(Disclaimer: I do not own A Monster In Paris; just Madeleine)

(Authors Note: Hello again dear readers and fellow writers! I'm delighted to be posting another chapter for all of you as I hope you've been enjoying the story so far. Until next time, happy reading and stay awesome!)

Chapter 5

-Later-

Sitting in front of the vanity of her dressing room in nothing but her undergarments, corset, stockings and slippers, Madeleine gently began running her brush through her long, strawberry blonde hair as she frowned at her reflection in the mirror. The majority of her left arm, collar and shoulder were covered in large burn scars, while portions of the left side of her face and neck were also scarred, though not as severely, but still quite prominent without her mask.

Although her clothes covered up the rest of her scars, Madeleine knew they would always be there no matter how hard she tried to hide them. With a sigh, she began styling her hair into an elegant updo before applying some moisturizer to her face and lightly powdering it, to which she then applied some rogue to her cheeks and dabbed a few drops of rose oil behind her ears.

Standing up from her vanity, she then stepped behind the dressing partition where she began to don her attire for the evening while softly singing to herself, unaware that her voice would be heard by another.

Francœur had been backstage waiting for Lucille to finish changing when he suddenly heard singing coming from within Madeleine's dressing room. Curious, he approached the door and silently listened, feeling his heart skip a beat as her words touched his soul. He was completely in awe at the beautiful melody he was hearing, for her voice was pure silver and laced with so much passion that it was hard not to be mesmerized by its sweet sound. Yes, Lucille had an amazing singing voice, but he was completely captivated by Madeleine's.

As her song came to an end, he emitted a sigh before the dressing room door softly opened to reveal the young blonde in question. She was now wearing a beautiful violet and black lace long-sleeve, evening gown with her black mask from earlier, and a lovely pair of pearl earrings and matching necklace. Instead of a braid, her hair was now pulled back into an elegant updo, and her cheeks were lightly dusted with rogue while the sweet smell of roses wafted off her fair skin.

"Oh, Monsieur Francœur, I see you're all ready for tonight's performance. I must say that you look very dashing in your white suit."

He blushed and gave her a polite bow of thanks before emitting a series of clicks and chirps while gesturing to her own attire.

"Thank you. I may not be performing, but I wanted to look nice nonetheless," she replied as she felt her cheeks heat up slightly. She had a feeling that he had heard her sing, but opted not to bring the topic up as L'Oiseau Rare was due to open its doors to the public soon. Regardless, she gave him a smile as her sapphire eyes met his yellow-red ones, "Well, I should report to Aunt Carlotta and help her out front, but I'll be sure to visit you again after the show."

He chirped in response before watching her exit down the hall and disappear around the corner.