Part Four: Unseen Genius
XXXI
Antoinette was shocked from a reverie by shouts from the stables. She frowned slightly and made her way down to see one of the grooms trying to catch a horse as it galloped off and out of the yard. The man pressed a hand to his forehead and cursed under his breath.
"Mon dieu!" he exclaimed, "oh, pardon me Madame."
"It is alright. What happened?" she asked, noticing that all of the stalls were open and none of the horses were in them.
"I have no idea," the man sighed, "some idiot left the stall open, or unlocked or something. Fredrick!"
"Yes sir?" a young man asked, jogging over with halter and lead in hand.
"Who was working last night."
"Me and James I think."
"And did you lock all the stalls like you're supposed to?"
"Of course sir, checked and double checked before we went to bed. I swear, you can ask James the same thing, he'll tell you."
"Fine, go and start getting them back, oh the gendarmes will have a fit over this."
"Geeze!" exclaimed the new groom, "who in their right mind would let out eleven horses. That's dangerous."
"Maybe it was a ghost," Fredrick sneered, throwing the halter and lead at him.
"Still on about that Fred?" he scoffed, starting after the horses, "I tell you, he ain't real."
"He is as real as you or me," Antoinette said sternly, "and if he heard you talking about him he may very well be responsible for this."
"Well we'll know in a bit," the lead groom sighed, "no doubt he'll leave us a note…hurry up boys, get after them!"
Antoinette sighed and left as three more grooms started after the horses. She knew that Erik did not like it when new members of the theatre denied his existence, but why should they? No one saw him, at least nothing more than a glimpse in the darkness and other than his monthly demands no one ever heard from him. He was really nothing more than a ghost, and most people older than ten did not believe in ghosts.
"Ah Madame Giry," Monsieur Lefevre said, coming up beside her, "how are you today."
"I am very well, and you Monsieur?"
"Well, I could be better with all the excitement," he sighed, "but still, I am doing fairly well."
"Hmm, yes, it seems our friend decided to play a bit of a joke on us."
"Yes, well I'm afraid he is the only one who finds it at all amusing. We have to round up eleven horses that are now out in the streets of Paris. Not exactly a safe place for such large animals…how are the rehearsals coming?"
"Well, the performances for the new operas should go off without a hitch."
"Unless of course a certain someone throws a tantrum," Monsieur Lefevre sighed.
"Hmm, I must admit that you are getting better at grovelling."
"Yes, well, it is a talent I would rather not use," he grumbled, "they say that she is the best and the audiences love her. Still, sometimes she is a lot of trouble."
"I must go Monsieur, I have a lesson to teach."
"Hmm, yes, yes, have a good day Madame. If you wouldn't mind stopping by my office later I wish to discuss something with you and Monsieur Reyer."
"Very well, we can come by after rehearsal?"
"Yes, that will be fine. Thank you Madame."
Christine reached down, touched her forehead to her knee and her toe with her hand. Meg giggled and followed her example as they waited for Antoinette to come. Several of the young girls watched them with wide eyes.
"How do you do that?" one little girl asked.
"Practice," Meg replied truthfully, "we've been dancing since we were your age."
"So I'll be able to do that?" the little girl asked excitedly.
"Mm hmm," Christine answer, "and this."
Meg laughed when Christine did a pirouette, spinning three times before coming out of it gracefully. She laughed as well when she saw the little girls all watching her, eyes wide with awe.
"Don't you get dizzy?" one asked.
"No, you're taught how not to get dizzy," Christine replied.
"Its called spotting," Meg explained, "where is my mother?"
"Pardon me," Antoinette said as she entered, "there were some problems in the stable and I had to speak with the manager."
"What kind of trouble maman?" Meg asked.
"The horses were all let out of their stalls," she sighed, "all the grooms are trying to catch them…come now little ones, get in line."
The lesson was short because Antoinette was called away by Monsieur Reyer, leaving Meg and Christine in charge of the little ones. Meg immediately got them to start their stretches and her and Christine watched over them.
"So all the horses were let out," Meg though out loud, "I guess Phantom was upset about something."
"Who?" a little girl asked.
"The Opera Ghost," Christine replied.
"Who's that?" the girl asked.
"He's the one who runs the theatre," Meg said with a small smile.
"Nuh-uh, the manager runs the theatre."
"Everyone thinks that," Meg said, "but in reality the Ghost runs it. Every month Monsieur Lefevre pays him twenty thousand francs to not cause trouble and he gives him Box Five."
"Really?" the girls gasped.
"Yes," Christine replied, "and he decided on the performances and selects the cast for the most part."
"So try and stay on his good side," Meg said, "or you'll probably encounter an accident of some sort."
Christine and Meg left the room when Antoinette returned and made their ways towards the stage. The other dancers were already there, discussing the events of the day. So far the stable incident was the most discussed topic.
"They still haven't caught all of them," Jeanette said knowingly, "Monsieur Lefevre is really worked up over it."
"Can you blame him?" Meg asked, "it was a pretty mean thing to do. I mean , all eleven horses running free in the streets. Its dangerous."
"Well he isn't exactly known for being nice," Jeanette said, "he's always doing things like this. Dropping things, stealing props, tripping people, breaking bones…he's very cruel."
"Come now girls," Monsieur Reyer said as Antoinette walked onto the stage, "we do not have a lot of time today."
"Meeting with the manager," Meg whispered.
Erik fiddled around with a melody before giving up on it all together. He had spent the past hour on it and it did not appear to be going anywhere. He had already enjoyed the chaos he had caused and had spent the rest of the day roaming the theatre before returning to his lair. With an irritable sigh he went into the bedroom and lied down. He might as well get some sleep if he had nothing to do.
A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, the next one will hopefully be longer, but I was taking a long time to update and thought it better a short chapter than no chapter at all. Please review because I love to hear from all my readers...yes even you who do not review, come on, don't be shy. I'll even give you a nice reply if you want.
