The Imitation Phantom

Chapter 3

Paris

April rolled around with a slow lift to Erik's spirits. It came with rain, a constant pitter patter against the rumble of their carriage's wheels during their two day journey. Finally on the last leg of the trip, Lunette noticed that the rain was lightening. She watched Felix fight sleep and Alouette fight her excitement. Glancing to the left, she saw Erik's hand grip a short, oblong black box that stood up between his knees. He still hadn't told her what it was but she had a hopeful idea. They went over a bump and his hand tightened to keep the box steady.

She looked up at him to find a small, peaceful tilt to his lips and a soft smile in his eyes. He was hidden in a deeply hooded cloak, his face mostly shadowed and his eyes glowing as usual. But he was smiling at least. Content to find him happy, Lunette closed her eyes. A gentle arm wrapped around her shoulders and Erik pulled her into his chest. He rested his chin on her head. With a happy sigh, Lunette drifted off to sleep.

**

Alouette felt that April was considerably fickle this year. The rain was intermittent with sunshine that broke through sheets of clouds. She kept an umbrella with her as she left the hotel. Their hotel suite was on the Rue Meyerbeer, a mere walk away from the Garnier. But the welcome ceremony was not scheduled until tomorrow night. She had an entire day before she could enter the Palais, an entire day that could be spent in torture. She could stay in the hotel, suffering her brother's usual silence or her parent's worrying tension. It would be worse to be anywhere near her parents.

Papa was always changing and Maman could barely keep up. They were so unhappy; it was absolutely painful to be near them. She hated it. She wanted to just scream at Papa, she loves you, for God's sake! But he was sure she didn't and that, Alouette suspected, was the root of the problem.

But what did she know? Perhaps returning to Paris would do them well. They could relive their youth when they were deeply in love. And with luck, they would see that Paris was where they needed to be! Then Alouette could take her time to grow up and find a lover of her own. Felix had only raised a slow brow when she told him this. He'd looked up from his book but said nothing.

With a sigh, Alouette looked around her. Her impatience with her family melted away as soon as she remembered where she was. A grin broke across her face.

She was in Paris!

The cobblestone streets were loud with the bump of carriages and click of horses' hooves. Ladies bustled in groups, chittering away while men strolled side by side or smoked against the wall. Children ran to and fro and goodness everything simply shined!

This was where she belonged! Not in some dingy town where no one would notice her! She belonged in the city of romance and life, where dreams came true and art was the soul of every living thing.

With a slow movement, she pulled her hood up over her mask and slipped into the crowd. She would not blend in well but with time she would find her niche in this new world and all would be well. She would find a young man with the courage to look under her hood and see beauty the way Maman had done for Papa. All she needed was time.

And...

As she stopped in front of a shop, she felt the weight of money in her purse.

Time and a good dress. Of course. About to step into the boutique, Alouette paused. In the window was the reflection of a shop across the street. A violin maker.

Turning on her heel, Alouette cautiously crossed the street and hurried in. The shop was warm and redolent with the scent of shaved wood and varnish.

"Mademoiselle?" The shopkeeper looked up from behind his workbench, his glasses perched on his nose and catching a glint of the mid-morning sun.

She smiled from under her hood. "Bon matin, Monsieur! I could not bring myself to pass your shop without looking around. May I?"