Mon Espion || Phantom of the Opera

Chapter 1 - Auditions

A/N: Welcome to my brand new POTO AU story! After reading a dozen or so phan phictions on the site, I decided to give this one a try! I do hope you all adore it, thanks for reading! And away we go~~~

It was a day unlike any other, a day where the Opera Populaire was having more auditions for their upcoming shows ever since various performers ran away from the so called Opera Ghost. Apparently he had made his presence known during their recent production of Hannibal, and they needed more talent for their upcoming mascarade as well as various productions in the near future.

As giddy as could be, Constance made her way over to the red velvet seats that covered the entire theater. There were several girls there to audition to be in the cast and lucky for Constance, she looked as if she had the better chance out of those hopeful.

Constance grew up in a very loving home, her mother and father only had one child and they wanted nothing more then for her to achieve her dreams. Though they at first were not sure of her dreams of dancing, they let her go to a few dancing schools when she was seven and saw she had promise. From then on, the rest was history. She had been a part of various shows throughout France, mainly in Nice where she was originally from, but she wanted the best and the best was in Paris. Once she found out they were holding auditions and in desperate need, she packed her bags and made her way to Paris.

Sighing she took her seat, looking around as there were two gentlemen and one woman standing at the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we welcome you to the opera populaire!" one of the men said.

Everyone clapped, eager to get the auditions going.

"My name is Monsieur Firmin and this is my partner, Monsieur Andre, and we are the owners of this fine establishment. We are very very pleased to welcome you all to the auditions and are more then pleased this ... ghost... has not scared you away." Monsieur Firmin stated, looking around at the ceiling as he spoke.

Monsieur Andre continued, "Yes, it takes a lot of courage and discipline to determine who gets to perform on our stage and the fact you are willing to be here just shows you are courageous and can have what it takes to make it here."

Everyone clapped once more, not speaking as they did. Constance was growing even more excited, her hair falling over her shoulders as she slouched in her chair, eager to go on and perform the routine she practiced. Constance never thought she was beautiful, having straight brown hair and green eyes, a slender build but completely pale. She was the true essence of a French woman, but to her she was just average.

"Along with us as the judges," Monsieur Andre stated, continuing after the applause, "Our ballet instructor will be watching all of the hopefuls. Madame Giry."

The woman nodded and stomped down her cane, "Welcome everyone. I do not wish to be here all day and I know what I am looking for. If we cut your routine short, please do not take offense, we just want to be as smooth and efficient as possible."

The room remained silent as they seemed to understand. All three of them went on to talk about other things and what they expect and things not to do. Constance had heard of this before, having tried out for various shows as she looked down at her feet. Her ballet shoes were already tied, her outfit was already on, but she remained in her seat for she was still nervous. All of the times she auditioned she was never this nervous, and she wasn't sure why.

The room filled with applause as the three made their ways to the seats on the stage, facing away from the audience chairs as they began calling off three girls names. As the girls scurried to the stage, Constance remained in her seat, sighing as she decided to tie her hair in a bun before she forgot to do so. Taking a ribbon from around her wrist, she tied her hair into a messy bun, but one that would hold as she was dancing, and tied the ribbon up tightly. As she made sure none of the hair was loose or falling out, she began to watch as one of the girls came crying down the steps of the stage.