Chapter 10: Shenanigans and Rat-igans
Meg didn't know where she was going. Not that she cared anyway. All she knew was that she had to get away from the Phantom until he had calmed down. Tears were still streaming down her face, even though she had been running for ten minutes.
Finally, she had to stop. She was gasping for air, and her side was starting to cramp. She slowed down and started to take in her surroundings, trying to figure out where she was. There were no landmarks that she recognized. She hadn't really ever been outside of the Opera house before. The only few times she had; she had been with her mother, who had always known exactly where she was. There were tons of people around, but she didn't recognize anyone. But that was no surprise: she had been living in the Opera since she was little. Deciding that she had to eventually ask for directions, she walked up to a lady with the reddest hair she had ever seen. Even Carlotta's hair didn't compare to this lady's! Politely she waited until the lady noticed her. "Bonjour," she said quickly, as the lady gave her a look of annoyance. "je suis désolé de vous interrompre, mais je suis perdu." (Hello, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I'm lost.)
The lady stared at her for a moment, then hesitantly replied, "C'est bon. où vous essayez d'aller?" (It's okay. Where are you trying to go?)
Meg smiled quickly at the woman and wiped any trace of tears from her eyes. " L'opéra garnier. je vis là-bas, et je n'ai pas été à l'extérieur de celui-ci, très souvent." (The opera garnier. I live there, and I haven't been outside of it very often.)
The woman looked at her blankly, then started chuckling. Meg was started to get hurt, but then she realized how silly that would be. Here she was, a ballerina that had lived in the Opera her whole life, and as soon as she exits it, can't find the building! Meg started to chuckle as well, and the two of them stood there, chuckling, while other people just stared.
The woman finally was able to speak, though she was still chuckling. "Je suis désolé, c'est juste très drôle pour moi." (I'm sorry, it's just very funny to me.)
Meg smiled and shook her head in protest. "Pas; je suis d'accord. il est assez hilarant!" (No; I agree. It is rather hilarious.)
The woman chuckled again, and patted Meg's shoulder comfortingly. "Vous n'êtes pas loin de tout. l'opéra est à seulement quelques pâtés de maisons. vous êtes sur la Rue de Surène, et l'opéra est de la Rue Scribe. Il suffit de demander un coach pour vous prendre." (You're not far from it at all. The Opera is only a few blocks away. You're on Rue de Surène, and the Opera is on Rue Scribe. Just ask a coach to take you.)
Meg slapped her hand to her forehead and started chuckling again. "Bien sûr! Pourquoi avais-je pas pensé? Merci, Madame!" (Of course! why hadn't I thought of that? thank you, Ma'am!)
The woman gave Meg a friendly smile. "Vous êtes les bienvenus cher." (You're welcome dear.)
Meg smiled again and started walking toward the street once again. Once she had finally gotten a coach, she quickly explained where she was going. "Me prendre à l'opéra garnier, s'il vous plaît. Je suis plutôt pressé, trop." (Take me to the opera garnier, please. I'm rather in a hurry too.)
The coachman simply nodded and it wasn't long after that the all-familiar Opera Garnier came into view. "Merci," she told the coachman and handed him a few coins. The man took it greedily, and Meg quickly hopped out of the coach, refusing to accept the man's hand. She quickly lifted up the skirts of her black and silver dress off the ground, and dashed to the main entrance. She quickly tried to open the door, only to find it locked. Praying that the entrance to Erik's underground lair would still be open, she quickly walked to it.
"Now where would the secret lock mechanism thingy be out here?" she wondered out loud. Obviously it would be hidden, and not easy for anyone to notice, either. But at the same time it would have to be obvious enough that no one would suspect anything. Of course the whole door blended in with the side of the Opera, making it appear as if it were just another piece of wall. But having seen it (and already used it), Meg knew better. Trying to figure out exactly where the door was going to be was the hardest of all to do. Meg felt along the wall, searching for any slight difference of texture. Of course, her unskilled hands found no fault in the seemingly perfect wall and she wondered if maybe she was in the wrong place.
Growing frusturated, she pounded on the wall angrily. To her greatest surprise, the secret door slid soundlessly open and she was able to enter inside. Warily she looked around; just to make sure that no one was watching. To her relief, there wasn't, and she was able to slip inside unnoticed. She tried to see if Erik was still on the floor or not, but her eyes hadn't adjusted to the darkness of the tunnel yet. Annoying as it was, she knew that she couldn't wait for her eyes to adjust before figuring out whether Erik was still here or if she needed to find her way back to his lair.
She felt along the sides of the wall, halfway praying that Erik would be in his lair, if only not to scare her to death by popping out from one of the many shadowy areas in the tunnel. Of course, the whole tunnel, was dark; but some corners appeared to be darker than the rest of the tunnel.
Keeping her right hand on the side of the wall, she hastily snatched it back to her side when she felt cobwebs. Smacking her hands together, she prayed that there was no spider in that particular cobweb. Of course that would be the moment when a rat would dart out from a corner and run across her foot.
… … … … … … … … … …
Erik was on his way back to his lair, regret still hanging in his mind like a cloud on a rainy day. He might as well accept his fate and just go lay down and sleep until the pain had gone away. He was just about to turn into the tunnel that led to the way home when he heard a bloodcurdling scream.
AN: Sorry, but then again, I'm not sorry. :) I'm pretty sure you all know why he would have heard a bone-chilling scream in the tunnel that both he and Meg happened to be in. ;)
A day-early update for my wonderful reviewers! (Yay!)
Anyways, thank you all for you're reviews! I think I've made a new record: 4 reviews for one chapter! Yay! I really do appreciate your support, and I am utterly delighted that you guys are enjoying this story. In fact, I'm so delighted that I already have ideas for the sequel!
Wait, what am I talking about?! I need to get this story finished first before I can start thinking of a sequel! :D Okay I'm done chattering now.
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