Descendants of the Opera

Something Old can be Something New

At class that next afternoon, the group was discussing plans to go out on their next night out.

"You're coming right Rosie? We'll need you there." Ev said nudging her waist.

"I think I'm going to sit this one out ladies. I'm worn out." Rosalind attempted to brush them off.

"I think her strike out with that boy had something to do with it!" her friend chimed in.

She would see him tonight. It bad been nearly a week since they last talked, and Rosalind had had enough of Libby telling her stories of him. Though she wanted to tell her friends, she was fully aware that the more people that knew the greater the chance that her father or brother would find him.

"I'll let you girls have some of the fun tonight." she joked, "but save some for me next time!"

They all shared in a laugh, then they heard Meme's infamous 'call-to-attention' cough, and hurried to continue their practice.

********

When you walk into the costume shop at night, there is silence, and mostly darkness with the exception of a few candles. However in the early evening, before all the seamstresses and carpenters head home, it is a lively room filled with music and laughter. In addition to the sounds of sewing machines and saws, there's a fiddle, and a guitar, people in chairs stomping their feet to the time of the song.

On the table in the center, a boy with unmistakable blonde hair dances, laughing and spinning without a care in the world.

Then, someone notices her.

"Miss Rosalind!" Libby shouts, and suddenly it was like the song had never began, and her knight freezes on the table with his back to her, then jumps off and hides in the pile of fabric.

"Libby, Hi," she replies, eyes watching her knight's feet wriggle through the cloth.

"Your friend he is - ah - very entertaining fellow, he is!" a man calls from across the room.

"So I've been told," Rosalind makes her way over to the fabric pile, kicking his foot, "I don't have the plague you know, I came to talk to you."

The stack starts to shift and tilt, then he emerged, with an old shirt over his head covering his face.

"What is it with you?" she shook her head and turned to leave. Then felt a hand gram her arm, stopping her in her tracks.

Wordlessly, her knight takes her into the room that had now become his, and then releases her arm, "You said you came to talk to me, please, don't leave without doing so."

"I want to talk to you not a mask, not a bag. You. You know who I am, can't I have that same luxury?"

"Oh spare me! Typical for you though isn't it? Getting what you want, all the luxuries your heart could ask for. Then walking out when you don't get your wish."

"You ungrateful prick! I hid you in my family's costume shop, let you eat our food, paid for your new hide out to be kept secret, all for this? To be called spoiled by the man I'm trying to help? Forget it, consider yourself kicked out." once again she turned to leave.

"Rosalind, wait!" he called, "Fine. I'm sorry. I just don't know how to handle seeing you."

"We just met. How could seeing me be an issue?"

Her Knight grabbed her arm and led her into the room of jackets. 

He faced the brick wall, still as stone, "Rosalind, please don't hate me."

She was baffled, "Hate you what are you talking abo-" 

Turning to face her, he let the shirt that guarded his face fall on the floor. Then she saw him. His blue eyes, his blushed cheeks, the freckles on his nose she used to practice counting on when they were children. It was him.

"Julian." she breathed, "Julian!"

She closed the distance between them and flung her arms around his neck, he still smelled like Julian, he smelled like home. Rosalind felt his arms tighten around her waist, locking her against him.

"You ass, Jules." she whispered, laughing between sobs, "Why didn't you tell me? I would have never called you a prick if I had known."

She felt his chest vibrate in laughter, "Come on, Rosie, we both know you would have."

It took far too much effort, but she backed away from him, staring at what had become the grown-up version of her once best friend, "How? Why? What? I have so many questions. My family, they'll be so happy it's you! You'll be able to come and stay in the main house."

Combing his fingers through his hair, half laughing half sighing, Julian sank into one of the piles of discarded jackets, "They can't know, Rosie, you have to promise me you won't tell."

"Why? They know you, I'm sure they still consider you family."

"Family is kind of the issue here. Please, promise me." he said, holding her eyes.

"Alright, I promise. But you have to tell me what's going on."

And so he began.

Julian talked about his parents, Meg and Raoul de Changy, and how they didn't think wanting to grow up and be a writer was a promising future. So, for most of his life, Julian worked in the accounting offices of his parent's business, until he was old enough for college. Then, they sent him off to Massachusetts for school, planning for him to get his degree and be an employee at their work. After about 'a month of hell', as Julian put it, he ran. Left campus and tried to find somewhere he could live his dream and prove his parents wrong.

But it was much harder than he thought, people were mean, unforgiving. He slept on benches at night, or a motel when he had money at all.

Then he found a flyer, for Phantasma's new show.

"I remember your property having a surplus amount of room, so I found my place in the attic, and began to give my touch to the show.

Rosie, I never wanted to cause any trouble for your family. When I realized how angry they were I wanted to leave. But I had no where better to go. I failed out of college when I ran away, and my parent's still think I'm gone and I'm not ready to face them."

He looked at her with those sea deep eyes, and pleaded, "Just please, let me do this when I'm ready. I cannot face everyone yet."

Rosalind got up from her seat and laid by Julian on the fur, wrapping her arms around his waist, "I'm so sorry, Jules. All you've had to go through. Stay here, for a week, a month, a year, I don't care. Whatever it takes to feel ok, I'll do anything. I'm just so thankful you're ok."

Jules shifted so his body wrapped around hers, Rosalind nearly wanted to laugh. If anyone had told her 9 years ago that Jules and her would be hugging, her childhood self would have barfed at the thought of cooties. Yet, here they were, all this time gone by, and being like this was second nature to her. To him too it seemed.

"Thank you," he tucked his head over hers and yawned, "Rosie?"

"Yeah?" she answered.

"Will you stay tonight? Like when we were little? I just missed having someone around."

Someone. Not her. Just someone. Her heart sank in her chest, she thought he'd missed her like she'd missed him. Maybe she was wrong.

Even so, she said, "Yes, I'll stay."

And she let the smell of Julian's shirt, and the sound of his breathing lull her to sleep.

**********

Note to Reader,

Lol I've been at my first semester of college. PLEASE DONT BE MAD.

MUCH LOVE.

As always, insta Sing_Angel_of_Music

Your Humble Servant,

W.G.