang the soprano's part quietly to herself. And she would some
times sing with them, though her voice would be drowned out by theirs.
Élise hoped that their talent would rub off on her.
Her hands clenched in her lap.
"Sweetie, I didn't mean to make you upset." Sean's dark eyes looked at her mournfully, but she refused to
look up at him. "I just... don't understand why anyone would want to sing that much."
"It's... important to me."
"Hey... look at me." Sean ducked down lower to catch her eye, and gave her a saucy wink. "Wait for me right
here, alright?"
The young man leaned forward, pecked a kiss on her cheek and shot out the door. He was back, moments later,
breathing heavily. In his hand was a small boquet of colorful flowers, wrapped in crinkly brown paper and tied with
a piece of twine.
"Here." Sean blushed a bit. He hated the flower-giving thing, but Élise loved them. So he would always buy
some for her whenever she felt down, or for special occasions. "Please, smile."
"You might act like a punk some times, Sean Giry, but I bet your friends don't know you're the biggest mush
in the world." Élise accepted the flowers, and hugged Sean.
"I only do this for you," Sean said indignantly. "You should feel special. My mother doesn't even get
flowers from me."
"Yeah yeah... they should nominate you for the best boyfriend of the year award." She kissed him, forgetting
about the pain and the icepack over her eye for a bit.
"Damn straight." He grinned. "Would mademoiselle like to take a walk with me before she goes to work? I know
you're only due there at four-thirty, so don't even think of saying no."
Élise tried to smile. She really wanted to find whoever it was in the tunnels that night... but that could
wait. But not long... not too long. There was a slow melody in her head that urged her to find its source...
~~~
translations:
*Ah, mon chéri, vous ne pouvez pas rester fou à moi = my darling, you can't stay mad at me.
Phantom of the Opera fanfiction
immo - immo@hamena.org
author's notes: So here's the second part of this story. :) I've used some french phrases in here, and I don't know
if they're correct or not... but for you people who know french, I hope you get the gist of it and I haven't
murdered that language in this harmless fanfic. For the people who don't speak a word of french, don't worry,
there's gonna be translations at the bottom of the story when this is done. I will not do it any more after this.
Its just to set some character.
Love it? Hate it? Reviews tell me a lot. They also prompt me to work when I see there's an audience. Happy readings,
boys and girls.
~~~
"Élise... again?" Her sister looked at Élise wearily. She could tell, even from far away, that something was
wrong with her little sister. She leaned heavily onto Danielle for support, and gave Anna a jaunty wave when she saw
that she had been spotted.
"Élise!" Anna hurried over to them, and caught her face between her hands, tilting Élise's face this way and
that, looking at her newest collection of bruises. Anna's face darkened significantly, when her little sister hissed
in pain at her gentle touch. "I'm going to kill that flea-blown bitch."
"Your sister always has the most creative swear words, Élise." Danielle grinned, and thanked Anna when she
moved to support Élise on the other side.
"Oof! Élise, you have GOT to stop eating all those sweets." Danielle complained, as she slipped into the
Volkswagen Jetta beside the girl. "Ow! Watch it, I'm injured!"
"Serves you right!" Élise stuck out her tongue at her friend. "You're the loser who made fun of my weight!"
"Kids! Enough!" Anna turned around and glared at them. Élise looked down, in mock shame, and Danielle just
sat there, grinning at Anna.
*"Ah, mon chéri, vous ne pouvez pas rester fou à moi." Danielle purred.
"You. Are. incorrigible." Anna shook her head, but Danielle had worked her magic already; Anna's lips pulled
up into a tentative smile, but quickly went all serious again. "But really. We need to do something about this
situation with Kristin."
"I'm not leaving." Élise took on a stubborn tone. "I will not be bullied."
"If I can't beat some sense into you, I'm going to beat some sense into that little brat!"
"No! Sis, please. If you do, you'll get in so much trouble!" Élise had no doubt in her mind that her sister
would try to do exactly as she said. Kristin liked to bully other girls. And if they fought back, they were never
seen again. Never seen again, in the sense that Kristin asked her daddy to threaten the management until the
offending member of the chorus/ballet/stagehand/whoever pissed her off, was gone. And if Kristin couldn't get Anna,
Élise would be the next best target. Élise wasn't even a permanent resident of the Opera House. She was hired part-
time for the summer, doing oddjobs. Mostly, she fetched stuff for people, looked for wayward ballerina shoes, helped
people into costumes...
"Élise, it really hurts me to see you like this."
"Don't worry, Anna. Kristin will probably find a new target soon." Élise lied. "Then she'll forget about me,
and I'll be alright."
"When you become a prima donna, little sister, remember what I said: It *is* fair to use your power to make
someone's life miserable. Especially if its Kristin's."
The car pulled up at the side of the road, next to a building that was like all the other buildings that
lined the road. The only difference about this building was that Élise and Anna called it home. Anna and Danielle
helped Élise up the stairs to the little flat they called home, and into her room.
"Girls? Are you home--mon dieu!" Monsieur Chagny ran forward and caught Élise by the shoulders. "Again? Tch,
Élise, I am glad you want to be a singer and not a ballerina, you've fallen down the stairs so many times!"
"I'm sorry papa, I'm just clumsy." Élise smiled bravely. "I am no pushover. Don't worry, I'll be alright."
Anna watched the scene helplessly, and opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when she felt
Danielle's lips, whispering against her ear.
"Don't, Anna. You know how she loves to sing. She will go whether her father knows the truth or not."
Danielle placed a firm hand on Anna's arm. "It will save him much anguish. Élise is an adult, even though you still
see her as a kid, she has to fight her own fights."
Anna seemed to be fighting some internal battle, then finally gave in and nodded listlessly.
"Good girl. Now, we're going to go grab a cappucino at that nice little place, just down the street!"
Danielle started pulling Anna towards the door. "Monsieur, I'm borrowing Anna for a bit, I'll be back soon!"
"Mademoiselle Beauchamp, bring her back by midnight!"
"You must be mistaking her for Cinderella, monsieur! Anna's not pretty enough--ow! Stop hitting me, Anna!
Ah, okay, no more cracks about your hideous face! Ah! That hurt! Monsieur Chagny, I don't think I want her anymore--
ow! Okay, that *really* hurt..."
Their voices faded down the stairs, and Élise couldn't help grinning. Danielle had been one of the best
people to have around. The brunette was well-liked, even by the evil Kristin. The older girl was currently enrolled
in one of the ballet schools that were within the building. That was how the family met Danielle, actually. Anna had
been enrolled in the school also and had met Danielle there, and the mischevious girl had wormed her way into
everyone's hearts. Unfortunately, Anna had to give up ballet when their mother died. Since Anna wasn't in the school
anymore, and worked most of the time, Danielle took care of Élise and watched out for her, and was like a dear
sister.
Élise had been ten at the time, and Anna had been twelve when their mother died.
The whole tragedy of their mother dying, was life-altering, but they were taught by their maman well. She
had been sick for a long time before finally succumbing to the disease. She had lectured them, told them the best
way to honour her was to smile through adversity. To take care of their papa who could be so scatter-brained some
times. And also to take care of each other.
Yes, the sisters listened closely and tried their best to smile through adversity, and they did persevere.
But neither of them could hold back the tears when they closed the lid to their beloved mother's coffin. They wept
bitterly that day, and many other days, in private.
~~~
...there was a boat... a house in the middle of a lake, in a place where night was... eternal...
And, right there...
She could just see if, if she squinted... a man. Holding a lantern...
Mist curled at her feet, and she looked down, then did a double-take. She was in a dress. A very old-
fashioned dress by the looks of it.
...Christine...
She wanted to ask the figure 'who are you?' but found that she couldn't speak, as the most enchanting music
coaxed its way out of the man's throat. The voice compelled her, called to her. And she answered the summons.
Come with me.
And she trusted that blissful message, and stepped onto the boat...
~~~
Élise drifted out of her dream slowly, awakened by a slight pressure on her chest. Then the pressure moved,
and walked up to her head and plopped itself down on face.
"Pbbbbblleeeaapphh!!!" Élise spat/threw the monster cat to the foot of her bed, where it let out an
indignant yowl. The tabby waddled back to Élise, lay down on Élise's stomach, rolled over, and began to purr.
"You are *the* strangest cat in the world, Lily." Élise rubbed the cat's belly, and he let out a satisfied
groan. "Of course, you're also a guy cat named Lily. So who can blame you?"
The gender-bending cat purred some more.
"Breakfast, Élise!" Anna hollered, her voice carrying to the room Élise and Anna shared.
"Coming!" Élise called back. "Come on fatty, lets see if I can sneak you some food. That diet Anna has you
on is not working. And maybe I can finish up the chores early and head over to the Opera House. I'm *positive* there
was a man in the tunnels who helped me out."
"You finish your food, and don't give any to fatty-cakes over there, okay?" Anna shot the fat cat a glare,
and it meowed piteously. Miserable, he batted at the rice in his food dish. "Don't even try to topple that, you're
not getting anything else if you do."
The cat growled rebelliously, and left the room, tale waving agitatedly in the air.
"As they say in english, diet is just 'die' with a 't' added to it, sis."
"Don't listen to the english."
"But their MTV is so good! Especially The US MTV."
Anna frowned. "Don't get me started on the United States. Think they can throw their weight around all the
time... accuse people of harboring terrorists..."
Anna continued ranting, and Élise ate quietly, blocking out her sister with her own thoughts. Both her
thoughts and her sister were interrupted by a knock at the door.
"That must be Danielle." Anna wiped her hands on a tablecoth, and went to get the door. Her prediction was
right, there was Danielle standing there grinning.
"Cooked me breakfast, hun?" Danielle leaned forward and greeted Anna with a kiss on either side of her face.
"Smells good."
"Help yourself." Anna closed the door behind Danielle.
"Morning, Élise." Danielle leaned down and landed a kiss on Élise's cheek, before sitting down for a
breakfast of pancakes. Loading up her stack of pancakes, butter, strawberries and other things readily available
that were for pancakes, Danielle dug in. "You feeling better?"
"Just hurt a bit. Howabout you?"
"I got this huge bruise across my side. You should see it!" boasted Danielle.
Élise's eyes sparkled. "Well, look at my face! It looks like I got hit by a truck!"
"I think I broke a rib!"
"I think I should get my leg x-rayed, I can barely walk!"
"You two sound like you're so proud of your injuries." Anna shovelled a few strips of bacon onto Élise's
plate.
"You'll grow as fat as my cat, Danielle."
"More of me to go around." Danielle replied. Anna just sighed, knowing she had as much luck stopping Lily
from eating, as she did Danielle. She plunked down a glass of milk for the ballerina, who muttered a 'merci' through
a mouthful of pancakes.
"I'm going to get dressed, than I'll be back."
"You..." Danielle paused to take a gulp of milk. "Look good in that. What's wrong with what you're wearing
now?"
"I'm in a bathrobe." Anna rolled her eyes. "And its not appropriate for where I work."
Anna went to her room, shutting the door. Anna worked in an office, while their papa took the jetta and went
to work in a factory. He was gone by the time Élise was awake. Danielle would wake up early every morning and offer
to drive Anna to work.
What are friends for, right?
"Okay," Anna came out of the room, her hair put up, her work clothes on. "Lets go, Danielle."
"Oui." Danielle finished off the last of her milk and used a finger to wipe off a drop of syrup from the
plate and lick it up.
"Clear the dishes, okay, Élise?" Anna grabbed her purse. "Call me at work if you need anything, and I'm
giving you permission to drop a sandbag on Kristin's head."
"I'll be okay!" Élise waved goodbye. "Bye Danielle!"
"See you later, shortstuff--hey!" Danielle turned to Anna, who had just taken her keys. "That's my keys!"
"I'm driving. You're a maniac on the road."
"I'm okay, really!"
Soon as they left, Lily wandered back into the room, and wound himself around Élise's leg, purring.
"Okay, but don't tell Anna!" Élise passed down a fluffy pancake. While Lily devoured his breakfast, Élise
cleared the table, and straightened up the house.
There was another knock at the door, suddenly.
"Coming," Élise opened the door, and smiled at the person at the door.
"Bonjour," Sean smiled. He stuck his head in and took a deep breath, then let out a depressed sigh. "I
missed your sister's world famous breakfast?"
"Yes, you did. And are you going to stand out there or are you going to come inside?"
"I don't know, your hallway is especially dark and dreary..." Sean grinned at Élise's look. "Alright, I'm
coming in--Jesus! What happened to you?!"
Sunshine poured through the windows of the flat, clearly illuminating the ugly bruise on Kristin's cheek.
Sean closed the door behind him, and dragged Élise over to a chair and sat her down, despite her protests.
"I'm alright, really--"
"Yes, yes. You're fine, you're alright, you're not made of glass." Sean held up a warning finger. "Sit."
Élise obeyed meekly, watching Sean go to the fridge and take out an ice-pack.
She protested again, but he just slapped the ice-pack onto the side of her face that was puffed up.
"No excuses. Keep this over the bruise, fifteen minutes at least. It'll take the swelling down." Sean's face
was a mask of fury. "It was Kristin, wasn't it? I don't usually hit girls, but for her, I'll make an exception."
"Sean, no."
"I've stood by long enough, Élise!" Sean knelt down in front of her. "She hurts you again, I'll hurt her."
"Sean, you know what will happen--"
"Your dream is not worth you getting beat up like this." Sean stood up, hands on his waist. "She's a
malicious bitch."
"My dream is worth everything," Élise said, dead serious. "Singing is my life."
"And you have a beautiful voice..." Sean pursed his lips together. Élise did have a beautiful voice. But it
was weak... so weak. And she'd been hanging around the Opera House for years now, even before her mother died. Élise
was still a meek little thing, and when she was with the chorus, working with them, she could not be heard. But she
rejoiced in being able to go there and be allowed to sing. The chorus overlooked her presence because they liked
her. She didn't pay for lessons there, but she spent every second she could sneak away to be with the singers. She
learned the songs along with the chorus, hummed and sang the soprano's part quietly to herself. And she would some
times sing with them, though her voice would be drowned out by theirs.
Élise hoped that their talent would rub off on her.
Her hands clenched in her lap.
"Sweetie, I didn't mean to make you upset." Sean's dark eyes looked at her mournfully, but she refused to
look up at him. "I just... don't understand why anyone would want to sing that much."
"It's... important to me."
"Hey... look at me." Sean ducked down lower to catch her eye, and gave her a saucy wink. "Wait for me right
here, alright?"
The young man leaned forward, pecked a kiss on her cheek and shot out the door. He was back, moments later,
breathing heavily. In his hand was a small boquet of colorful flowers, wrapped in crinkly brown paper and tied with
a piece of twine.
"Here." Sean blushed a bit. He hated the flower-giving thing, but Élise loved them. So he would always buy
some for her whenever she felt down, or for special occasions. "Please, smile."
"You might act like a punk some times, Sean Giry, but I bet your friends don't know you're the biggest mush
in the world." Élise accepted the flowers, and hugged Sean.
"I only do this for you," Sean said indignantly. "You should feel special. My mother doesn't even get
flowers from me."
"Yeah yeah... they should nominate you for the best boyfriend of the year award." She kissed him, forgetting
about the pain and the icepack over her eye for a bit.
"Damn straight." He grinned. "Would mademoiselle like to take a walk with me before she goes to work? I know
you're only due there at four-thirty, so don't even think of saying no."
Élise tried to smile. She really wanted to find whoever it was in the tunnels that night... but that could
wait. But not long... not too long. There was a slow melody in her head that urged her to find its source...
~~~
translations:
*Ah, mon chéri, vous ne pouvez pas rester fou à moi = my darling, you can't stay mad at me.