Chapter 4- The Gala.

Christine paced around her room nervously, she still did not know how she had done it, one moment she was just an unnoticed chorus girl, then, all of a sudden, she was playing the lead role in Hannibal!

She clutched the script which Monsieur Reyer had given to her, she was still having difficulty memorising her big aria in act 3, admittedly she had heard it sung by Carlotta countless times, but no matter how hard Christine tried to understand her it still sounded like all of the chorus girls had described her, a load of noise that made no sense.

She looked back down at the script, which was currently opened at page one hundred and twenty. Trying desperately not to think about Carlotta's awful singing, which made memorising the song about 100 times more difficult, she concentrated desperately, trying not to look down at the script. After a while, she attempted the song:

Think of me

Think of me softly

When you said goodbye…

That could not be right… She looked back down at her script. Two mistakes…

AAAAAARRRRGGGHHHH, the performance is tonight, and I can't even memorise the first verse, bloody toad, why did they even employ her in the first place!

She tried to concentrate on the script, but this time, instead of visions of Carlotta interrupting her concentration, it was Meg's musings. Now that she thought about it more and more, the reason that she was playing the lead seemed to lead back to the mysterious 'Phantom'.

It all seemed to fit. She remembered the first time Meg had told her about the Opera Ghost, and how she had said that her mother believed in him. Could it be possible that Madame Giry had been under instructions from the Phantom to make sure that once Carlotta had left, Christine secured the lead role?

But why would the 'Opera Ghost' want me to sing the lead…

Christine froze, the thoughts of the upcoming performance had struck her once more, and here she was thinking about the 'Phantom', when she should really be trying to learn 'Think of me'. She pushed both toad and ghost out of her mind, took one last look at her script, and then attempted the second verse.

Remember me

Once in a While

Please Promise me

You'll try

Yes! That was right, she was at last getting somewhere.

Well, toad may be able to memorise it but at least I can sing it.

This thought gave Christine a big confidence boost, and with a final look at her script, she attempted the song through from the beginning…

Meg stood outside Christine's door, listening as the sound of an angel singing softly hit her ears.

Christine truly does have the voice of an angel, better than that wretched Carlotta! Did the Phantom deliberately attempt to get rid of Carlotta so Christine could replace her?

A hand was placed suddenly on Meg's right shoulder; she wheeled round to face her mother.

"Come Meg" Madame Giry indicated the corridor, which lead back to the main theatre.

"But mother, just listen to her, she is perfect." Meg replied in a daze.

"Yes, she certainly has talent but we should leave her to practise, which is what you are meant to be doing." She gave her daughter a stern look. "Now!"

Meg sighed and walked past her mother, then began to follow the cold corridor. Madame Giry followed briskly, their footsteps echoing as they quickened their pace.

Maybe mother knows something about the phantom.,Should I ask? I think perhaps that wouldn't be wise, but what if the phantom… no that couldn't be so! Meg was trying desperately to decide whether to ask her mother or not.

"Mother, is the Phantom involved with Christine replacing Carlotta in tonight's Gala? And how come you gave that note to the managers yesterday?" Meg said it quickly and almost inaudible.

Madame Giry stopped dead still; she had gone a ghostly white. She replied in a hiss. "You ask too many questions child, walls do have ears you know."

Meg opened her mouth to argue but knew very well this was an unwise course of action as she would only get her head bitten off, she decided to drop the conversation.

"Go on ahead Meg, I shall be there in a moment." Madame Giry instructed Meg.

Meg nodded and continued to her destination leaving her mother standing alone in the corridor, Madame Giry waited until she could no longer hear her footsteps, then turned round and headed back towards Christine's room.

Of me…!

Yes! She had done it.

Take that Madame Toad!

In what seemed like absolutely no time at all, Christine had memorized 'Think of Me', the only regret that she had now is that she could not see the look on Carlotta's face when she heard her sing.

She paced around her room, feeling more confident about the upcoming Gala than she had with any other production; she went over to her dressing table and set the now closed script down on the table.

She turned round and looked at her room. For one wild moment, she thought that she had heard voices. She shrugged this idea off though, because, as she strained her ears to try and hear anything, she heard nothing.

She turned back to her dresser, but almost immediately spun back around again. There was no mistaking it. She had definitely heard some voices this time. Slowly and silently she walked back over to the door and pressed her ear against it.

"But you could have killed her!" To Christine's complete surprise, it was Madame Giry's voice. She sounded, half angry, half fearful. Christine pressed her ear even closer to the door. From what she could hear, Madame Giry was having a conversation with herself. "Yes, I agree that she is a definite improvement over Carlotta, but what will the managers think?" There was definitely a note of panic in her voice now.

Christine went to open her door, so as to catch Madame Giry and her mystery guest by surprise; and she threw open the door in one quick movement…

There was absolutely no-one there. Still convinced that she had heard her, she walked on down the corridor. She was on the verge of giving up when, quite suddenly, she heard Madame Giry's voice again.

"Listen to me, the managers are going to be questioning me as to why I recommended Christine. So you tell me, what am I supposed to say?" She could see her now, she was looking directly up at somebody she could not see, for he or she was standing just round a corner and out of sight.

That was it. She could not stand it any longer and she did something that was very brave, but also very stupid. She marched straight up to where Madame Giry was, and peered round the corner…

Now feeling both very confused, and very stupid, she looked upon an empty space. "Who were you talking t…"

"That is none of your business Mademoiselle Daae." Said Madame Giry, cutting Christine off before she had chance to finish her question.

"I heard you, I saw you talking to…to…" Her voice trailed off weakly. She knew before Madame Giry had even begun her answer that this was going to be one of those battles that she could not win.

"You saw no-one, and you will therefore return to your dormitory and practice. This is nothing that concerns you my dear." Her voice was stern at first, but there was a note of comfort in her voice when she had finished.

"I heard my name…"

"Enough! Enough..." Madame Giry let out a long, slow sigh. "Please do not worry yourself with this Christine. I can assure you that it is nothing to be concerned about and you should therefore use your remaining time before tonight's Gala to practice. How is your aria coming on?"

"I've memorised it. I just need to get the ending right." Said Christine, sounding defeated. At last, Madame Giry smiled.

"Glad to hear it. I know you are going to be brilliant for tonight and so I won't feel any guilt in not wishing you luck." And with that, she led Christine back to her room, looking as if a terrible weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Christine stood over the fireplace. She felt very tired. The words which Madame Giry had spoken to someone raced through her mind.

Who was she talking to? There was no one there, but then that… could it of been him?

Christine's eyes grew heavy. She longed to sleep for just a little while but forced herself to stay awake.

You've done it Christine. Have a little rest. You will probably feel and perform better when you next practise. No I have to be perfect. Oh for goodness sake, a little shuteye never did any harm.

She went over to her mirror and looked at her reflection. She sighed deeply. "Well I do look tired maybe I should lie down for a while." She said, thinking out loud.

She walked over to where her bed was at the back of the room. She carefully sat down and then allowed her body to flop backwards, her head hitting the soft pillows. She gazed up at the ceiling, too tired to think, and felt her eyes growing heavier and heavier as minutes passed.

She continued to stir in her drowsy state. Many things were going through her mind making her restless. A soft sound came drifting into her room and as it reached her ears it was clear that this sound was a song.

Night-time sharpens,
heightens each sensation . . .
Darkness stirs and
wakes imagination . . .
Silently the senses
abandon their defences . . .

This song was familiar to her.

"Angel?" she whispered her lips barely moving.

Her body had now completely relaxed with the only movement coming from her being the rise and fall of her chest. The song continued.

Close your eyes and surrender

to your darkest dreams!
Purge your thoughts of the life
you knew before!
Close your eyes, let your spirit
start to soar!
And you'll live as you've never
lived before . . .

Subconsciously her mind was listening to the song. It was beautiful and who or what ever was producing it made it sound so peaceful and compassionate that anyone listening would probably fall in love with it too.

Unable to fight it any longer, she surrendered to her tiredness and fell asleep. The song finished…

You alone can make my song take flight -
help me make the music of the night.

-

"Well André, I think that we have made quite a discovery with Miss Daae." Firmin said confidently to his colleague.

"Hmmm, I think you mean that Madame Giry made quite a discovery with Miss Daae, and we were very fortunate that she recommended her to us." Replied André with a faint note of sarcasm in his voice as he spoke.

Firmin paced around the manager's office. It wasn't what you would call a very big room, but the comforts it had were more than enough to make up for this. At the back of the room was a desk, which was currently littered with pieces of parchment. The piece on top appeared to be a receipt and scratched across it were the words 'Full House'.

Firmin looked over at André, he pondered for a moment on what he was going to say, until he said. "Yes, very fortunate, I couldn't stand that awful Carlotta."

"I agree." Said André. He sounded very half hearted when he spoke. However, he knew what Firmin was going to say before he said it.

"So what have you learned?" Asked Firmin, clearly savouring the moment to its fullest.

"That I'm not always right?" It was not so much a question, more a sort of, 'please shut up'.

"That's right, now getting off of that subject, I think that… Good heavens look at the time!" Bellowed Firmin, pointing dramatically at a clock that hung just above a large oil painting.

André glanced over at the clock, which showed that it was 7pm. "We only have an hour until the Gala starts." André said hysterically, now pacing over to the desk and sorting out the papers, as if he was looking for something to do.

They both hurried out of the door and walked briskly down the corridor, until they suddenly remembered that they had only been there for a day, and were not entirely sure where to go.

"Which way is the main theatre?" Firmin asked André, trying to sound calm. André looked up at him, it was apparent that he has forgotten the way too. He thought for a moment, then…

"It's this way, follow me messieurs." Madame Giry had just appeared from round a corner, they were both too pleased to see her to ask her what she was doing there. "Personally however, I do not see what the rush is. The performance does not start for another two hours."

"Two hours did you say?" Firmin asked curiously.

"But of course no-one told you!" Cried Madame Giry, clapping a hand to her forehead. "The time has been changed from 8pm to 9pm messieurs. I am very sorry. I was going to have Meg tell you…" She trailed off as she remembered the conversation she had had with Meg.

"No harm done my good woman." André said cheerfully to Madame Giry. "I don't suppose you could write down some directions for a bit nearer the time?"

"Of course monsieur André." And with that, they went back to the manager's office.

Firmin handed her the piece of parchment, which said 'Full House' on it. Gave her a quill and some ink, and she scribbled down some directions to the main theatre.

-

Christine rolled onto her side, and opened her eyes slowly. She yawned deeply and stretched upwards. She sat up slowly blinking trying to regain focus and awaken properly.

I needed that. She thought.

She remembered a song that had been playing just before she fell asleep. Well she was quite sure that she heard a song.

That song? Father? The Angel of music? She began to weep softly, as she recalled one of the last things her father had told her before he died. When I am in heaven child, I will send the Angel of music to you. Her father had gone and she was pretty certain that the angel of music had sung that song.

Lets run through 'think of me' once more for luck. She glanced over at the clock on the mantel piece, it read 8.30. Oh HELL! The performance starts in 30 minutes and I'm not even in costume. She threw the door open and sprinted down the corridor and headed towards the dressing rooms.

She ran and thought that on the way she saw somebody who looked the same size as Piangi, but had no time to investigate. She had to get to the dressing rooms, get changed into her costume and if possible run through 'Think of Me' one last time before the performance.

"Christine, where have you been?" Meg was waiting in the dressing rooms. Evidently she had arrived late as well. "Did you see Piangi? I bet he's spying to see if you're any good…which you are." She added hastily. "I heard you practicing. You have the voice of an angel!"

Angel…angel… Christine was thinking about her father again, but knew that she shouldn't be and that she had to be focused for the Gala.

"Here, get changed." Said Meg, and she handed Christine her costume for act 1.

"MEG GIRY!" Madame Giry had entered the dressing rooms. "Why aren't you stretching?"

"Well…I…Christine was…" Meg spluttered.

"Get out there now!" Meg did not need telling twice. She scuttled out of the dressing rooms, and over to the metal bar where the rest of the dancers were. "Christine why are you late?" Madame Giry asked. There was a note of urgency in her voice.

"I was practicing, and then…well, I had a…nap." She finished her sentence rather lamely.

"Do not worry about it now, get changed girl!" She sounded quite hysterical now.

Christine went over to a fold out screen, walked behind it, then got changed into her dress, she needed help with the corset, which was impossible to lace herself.

"You look magnificent!" Beamed Madame Giry. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm…" She was about to say… 'Fine', but found that she couldn't. "I'm going to muck it up I just know it!" She was on the verge of tears.

"You'll be fine my dear. It's normal to be nervous if it's your first time playing the lead role." She went over and patted Christine on the back. "Now, go out there and make your father proud young lady!" Her voice was encouraging and gave Christine just the morale boost she needed. Act One then began…

Two hours later, the curtain for Act Three was rising. Box 5 was now occupied by a tall, slim man, dressed in an evening suit and with the cape to match. He had been watching the performance intently, making mental notes of things that must be improved, things that were up to standard, and things that simply had to go. Fortunately, nothing yet had fulfilled the third criteria.

Right, now for your aria.

There was no doubt about it. He had made the right choice in getting rid of that horrible toad of a woman. Why, the production had to be the best one that the Opera Populaire had seen since before they employed Carlotta!

Christine now walked centre stage. She was smiling, but he could tell that it was not a natural smile. The piano struck up the familiar slow, peaceful tune, and Christine began to sing softly.

Think of me

Think of me fondly

When we've said goodbye.

Remember me

Once in a while

Please promise me

You'll try

Her top notes were superb, unlike the horrible screech that Carlotta used to sing.

When you find

That once again you long

To take your heart back

And be free

If you ever find

A moment

Spare a thought

For me

She was brilliant. The only problem was that she seemed to be horribly aware of the audience.

"Look past the audience." He whispered softly. "Look past them at something that only you can see."

We never said

Our love was evergreen

Or as unchanging as the sea

But if you can still

Remember, stop and think

Of me..

Think of all the things

We've shared and seen

Don't think about the way

Things might have been

She was learning to control her nerves as the song went on, which made her singing, if possible, even better than it already was…

Think of me

Think of me waking

Silent and Resigned

Imagine me

Trying too hard

To put you from

My mind

Recall those days

Look back on all those times

Think of the things

We'll never do

There will never be

A day

When I won't think

Of you!

He stood up and applauded with the rest of the audience. Just the last little bit and it would be all over for her, even though he was keen to hear more…

We never said

Our love was evergreen

Or as unchanging

As the sea

But please promise me

That sometimes

You will think…

Oooooooof meeeeeeeeeeeee!

The audience applauded yet again, more loudly and enthusiastically this time. Hannibal was over. He got up and silently walked back to Christine's room. He went inside, crossed over to her dressing table, and placed a rose, with a piece of black ribbon tied round its stem, and placed a letter on the desk.

Suddenly he heard movement outside the door, and Christine entered. She was exhausted, and he was sure that if it were not for the fact that she was half asleep, she would have noticed him hiding behind the dresser. However, all she did was cross over to her bed and lie down. She was asleep almost before her head hit the pillow.