Chapter 8

Soon it was time for the opening night of L'Opera Magnifique. The opera house was chaotic, as everyone ran around making last minute preparations. Elle's father spent most of the morning in his office with the directors, and her mother was getting ready. She seemed to be making a miraculous recovery, and the doctor declared that she was well enough to attend the important event. Madame D'aubigne said that she would not miss it for the world.

The building never looked better, and many people were hired to make sure that everything was carefully set in its proper place. The red velvet seating, gold décor, painted ceilings, the famous chandelier… all added together to create the look of magnificence, just as the new name for the opera house claimed.

Everyone who worked there was dressed in their best, even the ones who were least likely to be spotted by paying customers. The precautions were taken just in case they were seen, because the owner wanted to give the place a feeling of elegance and luxury, which would most definitely please the number of wealthy citizens who were likely to attend. Also, the mayor had sent someone over to buy tickets for him, so everything had to be perfect.

Elle was helped getting dressed by her mother, who stood behind her pulling the strings in the back of her corset until it was tight enough to tie. The young woman groaned, holding onto her bed post as her mother pulled harder. This was always the worst part of getting dressed in the expensive attire that was the popular fashion of high society.

"Are you excited, dear?" her mother asked, finally tying the strings together and letting her daughter stand up straight. She picked up the lavish dress of the bed that was close by with her hands and helped Elle step into it. Then she pulled it up, waited for Elle to stick her arms through, and began to fasten the back. "You have not actually attended an opera since you were younger."

"I am a bit excited," Elle answered, glad that the hard part was over. She looked at herself in the mirror, fully dressed, and felt like a princess of some sort. The gown complimented her, and she was pleased with how it turned out. "I witnessed part of the rehearsals and the performers are wonderful. I am sure that everyone will enjoy the performance."

"I never doubted for a second," the older woman responded, appearing in the mirror behind her daughter. Their faces showed some similarity in the cheeks and lips, but Elle's eyes were all her own. "Come here, let me fix your hair."

Elle's hair was put half up and half down. The half that was up was held in place by an ivory comb, with emeralds encrusted on it. The rest flowed down, and came to rest on the silky white shoulders of the young woman. The top of the dress was designed with a portrait collar, revealing her neck and shoulders. Placed around her neck was a black ribbon, which Madame D'aubigne tied into a small bow. The piece contrasted with the paleness of her skin, making her appear quite balanced.

When she was fully dressed and ready, with a dash of lipstick and eye shadow that her mother insisted on applying, Elle set off to the back of the theatre. She wanted to see her friend before the show, and she still had some time before she would have to return to her parents. She slipped in, almost unnoticed due to the commotion of people getting ready, and scanned the area. When she found Nadia, she saw that the girl was already dressed in her costume and had her ballet slippers on.

"Oh my!" Nadia exclaimed when she saw her best friend. She had seen her dressed up before, but never so ornately. "You look absolutely gorgeous."

"Thank you," Elle replied modestly, not really caring about her own appearance. She was more anxious for her friend, who would be on stage shortly dancing in front of hundreds of strangers. Just thinking about it made Elle feel uneasy. "But how are you? Are you nervous?"

The girl laughed. "Not at all. I have been dancing since I was a little girl, these people can't intimidate me."

Elle smiled. "Then you are braver than I am."

The younger chorus girls did not seem as sure of themselves as Nadia did. They fluttered around in their little outfits with nerves, requiring Madame Giry to calm them down. She spoke some words to them in a low tone and they seemed more relaxed, but they still had tension in their shiny eyes.

They were not the only ones with anxiety though, some of the other singers were fidgety, especially Isabel. She was to be playing the part of Micaëla, and it was her first role that had a duet with a major character. Maximilien, the man who she was to have the duet with, was trying to reassure her that she was going to be fine. "I have confidence in you."

"This is why amateurs should not be given speaking roles," Estelle rudely commented, passing by the two. She was followed by a group of people who Elle did not recognize, and walked with an air of authority. When she said that Isabel looked up at her, and then back at Maximilien, now with even more uncertainty in her eyes.

"Speak for yourself, Estelle," Maximilien shouted out at her, as she moved over to the other side of the room.

"Have you ever met anyone more arrogant?" Nadia asked in disgust, after both of the girls witnessed the interaction. Elle did not get a chance to answer because the minute she turned her gaze away from her friend she noticed that Estelle was headed their way.

She strode up to Elle, completely ignoring Nadia who happened to be standing right next to her, and gave her a fake large smile. She was close enough for Elle to smell the strong perfume that she wore, and she almost gagged. "I hope you enjoy the performance. The entire place got sold out, but I am sure that you already heard about that. Send Monsieur D'aubigne my regards."

Elle stood there, not sure how to respond to this false show of friendliness. She supposed that the prima donna only talked to her because she was the owner's daughter, and even though she had noticed the woman's disrespect for others, she had to act friendly in return. "I most definitely will."

Soon it was time for Elle to leave her friend and return. She said good luck and then headed off, thinking about how overly confident Estelle was compared to the meek Isabel. If Elle were in their shoes she would be more like Isabel, although she knew that Isabel could handle her own. She was good enough to have been the lead, but the directors chose Estelle due to her wealth and popularity. The world just was not fair.

She returned to her parents, who were both looking splendid. When the time came they walked to the main foyer together, where throngs of people were collecting. The directors were on the staircase, waiting for them, and they all stood there and watched as more and more people filed in from the outside. Soon the large foyer was full, and the chattering quieted down. Faces turned towards the people in charge, and at that moment the major entered.

"Welcome everyone," Elle's father stated loudly, with his wife on his arm, in a convivial tone and a large smile spread on his face. His eyes scanned the room and landed on the mayor. "Monsieur Maire, welcome to the grand opening of L'Opera Magnifique."

There were some introductions, and then people were free to mingle before the performance. Elle was introduced to the mayor, and some other important people, before she was free to leave the side of her parents. Hector was there, of course, and he made sure to say hello to her. They stood, politely talking for a bit, until people began to file up the stairs and into the theatre.

They parted at the doors. "Your box is right next to mine," he stated, before walking away. "I will see you after the show."

She nodded, and then waited for her parents to join her. They did, after talking to many different people, and all three of them proceeded to their box. Music was playing, waiting for everyone to get into their seats. Considering how many seats were there, this took quite a long time. Elle watched people from above in her box as they moved around and gossiped to one another. She could not hear individual conversations, but she knew that they were talking.

Finally, after every last person was seated, the curtain rose. The scene opened on a square in Seville, a Spanish town, where soldiers and a corporal are watching the passers-by. Elle watched intently although she had seen this part practiced before. Isabel came on stage, and she seemed like she was more self-assured then Elle had seen her earlier. Maximilien must have calmed her down.

"What are you searching for, lovely one?" the corporal asked her.

"Me, I am searching for a corporal," Isabel responded in her feminine and innocent voice.

"I am here! Right here!" the man replied.

Towards the middle of the second act Elle thought of something. She remembered that the Opera Ghost was supposedly going to be in box five. He had, after all, left her father a letter explicitly demanding that box to be left open at all performances. Something inside her ached for her to go and investigate. She looked around, assessing her situation. Both of her parents were sitting quietly, immersed in the show. They would not mind of she left for a minute.

She gently tapped her father's arm, he happened to be sitting to her left. Leaning closer to him and speaking in almost a half whisper she asked, "Do you mind if I go out for a minute? I need a drink of water."

Without looking at her he nodded, and she stood up. Before she left the box she glanced over at the box to the right of theirs. Hector was sitting there, with his father, and his eyes seemed to be fixed on the stage. On closer inspection, they seemed to be on Estelle. Elle shrugged, and then left the box. She walked down the hall, and around to where box five was.

She lightly rapped on the outside of the box and, with no reply, entered. Not sure what she had expected, she was disappointed with her findings. The box was completely empty. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, she was certain that he was to be there. She entered the box, closed the door behind her, and looked around.

The box was exactly the same on the inside as the one she had been watching the performance in was, except it only had one chair instead of three. She glided in a little further, and felt a chill. Wrapping her black lace shawl around her bare arms, Elle moved over to the chair. The seat had an indent in the middle, like someone had been sitting there recently. She touched the soft velvet cushion, and felt the warmth that still lingered.

Someone must have been there, but where had they gone? She turned around, slightly dissatisfied with her search. Nothing had been discovered, except that someone had sat in the chair, but that could have been anyone. Elle walked back the way she came and, with a short sigh, she opened the door in order to return to her box.

When she looked up, she was immediately startled. Standing only few inches before her was Madame Giry. The woman was wearing a dark burgundy gown, with her grayish brown hair pinned up on her head as usual. She was holding an envelope in her hands, and the moment she saw Elle her eyes widened. "What are you doing here, Mademoiselle?"

A/N: Once again, thank you for the reviews. Please review!

Galasriniel- That she is. I can't give away any plot points, but more will be revealed later. Thank you so much for the review, I'm glad you like my story.

Anri- Thank you, I try to keep myself grammatically correct and use spell check, but sometimes I mess up things without noticing it. It bothers me too when people do that, so I know what you mean.