Chapter 8
A New Patron
Meg soon regretted ever telling her mother that she would be fine. She had just finished the first act and already her head was throbbing. If that wasn't enough, every jump she made left her feeling like her brain would explode.
Gritting her teeth, Meg held her tight bun in place as she swiftly pulled the decorative clips from her hair. She gave the clips to one of the backstage helpers, while she felt another girl put the new set in. Meg winced as she felt the sharp metal scrape against her cuts.
With her hair ready, she stripped out of her costume and quickly put the next one on. It was brightly colored in reds, oranges, and golds.
The girl that took the hair clips hurried back with make up and began to furiously apply it to Meg's face. The gentleness she had used before the show went on was gone. Now it was all a rush to get everything perfect and beat the curtain.
"Ok, you're ready," she said as she stepped out of the way, letting Meg make her way to wings.
The curtain rose and Isabella stood in the center, her character Elissa holding the fake severed head. Meg waited for her to finish her solo before she ran onto stage and began her dance, the chorus coming right behind her.
She made her way over to Isabella and took the head from her, raising it in her arms like the prize it was supposed to be, all the while still dancing with a passion she had never felt before. This was her chance to prove herself to everyone and she wasn't about to waste it.
Her whole life she had waited to be the one dancing center stage, and now she finally was. She put everything into her grand solo as the chorus sang. She wanted to make her mother proud, she wanted to show Jammes and the other ballet girls the talent they thought she lacked, but most of all, she wanted to do this for herself. To show that she was more than the ballet mistress' daughter or Christine Daae's best friend. She was no longer the invisible girl in everyone else's shadow; she was finally her own person.
Taking a deep breath, Meg waited a moment for the music to swell before performing her grand leap. She landed on her knees in front of Sebastian, the new lead tenor that played Hannibal, and held the severed head up to him as she kept her own bowed.
The rest of the acts went fairly well, although more than once Isabella hissed at Meg to stay out of her light. The new diva wasn't as bad as Carlotta had been, but she was a close second.
Finally the last act was over and Meg had never been so glad of anything in her life. She was beyond exhausted and every muscle in her body seemed to be screaming for sleep. As much as she wished she could just crawl into bed, she knew she couldn't. She had told herself after the performance she would bring Erik's things back down to him, and she intended to do it, no matter how tired she was.
"Meg, come with me for a moment, the managers wish to see you." Madame Giry said as she helped her tired daughter out of one of the chairs backstage.
Meg sighed wearily as she followed her mother, she had been ready to take her pointe shoes off, but now it seemed she would have to wait. "What do they want Maman?"
"They want to introduce you, Isabella, and Sebastian to a potential patron. Now remember to be polite and courteous."
"I will Maman," Meg said, knowing they needed a new patron, and soon. The money she was sure Raoul and Christine had put into repairs was nearly gone, meaning they had to have a patron if they wished to stay open.
"And here is our Prima Ballerina, Mademoiselle Meg Giry," Andre said as he saw Meg arrive. "Miss Giry, this is the Comte Gabriel LaCharite and his sister Cecily."
Meg smiled and gave a polite curtsey as her eyes caught Cecily's. She'd seen the girl around the opera house before. When the repairs were being done, she would come at least once a week, questioning anyone she found about the Phantom of the Opera. Meg, along with the others, had just assumed she was a nosey reporter.
"Ah, it seems you know me," Cecily said sweetly as she smiled at Meg.
"Yes…I've seen you before."
"I'm sure you have, I was here a lot during the summer. When I heard about the tragedy, I had to come see for myself. I wanted to know what happened, so I asked around. Everyone I talked to told me about the Phantom and it just seemed so interesting I couldn't help but come back."
"I'm afraid once my sister sets her mind to something, there's no changing it. Which is why I'm here. I'd like to invest in the Opera Populaire."
"Oh that's wonderful news! Come, we'll show you around," Firmin said as he began to lead the Comte to the backstage area.
"I'll come with you, I'm sure he would love to have me help," Isabella said as she trailed after the managers and the new patron.
"I see she's found a new victim already," Sebastian said under his breath.
Meg gave a small giggle. It was no secret that Isabella was instantly interested in any rich gentleman that came along.
"Oh Meg, while my brother goes and makes arrangements, you simply must tell me what it's like here. I want to know everything!" Cecily said as she took Meg by the arm and began leading her off stage.
Meg grimaced as her aching feet protested, but she knew better than to say anything. If all she had to do was keep the Comte's sister company for a while, then it would be worth it to ensure that the opera house would continue to stay open.
"Well, what would you like to know?"
"There's one thing I really want to know, but I'm afraid it would be impolite to ask."
"It's ok, you can ask me."
"I heard some of the ballet girls talking while Gabriel and I were waiting for your mother to fetch you. Is it true that you were kidnapped by the Phantom? Does he really exist? I always thought it was rumor, but now the more things I find out, I'm not so sure."
"Trust me, it's not a rumor. You and your brother would be wise to remember that," Meg said, recalling the various "accidents" that had occurred when Erik's demands were not taken seriously. Front and center in her mind were the deaths of Joseph Buquet and Piangi.
"I will, but were you really kidnapped by him?"
Meg rolled her eyes, though luckily Cecily didn't see. It really did seem like the girl had a one track mind. "No, I wasn't kidnapped. But he did look after me when I wasn't well."
"Oh, what happened?" Cecily was clearly fascinated, the girl looking at her with wide eyes.
Meg couldn't help but smile at the attention she was receiving. No one had ever given her as much thought as the ballerina thin red head was. And the best part was, she could tell she wasn't just being kind, she truly was interested in what Meg had to say.
Taking the Comte's sister back to her dressing room, Meg told the girl how everything started with Little Jammes. Cecily sat on the heavily padded bench, hanging on every word Meg said as the dancer stepped behind the changing screen.
Pausing for a moment in her narrative, Meg gave a happy little sigh as she finally stripped out her binding costume and toe shoes. She pulled every last clip, pin, and barrette from her hair and let the golden locks tumble around her shoulders. The assortment of necklaces, bracelets, earrings (both real and the ones that screwed on), and bangles came off next as Meg picked up where she left off.
As she continued on with how he had treated her kindly, and not cruel as so many of dancers were spreading around, she pulled on a pale green cotton dress. She knew her mother and the managers certainly wouldn't be happy that she had dressed like a poor peasant, but at the moment Meg could care less. She wouldn't be able to stand any more time in some tight, pinching dress that made normal breathing hard.
Slipping on a pair of matching cotton shoes with a soft leather sole, similar in design to ballet slippers, Meg walked out into the middle of the room. She had just finished her telling Cecily of her little adventure below the opera house as she went over to her make up table where a small basin of water sat. Dipping the cloth that sat next to it in the cool liquid, she began to scrub the heavy gold make up from her face.
"I hope my dress doesn't offend you, but I'm very tired and I really couldn't bear to be in a corset any longer," Meg said as she looked up into the mirror, her reflection showing half her face pure and clean and the other half bright and colorful.
"Of course it doesn't offend me. I only wish that I could be as free to dress like that. Layers of lace and silk might be lovely to look at, but they're horribly hot and I hate how binding everything is made. I envy you so much."
"But why?" Meg couldn't understand how anyone could envy her, especially a girl with a rich family that could have anything she wanted.
"Because you get to dance all the time and wear wonderfully elaborate costumes, but then when the show's over, you can be yourself. You don't have to walk around dressed like a doll to impress others. Besides all that, your life just seems so exciting! I mean, look at all the things that go on here. And you got to meet the Phantom!"
"My life is hardly as grand as you make it sound, but thank you anyway."
"For what?" Cecily asked, clearly confused.
"For paying attention to me," she said as she turned from the mirror, the gaudy make up now completely gone from her face. "Not many people have ever given me a second thought before, and those that have usually aren't very nice to me."
"Well then, I guess that makes it clear."
"Makes what clear?" Now Meg was the one confused.
"You'll have to be my best friend. I've never had one before, at least not a real one. All the girls I know were only my friends because our parents made us be together. But you'll be my friend, won't you Meg?"
"Yes, I'd like that very much," she said sincerely. She really wanted someone who she could talk to again and confide her secrets to. There was still Christine, but now that she was married to Raoul it was doubtful the two would get to spend as much time as they used to together.
"Oh thank you!" Cecily cried as she jumped off the bench and embraced Meg tightly. Meg returned the hug a little awkwardly, but the flame haired girl soon let go. "I really must be going now; I don't want Gabriel to worry. I promise I'll come back to see you soon."
Cecily gave her a wide grin before quickly disappearing through the door, leaving Meg feeling happier then she had in a long time. She wouldn't have to be lonely anymore, not now that she had a friend.
…
A/N
And that's Chapter 8. Hope you all liked it. And what do you guys think of the Comte LaCharite and his sister Cecily? I wonder what kind of trouble these two can get into.
Captain Oblivious: That's cool that you work at a movie theater, that sounds like such as awesome job. Especially since it seems like you get a lot of free time to yourself. I'm glad you like it that Meg doesn't pity Erik, and don't worry, he'll never think of Christine as a regret or mistake. Erik's simply starting to realize that Christine could have never loved him because she pitied him too much.
amycad: Thank you for the wonderful compliment! I hope you like this chapter even though there's no Meg/Erik in it.
CelestialGlowEquivalence: You're right, I never got the feeling that they were best friends from the way their friendship was presented in the movie. They seemed more like friendly acquaintances if anything.
TheatreAngel: Thanks for the review! I'm glad I'm not the only one that wanted more Christine and Meg friendship in the movie.
I Love Gerry: I totally agree that Erik doesn't need anyone else pitying him. I think it would completely push him over the edge if Meg pitied him, especially since she treats him like a friend. And don't worry, seeing that my favorite Erik/Meg stories have been updated makes my day too.
avid reader: Thank you so much for the review, I'm glad you liked Chapter 7.
Thanks again everybody, I love hearing from you all. Oh, and I will be accepting donations of Midol to give to Erik. That way I can try to get rid of his PMS/attitude problem. Just leave some Midol, or maybe even some tranquilizers in your review and I'll make sure he gets them.
