The Leading Lady (Phantom of the Opera x Reader)

Chapter Four

Y/N woke up early the next day. It was a Sunday, so there would be no formal rehearsal, but she wished desperately to get a cup of coffee and a pastry in the city. She was ready to experience a Parisian life. She also needed to buyer paper and letters to write her father with - and maybe a few books.

With that, she changed into a sage green dress, one with elaborate embroidery yet still have an understated look. She matched it with a sage ribbon headband in her hair, and grabbed a shopping bag. She then went under her bed, opened the trunk, and took a small handful of coins out, placing it in the bag. She slipped on lace white socks and shoes, and exited her room.

She was almost out of the opera house when an older woman abruptly stopped her by blocking the entrance with a walking cane. She looked to see the head of the ballet standing before her.

"Mademoiselle, I am glad to have caught you," the instructor spoke, "As you may know I am Madame Giry, head of the ballet and dance. I was hoping to meet with you to assess your dancing skills."

"Oh, that would be easy... I don't have any," Y/N smiled shyly.

"It is better to work up from nothing then reteach what has been taught - luckily for you, most prima donnas do not need to dance much." With that, Giry walked away.

Y/N continued onto her day. She loved this city - cream colored buildings and fashionable people everywhere and about. Every turn seemed like it would lead to a new, vibrant adventure. She walked quietly down no particular street, until one bakery smelled so heavenly that she had no choice but to stop.

The shop was nearly empty, other then an old man sipping espresso in the back and a young man working behind the counter.

"Bonjour, Madame! Un moment," The man said, frantically placing new pastries into the display. Y/N knew she would have to break out her rusty French in a minute - unlike the Opera House, everyone in Paris spoke only French - presumably, at least.

"D'accord madame," The baker spoke - he was about her age, with blonde hair and green eyes, "Qu'est-ce que je peux t'offrir?"

"Oh, je voudrais un cappuccino et un croissant, s'il vous plait."

"You sound English," the man smiled abruptly. Y/N immediately grew flustered.

"Oh, yes I am! My apologies, my French isn't very good," Y/N smiled shyly, watching him as he prepped her order.

"It is no problem - my father is from Cambridge, so I speak English fairly well." He was modest. He spoke English incredibly well, just with a French accent.

"It's marvelous - have you every been to the United Kingdom?"

"I visited family once, in Cambridge for the holidays, but not really," He finished her order and slid them over to her, "What brings you to Paris?"

"I am an opera singer," She smiled, "I am the prima donna at L'Opera Populaire for their next production."

He stopped what he was doing for a moment, and just looked at her. They held a long moment of eye contact and she realized how attractive he was, then he began speaking: "You're the prima donna? You were in the papers this morning," He spoke, ducking under the counter and rummaging around until he produced a paper, and flipped to the culture section. He then pointed to a picture of her (she recognized it as being from her last production in England) with a short caption about her.

"Oh wow," She said, examining it, "I had no idea," She turned to the baker, "Thank you for showing me! I'll send a copy to my father, he'll get a kick out of it."

He slid the paper to her, "Take my copy, I cannot rob a father of this joy," he smiled, "My name is Elliott, I hope to see you soon, Miss Y/N."

She smiled, and took her croissant and coffee in hand, leaving the cafe to walk around the city a bit. After a few moments of bare-bones exploration, she stumbled across several stalls on the street side, selling books. She felt a rush of joy as she approached them, looking at titles of french novels, and picking up books whose covers caught her eye.

She made a selection of three novellas, and was about to pay until she found a fourth book - recently published, and titled Modern Myths and Legends of European Opera. She added it to the collection.

Once she paid, she returned to the opera house, heading directly to her room. She sat at her desk, removed her gloves, and smiled. This Parisian dream was her life.

She took a few minutes to enjoy her coffee and croissant, humming to herself some music from her current opera. Once she finished, she cleaned up after herself, and retrieved the sheet music for their current production.

"Okay, so... think of me, think of me fondly..." She sang over her music, marking up the sheet with personal cues. After her first run through, she stood up from her desk, and took hold of her teddy, placing him on the bed. "You shall be my audience, and be a critical one," she instructed, "I need serious feedback if I ought to improve."

The bear lacked a response, but she moved and took out a music stand, positioning it in front of the teddy in his position, facing her. 

"From the top, shall we?" She tucked her hair behind her ears now, because while it made her self conscious to pull it back, she knew her teddy would never judge. She began singing the piece, "Think of me, think of me fondly, when we've said goodbye! Remember me, once in a while, promise me you'll try. And if you find, that once again you long to take your heart back and be free, if you ever find a moment... spare a thought for me!"

She stopped singing for a moment, wary about her tone on the last line, "What do you think, Teddy? I am I not 'longing' enough?" She looked to the bear, whose expression had not altered, "Wow. You're a tough critic, huh?"

Y/N continued practicing for about an hour, until she decided to stop in order to avoid wearing out her voice in preparation for practice the next day. She picked up her newest book, Modern Myths and Legends of European Opera, and began flipping through. She almost skipped the chapter on L'Opera Populaire, entitled "The Opera Ghost". Almost.