A/N: Hello! In this chapter, things get… odd. I hope you enjoy it, and review if you please! I'm really starting to kind of like Love Never Dies; I think I need therapy and possibly heavy narcotics. You guys tell me what you think of the sequel nobody wanted!
Chapter Five: Her Plan
"Isn't this just fab?!" Sixty cried, waving her arms about like a maniac as I tried to make myself look presentable. Tonight was the gala, the night that Christine got her big break, and I was so excited that it made me want to jump around even higher than Sixty.
The dress of course was the reason I couldn't. I'd been digging about in the cupboards in my room, trying to find something to wear, as Mme. Giry had said that I would be sitting with the Manager's in box six, perfectly adjacent to the mysterious box five.
I finally threw open the final set of drawers, expecting something skimpy or short that was intended for the ballerina's, but instead, I was greeted by the sight of a beautiful, yet very old-looking golden ball gown.
It was simple, made of gold-coloured fabric with no embroidery or details, but it would have to do, as there was nothing else. It was covered in a thick layer of dust, but I brushed it off and tried it on, finding it to be a bit tight, but still wearable,
A cracked mirror was found behind a panel of wood and a quick look at my reflection was all it took to realize that my hair needed help. I brushed it out with my fingers and twisted it every which way, trying to get it to behave when Sixty appeared, closely followed by Goblin.
"It is wonderful, isn't it my darling Sixty, our baby girl is going to her very first party!" Goblin cried, flying about the room as I tore a piece of fabric from one of the older costumes to tie my hair back with in a ponytail. I looked as simple as my dress and I knew I didn't belong anywhere near an opera, but I was going to have to face the music sometime, and speaking of time, I didn't have much of it.
"Oh lord!" I shouted when my nerves reached their peak. Sixty gave me a worried glance and a hug to calm me down, which didn't really, help, but I wasn't about to tell her that.
"Here." She said, showing me how to tie my hair. "Keep your bangs out of your eyes, pretty blue peepers like that aren't made every day!" She told me with a grin that I supposed was to make me feel better. It almost worked, it really did, and when I tied it like she showed me to, I looked a little bit better, but still, I didn't feel right.
I stood up and sighed, smoothing out of dress and fixing my hair, trying to find some accidental way for everything to fall into place. That didn't happen as I put on the blue shoes from before that didn't really go with the dress, and stepped away from the mirror.
"I look okay if you tilt your head to the side, close both eyes and imagine a pretty blonde girl in a boring dress." I said dully and Goblin laughed.
"You're not boring, dear. You've got… well you've got a wonderful personality!" He said, fumbling over the words as I rolled my eyes.
"I look drab, but I guess or will have to do. I don't know how old this dress is though, it seems very out-of-date." I said, smoothing the skirt.
"Well, it was covered in a layer of dust thicker than the polar ice caps." Sixty reminded me and I nodded sadly, brushing away and last specks of dirt from lack of use.
I sighed loudly and closed my eyes, taking deep breath and letting my shoulders relax. "You, know, I'll be sitting with Grizzly and Elvis tonight." I said, trying to calm my nerves by spouting useless information.
"Oh, they don't speak English, right?" Goblin asked and I shook my head.
"They're apparently conversational, according to Meg, that is, by I'll bet a pound to a penny that they'll just use it to talk about me behind my back." I replied with a huff and Sixty giggled.
"You'd better learn you're French then, girl!" She squealed, jumping off of the armoire she sat atop. I smiled at her excitement, knowing how much she wanted to go to, but she knew that she'd just be a distraction for me.
Sixty and Goblin are good to me, they don't come out when other people are around, so I can focus and not have to worry about accidentally looking at something not there. Sycamore didn't really come out at all during the day, but she would come out sometimes in physical therapy back 'home' in the hospital to try and get me in trouble.
"Actually, Sixty, it seems that dear Annie must be going, or she'll be late." I looked to the ancient grandfather clock on the far wall and almost shrieked; I had five minutes!
"Fuck my life!" I shouted, sprinting towards the door, nearly falling down the stairs as I ran into the front foyer that was packed with people; beautiful and old alike. They sneered at me and my lack of diamonds, as literally every single woman was drenched in them completely, but I was too nervous to worry about that, I had bigger fish to fry.
I pushed through the crowds of people that buzzed into the lobby like flies and felt my anxiety grow. I never liked crowds and in all honesty, I hadn't been exposed to them to the length at which it was now. Pawing through the hoard, I finally was able to pick out Elvis and Grizzly, who looked rather annoyed at my lateness.
"There you are!" Was all I was able to pick out from Elvis's –better known as M. Firmin's- terrible English. Grizzly –who also went by the name of M. Andre- warbled in French about my lateness, making me feel worse than I already did at how underdressed I was.
The Managers were obviously displeased with my attire, as they shot me a nasty glare as we ascended to their box to watch the show. I didn't speak any Italian, so I had no idea what the show was going to be about, but I guessed it had something to do with a man named Hannibal who… did something cool in his life… maybe.
Christine, of course, was magical on stage. She belonged there, I could tell, and the managers were drowning in their own drool when during a particularly raunchy scene. Then came the pivotal point, the last song, the part that would decide if she was more than just a pretty face, and my mind it still blown, even after all of these years.
She glided out on stage, a million tiny, white flowers woven into her silky brown locks, her face free of the eyeliner, lipstick, and gold paint that Carlotta insisted on. She wore a sparkling white dress that exposed her shoulders and hugged her tiny waist while the skirt spilled out at her hips and brushed the ground. Everyone was floored at her appearance, but when she opened her mouth, something magical happened.
A hush fell over the ground as the Maestro began to play and the beautiful chorus girl started off wonderfully, hitting the first notes of the lovely song in the upper register with the greatest of ease. During the middle of her aria, I glanced over to box five, where I could make out the faintest outline of a man in the darkest cloak and suit imaginable.
The Phantom's skin was pale white against the dark curtains, and even from here, I could see a beaming smile of love and pride on his thin lips. I knew why he loved her; she was simply perfect for Lord's sake, but I couldn't help but feel sorry for him, knowing that she didn't love him back.
The song ended and I found myself glancing to box seven across the theater to see the King of the Fops, or KotF as I called him back then, stand and leave, most likely rushing to Christine's dressing room to be the first to greet her. I couldn't help but smile as the Phantom left as well with a flourish of his cape to beat the Vicomte to it.
Everybody stood up and applauded when Christine hit the very last note with perfect ease, of course I had to make the spectacle and shout the like a crazy person, whistling and screaming 'bravo', mainly because it's a fun word to say. Christine beamed and waved at me gracefully as she curtsied and the curtains closed. Firmin and Andre were stunned, especially after they doubted her so, and I couldn't help but laugh at their astonished faces. Why they ever cast Carlotta in the first place was a mystery to me.
I waited until the masses exited before walking down the steps slowly, taking everything in. Was it magic that I was here, or was my Mom, whom I'm sure is sitting up in heaven, watching out for me. Perhaps she sent me this dream, if that's what it was, as an apology for letting Father lock me away from her. Maybe this is real, maybe I died that night Dr. Hendrix left and this is my heaven.
It's not much of a heaven is Sycamore's here though. I reminded myself with a sigh as I reached the floor of the theater, sitting down in the nearest red velvet seat. I didn't want to go back to my room, not where Sycamore could find me, I didn't want to go to the after-party either, I didn't work here, I'd be booted out for sure, Hell, I didn't even want to have a solitary, drugless rave with Sixty and Goblin! I just didn't have it in me; I had to sort out what was going on first.
I didn't have time, as you could probably guess, as now that I was alone, they came out to play.
"Snip, snip, snip, follow me, follow me." A voice whispered in my head, a voice I hadn't heard for some time.
"Scissor's now is not the time." I said out loud as a little girl in a pink dress with white-blonde hair and pale blue eyes stepped out from behind the curtain. She had a singsong voice like music in my ears. She was one of the Things. She was a human Thing, which was rare, as most of them were rats, but she was a girl, and she could be nice, if she wanted to be. Her name was Scissor's, and she was not to be messed with.
"You don't want to play with Jinx?" Another voice asked and another girl, a few years younger with fiery red hair and emerald eyes cried, swooping down from the rafters and I shook my head. Jinx was Scissor's sister, they were attached at the hip, and wherever they went, their Mother followed.
"Play with my little girls, Annie; they only want to make you smile." A sultry voice said to my immediate left and I turned my head to come face-to-face with Shock, a sultry, pale woman with blood-red lips and black hair with a large, white streak running down the middle. She always dressed in a long, black ball gown and was the closest thing I had to a Mother-figure since I was admitted to the hospital. These three disappeared, and the longest time they left for was six years, claiming they'd gone to Hawaii to get the color back into Shock's skin.
I believed that like I believed that I could fly if you threw me from a high enough distance.
"Not now, Shock, I have to sort out my life!" I said loudly and she nodded.
"Oh, I see, you don't know what's happening then?" She asked and I glared at her.
"Le duh! Care to enlighten me?" I asked and she shook her head.
"Actually, Annie dear, I much prefer this; it's very entertaining to see you like this." She said matter-of-factly and I growled at her.
"Mummy, that's not fair to her!" Jinx said and Shock shushed her.
"Please, Jinxie-bell, just let her figure this out on her own, she'll be seventeen in a few months!" Shock scolded her daughter.
"Snip, snip, snip, Mummy can't we just tell?" Scissor's asked and Shock shook her head.
"No, she doesn't need to know about her plan just yet, my little dears, come along now; we've kept Annie long enough." She said, flashing over to her girls on the stage, taking each of their hands and vanishing without a trace.
I really had no control over when they left, so it didn't bother me like when Goblin and Sixty just left, but still, what did Shock mean by 'her plan'? I didn't know; my only hope was that it would be uncovered soon enough.
I stood again and decided to explore some more. I crossed over the theater floor until I came to the staircase that led to box five. I took each stair at a time, a bit afraid of what I might find in the Phantom's box. I reached the curtain that separated me from the seating area and took a deep breath, slowly pulling it back.
Behind it was the most fabulous view of the stage I'd ever seen, it really was the bests eat in the house, no wonder Erik liked it so much. I sat down in the chair that looked as though the Phantom widely ignored it, as he didn't want to be seen and felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I breathed in as my heart rate accelerated for some reason and thought I almost smelled something like expensive French cologne, but it was gone before I got the chance to really know.
I shrieked out when I felt a hand on my shoulder and whipped around, pulling the arm off of me. I stopped short and gasped for air when I realized it was only Joseph Buquet, the stagehand Meg warned me about.
"You shouldn't be up here." He growled, his breaths smelling like alcohol, probably from the bottle that he held in his hand. "This is his box." I nodded, icy fear flooding my veins and he reached out to grab my wrist.
I jerked back and he narrowed his eyes. "I know, I was just leaving, I have people I need to see." I said, trying to push past him, but he caught me by the shoulders, pushing me back down on the seat.
"You may see them, but I don't, no one does you demon bitch!" He said in a low, frightening voice. I was starting to panic.
He heard me, oh God, he heard me! I shouted in my mind but my voice refused to work as he clamped his hand around my throat and lifted me a few millimeters off the floor.
"Let… go…" I wheezed, but he only gripped tighter, making me squeak as he crushed my air pipe, making it impossible for me to breath.
"Listen to me, demon bitch, you stay away from this place and spread your evil somewhere else!" He became louder and began to back up, still holding onto my throat.
I tried to scream as we neared the banister. Tears welled up in my eyes when my back hit the balcony ledge and he leaned in, whispering in my ear.
"Go back to Hell." And with that, he lifted me up and drew back, ready to chuck me over the side.