Music in the Dark

Chapter 3: The Second Rose: Wrath

The Phantom regarded her, as she displayed the first black rose.

"This is only the first step, my dear. Let me tell you how it all began..."

Was he an apparition? How was he floating in a mirror? She approached the mirror to listen more intently; perhaps seeing her up close would convince him that she was not the woman he thought her to be.

"The Opera was my creative property and domain. The managers who ran it disagreed, at first. When they refused to pay the salary I required, they were plagued by rather dangerous incidences that threatened their profits. They soon learned that the payments were well worth my cooperation...and the productions proceeded mostly unhindered."

The mirror shattered, and Aveline ran from the room, protecting herself from any stray shards that might fly toward her. She heard a crash and the sounds of glass hitting the wooden vanity and carpeted floor. When the room went silent, she dared to look back in.

The mirror was almost completely broken, save for a few jagged pieces that still held onto the frame. Apparently the mirror had hidden a secret passage that the Phantom had been standing behind. He was no longer there, but she had a strong feeling that he had destroyed the mirror to show her the next path she was to take.

She was about to follow him, but out of the left corner of her eye, the ballroom entrance invited her to see what it held. Putting off finding the next black rose, she strode over the sand and ice to see what lay inside.

Although it was poorly lit, Aveline could make out the figures of four mannequins. Three of them were suspended from the ceiling. The fourth was next to a large object and sat toward the back of the expansive room. When she approached it, she found that it was a mechanical puppet in the guise of an organ grinder. The puppet's hands rested on the organ's wind-up lever, and a mechanical pet monkey sat atop the musical instrument with a cup.

I can't imagine that it will work without payment, but I don't have any coins with me.

She frowned and focused her attention on the other three mannequins. One was attached to the chandelier at the center of the ceiling, both of its arms linked above its head. If it was possible for a dummy to be held captive, this one most certainly was. The other two were a fair distance away from the bound dummy, linked together as if in the middle of a dance. One obviously represented the Phantom. It had similar attire and a full face mask, as well. The other looked...

Oh my! Is that supposed to be my mother? What is going on?

The mannequin had long brown curls that cascaded down its back. Aveline circled underneath it, amazed to see such a strong likeness of her mother, of herself, on a life-sized doll. She turned, again, toward the detained puppet.

So...that's supposed to be my father?

The overall tableau was disturbing and confused her even more. She had never met this "Opera Ghost" before. She had never stepped foot in the Paris Opera before today. Could the Phantom possibly have mistaken her for her mother? What part could her family possibly have to play, in his plan for revenge?

Shaking her head, she left the ballroom and her questions behind, continuing onto the next part of the theatre.

Maneuvering through the vanity in the ladies' lounge was incredibly difficult in her long dress. She swept as much of the glass and debris away with a mop she found in the corner of the room, but she still had to be wary of stray shards. Climbing through, she found that there was a small loft behind the mirror. Shelves housed bottles of wine and liquor, along with blueprints and maps of the Opera House. A stagehand's notes were messily strewn about. She stepped down onto a fixed stool, confused as to why anyone would keep such a small workstation. When she turned around to face the room she had come from, she gasped.