Chapter 11

"Estelle is jealous of you, you know," Nadia stated as her and Elle walked to the dormitories together behind the other girls after leaving the theatre. Her long hair was down and loose that day, and so when she walked it bounced with each step. With her right hand she pulled some hair out of her face and they neared their destination. The prima donna was the only current topic of discussion, which was understandable after that episode, and it was probably going to be for some time until something else happens to catch the interest of the gossipers.

"What do you mean?" Elle asked in response raising her eyebrow, caught by surprise at Nadia's remark. As far as she was concerned, the lead soprano had no sane or logical reason for being jealous of her. If anything other people had reason to be jealous of Estelle because of her spotlight. The girl looked at her friend curiously, waiting for the explanation behind her comment, and they entered the room where Nadia stayed. Elle took a seat on the side of her friend's small white bed, crossing her legs and smoothing her dress out.

"It is obvious," she began, sounding as if her observation had been the most noticeable in the world, yet no one else had caught on. She sat down next to Elle on the end of the bed, attempting to get comfortable, and curled her long thin legs to one side. Then she continued to explain. "Did you not see the way that she eyed Hector? I believe that was his name… Anyway, she noticed the way that that director's son looks at you and it is not the same way he looks at her. To him she is simply entertainment, but you are more than that."

"You must be very observant, because I did not notice any of that. All I saw was Hector, yes that is his name you remembered correctly, watching her during opening night. His eyes never left her. She has no raison d'être for being jealous of me, that thought is ridiculous, although you know that I trust your judgment. I cannot picture it. I bet she could have almost any man in Paris." She highly doubted that a famous singer could be envious of her.

"Elle you underestimate your own beauty. Estelle may be popular, yes, but we all know how she is behind the scenes and it is not pretty. A man would be mad to want to marry her, yet alone live with her! I would rather shoot myself in head than have to put up with that woman every day of my life," Nadia responded rather dramatically. She laid back on the bed and looked up at the ceiling, placing her arms under her head and crossing them. Her black hair was spread out over the sheets and the light coming in from the nearby window gave it a glossy appearance, even more so than normal. Elle had to turn to her left slightly to look at the girl behind her.

Elle laughed at her friend's answer, even though she did not completely agree with her. Yes Estelle was a pain and temperamental, but that was only around those who she viewed lower than herself. They did not know how she treated people of higher positions in society; therefore some people would probably never see her act like the world revolves around her or have to put up with her demands and unreasonable fancies. The directors were crazy to comply with her every whim just so that they would have a reasonably well-known singer as their lead. She did not seem worth the effort, but the public was superficial and mainly concerned with appearances.

"Only you would openly admit that," she finally replied after her laughter died down. If Estelle or one of her followers heard that then she would most likely pressure the directors until they had Nadia fired. Luckily they were alone at the time, and many of the other girls would agree with her because of Estelle's horrible treatment of them. Actually, there were people who complained about her behavior, but Nadia was the only one to express her opinion the way she did.

"A person would have to be deaf and dumb not to realize that Estelle is a pain," Nadia answered, still amused with their conversation. That was a statement that no one, not even Estelle's lackeys, could deny.

Their discussion ended there when they were interrupted by Meg Giry, who had just entered the room. She had her blonde up in a ponytail, and was wearing a modest white dress. As usual she had the same friendly composure and amiable smile about her. The girls were happy to see her because she was a friend of Nadia and one of Elle's first acquaintances there. They stopped talking without realizing it, listening to what the newcomer had to say. "There you two are. Guess what I found out? The directors have chosen the next opera that we are going to perform."

"Really? And what might that be?" Nadia asked with an active interest. It was nice to know what they would be rehearsing for weeks. She was not surprised that Meg had availability to this information in advance because her mother, Madame Giry, worked for the directors and was always one of the first people to find out what their decisions were. She also got to help them make some of them, when they asked for her opinion.

"Romeo Et Juliette," the blonde answered with the French title, taking a seat by the girls on the bed to the left of the one they were on. Some people had already heard of it, it was an opera based on a play by Shakespeare, an English actor and playwright.

"Estelle is definitely going to get the part of Juliette," Nadia predicted with a sigh, aware of the story behind the opera. Her conjecture was sensible and when she stated it aloud her friends nodded in agreement. You could tell by her voice that she was not pleased with the truth, but accepted it nonetheless. "But she does not deserve it. She is not right for the part, but the directors love her and she will always get the lead. Do you know when the auditions will begin?"

"Not yet," Meg replied shaking her head. "But they should be soon."

"I will be there cheering you two on," Elle commented with a smile. Another opera brings more rehearsals and another performance, not to mention it livens up the opera house. More talent will spill into the lavish theatre from the streets of Paris, and the ones already residing there in the opera house will eventually intermix with them. It was entertaining to watch these groups of people, from all blocks of life, showcase their abilities on stage. Music affects each one of them in a different way, making it interesting for Elle to observe.

"We expect nothing less," Nadia jested.

That day Elle had lunch with the chorus girls. It was nothing like the lunches that she was used to having with her parents, but the change was good for her. For the first time in a while she did stand on proper decorum, and that was a relief. The lunch itself was nothing special, simply some bread and cheese with water instead of wine. The atmosphere was relaxed and the conversation was purely based on gossip and rumors. For the most part Elle did not take part in the discussion, but just listened. She was not one to gossip, unlike many of the people there. Sometimes it was entertaining, but other times it was mindless babble.

She spent the rest of the day there in the dormitories. Everyone had the day off, so the older people were all out and the younger ones were hanging about with each other. People spent their free time in various ways: reading, drinking, telling stories, shamelessly gossiping, resting, going for walks, exploring, etc. Many of the girls stuck together though, and could be found in either the dormitory or the ballet foyer. Madame Giry had not been seen since that morning at the meeting, yet no one seemed to notice her absence. Her daughter must have seen her in order to find out about the next production, but other than that there were no signs of her.

When dinner came around, Elle had to join her parents in the dining room. That was her first time back upstairs since that very morning. All three of the D'aubigne's were present and on time, ready to eat. They had wine and a filling meal, both of which were satisfying. No one talked until about halfway through the meal because they were all busy eating, but then they eased into a conversation. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood that day for some reason or another.

Elle's mother was the first to break the silence. She took a long drink of water and then rested her hands lightly on top on the cotton napkin that sat on her lap. "So, how was everyone's day? I assume things went well at the office."

"Oh yes," Monsieur D'aubigne replied, setting down his glass of red wine. He looked a bit tired, but other than that he was pleasant. Due to his small fatigue was not in a talkative mood, so he did not have much to say. "Everything went very well."

"That is good news," his wife responded and then turned to look at their daughter, who was sitting to the right of her. She was old-fashioned and liked to keep a polite conversation going at the dinner table. Also she was really curious because she had not seen her family all day. "And how about you, my dear? What did you do today?"

"I spent the day with Nadia in the girls' dormitories," Elle honestly answered after swallowing the food that she had been chewing. She took another small bit after she replied, and looked up at her mother as she was eating it.

"I am so glad that you have made friends here," her mother stated, the ends of her mouth curling up in a smile. "I was a bit worried about how you would adjust."

"Don't worry about me, mama," she said, returning her mother's smile. "I will do just fine."

After dinner Elle retired to her bedroom and locked the door behind her. Having been out of her room all day she had yet to have time to practice, so her first thought was to take a seat at her piano. She laid out her long agile fingers over the black and white keys, and lovingly caressed them before she hit her first note. Then she took out a music score and began to play. She chose a slow song in order to ease her into the mood for playing, which was not hard to do.

When she finished she sat, closing the music sheets and placing them back in the pile, and then choosing a new piece. As Elle was looking through the sheets of music, she began to hear something. She looked up from what she was doing, and glanced around her room. Nothing was there and for a second the sound seemed to go away. Her head went back down to continue her task, but then it was back again. The noise started faint, she was straining her ears to hear it.

Then, once it got louder, she realized that it was the sound of clapping. Elle immediately stopped what she had been doing and set down the papers in her hands. She turned her body away from the piano in order to face the entire room, although she did not expect to see anything. Her ears waited for any addition sounds, and she opened her mouth. "Is anyone there? Is it you, master?"

A reply echoed from the walls. "Indeed it is, Mademoiselle. Are you ready to continue your lessons?"

Her face lit up with a glow of delight; he was finally back! She had been waiting for his return, for his instruction. Never before had she been so happy to hear a familiar voice as she was now, glad that her hopes had come true. Her innocent voice was suddenly full of energy. "Instructor, may I ask, where have you been? I have not heard from you for so long."

"I had business to attend to," he answered softly. "Now, look on top of your vanity."

She did as he commanded and found a piece of paper lying on the smooth marble. It was another music score, and she quickly looked over it and realized what it was from. The page was straight from the score of Romeo Et Juliette, the opera that was to be performed next by the opera house. She wondered if he meant anything by choosing that particular piece, but did not question him. Instead she began with her scales and then started the beginning of the song when she was told to. Her glee at the return of her teacher aided her, for it gave her more incentive to sing to the best of her abilities. He corrected her on every little detail, and after a long session he left her to sleep. That night she slept soundly, with a grin on her face.

A/N: Please review! I'll be gone for a couple days, so this won't be updated till about Wednesday or Thursday. Check back then.

Galasriniel- Star Wars, hehehe. Gracias muchacha.

Danielle Black- Thanks

Anri- Thank you, I'll try.

Kate- Hey, thanks for reviewing.