Of Masks And Roses

The Piano

It was getting warm. I could feel sweat running down my back. There was a roaring sound, like a fan when it's too close to you but it wasn't cool air I felt. It kept getting warmer and louder. I opened my eyes and I saw red. I was surrounded by crackling flames, which were growing taller and hotter by the second. I could feel my skin burning as I recoiled, trying to back away, but I couldn't move. And the flames kept getting closer and closer. I screamed in my find, using all of my strength to move, to do something, anything! I could feel the fire licking at my legs, the noise deafening and the pain unbearable-

My eyes snapped open as I sat up in my bed, running my hands over my legs to brush away the flames as I whimpered and gasped. Blinking, I took a look around me, realizing that there was no fire. Everything was in it's right place, it was cool and silent; the only sounds I could hear was my own breathing.

"Calm down Scarlet," I told myself, "It's okay. It was a dream." I panted, shoving all of my blankets off of me. Quickly I jumped up from my bed and rushed over to the window, throwing it open and letting the cool, September breeze rush over me.

Gazing out over Paris, I slowly felt my heartbeat calm. The sun had not yet risen, but soft blue light began to show in the sky to show that it was on the way. I could hear birds begin to chirp as I leaned my head against the side of my window, feeling the coolness of the woodgrain against my skin.

Once I felt I had cooled down enough I closed the window and returned to my bed, reaching to my dresser to light my gas lamp when I paused. Laying perfectly in the middle of the table was my most prized possession; my red mp3 player. It seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

I looked around me, expecting someone to pop out and scare me. But the early morning remained still and quiet. I was alone.

Gingerly I leaned forwards and picked it up, turning it over and over in my hands. The last time I had seen it was when the crash happened. And now here it was, just like me, appearing out of nowhere. It didn't even have a single scratch on it. Slowly I turned it on, marveling when I saw the logo appear. I quickly chose a song, and stuck an ear bud in my left ear. I sighed as the song 'Learn to be Lonely' began to play. I sighed contently, sitting back down on my bed. When the song ended, I turned it off and carefully set in in my drawer along with my art book.

I gently rubbed the liquid that the Phantom gave me on my stitches and then quickly got dressed in a thin, plain lavender dress, with the sleeves going down to my elbows. I put my hair up in a messy bun and headed out to the kitchen.

"Hey! Scarlet!" I heard behind me. I turned around and smiled as Simon ran up to me, "Mind if I join you?" he asked.

"No, not at all," I smiled, "I'm starving."

"Oh, me too. I hope they have ham today," he nodded, "Oh, by the way, I convinced Monsieur Bayard to switch Buquet's position with mine. That way he won't bother you anymore."

My eyes widened, "Oh, you didn't have to do that," I said, "I am perfectly fine at taking care of myself, you know. I took self defence classes in high-school. Once, my friend Emily got into some trouble with this boy who just wouldn't leave her alone. He wouldn't stop touching her and bothering her, even after she said no many times," I grinned, "So I punched him in the nose. Got a few days detention but it was worth it."

"Well, now I know not to get on your bad side," Simon chuckled, holding up his arms in surrender, "I'm sure that you can finish fights if you want to. It's just I don't trust Buquet. At all."

"I don't trust him either. But, I mean, you don't even know the queues."

Simon shrugged, "I'm a fast learner."

"But what about Buquet? Do you really think that he is willing to learn his queues for his position? He says he doesn't want to get fired but then he gets so drunk he can't even work and-"

"Relax! We have this under control. If he does something wrong, hopefully the managers will finally fire him. Besides, we have enough people here to pick up his slack, we've been doing it for years. Now, let's discuss this later. Food is more important right now."

We walked into the Kitchen and I spotted Meg and Christine sitting at a table. Meg smiled when she noticed me.

"Scarlet! Over here!" she waved. Christine looked up at my direction and smiled, waiving a timid hand.

I smiled at her and turned to Simon, "See you later," I said as he waved goodbye to me. I rushed to the food tables and grabbed a plate. I picked a few selections of food and some utensils and rushed over to the two ballerinas.

"Morning, girls," I said, setting down my plate and taking a seat.

"Morning," they replied.

"How was your night? Did you get enough sleep?" asked Meg.

I shrugged, "Not really. I got... overheated, I guess."

Meg looked at me apologetically, "Oh, that's sad."

"Eh, it's alright, I'll get better sleep tonight." I thought to my mp3 player, thinking of all the music I could listen to as I fell asleep.

                                                                                             XxX

Later that day I walked down the hallway alone, trying to find my way back to my room. This whole building was like a maze, every hallway looking almost the same to me. I had almost given up and decided to retrace my steps when I noticed something in an empty room.

Well, almost empty.

There was a grand piano in the middle of the room, with white walls and a simple chandelier hanging on the ceiling. Two windows on the other side lit the room with beautiful natural sunlight. I slowly walked in, looking at the piano. I stood before it and reached my hand out, running my fingers over some keys. I smiled as a sweet melody rang out, and I looked back at the door then sat down. I placed my hands on the keys and played 'Divenire by Ludovico Einaudi. I closed my eyes as the music rang out, and I played to my heart's content. When the music sped up, so did my heart. I was in my own world, and for a moment, I completely forgot where I was. I could feel myself getting lost in the music.

When the song ended, my fingers slowed to a stop and I felt my heart rate slow down.

"Brava!" I heard someone shout from behind me, followed by clapping and I gasped, jumping off the bench. I stumbled and turned around, gazing at the smiling face of Monsieur Andre as he stood in the doorway.

"M-monsieur, I can explain- I just found this room, I- I didn't mean to play so loud, I-"

"Nonsense, that was beautiful!" he said and walked closer to me, "I have never heard such music. Do you have anymore, mademoiselle?" he asked, "I would love to hear it."

I was stunned for a moment, then slowly sat back down, placing my hands on the keys again. Monsieur Andre walked over to me and leaned against the piano. I glanced up at him, then back at the keys. I took in a deep breath, and started to play 'One Summer's Day' from one of my favorite movies, Spirited Away. I smiled softly and closed my eyes as my fingers danced over the keys, and again, I was lost in my own world, full of music and light. And then the slow melody started to pick up, and my fingers raced along the keys, keeping up with the beat that was in my head.

As I played, I could see a white light behind my closed eyes, flickering softly. I snapped them open, but the room I was in had gold lighting, not white. And then the song ended. I slowly looked up at Andre, who had a huge smile on his face.

"Marvelous!" he shouted, and I jumped slightly from the boom of his voice, "Beautiful! When did you learn this?"

"I was taught ever since I was a child. I learned in school and... and I got a degree for it."

"Well, you are very good. Maybe after rehearsal today, you can come play for Monsieur Firmin and I?" I opened my mouth to respond but he interrupted me, "Great! After rehearsals, you come straight to us. Good day, mademoiselle," and with that he spun on his heels, briskly walking out of the room and down the hall with a large smile on his face.

I sat there for a moment in awe, then turned to the piano and carefully closed the fallboard.

"Huh," I started, "Well, that was something."