The Phantom's Guardian (the Phantom of the Opera fan fiction)

Part 9 - The First Confrontation

       

Author Note: I do not own any character from the Phantom of the Opera books/ musical/ movie. Only my characters (Desiree, Sharon, the old musician etc..) and any others I may add along the story are mine.

The gown above is the wedding dress put on the mannequin. Picture this in white. I do not own this photo.

       

Part 9 – the first confrontation

During the chaos of Christine's disappearance, Desiree found herself caught up in the mass. First, Raoul asked her to go and fetch Firmin and Andre. Madame Giry arrived soon after and then everyone started to argue.

"God helps us, what is happening to Opera Populaire??Two lead sopranos walked out in the  same day!!", Firmin fumed, pacing back and forth.

"Christine did not walk out! Somebody kidnapped her.We should inform the police right away, there is no time.", Raoul was quite anxious.

"Or maybe she is trying to blackmail us just like Carlotta after her success tonight. She knows that it is impossible to find another soprano now.", Andre scoffed.

"No, Little Lottie would never do that! She was there when I left her room two minutes before, and she was happy to see me. We were about to go to supper. I am quite sure I heard a strange voice from the room just before she disappeared!", Raoul replied, worry evident in his voice.

"Vicomte, who is this Little Lottie that you talk about?", Firmin interrupted and Desiree could swear Raoul blushed.

"Oh, umm, that is the name I used to call Christine. We were childhood friends. But that is not the discussion here. We need to inform the police now! You!", Raoul turned to Desiree, probably to instruct her to go to the police station.

"Gentlemen, could you calm down, please!", Madame Giry spoke and as usual, her voice silenced the commotion effectively.

"Vicomte, did you see Christine leave the room? Or did you witness someone actually taking Christine from the room?"

Suddenly, Desiree remembered that Madame Giry knew a lot about Erik than she let on. She was trying to divert their attention from Erik.

"Not exactly, she said something about a very strict angel or some sort of teacher, but I insisted.. and then I could not open the door and...", Raoul seemed unsure now.

"Then it could very well be that she is off to training with her tutor, or she is just tired and wanted to rest. She certainly was not trying to blackmail us.Do you remember that she did not ask to be cast as Elissa? It was us who made her sing and decided that she take Carlotta's place. After all, the girl had a very stressful day, had she not?",

The men simply stared at Madame Giry, apparently they had no better argument to counter her explanation.

('Oh, she is soo good at this,'), Desiree thought.

Madame Giry continued, 

"Gentlemen, let us wait for a while. If Christine does not return by tomorrow, we can think of other options."

Everyone murmured their assent, Raoul most reluctant of all, and the crowd scattered. Desiree could hear some ballet girls whispering about "Opera Ghost" among themselves and knew that there was only so much that Madame Giry could do. The rumours were starting to spread now.

Desiree rushed to find the hidden passageway that they used the very first time, trying to catch up with Erik and Christine. She arrived at the underground lakeside quickly. However, in the excitement of the moment, she totally forgot an important detail that Erik mentioned.