Thank you to Andrew for your review.

watrfairie: starting? You mean you weren't liking it before?

Notes: Okay guys, I was seriously going to write opera stuff during this chapter, but I chickened out. During the opera, it is just different peoples points of view. Sorry it took so long to get this story done.

Chapter 6: Opera

Marissa got back to her room and sat in her chair by the mirror. She looked in the mirror at her reflection and began to think about the things going on around her.

Lucinda came on the scene, not even a week living in the opera house and she so clearly didn't like Marissa, she didn't even give Marissa a chance. She wasn't sure if she was disliked because she was the Vicomte's daughter or because she was a distant relative of Christine.

Growing up, she didn't know what made her more well-known. Half the people knew her as the daughter of the Vicomte. The other half knew her as the descendent of the famous swedish opera singer. During the time they worked on the opera, she was better known for the latter.

Now, however, she was disliked for something entirely out of her control. Mme. Giry's comment about Lucinda not liking anybody there had been true. She was just as rude to one person as she was the next. She still harbored something against Marissa, something different.

On top of Lucinda's attitude, Marissa couldn't get something else off her mind. Something she began t think of while Mme. Giry was telling her the story of how Christine got her first lead role at the opera house. It involved the Phantom of the Opera. He made some things happen, "accidents" that eventually caused Carlotta to storm out.

This information brought to her mind the question as to whether Bianca's broken leg was really the result of an accident or if it was the result of something else.

She wondered if she could actually believe there was a ghost though. She had never believed in ghost stories, but to believe that Bianca's accident had been anything but an accident would mean that she had to believe there was a ghost. Erik could not be living, too much time had passed.

To believe that it was an accident, she would have to analyze this coincidence. How could she get the same start that Christine got all those years ago, only this time by a pure accident?

She considered this possibility over and over again in her mind. She began to think... If this was a trap, is there a way to get back out of it? She was running rapidly out of time. As a matter of fact, she glanced at the clock, it was half an hour till call time. She was going to have to perform!

She slowly stood up, glanced back toward the mirror and walked over to her bed, where her costume lay. She changed quickly, then sat back down to apply her make-up and do her hair.

After Marissa had finished getting ready for the performance. she left her room and walked to the stage in order to get there in time.

When she got there, Dorine rushed over to her. "Where were you?"

Marissa looked puzzled, "I was in my room, silly. Where else would I have been?" She wondered for a moment if she had the call time wrong.

"I went by your room earlier, and you weren't there." Dorine told her.

"Oh!" Marissa realized what she must have meant. "I went to your mothers room to talk to her about some things that just didn't sit quite right."

"Some things about the opera?" Dorine asked her.

"No, Rine. Some things about the past." Marissa answered her.

That actually made sense. Dorine's mother knew a lot about the past of the opera house, about the Opera Ghost and about Christine. Anyone who wanted to inquire about the past went to Mme. Giry. If she didn't know the answer, she would do her best to find it. Dorine wondered what, specifically. Marissa had asked her about.

Marissa caught the questioning look on her friends face and simply said, "I'll tell you later, but for now..." She sighed as she realized there was no way to back out now. If this was a trap, she was falling head first. "...the show." she finished.

Marissa walked on the stage as Claudia DaMauncer. Claudia was a quiet girl who didn't talk to many people, only her closest friends. She had great talent as a dancer though. When she was on stage, she could be in front of a million people, it didn't matter. The stage was her home, her sanctuary.

Marissa was a lot the same. Now that she was on stage, she was in another world, another reality. Her worries about Lucinda, about Erik, about the past, they all disappeared. For Marissa, it wasn't about playing a part and memorizing lines and cues. It was about becoming Claudia. It was her chance to handle another person's problems and put hers out of reality.

Dorine watched from the wings, seeing Marissa carry this ease after the days worries made her smile. She was truly exceptional. She showed no traces of doubt or worry, though it was apparent an hour or so ago that she had worries. She couldn't wait until later to find out what her mother and Marissa had actually talked about.

As the opera went on, Marissa threw herself more into the role of Claudia. Her movements were natural. She never stumbled for words, it was like she was living her life. It didn't matter it was in front of a full house, the people weren't there. She couldn't see them or hear them. It was her life and she was happy.

The thought occurred to her, of course, that after two hours this life had to end, it wouldn't be her and that she would again have to deal with her own problems, her own life. In the meantime however, she shouldn't dwell on the problems, just be Claudia for two hours and then go back to her own life.

The managers watched the performance with happiness. This show they were feeling hours ago was hopeless and lost, was running smoothly, so perfect. The opening night of the Opera Populaire was appearing to be a success. It had been generations since the disaster. There had been plenty of time for the Opera Ghost to not be a fear and keep people away. Everything was going perfectly.

Madame Giry watched Marissa intently as the dancers came on stage. Most of the main dance sequence she would be in step with the dancers, except for one solo part and it was the hardest part of the whole opera. She knew Marissa could do it, but she also worried about her worries, her fears.

As they neared the climax of the dance sequence, Marissa prepared for her solo. In the opera, this was a ballet recital and Claudia had been given the solo. In reality is was the hardest part in the opera, and she was scared.

She executed the last spin perfectly and the dancers joined her for the rest of the sequence. Once the dance sequence was over, the rest of the opera was easy.

The cast and crew meeting after the performance was another time of praise by the managers, mostly for Marissa. They thanked her for taking Bianca's place and then they told her what a fabulous job she did and how they were extremely happy with her performance.

When the managers dismissed everyone, Marissa and Dorine went off together to Marissa's room. When they got there, they sat on her bed and Dorine asked her "Now stop stalling and tell me!"

Marissa looked at her shocked, "I wasn't stalling, I just wanted to get here, I didn't want anyone to hear."

"What exactly is this about, Riss?" Dorine started wondering what on earth it could be that she didn't want to be heard.

"Well, there are two things," she began, "one is Lucinda, I just don't understand why she seems to hate me so much."

"Dorine looked at her "Cause you're actually pretty? Cause you're the Vicomte's daughter and are very rich? Cause you have talent? I mean, Riss, I can think of a lot of reasons."

"I don't think it's that, though, Rine. I think it's because of Christine."

Dorine gave her a blank look. "What do you mean?"

"Well, she's a distant relative of Carlotta, and I wonder if their family has hated ours for so long because of Christine."

"That's three generations, any family that would hate someone that long, is just sad. Why, though?"

"Because Christine sorta took over the stage when Carlotta was the "prima donna" here."

"How did she do that?"

"Well, that leads into another thing that is bothering me."

"And what's that?"

"Well, Christine got her start because of several 'accidents.' Only, these accidents weren't so accidental."

"Christine did them?"

"No, the Opera Ghost."

"Well how does this make Carlotta hate Christine?"

"The Opera Ghost wanted Christine to perform."

"Oh, so he made accidents happen so she would get to perform?"

"Yes, and then afterward, he made demands that Christine get the lead in several operas and if the managers didn't listen, more accidents occurred."

"It makes sense now, but you said you had another problem?"

"Think about how Christine got her start, and then think about how I got my first lead role."

"Bianca broke her leg... I don't get... Oh! An accident!" Dorine realized. "But, the Opera Ghost wasn't really a ghost, he was human. He would be dead by now, right?"

"Yes, but what if he became a ghost?"

"You don't believe in ghost stories, Rissa, and now you're the one suggesting that there is a ghost?"

"That's why I'm having trouble, Rine. I don't believe in strong coincidences either. Something I don't believe in has to be true, so which is it?"

"Good question... I wish I knew the answer."

"Yeah, me too, and I plan to find out."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm gonna talk to Bianca and find out just how her accident happened, and if that doesn't help me, I will go find this lair of his."

Just as she finished that sentence, they heard a sound outside her room. Rissa went to open the door and looked out. There was nobody there.

Notes: Travis, sorry I didn't show you this ahead of time, I just wanted to get it up fast cause I had waited so long to do it. Next chapter, I will let you proofread for me!