Chapter II: The Fop and More

It took three, utterly hellish, weeks for Mary to master her stagehand training. During those three weeks, she had learned how to: operate the curtain, move props without being noticed, operate the ropes and move swiftly through the rafters above the stage. She had also adopted the name Pierce for she had to pretend to be a boy. She had taken to sleeping on the roof also known as 'Apollo's Lair' to preserve her sanity (she wasn't about to sleep anywhere near Joseph Bouquet and his friends). When it was cold, Mary slept in the rafters above the stage. For some reason or another, the opera house had become an entirely new world for Mary and she enjoyed every minute she was in it.

Wherever Mary went in the opera house, she always felt as if someone were watching her. When she turned around, nobody was there. This was not the only strange thing she noticed. Once, when she was rushing from the rafters to left stage, tripped and fell against the wall. The wall simply seemed to give way and she landed in a tiny, dark room with one door on the other side. Curiosity got the best of Mary. When she opened the other door, she found a stair well. She followed it down and when she reached the bottom, she found herself on left stage, just behind the curtain. Mary used the passage all the time now but the feeling of being watched grew stronger each time she entered.

In her spare time, Mary went to visit the stable hand Alex, who had first directed her to Jammas. The two had become fast friends. Through him, her relationship with Jammas seemed to become a bit friendlier. Jammas and Alex had; apparently, both arrived at the opera house about seven years ago. They had become friends simply because they had grown up together.

According to Alex, they both had been outcasts from the beginning. Alex was a Greek Italian. His mother died when he was six and Alex and his father (a poor artist) moved to Paris. Alex's father was so poor, he could not support the two of them. Unfortunately, his fathers natural Italian dramaticness had left Alex scared with anxiety problems, thus the only way to calm his nerves was to knit! (Much the same way cross dressing helps Ritsu stay calm). That was when Alex came to the opera house looking for a job.

Jammas on the other hand, had grown up in a poverty stricken village in Northern France. She was her mother's illegitimate child as her mother was the illegitimate child of her mother. Much like Alex, her family could not support her. One day when Jammas was only three, her grandmother came into the room the shack they lived in where Jammas was starting a fire and handed her a letter (Jammas carried it everywhere with her now). The envelope was the most beautiful thing Jammas had ever seen in her life. It was made of well-made and obviously expensive paper. Jammas opened the letter, taking great care not to damage the deep red, wax, skull seal.

She pulled out a card like piece of paper. On it, written in red ink, where instructions for Jammas to gather any belongings and wait catch the eight-thirty coach the following morning (though she was only three, she had already learned how to read). The coach, as Jammas soon found out, transported her to the Paris Opera house where her life had completely turned around.

"Who sent the letter?" Mary had asked, but Jammas bypassed the question by suddenly remembering she had to be at rehearsal.

Alex POV:

"Gah!" Alex grunted, flopping down beside Cesar, "I don't know about you but I'm exhausted!" It was two days before the big performance of Hannibal and the opera house was in complete and utter panic. Apparently, the leading lady, La Chollata, was ticked because one of her costumes was not finished. The Ballet Corps was in disarray because Meg Giry kept bumping into Jammas who bumped into Christine who knocked over the rest of the Corps, which threw off the entire first act. Then, the managers had recently announced their retirement and that they had sold the opera hose to two other gentlemen. This naturally caused worries.

"So... how was your week?" Alex inquired. Cesar stared. The conversation was deffenintly going nowhere. That was the way conversations went in the opera house, especially with Jammas. My social life is really looking up Alex thought when the horse won't even answer me let alone my best friend!

Day before the performance:

Jammas burst through the stable door as she usually did after rehearsal with the latest gossip. "I can't believe lady! She's such a beep, beep !" "What now?" Alex asked, attempting to restrain Jammas from setting fire to the patron's coach.

Once Alex had partially succeeded in calming down Jammas, he asked what had happened. Apparently, Carlotta had quit because a falling background had attacked her. It also did not help that the Ballet Corps was getting more attention then her.

Then came the worse part for Jammas. Carlotta had no understudy. According to the stereotypical acting saying, 'The show must go on', the managers had to pick somebody to play the lead. They had picked Christine. "It's an outrage," Jammas bellowed, "I don't even know why somebody as genius as him, likes somebody as thick as her!" "Who's 'him'?" Alex asked, only mildly interested.

"Ummmm... the patron's brother." Jammas said. Raoul! Alex and Jammas shared the same hatred for the patron's younger brother Raoul. Why? One: He was an absolute wimp, as Jammas had found when she pinched him while walking down to the Ballet dormitories. Two: He was butt ugly and, as Alex put it, a girly man. Three: THE HAIR! It was more feminine than Carlotta's hair. Four: The evil SIDEBURNS of DOOM. They looked like a rodent that had curled up around his head and died.

Anyhow, back to Christine. She was seventeen, about three years older than Alex and seven years older than Jammas. Though she had lived in the opera house longer than both of them, she had never really taken the time to look around and take in its beauty. Her father had been a professional violinist so she had grown up around music. Christine was an excellent dancer and an even better singer (Jammas could vouch for her there), but that did not make her smart. She was easy to take advantage of and if you told her to do something, she would do it without a second thought. She made a perfect servant for Jammas.

Mary stumbled through the door and flopped down beside Alex and Jammas. "I take it you heard about Christine." Mary noted. Alex smiled and nodded. "There's something I have to ask you guys," Mary said, "Today, Joseph Bouquet was talking about a ghost, is that true?" "Who? OG?" Jammas asked, amused, "Oh... yeah, he's our beloved 'Opera Ghost'... he drops notes off for the managers every once in a while, telling them how to run the house." "So he's a real ghost?" Mary asked, rather concerned. "I suppose so. What else would he be?" "I was just curious. It just feels like I'm always being watched... that's all." "It's such a big place. Of course you're going to feel like you're being watched." Alex offered, trying to lighten Mary's mood.

Finale of Performance:

Jammas POV:

"Okay, everybody ready?" Jammas turned and whispered to the girls behind her. They nodded. Jammas waited as the singers on the stage hit their last note. That was the queue. Jammas crossed the stage in three graceful leaps, closely followed by Meg and the rest of the Ballet Corps. They leapt and spun, with elegant perfection, closely packed together but never once touching each other. Jammas felt pride welling up in her as she felt him smile. He was pleased, pleased with them both. It took fierce concentration as the singers came onto the stage again, to keep from hitting them. The last two months of rehearsal were paying off as the curtain closed, ending Hannibal.

The After Party:

Jammas followed Madam Giry and Meg to Christine who was the centre of attention at the party. After pushing through about three rows of reporters, they finally reached Christine who was standing with an armful of flowers, blinking like an owl as she usually did when in shock. "Let's go." Madam Giry whispered to Christine, taking the flowers from her and handing them to Jammas and Meg.

They escorted Christine to her dressing room where she sunk down into a chair and stared off into space. Jammas was about to set the flowers on a table when she noticed something. On the table was a single red rose with a thin black ribbon tied to the stem. Jammas did not know why this rose had caught her eye. It was only one among the thousands lining the walls of the dressing room. Maybe it was because the style looked familiar. She had learned to love flowers from him. Jammas set the flowers down and moved the rose to the centre of the table where Christine would defenently see it. She gave a quick nod and followed the other to out of the dressing room.

Thoughts and POVs:

Accomplice POV: MUAHAHAHA! Many people will die in this story! AHAHAHAHA... (Trying to be foreshadowing)

Christine POV: ... vital organs functioning; heart beating, blood flowing, lungs breathing...

Raoul POV: Talking to Jammes 'How do you like my new hair cut?'

Jammes POV: eeeeeeeeewwwwww!... wait... what hair cut?

Alex POV: I can't decide which is better; horses or cats? Maybe I should finish that poncho... wait... you didn't hear that did you?

Madam Giry POV: What I would give for a tie-die shirt.

Mary POV: I'm living in a musical... I'm surrounded by idiots sucking thumb

Meg Giry: I wonder how Christine is doing. Maybe I should go steal my mother's keys and poke around in her business. I better not let Jammes see me.

Back to the Story!

Alex POV:

"Ouch!" Alex cried as the horse nipped him. The manager's farewell party was tonight so Alex had to take care of all the guest's horses. Jammes usually helped but tonight she had to attend the party. She asked Pierce who said he was going to be busy. With what, Alex did not know.

Mary POV (sorry about Alex's short POV):

Mary treaded softly down the staircase from the roof, leading to the back of the reception hall. This was the quickest way to get from the rooftop to the theatre. The only problem was sneaking through the back of the party without being seen. Upon reaching the backdoor of the party, Mary heard the loud chatter of socially deprived businessmen and drunken singers, actors and members of the Ballet Corps.

Mary slowly opened the door and ducked under the long table stretching across the room, amazingly, without being spotted... or so she thought. After about five minutes of crawling, she reached the other side of the room. "Hey," Mary froze, "Hello Pierce!" Mary slowly turned to see Jammes sitting with her back to the wall, also behind the table. "Oh... Hi..." Mary said, somewhat confused, "What are you doing back here?" "Well, I figured if I came dressed like this," Jammes gestured to her pants, "I wouldn't last long so why not just sit back here and have some 'me' time?" "Alrighty then!"

Smiling, Mary left Jammes and passed through the door to the theatre. Closing the door quietly, Mary squinted, trying to see through the dark cloud filling the theatre. She followed the wall down to the stage where she clambered up on top of the stage. Quickly crossing to left stage, Mary opened the concealed door leading to the rafters. Mary gasped. She had never entered this way so she had never noticed the second door she was now facing. Once again, curiosity got the best of her so she tried the door.

It took Mary several shoves to open the door but when she succeeded, she found herself standing on the first step of a stairwell leading into darkness. She lit a match to guide her way and she descended into the darkness. At the bottom of the stairway and after several winding turns in a dark corridor, Mary reached another door. "Ahhhggg!" she hollered as light poured into the corridor around her. To her surprise, on the other side of the door was... suspenseful pause... THE STABLES! e gasp!

Mary spotted Alex mucking Cesar's stall and was about to call to him when... another suspenseful pause... a hand clinched her mouth, muffling her screaming like action. Alex heard the cry ran at Mary's attacker with his best weapon yet another suspenseful pause Caesar's crap! (Ceased likes fiber) Once Alex was inside, the door closed and they were in complete darkness. Mary felt a rope slide over her hands so rapidly; she had no time to react. A lantern abruptly flickered on to reveal Mary and Alex standing next to each other, both their hands bound together.

As for their attacker, they could see no one. Then, Mary felt as tug on her jacket. She looked down to see a little person staring up at her with enormous eyes, watching her from behind a mask (don't worry, this is NOT Erik... I repeat, NOT Erik). Mary could not see any skin on the little person because it was completely covered from head to toe, in black fabric. It wore a long velvet coat, which covered a coat, as well as a fine made velvet cape, which was so long; it dragged on the ground behind the little person. To top it all off, it wore a white mask that covered its entire face, a black bandana over its hair and a mammoth hat that constantly fell over its eyes.

Picking up the rope the rope binding Alex and Mary, the little person lead them through another door, down another flight of stairs, down another corridor, another flight of stairs et cetera, et cetera. To Mary, they seemed to have walked for hours and down about a million flights of stairs before they reached a channel filled with aqua water. How could there be this much water underground? Mary wondered. They followed the channel until they reached a lake, covered with a blanket of mist. On the edge of the lake, there was a wharf with an elegant black rowboat tied to it.

The little person pulled out a silver pocket watch and flipped it open, "You people have to walk faster if we want to get to the other side of the lake on time!" the Little Person growled, speaking for the first time. After hearing the voice, Mary silently concluded it was female. "Why not just take the boat?" Alex inquired. "Because I said." the now determined Female Little Person growled again.

It seemed to take another few hours to walk around the lake. "Whatever you do," the Little Person instructed, "DO NOT step in the water!" This task proved to be difficult because there was only about a foot of slick, wet, stone shore before it slipped into a dark abbes of dead, flat, shimmering, water. It was only a matter of time before Alex slipped on a wet stone and plunged into the lake, pulling Mary in with him. Mary could swim but the water seemed to drag her under.

Unlike most lakes, where the water slowly deepened, this was a sharp drop off. Unable to use her hands, Mary slipped out of her shoes and attempted to kick to the surface but despite the effort, she could not rise to the surface, instead, she was sinking. Mary looked at Alex. He was following the same procedure but was having no better luck. Mary felt her lungs beginning to burn. She doubled her efforts, only to be stopped by the sound a voice, singing, coming toward her through the water. As voice grew louder, she felt herself going limp and unconscious, being, seemingly, lulled to sleep by this mysterious voice. Half conscious, Mary was just able to feel the tug around her neck as a hand closed around her collar.

Mary spewed water everywhere, panting and coughing. Alex was in no better shape. They were both lying on their stomachs, trying to catch their breath. Alex, Mary could see, was in a state of shock and rightfully so. Had they been underwater for a few seconds more, they surly would have drowned. Mary opened her mouth to thank the sopping Little Person but she held up her hand. "Don't waist your breath on me... we still have to make it to the other side of the lake. We only have half an hour." She picked up end of the rope, which still bound Mary and Alex, half jogging along the shoreline.

After walking for another fifteen minutes, the Little Person finally told them they were here. Mary could not quite tell where 'here' was but she guessed she would find out soon enough. Find out she did. There seemed at first, through the mist, to be just another wharf. Then she saw the doorway. Then the doorway became a house. A house under the Opera. The Little person dragged them through the doorway.

To their surprise, the house was well lit. They found themselves standing in a beautifully decorated drawing room. The walls of the room where completely covered in every type of flower you could imagine. There where several doors leading out of the room. The Little Person led them through one of the doors into a simple stone chamber. Nothing was decorating the walls of this chamber, only cold stone.

In the corner of the room, Mary could see a stake in the floor with manacles attached to it. The Little Person untied them and chained them to the stake. Then, she turned and sat cross-legged in the centre of the floor looking up at them. It suddenly occurred to Mary how easy it would have been to escape from this three and a half foot tall person. She instantly became obsessed with escape.

"So," Mary said, gazing down on the Little Person seated in the centre of the floor, "W-who are you and w-why exactly a-are we down h-here?" Mary's confidence failed her miserably. "As to who I am I can answer easily." The Little Person gradually moved her hands to each side of the mask and slowly slipped it off to reveal an all to familiar face. "Jammes?" Mary and Alex roared in unison. "Jesus! Why did you scare like that and bring us down here?" Mary asked now entirely livid. "That's the part of your question I can't answer," Jammes lowered her gaze, "I only did it because he made me..." Without another word, Jammes stood and toddled out of the room, shutting and locking the door behind her. "Alex, why do we let a ten-year-old brat boss us around like that?" "No idea." Alex said bitterly.

Mary must have drifted off because she sat bolt upright at the sound of voices outside the door. One was Jammes for sure. Mary smiled when she heard it. It was still small and childish but what she said and the way she said it was more intelligent than some of the teenagers and adults at the Opera cough, cough, Christine, cough, cough. The other voice however, she did not recognize... (To be continued later).

"When master? When?" Jammes asked the other eagerly, "I can't wait to see the look on her face!" "Tomorrow night," the Voice answered, "but first we have to deal with these friends of yours. Bring them out now Small One."

Mary heard Jammes unlock the door. It creaked. Jammes stepped inside, once again wearing the mask. She unchained them and to Mary's surprise, did not bind them with the rope again. She simply stood to one side and motioned them toward the door. Mary seized her chance. She rushed out the door at top speed only to be close lined by an arm, skillfully thrown in her path. Mary fell flat on her back, hitting her head on the floor.

She regained consciousness to the sensation of a hand patting her cheek lightly. Mary opened her eyes. Hovering over her was the indistinct figure of a man dressed in black, much the same as Jammes. He too was wearing a mask, which covered most of his face, stopping at his mouth. Realizing she was awake, he stopped slapping her cheeks, grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her into a sitting position. Mary felt nauseous. She put a hand over her stomach and groaned.

"Sorry about that," the man said, noticing her discomfort, "but I can't have people running away to tell on me you see." Mary glared at him. Oh sure! He had the right to keep her prisoner underground and she did not have the right to tell anybody! A perfect way to calm somebody. "I am sorry if his social skills aren't satisfactory, he doesn't get out much." Jammes appeared out of nowhere, grinning.

"THIS... IS... NOT... COOL!" Mary roared at Jammes, "Let me go!" "If we did that then we'd have to kill you wouldn't we?" the man replied calmly, pulling out a nail file, "Like I said before: I can't let people know about me." "Since when am I not a person?" Mary asked, still fuming, "Why am did you bring me down here?" "Really Jammes, why did you bring her down here?" the man stopped filing his nails and turned to Jammes. "She got in the way!" Jammes said, bursting into tears and starting to jump up and down, "SHE GOT IN THE WAY! SHE GOT IN THE WAY! SHE GOT IN THE WAY!"

"I think it's time for your nap," the man said uncomfortably as he picked her up. He crossed the room to a closet door and set her inside (being careful to lock the door). "I'M NOT TIRED!" Mary heard Jammed cry form inside the closet. The man then returned to his previous position, leaning against the armrest of the couch Mary was sitting on. "Who the heck are you?" Mary snapped at him, "If I have to stay down here I would at least like to know who my captor is!" "Fair enough," the man said looking slightly amused, "my name is Erik."

AN: If you review I'll put up another chapter. Unless you want me to stop of course!