It was finally New Year's eve and the excitement could be felt in the Giry-Daaé apartment. The girls helped each other with all things make-up and hair and sang classic pop songs in preparation for tonight's festivities.
"Can you feel the excitement already, Christine? Everyone will be dressed up so beautifully and the opera's interior will all make it look like a fairytale. This night is an absolute dream of mine..."
Meg picked up the loose curls from Christine's hair and put it together nicely with the rest in a formal knot.
"It's going to be great. I can't wait to go into a new year like this. Very different from the year before, do you remember?"
They both laughed when remembering what had happened that year,
"When mother fell asleep on the couch while waiting for the countdown to start, we put on a movie on Netflix and completely lost track of time! At 1 am, we had no choice but to wake up maman and tell her she missed the big moment. Ah, she just continued sleeping." Meg spoke.
"Yeah, this year will be more eventful! Still, the movie was great."
"Duh! If Leo DiCaprio is in it, it HAS to be!"
Christine looked up to the ceiling, "Ah, why can't there be more men like him in this world? Men who are polite and hold the door open for you... instead of slamming a cab door shut in your face."
"Keep dreaming, Christine. But hey, maybe you'll find someone decent at the party, who knows?"
Christine shrugged. Maybe? She wasn't really sure what to think of the entire 'boyfriend' thing. It has been quite a long time since her last relationship. She wasn't even sure if she could call that a relationship. She was, what, ten years old? But even then, the feelings she had gotten were some that'd like to feel again someday. Sudden blushes, heart racing, and butterflies in her belly... it was all too long ago.
Christine and Meg were at last finished with all things make-up and dressing up. It was time to head off to the final event of the year. The excitement was running through their veins and the smiles could not be removed from their faces.
They both got in a cab near their house. During the twenty-minute drive towards the opera house, the girls caught up on other topics, such as Christine's classes at the university and how much Meg's mother works overtime, for whatever reason.
Finally, they arrived at their destination. The opera was beautifully lit, with all kinds of people waiting outside, anxious to get in, away from the cold. Most women outside were wearing dresses with a light coat, or none at all. Only a few men offered their jackets to the freezing women. So there is some decency in men, after all? Christine thought and chuckled at the sight.
"We don't need to wait in line outside. Look, we've got special tickets, specially reserved for staff and cast members!" Meg nudged her friend while holding up a small piece of paper containing both of their names.
Christine was very happy that they had the privilege of walking past the queue. She took Meg by the elbow, guiding her as she read through the notes on the ticket.
Once they entered the building, Christine's jaw dropped. She knew what it all looked like from the outside and pictures online, but seeing it in real life did feel more spectacular. Some areas did need a touch-up, she admitted, but it also gave the building slightly more personality. Every single part of the architecture in front of her seemed to have a story to tell.
The beautifully decorated walls and ceilings covered in a layer of gold and black marble gave the old building a luxourious, historical feeling. The chandeliers on the ceilings were also lit, thankfully with electrical lights. The pillars on the sides of the building gracefully guide visitors to the main hall, which was just as astounding. The sheer amount of space that the opera house had! Cleaning it must be extremely tedious, Christine thought. And imagining restoring and polishing up the decorations from time to time. So much work, but also so much love has gone into this place. She was sure of it.
As they entered the main hall, Madame Giry approached them both and hugged them tightly.
"My Meg! Christine! So glad to see you both are here."
"Mother! Your dress looks amazing!"
"Ah stop it, child, have you looked at yourself? You fit right into a fairytale dream."
Meg blushed and adjusted her dress, now becoming suddenly aware of herself and how short the dress actually was now that she thought about it.
"Now, Christine... Meg has told me it's your first time being inside the opera house. What do you think of it so far?"
"Madame Giry, I am so glad I get to be here. Everything looks stunning. I just wish I could stay here forever! Like Meg, being able to perform would be an absolute dream come true. It seems rather unrealistic, and I don't have Meg's amazing skills, but- " Christine got interrupted by Madame Giry.
"Nonsense! Anything is possible if you put effort into it and I know you already do, my dear." she paused shortly, "Will you be attending the grand opening for the performance of our new opera early next year?"
"N-no. I... I don't think I'll have the money for it, to be honest. I'll ask Meg to perform for me in the living room instead!"
"Ah, I see. Well... let me see what I can do for you, my girl. You deserve to join us for the grand opening. Also because it will be Meg's first performance. Family needs to support each other, correct?" Madame Giry lightly brushed Christine's arm in an act of reassurance.
Then, suddenly, a man was walking up to the group. He looked quite familiar to Christine as if she has seen him before. His mask was covering most of the top part of his face, also obscuring his eyes. Madame Giry turned towards the man and smiled, greeting him with two kisses on the cheek.
"Monsieur de Changy! I had barely recognized you with all the accessories covering your handsome face!" Madame Giry then made a gesture towards Meg and Christine, as if to introduce them, "These are my two girls. Meg Giry and Christine Daae."
Monsieur de Changy? As in, Vicomte de Changy? Raoul? ...Raoul!
Christine blinked, staring at her childhood romance.
Raoul also seemed just as surprised to hear her name. He raised his mask from his face as if trying to look at her more clearly. And he smiled at the sight, "Christine Daaé? Is this the girl whose scarf I had to chase into the freezing waters, so so many years ago? The girl whose nickname started with 'Little' and ended with 'Lotte'?"
Christine laughed at the remarks, nostalgia creeping up on her, "Raoul! I did not expect to see you... well, anywhere!"
Raoul in return said, "Ha, I almost hadn't recognized you with that mask! And, well, yes, that makes sense. I never told you back then where I had gone off to. I wish I could have, believe me."
"So, where have you gone to? Now is the chance to tell." Christine said in a slightly flirtatious tone. The confidence boost from seeing familiar people in the room gave her the audacity to behave as such, not to mention the past she had shared with Raoul. Her childhood friend, first romance, lover... Well, not exactly a lover. She was a child back then. But it felt so real. And now, she was craving back those feelings of love and adventure.
"My mother brought me to a private school in Germany after the summer. I was completely unaware of it. I really thought that I would have stayed in France at the time."
"And how come the great Vicomte de Changy now finds himself in London, at the Webber Opera House? I didn't know you were into these kinds of things!" Christine smiled.
Without them noticing, Madame Giry dragged off Meg to a different part of the room, giving the childhood lovebirds some more space.
"Well, I am. My parents used to bring me to musicals and operas when I was little. Now, I wanted to be able to relive those childhood memories whenever I wanted, so I became an official patron of this opera!"
A patron? Raoul must be rich and have enough free time to do this on the side.
"That's so exciting! I wish I could see the performances every so often as well. But-" she cut herself off before saying something about her... nonexistent income.
"But?"
"W-well, I'm just quite busy with my studies. I cannot find the time." she lied, but there was a hint of truth in that as well.
She wasn't sure if Raoul saw through to her at that moment, but he continued anyways, "Ah, yes, well. It's an expensive hobby, too," a slight pause, " Are you still as excited about music as before?"
"Yes! I'm studying to become a professional singer, so I can hopefully one day sing at a beautiful location such as this."
"Oh, is that so?"
She nodded. He looked around as if thinking about something. Then, he turned back to her.
"Would you like to dance with me?"
Christine beamed. She was going to dance with Raoul! Oh how long it's been since she's felt this nostalgia. It made her feel at home. Yet, somehow, she could start to feel that things have changed. He was much more mature now, a whole different person.
She nodded nonetheless.
As he was guiding her to the dance floor, she looked at him with amazement, but there was also a tiny part of her that was scared. She barely knew how to dance. A man is supposed to guide the woman, correct? Which means, she wouldn't have to focus on this for the time being.
They started dancing and Raoul seemed to choose the quickstep. Bless when Christine had to take a basic course of different types of ballroom dances for her high school gala all those years ago. She picked it up easily and saw that couples of people started joining in on the dance floor. It felt like such a fairytale...
"So how is your father?"
Oh boy. It was a fairytale until that.
"U-Uhm, he's no longer here." she only replied.
"Ah, has he moved back to Sweden? Found a lover for himself? Took him long enough, really-"
"No, no, Raoul. What I meant is... he passed away. A few years back."
"Oh."
A sudden wave of sadness and a little awkwardness washed over Christine. How she longed for him to be here with her. He would even offer to play a piece on his violin for this massive audience and wouldn't even get any stage fright. What a man it was... In that particular way, she was jealous of her father.
She spoke up, trying to make it less awkward, "So how is your family?"
"They are all here at the masquerade, as well. I was able to invite all of them, even poor old Phillipe. He's recently gotten married, did you know?"
What a contrast. And he spoke so confidently about it as well.
"Oh really? I'll have to speak with him later, he was always so charming."
"Are you saying that I wasn't?" he said a bit too loudly. A quick smile was given to her afterwards.
"N-No, I wasn't implying that. I was just trying to be nice."
"Ah, good."
She wasn't exactly sure what he meant by that last interaction, but she was certain that the awkwardness level had only risen since they started dancing. Maybe her nostalgia got the better of her earlier tonight.
The song ended and the couples pulled apart, the same with Christine and Raoul. He looked like he needed something to drink. Christine was just glad it was over for now.
"I'm going to grab a drink. Would you like one as well?" Raoul asked. She was right.
As a response, she nodded and gave him a slight smile.
When he walked off, it looked like he was struggling to get past the crowd. It had gotten more crowded over the last song. She was curious how many more people would be let in...
While Christine was still watching Raoul's miserable effort to get past the crowd, she figured she'd better make space for the other dancers on the dancefloor. She turned around and intended on walking to a more quiet corner of the room.
As she stood there, she sighed. What was she to make of him? He was... nice. But it seemed as if he was a bit arrogant. Maybe he was just nervous.
"You look troubled."
Christine was startled at the sudden words. She looked around to see the person who had spoken to her.
It was a tall man looking down upon her. He wore a long, dark jacket that went all the way past his knees. The jacket had golden pins and some buckles to close the jacket at the front. The combination of those elements gave the jacket an officer-like feel to it. His face was almost completely covered up, from his right and left cheeks to his eyes. It was like he was trying to be unrecognizable.
But those eyes... those beautiful blue eyes. They almost lit up a room. Christine was almost drawn to them like a moth is to a light source.
"Mademoiselle?"
She realized she was staring too long and had completely forgotten what he had asked her.
"Oh, I-I'm sorry." she was embarrassed.
He smirked, very aware that she had been staring at him before, "I said... You look troubled. Are you all right?"
"Yes of course," she looked down, "did I really give such a gloomy impression?"
"Truth be told, you looked more miserable during that dance with the patron."
She looked back up at him. He... watched her dance with Raoul before? She wasn't sure how she felt about that.
"If I may be so bold and demonstrate the beautiful woman a real dance?" he stuck out his hand for her to take.
This...handsome stranger was asking her to dance?
Without being aware of what she'd done, her hand suddenly found herself in his as they walked to the dance floor. When they arrived there, he placed his other gloved hand on her waist. He looked at her. Those piercing blue eyes forced a sharp inhale on her part, and she held her breath... until the music cued them in.
Unlike Raoul, he guided her into a waltz. Christine was absolutely terrified, as this was the one dance she hadn't practiced enough when she was younger and it was overall considered one of the harder ballroom dances. But this man seemed to have no trouble with it like it was his second nature. The steps flowed into each other with grace and she felt herself being able to follow along quite easily.
She let herself open up to the dance, simultaneously also giving the mystery dance partner a smile and a laugh every so often.
As the song continued, Christine noticed how much closer they were getting to each other with every step they took. She felt his warmth and heard his rhythmic breaths clearly. Her heartbeat quickened and seemed to be louder than ever before, blood rushing through her entire body that numbed her ears, she was afraid that he was able to hear her becoming nervous.
His blue eyes stared down at her. Glowing ever so brightly. There was something so oddly familiar about those pair of eyes. It felt like... home. A home she had never visited before. A home where she could be herself and truly be loved. Oh, how she longed to go there and be free.
She couldn't resist asking.
"Who are you?"
The man slowly moved closer to her, slowing down the dance, almost coming to a full stop, softly leaning his forehead against hers, "That is not important right now," His hand, which had been intertwined with hers, let her go, only to take their place at her waist. He drew her closer and slowly moved to the rhythm of the subsequent song. "Is that not the beauty of a masquerade, being able to hide your identity in plain sight?"
"Does this mean I will never know who you are?"
He was silent. Only after a while, he made a sound. He hummed an unfamiliar tune. A hint of sadness, but also of happiness could be heard from the hum. It was... calming. Her nervousness seemed to disappear and, instead, a feeling of warmth took its place.
Then, the crowd cheered. They started counting down. 10 seconds to midnight. And she was standing here with this unknown man. Would she dare to go into a new year with him? Did he expect her to kiss him? Oh, dear. What was she to do? In a way, she wanted to… she knew it was wrong, it wouldn't lead to anything and she'd make a fool out of herself. But sometimes the heart takes over the mind, and all that you think you need becomes irrelevant. All that you know you want directly becomes more important.
And he seemed keen on wanting to as well.
They stared at each other and appeared to lean in more and more as the countdown continued.
5...
His hand brushed a curl from her face behind her ear.
3...
She could feel his breath on her skin.
1...
Their lips were only millimetres apart…
And that's when it all went dark.
The crowd hushed and searched the room for any explanation. It was so dark that the only light source available to Christine was the stranger's blue eyes. These only represented worry and angst.
They no longer looked at her. They scanned the room, searching desperately for something unknown to Christine.
"I must go. I'm sorry."
Before she could say anything, the man disappeared into the crowd.
She snapped back to reality. It felt as if she was taken out of a trance.
He... left? How dare he leave her just like that? It was outrageous.
Unless... he had something to do with this? Maybe he works in the IT department?
Maybe he was the cause of the blackout?
Well, nonetheless. She hoped he would come back to her somewhere tonight. He would, right?
Just a few moments later, the lights turned back on. And so, it was on with the show. Everyone yelled out their happy New Year and the couples kissed. It truly was a sight.
Christine looked around and all of a sudden felt lonely. Why was she standing in the middle of the dance floor alone when she could be celebrating it with the people she truly loves? She had to find Meg and Madame Giry. He would be able to find her in the room if he truly wanted to.
She found them standing by the drinks section, talking eagerly to one another. Meg spotted her walking towards them and waved.
"Christine! Happy New Year!" they kissed each other twice on the cheek, and the same with Madame Giry, "How come you are all alone? We thought you were with Raoul?"
Oh, Raoul. She had completely forgotten during her trance. Where in heaven's name was he?
"Happy New Year! Uhm, he went to get us a drink and never came back," or maybe he saw her dancing quite intimately with a random stranger, which would surely make him turn around quite quickly, "Let me know once you find him."
"I don't think that's necessary." Madame Giry pointed at something behind Christine. As she turned around, she saw Raoul with two drinks and a bright smile on his face. Phew, this should mean that he didn't see what happened before.
Christine excused herself and walked towards Raoul, "Raoul, where have you been? You missed the countdown."
"Oh Christine, I am so sorry! I got caught up in something. But you'll never guess the good news I have for you." he handed her one of the drinks.
She curiously asked what the news was.
"I talked with some of the managers of the opera and they are willing to give you a job!"
Christine couldn't believe her ears. A job, here?! But, how? They didn't even know her, she hadn't auditioned. It was great news Christine thought, but did she deserve it? Ah, but she couldn't contain the excitement.
"Raoul, I can't believe it! Oh, being able to perform on a stage here is something I've looked forward to-"
Raoul cut her off, expression slightly changing, "Oh uhm, maybe I should have been more specific. Ehem... so the job they are offering you is for cleaning. Cleaning up the opera after-hours. You know, with a mop and some wipes?"
Oh. I mean, it's still a job. Not the one she was expecting in the least, but if it makes good money...
"I see. Eh, tell them I'll think about it." he nodded in return, "Oh! And thank you..."
"Anytime. I just know how much you adore this place. Well, now you can see the ins and outs of it all! How amazing is that?
"D-Definitely." Yeah. The ins and outs of the bathrooms.
She waved him goodbye and turned to her friends. Who overheard what had happened.
"W-Well, congrats!" Meg said enthusiastically, slightly amused by Christine's expression.
Christine had never thought of taking on a different job other than a performer at an opera such as this. But she dared to see it as an opportunity to get to know the staff that works here. Maybe she was able to forge connections and climb up toward her dream job. Or maybe she wouldn't. It was a new year, after all, anything could happen. She just had to set the right goals.
And one of her goals was to pay her bills. But now it was also to see the man of mystery again.
Yet, she did not see him again that night.