Chapter Seven: Madame Giry's Secret
The cast and crew members of the Opera House were quite reluctant to begin rehearsal on the Phantom's production. Not only were they all horribly frightened of being strangled to death, but the Opera itself was very strange indeed. The score was dissonant and eerie, and the storyline was extremely unorthodox. The show told the story of a young man, the "Merchant", who betrayed his wife while having relations with another man, "Don Juan".
Several chorus members refused to participate, although the most shocking rejection was that of the Opera's leading man, Christian Daae. It was unclear to many people the reason why Christian, of all people, had turned down the role of the Merchant. It was the largest role in the production, and seemed to have been written for him to sing. Nevertheless, he refused to take part in Don Juan, much to the dismay of his managers. They had invited both Christian and Renee to their office to try and convince him to sing.
"Monsieur Daae, please!" Andre pleaded with him. "He has demanded that you play the part! If you do not, he will kill us all!"
"Yes, it is true!" Firmin chimed in "Plus, think of the publicity you could receive from starring in 'The Phantom's Opera!'"
Renee stood up, angrily. "Gentlemen, get a hold of yourselves! Can you not think of anything besides yourselves and money?"
Christian stayed seated, rubbing his throbbing head in frustration. He had not been able to sleep in days, overwhelmed with paranoia and fear. He was beginning to feel as insane as the Phantom himself. In addition to all of this, the fact that the Opera Ghost had written a storyline that featured a homosexual affair made him extremely uncomfortable.
Suddenly Christian realized that Andre had said something strange. "And what do you mean, he 'demanded that I play the part'?"
Andre and Firmin exchanged heavy glances. Then, Andre removed from his pocket a strange letter written on yellow parchment. Christian knew right away who it was from. Andre handed it to Firmin, who real it aloud.
My Frivolous Managers,
As we begin the rehearsal process for my new production, 'Don Juan Triumphant', I would like to bring to your attention some more reminders of how I like my Opera House to be ran. For instance, I shall still require that Box Five be kept empty for my use. Secondly, I realize that with the Viconte de Chagny as your patron, and with the recent success of the theater itself, I believe that my monthly salary deserves to be raised. Perhaps up to 25,000 francs? Lastly, it is very important that for this production of 'Don Juan', the role of The Merchant is to be played by none other than our beloved Christian Daae. And, if you would be so kind as to pass the following message along to Monsieur Daae:
Remember, my dear Christian, that I am still your Angel of Music. Do not forget who taught you everything you know. And, although your voice is good, there is still much to learn. If you wish to excel, you will return to me, your obedient master and angel.
Sincerely,
O.G.
Christian's eyes were wide with unease. Then, he simply shook his head and stood up, "I cannot do it."
He turned to leave, but Renee was frozen in thought. Finally, she spoke. "Actually, Monsieurs, I have an idea."Andre and Firmin stared at her, confused. "What if…we tried to capture this mad man?"
Christian placed a hand on her arm. "Renee, what do you mean?"
"It is simple. We will perform his Opera, which he will obviously attend. Then, we line the auditorium with armed guards who will be waiting to attack whenever they get a clear shot of him. And we know exactly where he will sit, too!"
Andre and Firmin were impressed. "That is a brilliant plan, Madame! If we execute it right, he will be out of our arms for good!"
However, Christian was upset. "Renee, this is madness! You can leave me out of your silly plan!" With that, he turned and ran out, leaving them alone and stunned.
"He will come around, eventually." Renee reassured them. They agreed to discuss the plan later, and she left the office to try and find her distressed fiancé. However, Christian was no where to be found. Fortunately, Renee came upon Madame Giry in a nearby wing of the theater.
"Madame, please, I've been meaning to ask you something…" Renee began, slightly intimidated by the rather vampiric woman.
"What is it, Viconte?" Giry replied skeptically.
"Well, it's about the Opera Ghost—''
"I cannot talk speak of this!" Madame Giry interjected, banging her staff as she turned to leave.
"Madame, please!" Renee pleaded, "It's obvious that you know more about him than the rest of us do! And I think that we can finally put an end to his trickery, I just need more information!"
Giry took a low breath, then glanced quickly around to make sure there was no one listening. There was a long pause. Finally, she muttered, "Fine, I will tell you what I know."
They decided it would be better to talk in Madame Giry's office, which was significantly smaller and less grand than the office of Andre and Firmin. Renee listened with intensity as Giry told her story.
"It was years ago. I was just a girl, living here, in the Paris Opera. My mother taught dance here, so did my grandmother. It was all I knew. Each night, I would go with her to the basement of the Opera House, where she was told to check on and make sure there were no vermin. The basement was a series of stairs and tunnels, and I became very familiar with it after spending each night down there with my mother. Eventually, she allowed me to just go down by myself and scan the area for her.
"One day, there was a very special event going on right outside the Opera, a traveling Freak Show from a small town north of Paris was visiting. My mother took me there to see the strange abnormalities and the unearthly performers. There were many acts that day, but the most bizarre was a young man named 'Two-Face', who had a nasty deformation on one side of his face. It was so frightening and unusual, in fact, that those who attended the Freak Show believed him to be a demon. There was a massive riot amongst the people, and before we knew it, they had formed an angry mob who chased 'Two-Face' clear out of Paris.
"However, one night, while I was doing my routine check-up of the basements, I noticed a sad, skinny, little man who had been seeking shelter in the catacombs of the Opera House. And soon I discovered that this was the poor Freak Show performer that had been chased by the mob. And although he was known to the public as 'Two-Face', he preferred that I call him by his given name, Erik.
"Over the years, I watched over Erik and made sure he was never found by the workers of the Opera House. I took care of him, supplying him with food and water, and even giving him his own organ with which he could compose music himself. It wasn't until recently that I realized my mistake. I should have left him there in the basement to die, it would have made things far less complicated. But how could I have known that his poor creature would turn out to be the cold-blooded monster that he is today. What makes him all the more terrifying is just how smart he is, Viconte. He is a genius. An architect, a composer, a magician. He will out-smart us all in the end."
She finished her story in poetic grief, a tear rolling down her face. It was clear to Renee that Madame Giry held herself responsible for the actions that had occurred in the last six months. Renee cleared her throat, and went up to Madame Giry, placing a hand on her arm in pity.
"Thank you for sharing this with me, Madame," Renee told her sympathetically, "But you do not need to live in fear for much longer. I am going to stop this murderer once, and for all."
Giry looked up at her gratefully, wiping away her tears. "Thank you, Viconte."
Renee suddenly remembered that she had yet to find Christian. "You wouldn't happen to know where Christian is, Madame?"
Giry nodded, "Meg told me that he left to go visit the grave of his father. He tends to visit there during times of trouble."
Renee found herself panicking, again. "Thank you, Madame. I must go to him, he isn't safe by himself right now!" She stood up from her chair and went to prepare a carriage to take her to the nearby cemetery.