CHARLES

"Charles, are you insane?" Dad asked me after I'd told him what I was doing later today. "You want to train a girl to take over for the prima donna?" I nodded seriously.
"Benedetta is a waste of space and everyone knows it Dad!" I defended myself and he kept shaking his head.
"Charles, that isn't for you to decide!" He cried, looking at me desperately and I almost felt a twinge of regret, but Madeleine's voice sang through my mind. No. I had to do this. She was too good to go on as she was, in the chorus. "Jesus Christ, you're just like-" He stopped himself, clapping a hand over his mouth. My eyebrows raised for he hardly ever cursed or allowed himself to get worked up.
"Just like who Dad?" I asked, crossing my arms and leaning against the mantle in his study. He looked at me with such fear in his eyes, my heart broke for him.
"No one...forget it."

Not wanting to upset him further, I let it go, since he probably was just talking about Mother as he always did when he was unhappy.
"Look Dad," I began, determined, "I am going to do this...I'm sorry if you don't like it, but...but...I really believe in Madeleine." He looked up at me, beaten and sunk down into his desk chair, putting his face into his hands.
"This can't be happening..." He muttered, sighing before raising his head again. "Charles, you are twenty-five years old, and I can't stop you anymore. If you feel you need to do this then I am behind you...but I want you to know I don't agree with it and wish you would reconsider for everyone's sakes."
"Dad," I said taking his hand, "Nothing bad will come of this! I swear!" He patted my arm.
"Just be careful..." He sighed.
"I promise." I replied and left the room, closing the door almost all the way behind me. When I peered back into the crack, Dad had his head in his hands again and was reaching for his bottle of brandy.

As I walked down the hall I could hear my Aunt and Uncle arguing loudly in the room they were sharing.
"Look Lane," Uncle Garrett said, "Our whole family is here. Paris is where we grew up. The children love it here...why don't you want to move back? The London business is perfectly fine and I think it's time for us to come home."
"It's just...so many bad things happened here, I don't know...I'd like to come back, but I am scared...remember when you left me alone here when your father died right after our wedding? Every time we pass the old police house I still see his face..." Whose face? I thought.
"Alana, the past is over. It's time to move on. Besides, it was that incident that made us closer and eventually fall in love. I love you Lana. You're my best friend! Forty-one years later, here we are. We have four beautiful children. We are happy Lana. Finally." I heard her sigh.
"I love you too. You're right, I'm being silly. It's time to let go of old demons. Let's come home..."

That was all I heard as I reached my room and flung myself onto my unmade bed. I looked at the clock on my wall. Only twelve-thirty. Damn. On my desk, I noticed an ever widening stack of neglected blue prints that I should have been working on. I rubbed my eyes and walked over to my desk, sitting in my leather office chair. I picked up my new pencil, which I had sharpened the day before and began to put the finishing touches on my most secret project. My own house. I'd been working on it a while back, but had neglected it. The truth was, I didn't know if I would ever need it. There was a knock at my door.
"Come in!" I called tiredly, and our older housemaid, Therese, walked in with new sheets for my bed and an envelope.

"My my, Charles, you live like a pig!" She cried, scanning the room as she set the sheets on the bed and came to my desk.
"Don't work too hard darling," She said, patting my head in her motherly way and I smiled as she handed me the envelope. "This came for you today."
"Thanks Therese." I said, looking at the name. Monsieur Charles de Chagny. She set about replacing my bed sheets with the new ones and making the bed nicely. I opened the letter and pulled out a small printed card from the opera house.

We would like to cordially invite you to attend a masquerade ball on the eve of the impending new year to celebrate twenty-five successful years! Please RSVP.
Sincerely,
M. Richard Firmin
M. Gene Andre

"Anything special?" Therese asked, fluffing my pillows. I shrugged.
"Just a ball...for new years." I replied and she came over to have a look at the invitation.
"A masquerade no less! Will you go?" She asked me and I took the invitation with her. Usually silly parties bored me to tears, but things were different now.
"Actually I am quite considering it!" I replied and she looked surprised.
"I never thought I would see the day that Charles de Chagny was excited to go to a party...what's going on young man?" She demanded, laughing at me.
"N-nothing..." I stuttered, turning red and making her laugh even harder.
"I'm only teasing Charles..." She stopped looking at something on my desk. "Who's the girl?" She asked and picked up a rough sketch, smiling when she saw it.
"This is a beautiful young drawing of your mother, except her eyes are too light and she hardly ever wore her hair down. I'm surprised you even remember perfectly how she looked after all this time!"

I took the picture, gasping when I looked at it. It was mother with lighter eyes.
"Therese. That is not Mother..." I said, quietly and she looked at me as if I were crazy.
"Of course it is. Same mouth, same nose, same cheekbones...it's Christine alright." I shook my head.
"Her name is Madeleine. I met her at the opera on my birthday..." I said, feeling a bit strange. I'd never made the connection that Maddie could be my mother's identical twin but for her hazel eyes. Therese was looking at me oddly.
"Madeleine...is that the girl everyone keeps telling me about? The one who was here when I was off last night?" She asked, and I nodded.
"I am actually going to meet her soon...she has rehearsal until three-thirty." Her eyebrow raised.
"Does your father know about this?" Again, I nodded. She kissed my forehead and left the room, taking the dirty laundry with her.

I turned back to my artwork. No wonder Dad had been upset. It must have been painful for him to see someone who looked so much like her when he missed her so. Aida suddenly was at my feet and begging for attention in her gentle way. I lifted her up and kissed her wet little nose as she cuddled under my chin. As she grew bored and jumped from my lap, I admired her grace and beauty as she walked to the bed and gently laid across my pillow. Cats were enchanting animals, so immortal, with those glowing eyes, and so protective. With Aida, I knew I could never be lonely, but having a cat would never be enough for me. I needed something more than the love of a pet now, and I now wasn't sure what I needed or wanted.

Three-thirty finally came as I waited in the dorms for Madeleine to get out of rehearsal. Aunt Meg had shown me to Maddie's room and I sat in the chair, waiting for her quietly. As I looked around her room, I was a bit surprised at how little things she had in here. On the small table near the tiny old bed was a faded gold locket. I softly picked it up and opened it. Inside, was a tiny old photo of a fair haired woman with a lovely smile. The front of the locket was engraved with the name Chloe. On her small dresser was a hairbrush, a mirror, a wash basin and an old worn out pair of pointe shoes. The small alcove that served as her closet had about six dresses in it, including the blue dress she'd worn the night before. Suddenly, the door opened and Madeleine walked in, still wearing her ballet costume and tights as she carried her shoes tiredly. She threw them on the bed and laid down, not noticing me until I cleared my throat. Her head snapped up abruptly and she shrieked in fright, falling off of the other side of the bed.