Chapter 3

It was another 45 minutes until Madame Giry had concluded her lessons for the day. Marinette could imagine how tired the ballet mistress could be, the girls with the exception of Meg, had difficulty grasping the concept of grace. Madame Giry walked over to Marinette, the stress was evident on her face. Marinette mustered a small smile as she stood from the crate she'd been perched on.

"Let us go ahead, Meg is wrapping up her gossip with her friends, she'll be along shortly." Madame Giry linked her arm with her nieces as they slowly made their way to the kitchens. They walked in silence as Marinette tried her best to push aside the uncomfortable feeling she had. She knew Madame Giry meant well, but she hardly knew her. Eventually the two women reached the kitchens and Madame Girl made a motion for Marinette to take a seat while she prepared the tea.

"Now tell me how your life in Italy was. Your Nonna wrote to me a while back, I was ecstatic to finally hear from your mothers side of the family." Madame Giry took a seat while she waited for the kettle to boil.

"I loved living in Italy, though the same can't be said about my mother." Marinette gritted her teeth. Had her Nonna minded her peas and carrots, she would be helping with dinner service at this moment.

"How has Cecelia been? I must admit I was shocked when she and your father settled down. Francois was always so rooted and your mother...well she was a free spirit." Madame Giry smiled sadly. "You couldn't be more correct Madame, my mother left before my father's body was cold in the ground." Marinette stood as the kettle began to boil and scream. Funny, that was how she felt at this very moment.

"What? She left you after- oh you poor thing." Madame Giry sighed. Marinette poured the hot water from the kettle into an aged teapot. "Please don't pity me, Nonna was all the mother I needed after she left. Truth be told I don't think my mother was ever meant to be a maternal figure." Marinette prepared the teacups and began searching for some sugar.

"You won't find any there dear, sugar is too expensive for us to buy. No one really wants to come to opera nowadays. We do have cream though." Madame Giry stood and grabbed the cream from the ice box. Marinette began to pour the tea as Madame Giry poured the cream. Just as they were finishing Meg came scurrying in. "Ah, the princess has decided to join us for tea after all." Madame Giry chastised her daughter in a tone harsher than she meant. "Sorry Maman, Gabrielle wouldn't let me leave till she finished, it would have been rude to not let her finish." Meg blushed heavily as she hurriedly grabbed a teacup of her own and made her cup. "Oh how I do wish we had some sugar, the tea is always so bitter."

"We do our best with what we have Meg, just be glad the Opera house still has us in her employ." The three women sat in silence, Marinette grimaced with every sip she took, the tea really was bitter. Perhaps the quality has something to do with it, or maybe it was old. The mismatched chinaware was further an insult to injury. It didn't take a genius to figure out that this operation was hurting for money if not destitute. "What happened here? If you don't mind me asking." Marinette looked up from her teacup. Instantly, her cousin and aunt tensed as they slowly set their own cups down. They kept staring at one another, almost as if they were having their own telepathic conversation. "She's going to find out sooner or later Maman." Meg's voice was hardly audible.

"We had a very bad fire here nearly two years ago. It devastated the structure of the building and many people perished. We just re-opened our doors three months ago, but the public isn't so keen to return. Not that it would matter, we hardly have the funds for a production or a headliner." Madame Giry sighed as she took a long sip from her cup. "How did the fire start?" Marinette asked.

"The Phantom." Meg shakily replied. "The what?" Marinette chuckled nervously. "It was the Phantom, well he wasn't really a phantom. He was a man who was sick and she just completely lost it one night. He was in love with the operas Prima Donna, you may have heard of her, Chritine Daae… well now she's Christine de Changy, the Vicomtess." Marinette choked on her tea and began to cough. Madame Giry lightly pat her nieces back until Marinette caught her breath. "You mean to tell me that this is THE Opera de Populair?!" Meg giggled softly. "Of course, how many other Opera de Populair's have you heard of?" Madame Giry shot her daughter a glare.

"The Phantom is no longer in residence with us dear, you've nothing to worry about." Madame Giry placed her hand on Marinette's and for once Marinette welcomed the motherly gesture. "So who's in ownership of the opera house currently, I need to find employment and board." "There's no owner currently, as of right now we are owned by the bank until we can be bought out and find patronage. We have till the end of the month or we'll be forced to close our doors permanently." Meg slouched back in her chair and pouted. "Well no wonder this place looks so bad! It's been neglected and forgotten, well this just awful!" Marinette couldn't help but feel livid, for years as a young girl she read about the Opera de Populair and all its grandeur. "There's nothing to do my dear. Come let's get you situated in the dorms, Meg will show you the way. I'm sure you're ready for some rest after your journey." Meg and Marinette left Madame Giry to clean up. The dormitories were anything but glamorous but the five girls including Meg had warmly welcomed Marinette into their humble suite. They settled down for the night and blew out their candles, soon their soft snores filled the dorm. But Marinette struggled to find her own peace as she tossed and turned. Something had to be done.

"No this won't do at all."