I hope all of you say "thank you" to Mominator124 for figuring out what Lago Trasimeno has to do with POTO. Yep, the correct answer was Hannibal. The historic Hannibal fought a major battle against the Romans at that lake. And since the first time Erik and Christine met face to face (or rather face to mask) was after her debut in "Hannibal", I thought it might be cute if their meeting after two years would be near a place where Hannibal had been,
As to French and Italian pronunciation of the name "Planchet": In Italian ch before an e or an i is always pronounced as "k". Italians would also pronounce the final t. In French ch would be pronounced like "sh", the final t would not be pronounce, and the an would be nasal, maybe similar to the "aun" in "laundry".
I make no promises as to when the next chapter will be up, but I'll try to work on chapter 9. Once this is mostly done, the next one will go up. And please keep in mind that I do not own these characters... sadly :-(
Chapter 5 – Reunion
When Christine arrived at breakfast the following morning she was informed by the maid that Mr. Khan from the theater had left message that he was expecting her at 3:00 p.m. today and that he would introduce her to the artistic director.
Christine thanked the maid and informed her that she would be at the theater at the appointed time.
Although she had had a positive feeling after her audition the previous day, she was now getting nervous. This meeting would decide about her employment. What if that artistic director was difficult to please or did not trust his associate's taste in music? Would she have to convince that new person as well that she was right for the job or had il signor Can already informed his colleague of her qualities?
Shortly before 3:00 p.m. she arrived at the theater and asked to be shown to Mr. Can, since she had an appointment with him. The concierge was obviously informed of her coming. He asked her to wait, the boss would be meeting her soon.
He had not quite finished telling her that, when the gentleman in question arrived.
"Ah, signorina Johannsen," Nadir said, "right on time, perfect. I will be introducing you to our artistic director, signor Planchet." Even though Nadir was certain that Christine did not know Erik's real name, he made sure to pronounce it the Italian way like everybody else in town.
He turned to the concierge. "Thank you, Darius," he said. Christine was too preoccupied with her own thoughts about the upcoming meeting to notice the way the concierge nervously nodded at signor Can. The loyal servant had already been informed by Nadir who she was and at the thought of her and Erik meeting he had a very bad feeling. Nadir had worked so hard to get Erik out of his depression after that night at the Opéra over two years ago. Was it really a good idea to bring this girl who had been the cause of Erik's heartbreak back into his life?
"Please follow me, signorina," Nadir said, leading Christine to Erik's office. "Signor Planchet is expecting us," he explained, while knocking.
"La signorina Johannsen is here," he said loud enough that whoever was inside the office would hear it, and opened the door for Christine to enter.
Christine looked around the rather dark office. She noticed that the windows were covered by heavy curtains, probably to keep the summer heat out, she thought. A tall, rather thin gentleman was standing near a bookshelf in the far corner of the room, his back to her.
When he heard her enter, he turned around and grinned at her. "Hello, Christine," he said.
Christine felt like the rug had been pulled from underneath her feet, she thought she would faint. There in front of her was probably the last person she had expected to see here. The artistic director was no other than her former teacher, the infamous Phantom of the Opera. The only difference was that he was now wearing a less noticeable brown leather mask instead of the white one.
"No!" she screamed. "Oh no! Not you again!"
She tried to turn and run, but the shock of suddenly seeing him here had rendered her dizzy and she would have fallen had Nadir not gripped her arm to steady her.
"Calm down, Mademoiselle Daaé," Nadir told her in French, leading her to a chair. "Sit down."
She obediently sat down, too overwhelmed with that unexpected turn of events. Only then did the meaning of his words finally register with her.
"You know who I am!" she accused Nadir. "You knew who I was when I auditioned!"
He shook his head. "No, Mademoiselle, I had no idea. But of course, Erik recognized you immediately."
"Erik?" Christine frowned. Who was Erik? At her question Nadir looked pointedly at his friend, thus indicating, who Erik was.
"Oh, him!" Christine rolled her eyes. "I should have guessed. Of course he would recognize me... Can I never be free of you?" she screamed at Erik. "Why can't the past just die!"
She stared at Erik as realization dawned on her. "But you were not at the audition," she stated matter-of-factly. "So you are doing it again, or still doing it, or whatever. Spying, that is. Watching people and listening in on them without being seen. You have not changed at bit!"
Erik glared at her. "At least I am not the one using a false name," he sneered.
"Please," Nadir tried to diffuse the tension in the room. "Calm down, both of you. Erik, sit. We have to talk. And, Mademoiselle Daaé, I ask you to hear us out. If at the end of this conversation you want to leave and to have nothing at all to do with this particular theater, you may do so. We are not going to force you to work for us against your will."
Christine sighed. She was not sure she wanted to hear what either of these two gentlemen had to say, she most definitely wanted to run away as fast as she could. She certainly had no intention whatsoever to remain in the Phantom's presence any longer.
"I think there are a few things that need to be explained," Nadir opened the official meeting. "First, Mademoiselle, I have to tell you, that when Erik recognized you, he suspected that you had been hunting him down to bring him to justice, possibly with the help or on behalf of the Vicomte, maybe once again acting as bait for him..."
"What utter nonsense!" Christine exclaimed. "I had no idea who was in charge of this theater. Had I known, I most definitely would never have come here!"
"That much is certain from your reaction to seeing me," Erik commented dryly. He seemed as aloof as always, but Nadir knew him well enough to notice the small signs of hurt, that her words had caused him. Christine was not the only one here on the brink of a nervous breakdown, Erik was about to fall apart as well.
"We now know that this suspicion was completely wrong," Nadir tried to calm Christine, "but you cannot blame Erik for thinking along those lines after what had happened during Don Juan Triumphant. Also, we were under the impression that by now you would be Madame de Chagny..."
Christine shook her head. "No, I am not married to Raoul, nor am I ever going to marry him," she stated.
"Why not? Did he leave you after the scandal at the Populaire?" Erik asked, his fury now more directed at that "boy" than her.
Christine shook her head. "No," she explained. "I left him. I had enough of men behaving like little boys, thinking that killing their rival would make them the victor. After all, I had two such clowns fighting for my attention. Oh, and I was sick of men trying to manipulate me and to tell me, what I should and should not do, men that never ask me what I want, that talk down to me..."
Nadir realized that her accusations once again hurt Erik badly, even though the latter tried hard to keep his composure.
"Yes, yes, I see what you mean," he interrupted Christine. "I know such a specimen myself," he added giving Erik a lopsided grin. "So you are unmarried and in need of a job, that's why you came here, and because of the scandal in Paris you somewhat altered your appearance, namely hair color and hairstyle, and gave us a false name when you auditioned."
"No," Christine objected. "That is, not quite. I did not think I would stand a chance for a job as Christine Daaé. That is why I changed my hair. But I did not give you a false name. All my documents are in order. I am legally called Kristina Ingrid Johannsen now, since my aunt, min faster Ingrid, who also is my godmother, adopted me. Ingrid has always been my middle name, and it is not unheard of that people prefer to be called by that name rather than the first name."
Nadir nodded. "That makes sense," he agreed. "Now I bet you will understand that Erik here is in a similar situation. In his case it's not his name that is associated with the disaster at the Opéra Populaire, but his looks. When we first came here and heard about the theater being up for sale, we therefore made sure that nobody in this little town learned about his … condition and the mask. That leather mask he is currently wearing can hide his condition only when it is dark outside, so it serves him for coming to the theater in the early morning hours and returning home when it is dark already. He does have a lifelike mask that he can wear for short periods of time, that he uses in order to show himself to the population from time to time, but this mask is very uncomfortable. He can only wear it for a very short time, and therefore he makes only very rare appearances outside of the theater which has caused him the reputation of being a recluse. He most certainly could not wear that thing for an entire day of auditions – or rehearsals for that matter. Thus, he had to resort to what you call "spying". He has to attend these events from a secure place, where he can observe and hear everything, but cannot be seen. He takes his notes and I then inform the cast of his wishes. That is the only way for him to do his job."
Christine looked down at her feet, ashamed. "I had not thought of it this way," she admitted. She did not dare face Erik, when she addressed him. "But I can understand now why you are doing this... have to do it, at least for the moment."
Erik sighed. "It is certainly not ideal, and I wish things were different..."
Christine nodded. "I am sorry for accusing you earlier," she said softly. "I should have understood your situation, especially since I myself had to change name and appearance in order to try and find a job again."
Nadir grinned. The two seemed to have calmed down a bit. And if he interpreted the young lady's contrite expression correctly, she felt sorry. Maybe all was not lost yet.
"Since we have come to an understanding of your various actions regarding the audition," he began again, "maybe we can now get to the business part of our meeting."
He looked at Christine. "This is a suggestion, not an order. You know, we do run a theater, and we are trying to find a singer who could be our leading lady. If you do not want to take that job after having found out who is running the theater, I can understand. But I am under the impression that you are looking for a job, while we are looking for a prima donna. Maybe …?"
Christine shook her head again. "I don't think so," she said. "I mean, yes, I am looking for a job, but I am not sure this is the right place for me. Not with our back history...," she added, side-glancing at her former teacher.
Nadir looked at this friend. "Erik, what about you? What do you say? Do you think you could treat Mademoiselle Daaé like any other of your employees? Business-like, that is, not like old friends or a potential suitor? For I think that is what the lady fears the most, am I right?"
Christine nodded.
Erik closed his eyes. He knew that he had to reassure her, if he wanted her to stay, and despite everything, despite her obvious shock at seeing him and her accusations, he did want her to stay. He knew that he still loved her, would always love her, but he had to accept that there was no hope for him. Though if she stayed, at least he could see her as well as keep an eye on her, keep her safe.
It was apparently not just his face that turned her off, he realized, her words about why she had left the Vicomte had reminded him of something she had said to him that fateful night. "It's in your soul where the true distortion lies". Yes, she had told him that day, why she could not love him, and apparently she had felt in a similar way about her boy, which – come to think of it – was no surprise. After all, they both had tried to kill each other.
"If you would consider helping us out as our prima donna," Erik looked at Christine, "since we really need one and none of the other ladies at the audition comes even close to your talent... Anyway, if you could imagine working for us here, I promise to leave you alone, that I would not try to pursue you or bother you with my feelings. You would just be like any other musician working here."
He sighed. It had been extremely difficult to make that promise, and it would be even more difficult to keep it, for if anything, he loved her even more now than he had back then. She had grown up in more ways than one. She had become more womanly, but she had also grown a spine. She did not allow men to manipulate her anymore. She had learned to speak her own mind.
Nadir looked at her. "How about you, Mademoiselle?" he asked. "Would this promise be enough for you to consider taking the job? And, would you be able to treat Erik professionally as well, accepting him as the boss and artistic manager of this theater, and not screaming at him about things from your shared past like you did just now?"
Christine was unsure. What should she do? Despite everything these two men were willing to hire her. Her teacher had promised to treat her with the respect the leading lady deserved and not to bother her with his feelings... He had said his feelings, not his past feelings.... so he must still have feelings for her. This fact worried her, but at the same time made something in her stir. It made her feel desired.
But could she trust him? Things had started like that the last time. They had been friends, he had treated her well, and suddenly everything had changed. His jealousy had gotten the better of him, his violent nature had taken over, he even had killed... The sight of Buquet's dead body falling onto the stage was forever burnt into her memory. And Piangi had barely survived the attack on his person during Don Juan Triumphant. There was also the fact of the falling chandelier and the ensuing fire that had resulted in many injured people. The man in front of her was the one responsible for all that suffering. Could she really trust him to keep his promise this time? Was it wise to do so?
She looked at him. Her long silence had obviously made him uneasy, for now even she detected the small signs of his nervous state. He almost looked deflated, so as if her accusations had hit home. Had he developed a conscience after all in those two years that they had not seen each other? Was he trying to change? The fact that he was now more or less openly running a theater, pursuing a real career, seemed to point in that direction. But what if this was just another one of his attempts to manipulate her?
"I don't know," she finally said. "I believe I must think about this a bit longer."
Nadir nodded in understanding. "Of course, I would also like to assure you, that should you accept, you will still be free to leave the moment Erik breaks his promise or you realize that the situation is too uncomfortable, too much of a burden for you. I can imagine that with the past history between you and Erik even a business relationship might be a stress on either one of you."
Christine nodded slowly. These two were clearly trying very hard to make her comfortable. Were they really thus desperate for a prima donna? Or...? She did not dare finish that line of thought.
"When would you need my answer?" she asked hesitantly.
"Do you think you can tell us by tomorrow night?" Nadir asked. "Oh, and about the salary..."
Christine shook her head. "That is not my main concern right now. I am sure you would pay me enough that I could make a living," she said. "It is the other aspects of this job that I need to evaluate in order to make a decision."
Tomorrow, she thought. That was not much time, but she could understand that the two men needed to know as soon as possible if they had a prima donna or would have to continue looking for one.
"Fine," she at last decided. "I will tell you tomorrow evening whether or not I can accept this job offer."
"Then that is settled," Nadir said jovially. "Erik, we let you get back to your work now."
Christine rose as well. She managed to mumble a somewhat hasty "Good bye" towards Erik, then left with Nadir.
"It was just as much a shock for him to see you yesterday at the audition than it was for you right now," Nadir confided in Christine. "And I understand of course that the situation is awkward for both of you, but we really do need a leading lady of your talent..."
"Thank you," Christine replied. "For everything. For I understood quite well, that you were trying to calm him down. You seem to know him well, and to know how to handle him..."
Nadir nodded. "I have known him for many years," he said. "I know you have seen him at his worst way back in Paris, but despite everything, he is not as bad as you may think. There is a lot of good in him, it is just not always easy to bring it out in him, what with his self-loathing because of his poor face, and with all the negative experiences he has had because of it during his life so far."
Christine thought about those words for a while. She knew there was some truth in them. After all, she knew herself how sweet and caring her teacher could be – Erik, she reminded herself, his name is Erik – but she also knew how much he hated being different, how little self-esteem he had because of this one imperfection, and how ready he was to expect rejection. After all, she had had first hand experience with these characteristics of his when she had removed his mask that first night in his home underneath the Opéra Populaire.
"I know," she admitted. "It's just that those memories are still quite fresh, and I am not certain I can work with him in a professional manner right now, because of those."
"He is trying hard to live a normal life, with a normal job," Nadir remarked. "Keep that in mind. By accepting, you could show him that you appreciate this attitude, as I am sure you do. And we really do need a leading lady soon, Erik has already finished most of the set design and costume sketches and is ready to start rehearsals..."
Christine looked down. "I will consider all you have told me," she promised. "I guess I have to deal first with today's shock of meeting him again so unexpectedly..."
Nadir squeezed her hand. "Just think it all through," he told her, "and keep in mind that we will accept your decision either way."
