What Lies Behind the Mask (Phantom of the Opera x OC)

Chapter One: The Circumstances

Maria, hands clutched around a large tome, sat in front of the desk in the office as she patiently waited for her mother and a strange man to return. In the span of half a year, her father had fallen ill and died, she and her mother had been left with nowhere to go, and they were now in an odd country with brow-raising customs and a strange native tongue. Her mother was able to easily slip into this language, but little Maria was met with strange looks when she tried to speak.

Still, she was able to pick up some things, like "bonjour" was used in greeting and her mother seemed to repeat "N'importe quel lieu de travail?" and "merci" when she entered a new building.

After many tries, her mother's lips had puckered together in contempt as she clutched tighter to Maria's hand before pulling her towards an opulent building. Her mother's boots had made a clacking noise as she pushed her daughter through the door of the building. Maria's mother had walked up to a portly woman and cleared her throat to gain her attention.

"Bonjour. Puis-je parler au directeur?" Mother asked as the woman's eyes crinkled in confusion before putting down the mop that she was holding; she beckoned with one finger before walking down a hallway.

"Come on, little one..." the mother murmured to Maria before quickly following the woman. The three had caught up with the unfamiliar man; he was dressed in formal attire and had copper hair. When he saw Maria's mother, his eyebrows furrowed as he opened his mouth to speak. His words were too quick for Maria to pick up what he was saying. His green eyes looked down at Maria for a second before he went down on his knees to talk softly to the child. This time, he was speaking broken Irish to the child.

"Good morning. I'm Breton. Welcome opera. Mama work here," the man calmly spoke as he patted Maria's head awkwardly. "How you?"

"Good, what does my mother do?" Maria questioned as the man turned to look at her mother, who quickly translated.

"Money," he brusquely answered before getting up and gesturing towards Maria's mother, switching back to his language.

Now, Maria was sitting in the office as her mother and this man were talking outside. Bowing her head slightly, Maria opened up the book of Irish folk tales and began to read it out as a way to pass the time. She looked up when the door opened back in.

"Merci, cher frère!" Mother's voice was laced with gratitude as the man nodded in return with his eyebrows creasing together. A moment passed before a certain tapping caught both of their attention. "Ca c'était quoi?"

"Nous devons parler plus tard..." the man's voice dropped as Mother's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Her mouth closed after a few seconds and she turned around to gather the bag that she had put in the chair beside Maria.

"Come on, Maria Adina..." she said, holding out her hand for her daughter to grab onto. She pulled her daughter through different doors until they were finally outside of a door. "My brother, your uncle, has provided us with a room for the night. We're going to be moved, later on. You might have your own room here, pet..."

Maria merely nodded as her mother turned to mess with the door handle and slip the tarnished key into the lock. She pulled open the door to reveal an almost barren room. There was only a small cot and a mirror in the windowless room. Mother's nose wrinkled at the sight of a cobweb in the furthermost corner of the boarding room.

"How long do we have to stay here?" asked Maria as her mother forced a cheery smile on her face.

"Hopefully, only a day..." she quickly answered as she looked out in the hallways before swiftly shutting the door. "Now, if someone knocks on the door, leave it to me to answer it. You will hide, like a game that we used to play!"