Of Masks And Roses

Let His Opera Begin!

"Ah, good morning, Mademoiselle!," greeted Monsieur Reyer as I walked out onto the stage. Reyer was pushing a simple, wooden piano while also holding a large stack of scripts under his arm. He huffed as he pushed with one arm; the heavy piano creaking as his face turned red.

"Morning, Monsieur Reyer!" I replied, quickly rushing forwards, "Here, let me help you, sir."

Reyer smiled, breathing a sigh of relief as I took the music sheets from him, "Bless you, Mademoiselle." and with his arms now free he shoved the piano into the middle of the stage with minimal effort.

He turned back to me, looking around the stage, "Now, I need to get some chairs. As the other chorus members show up could you please do me a favor and pass the sheets out to them?"

"Of course I can, sir," I said with a nod.

Reyer sighed, "Thank you. I'll be back in a couple of minutes. You'd think that in such a large building you'd be able to find a single chair, but no!" he huffed as he walked away, muttering, "'No not that chair, it has wet paint on it. Not that chair, it's a breakaway, no no no...'"

I snickered as he left and gazed down at the sheets, flicking through them. There were at least thirty sheets, and the music was complex and some parts looked fairly difficult. I hummed slightly as I read some, walking over to the piano and practicing a couple of bars with one hand; holding onto the sheets with the other.

"The show is only a few days away, my dear," said a voice from behind me. I whirled around and grinned as Madame Giry and Meg walked out onto the stage, "Are you ready?"

I shrugged, "As ready as I can be, I guess." I replied as I walked over to Meg and handed her a script, "For the performance...at least..."

Madame Giry placed a hand on my shoulder, "Don't worry. I'm sure that everything will work out exactly as it should."

I blinked, staring at her. The screaming from the audience, the burning flames, and Erik's broken and sad face flashed through my mind and I quickly turned away and rushed to a couple of chorus members as they approached the stage. I shook my head slightly to clear my mind as I gave them their scripts. I knew exactly how that night is supposed to go. But would everything happen exactly as it should? Even if I interfered, would any of the outcomes change? What if something went really wrong? What if-

"Pay attention." said a strong voice next to my ear.

I jumped at the sound and yelped as I almost walked right into a chorus member. The scripts slipped in my hands and I struggled to keep hold of them as I apologized. I turned around to thank whoever warned me, but found no one there. I looked around, confused.

"Did you really think I wouldn't watch a rehearsal for my own show, Mademoiselle?" said the voice again. I took a glance around me. No one else had reacted to the voice. Slowly, I gazed up at box 5 and just for a second I saw a glint of white. I sighed and rolled my eyes with a small smile; turning away to hand out the rest of the sheets.

XxX

"Hide your sword now, wounded knight!" sang the chorus; Monsieur Reyer instructing them with the wave of his hands.

"Your Vainglorious gasconade!

Brought you to your final fight,

For your pride-high price you've paid!"

I stood at the edge of the stage with Madame Giry, watching the rehearsal with curiosity. Piangi had his fingers in his ears as everyone else sang around him. Christine had arrived late, quickly grabbing a script from me and opened to the right page just in time.