DISCLAIMER: I own Gabrielle and her occasional stupid bouts of curiosity. That's all in this chapter. Reviews? Plzthnx!
Aubrey Daniels: Glad you like Gabrielle so far!
EmailyGirl : GAH! I HOPE my Erik isn't warm and fuzzy. Keep your fingers crossed!
Phantoms-angel1: Well, Raoul's gonna be getting in the way once in a while, but hopefully you don't hate him TOO much. It's not his fault he's such a fop .
xoxo
On the next day of her stay at the Opera Populaire, Gabrielle was woken rather abruptly when she was being shaken at the shoulder. She rubbed her eyes and looked at Meg, looking almost hysteric with eagerness. How anyone can be so…energetic…in the morning is far beyond me, she thought.
"Wake up," she said quietly, though she was ironically still jumping as though she couldn't wait to do something. "Gabrielle, I want you to see something."
"See something?" Gabrielle groaned, pulling a dressing coat off of the hook it sat on and about her shoulders, slipping her arms deftly through the sleeves.
"I need to take you someplace," Meg said, bouncing uncomfortably on the balls of her feet. "But don't tell my mother where I'm taking you. You're not supposed to be there…no one is. No one has been for years."
"Then why is it so important that we go?" Gabrielle asked, now stepping into her slippers. "It's probably dusty, and dirty."
"Just…just because," Meg said impatiently. "Oh, come on! Don't tell me you're not curious about what I'm going to show you."
"Now I am," she said, turning her head abruptly. After just a few days, Meg already could tell that curiosity was Gabrielle's greatest vice. "I don't like it when people make me play guessing games." She stated, standing up and smoothing her clothes out.
"Come on, then!" Meg sighed, rolling her eyes and taking Gabrielle by the wrist. They descended lower and lower into the theatre's lower floors, lower than Gabrielle would have ever thought possible, finding themselves in a twisting mass of hallways.
"Do you even know where we're going?" Gabrielle said meekly. "It looks like we're lost."
"We're not lost," Meg said knowingly. "This…this is just the only way I know how to get there. There are others, but I only know of one. Just trust me."
Gabrielle submitted as the older girl dragged her on. They reached the ledge, where the paved walkway met with a mass of water. A rickety canoe sat right at the shore, and Meg began pulling Gabrielle in.
"Are you sure it's safe?" Gabrielle asked, stepping carefully inside. "It doesn't even look like it'll hold one of us. How are we both going to ride in it?
"Of course, it's fine. You've got to be able to trust me by now, Gabrielle." Meg encouraged, pulling on her hand insistently. "Just make sure you stay with me, and watch out." Meg began rapidly rowing.
"Watch out?" Gabrielle asked. "Watch out for what?"
"For everything," the older girl replied ominously.
"You're scaring me!" Gabrielle said, standing and stamping her foot, nearly making the boat tip. Meg, however, was not looking at her, but behind her. Gabrielle turned around and saw that they had reached the end of the underground river. She hopped out into the water, wading in the ankle-deep pool. It was a tavern filled with candles, and shattered mirrors. The centerpiece of the room was a large pipe organ. She walked up to it and stared down at it.
Dimitri had always wanted to play a pipe organ…
Gabrielle shook her head fervently and turned back to Meg. "Where have you taken us?" she asked, her voice quivering. Her ears seemed to her the wind pick up, and the echo of a vaguely familiar female voice. It was only an echo, hardly audible, except to Gabrielle's specifically honed ears, fashioned to hear even the faintest trace of a melody…
Pitiful creature of darkness, what sort of life have you known…?
"Who is that?" Gabrielle muttered, her eyes darting anxiously about the cavern.
"Who?" Meg asked worriedly.
"You didn't hear it?" Gabrielle asked, her eyes seeming more and more unfocused as her gaze kept revolving around the room. She was started to waver, her legs shaking unsteadily.
"I didn't hear anything," Meg said straightly. "Gabrielle, come on. We should leave. I think it was a mistake bringing you here."
"I'll be alright," she said vaguely, still staring around. "There's two boats. Just leave me one, and I'll be able to find my way back." She paused to look at Meg, knowing the girl who had taken her here would want a reason why she wanted to stay. "I think I've dropped something."
Out of fear, Meg ran away, and was gone in seconds. Gabrielle stood there for what seemed like hours, until a voice nearly deafened her after her ears had grown accustomed to the silence.
Come to me, Angel of Music…"Who are you?" Gabrielle called out, crossing her arms uncomfortably. "Don't you dare go anywhere, not until you tell me why you've been following me!"
"Following you, my dear?" A male voice answered, making Gabrielle jump. Her hand landed on the keys of the organ, scaring her even further with the blaring note it emitted. She stood up and shook herself off as the voice laughed, almost maliciously. "How am I following when it was you who came here…to me?"
"Who are you?" she repeated persistently. "I didn't come to you…"
"You mean you haven't heard of me?" he mocked. "The Phantom—"
"The Phantom of the Opera," Gabrielle said, trying to force a laugh out of her fearfully dry throat. "There's no such thing! Who are you?" She didn't give the voice a chance to answer, and hurried away. She kept running until she finally saw light again, somehow not getting lost. She caught up with Meg, breathless from running.
"That was a horrid thing to do," she panted sarcastically with a catty grin. "I swear to God, Meg, you're trying to scare me."
"What are you talking about?" she asked. "What took you so long?"
"Who did you get to try to scare me into thinking there was a ghost?" she asked, crossing her arms. "It nearly worked. Just nearly! Who else is in on this?" Meg blinked obliviously, not providing Gabrielle with an answer. Gabrielle rolled her eyes and laughed. "You won't tell me? I'll find out eventually." She shrugged and went back into her room.
Meg sighed in relief that Gabrielle dropped the subject, but jumped when she was suddenly turned to face her mother.
"Meg, what have you done?" she asked gently. "He's angry."
Meanwhile, Gabrielle found another note lying on her vanity. She picked it up and opened it carefully.
Gabrielle,
Little girl, you're grating on me quite unpleasantly. You'd do well to open you mind to me before I lose patience completely. Otherwise, you will see for yourself what happens to those who refuse to believe.
O.G.
Gabrielle shook her head so hard that she felt that she had completely rattled her brain. She sat down on her bed, waiting for the room to stop spinning.
"I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming," she chanted to herself, lying her head down onto the cushions and turned out the light. "That's…the only…explanation…" she yawned, happily accepting the sleep that overcame her.