Chapter 7

Several days came and went as happens often to people when they are not paying attention to time. Estelle La Rous was immediately hired, and urged to sign a contract. She did not move in, for she had an apartment that was not very far from the opera house, and she felt too superior to the others to live among them. The rehearsals started, and the directors were visiting daily. Elle's lessons at night continued, but now were taking place in her bedroom. She was not sure where the Opera Ghost's voice was coming from and each day she became more certain that he could not possibly be a man.

On this particular day Elle was spending some time with her new best friend Nadia before rehearsals began. There were in the girls' dormitories, Elle was sitting on top of an old wooden table with her feet resting on the matching chair. She was watching Nadia change into her ballet shoes and then she helped her tie up her silky black hair in a tight bun.

"It's a shame you don't dance," her friend said to her as she looked at herself in the mirror. She adjusted her outfit and then turned around to face the other girl. "We could have had some fun dancing together."

"If I danced, then who would help you get ready for the rehearsals?" Elle asked, with a lighthearted smile on her face. It did not really bother her that she only watched the rehearsals from afar; it looked like the girls were worked pretty hard to prepare for the performance. "Anyway, I like watching it all."

"As you wish," Nadia replied and helped Elle get down from the table that she was sitting on without tripping on her skirts. She looked at Elle with a friendly beam glowing on her pale skin. "You know Estelle may be the star of this new opera house, but you are definitely the goddess of L'Opera Magnifique."

"You are just biased in my favor."

"So, what is wrong with that?" she asked with a laugh. Then she noticed the time. "We better get moving before Madame Giry comes in here and reprimands me."

The two girls quickly made their way to the backstage of the theatre and joined the other dancers. Nadia commenced doing her warm-up stretches while Elle looked around. Estelle was standing over on the other side and was singing her scales. Madame Giry was standing with the chorus girls and telling them something, but Elle could not hear with the chaos of every preparing for the rehearsal.

People were heading out onto the stage, and the girls followed them out. Nadia turned to Elle after looking at the lead soprano with mild dislike. "I heard from one of the other girls that Estelle's hair is not naturally that color."

"That does not surprise me," Elle responded, but then everyone on the stage turned their attention to the door. The two directors, Mister Bolster and Tremaine, entered the room shortly followed by Hector. The cast grew quiet and the three men began talking to Madame Giry, who had been the one to teach the dances. Occasionally Hector would look up from the conversation, and once he gave Elle a smile.

"Who is that?" Nadia asked, glancing over at Hector. "He is quite handsome, if I may say so myself. And look at the way that he smiled at you, Elle! He must fancy you. Is there something going on that you did not tell me about?"

"He is Monsieur Tremaine's son. I first met him my second day here," Elle answered calmly. "We are friends, nothing more. I do not know to what you are referring."

"We shall see," her friend responded jovially. Another man entered from the direction in which the directors had come. "You should go join your father. I will see you after rehearsal."

Elle joined her father, the directors, and Hector. The rehearsal was underway shortly, and the first scene began. Soon it was time for Estelle's solo, and everyone cleared the way for her. She was about Elle's height, but an inch or so taller, and had a small frame. Her red hair was piled up on top of her hair, with curls coming down on the sides. She opened her bright red lips to sing.

"When will I love you? Good lord, I don't know,

Maybe never, maybe tomorrow.

But not today, that's certain.

Love is a rebellious bird

That nothing can tame,

And it is simply in vain to call it

If it is convenient for it to refuse.

Nothing will work, threat or pleading,

One speaks, the other stays quiet;

And it's the other that I prefer

He said nothing; but he pleases me.

Love! Love! Love! Love!"

Her voice was high-pitched and could reach notes that seemed almost impossible for a human to reach. She seemed proud of herself, and continued the song with a contented look on her face. Estelle's singing was obviously directed towards the directors, and Elle noticed that her eyes often were on Hector, who was looking at the singer as well. Elle was not sure why this bothered her. Was it jealousy? No, there was no reason for her to be jealous of Estelle.

"Love is the child of the Bohemian,

It has never, never known any law,

If you don't love me, I love you,

If I love you, keep guard on yourself!

If you don't love me, if you don't love me, I love you!

But, if I love you, if I love you, keep guard on yourself!

If you don't love me, if you don't love me, I love you!

But, if I love you, if I love you, keep guard on yourself!"

Elle left the rehearsal early. For some reason she was not in the mood to stick around and watch the performers go over their lines, so she wandered off into the opera house. After a short walk around the building she returned to her room and decided to play some music on her piano. She sat on the bench, laid out the sheet music, and began to play.

She did not feel hungry that afternoon, so she skipped lunch and went directly to see Nadia. Her friend was finished changing by the time she found her and she was having something to eat. When she was done they made their way up to the roof again, their favorite spot for seclusion, for some fresh air and to talk.

"It is a pity that you left the rehearsal so early," Nadia mused. "It was quite interesting."

"What happened?" Elle asked, wondering what her friend was hinting at.

"Well first the lead opposite Estelle, Maximilien, was singing a duet with Isabel and then all of a sudden the hair on top of his head somehow got attached to one of the ropes and it was pulled up, revealing a shiny bald head. All the chorus girls were giggling and could not contain themselves. Madame Giry had to scold them to get them to be quiet. None of us knew that he was bald, and from the looks of it neither did Estelle."

"And how did Maximilien respond to this?"

"He stormed off the stage and declared that whoever was working the ropes above the stage must be fired immediately. They did not want him to quit, so they sent someone to find out who it was, and no one was there. It was odd."

"That is interesting," Elle commented, wondering if the incident was actually an accident or someone's idea of a prank. "It must have been one of the scene-shifters playing a joke on him."

"Yes, that is what we thought. Mister Bolster took Maximilien to the side and talked to him, and then rehearsal continued like nothing ever happened. Afterwards everyone went off to get something to eat and rest, but Estelle stayed behind with the directors. It seems that she wanted some sort of private rehearsal."

For some reason Elle did not find that surprising in the least. Estelle seemed like she wanted all of the attention focused on her. Elle could not deny that Estelle was beautiful and had a voice that carried, but it was obvious that the woman was raised to be supercilious. "I can image that."

"So, what have you been up to?" Nadia asked, turning her head to the left to look at her friend. Her eyes squinted at the sun that was beating down on them.

"Playing my piano," Elle answered with a small sigh. She left the ledge and began to walk back to the door. "It is quite hot up here. We should be getting back anyway. Aren't you learning a new dance today?"

"That is right," she replied, following after Elle. They left the roof, descending several different sets of stairs. All the dancers were in the ballet foyer, everyone else was either in the dormitories or out somewhere to make the most of their break. Nadia joined Meg, who was watching over the younger girls, and Elle went off by herself.

She hummed a tune to herself as she walked up the stairs and down the hall to her room. Taking the key out of a small pocket on her dress, she unlocked the door and let herself in. Elle closed the door behind her, put the key back in its spot, and wandered over to sit on her sofa. She was still humming the melody, and then she began singing, coming up with the words as she went along.

"Everything around me is changing, changing

I can barely catch my breath

Farewell my old life

A new day has come

I'll welcome it with open arms

Softly, softly

And I'll sing for myself

Because no one's around

The music will guide me

Comfort and soothe me

Like none other can

Or will

What is the truth behind my fear?

Scared of my own voice, so foolish

Yet someone has faith in me

That I don't even have

My instructor of music

Who lives in the shadows…

Why is he afraid of light?

These things I'll never know

I've heard him sing before

Enough to float him to Heaven

His voice, so rich and deep

Like the secrets that he keeps"

Elle had thought that she was alone, and so she was surprised when she heard a response to her words. It was the voice of her very own instructor of music. He answered her in song, which seemed to come from the walls themselves.

"Girl, are you so sure that you want to know?

These secrets are kept hidden

For more than one reason

Do you think you are ready for the truth?

No one is"

She was caught by surprise, and so she replied to him in the same fashion in which he had answered her.

"Teacher! Forgive me

I was only in wonder

I could never hope to know

The truth"

Elle quietly awaited his reply. She had only ever heard me on the nights of their lessons, and so hearing him now was odd. It was undeniable that she wondered about him, who wouldn't, but she would not break her promise. She would not risk the possibility of him going away and never coming back in order to find out his secrets.

"Curious child

You will know the truth in time

And then you will wish

That you hadn't wondered"

There was a knock on the door. Elle jumped up from the sofa, turning her face to the direction the noise came from, and her teacher's voice went away. It was her father's gruff voice that came from outside. "Elle, who is in there?"

"Only me, papa," she answered, opening the door.

"I heard voices," he said, looking behind her and finding that she was telling the truth. The room was empty except for her. His eyes moved from the room to his daughter and he brought her out into the hall with him.

"Is something wrong?" she asked him, noticing the miserable look on his face. She quickly became concerned and the first thing that she thought of was her mother. "Is something wrong with mama?"

"Your mother is sick," her father reluctantly answered, ushering her down the hall and away from the door. "She has been for a while. Now she is sleeping and I don't want to wake her. Can you please be a good girl and go ask Madame Giry to send for the physician?"

Elle nodded sadly, silently hoping that whatever was wrong with her mother would be something that a doctor could fix. She hurried off to find Madame Giry, wherever she was, and entreat her to call for the doctor. The woman was found in the dormitories, and when Elle gave her father's message to her she set off straight away, leaving Elle alone. She went back upstairs, holding on to the railing, and knocked on her father's door. "He should be here soon."

That night Elle prayed with more fervor than she had ever done before. She prayed for her mother, for her father, and even for the opera house itself. She even prayed that God would hear her prayers, and help her small family. After praying she laid in bed for a long while, staring at the dark ceiling. Only her dreams could take away the ominous feeling that she had.

A/N: The song that Estelle sings is from the opera Carmen by George Bizet. Everything else is by me. Thank you readers for the reviews. Please review!

Anri- Thank you, I'm happy you like the story.

Galasriniel- lol, I know that feeling. Thanks.

supaluna- Thank you.