The Phantom's Daughter

4. Magical Lasso

After her encouter with Raoul, Elise returned to her quarters at the back of the opera house, where she boarded with the other girls in the chorus.
It was a spacious room with a staircase in the center and small particions around the sides, splitting the beds up by two. Her bed was beside Meg's and even though they were both supposedly related the the choreographer, neither of them recieved an preferential treatment. They shared exactly the same amount of space as everyone else.
When Elise arrived she found that Meg and the other girls were already in their nightclothes. So she removed her leotard that she had worn during the show, and got into her night dress.

Moments after she was dressed, Elise heard footsteps coming up the staircase, and Joseph Bouquet the stage hand entered the room.
His sudden appearence was not out of the ordinairy, as he often came to visit the girls in their room, and sometimes he watched them get changed backstage instead of doing his job.
Elise and the others knew to avoid him as he couldn't be trusted.
That night he had a cape wrapped around him, and he was flapping about the room making the girls jump.
Elise could guess that he was immitating her father the phantom, which she knew would displease her father if he found out.

"Like yellow parchment is his skin... And a big black hole in the place of the nose that never grew" sneered Joseph as he made his way around the room.
Elise frowned, because aside from one half of his face, her father looked exactly the same as any other man.
However, she knew that only Madame Giry and her had ever seen the phantom, let alone the side of his face that he always wore a mask over.
"You must be always on your guard" continued Joseph, before stopping in front of Meg and Elise.
"Or he will catch you with his magical lasso" warned Joseph as he threw a lasso around Elise pulling her close to him.

With the lasso around her, Elise couldn't escape Joseph's grasp.
She could smell the alcohol on his breath as he leaned in closer towards her.
Normally Elise could rely on her father to scare away Joseph when he was being creepy. But that night he remained absent, and Elise knew that this was because he was with Christine. So he was too busy to think about saving her.
Luckily someone else was nearby, and was able to rescue her.

Madame Giry stepped into the room and immediately removed the lasso from around Elise.
"Those who speak of what they know, would find that silence is wise. Joseph Bouquet hold your toungue, and keep your hand at the level of your eye" threatened Madame Giry as she placed the lasso around Joseph's neck, tightening it slightly, making the other girls gasp.
Elise had never been so releaved to have her guardian turn up.
"Don't let me catch you in here again" Madame Giry continued.

"I was only having a little joke. Elise knows that I mean her no harm" admitted Joseph.
Elise shuddered and tried to get Joseph's stench out of her mind.
"I do not care if you found it amusing, because I did not. I do not want you back here again. Nor do I want you flirting with, or joking around with any of my dancers. Is that understood?" Questioned Madame Giry.
"I was just-"
"Is that understood?" Interupted Madame Giry as she raised her cane menicingly towards Joseph's face.
"Yes Madame. Sorry for scaring you Elise" apologised Joseph, before leaving the room and marching down the stairs angrily.

"Get into bed now girls" instructed Madame Giry as she glared at the other people in the room.
The dancers all obeyed her and closed the curtains around their pair of beds, before climbing into their own bed.
Instead of leaving, Madame Giry followed Meg and Elise into their space and closed the curtain forcefully around them.
"Are you alright?" Madame Giry asked Elise.
"I'm fine" mumbled Elise as she sat down on her bed.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. He didn't touch me or anything, he just threw the lasso around me"
"It was a good thing I turned up when I did, to check on you. I dread to think what could have happened... Anyway, he shouldn't come back again, but if he does, you must tell me immediately"
"Sure".

"Alright then. Get to sleep now you two, and I'll see you both in the morning" sighed Madame Giry.
"Goodnight mother" replied Meg.
"Goodnight. And keep an eye on Elise in my absence"
"I will".
"I don't need looking after, I'm not a baby" insisted Elise.
"But you are still a child. You might forget that from time to time, since you spend your days with older dancers. But you are still only 13. You are not an adult, no matter how much you act like one" reminded Madame Giry, before pulling back the curtain and leaving the room.

"She's right you know" admitted Meg quietly as she closed the curtain again.
"You would say that. She's your mother" moaned Elise as she climbed under her bedcovers.
"But it's true. Me and Christine are both 20. There are a few dancers who are younger than us, but no one is under 18. Because the company normally only allows adults to dance in its shows. You should be at the ballet school with the rest of the younger dancers. You're lucky that mother was able to persuade those in charge to let you dance with me and Christine when we moved in here once we were 18" replied Meg.
Elise scoffed, "Yeah. I really feel lucky".

"You might not have any parents. But you have a home, and never have to worry about going hungry. You also have a family. Which is more than a lot of people have" reminded Meg.
"I know. And I am grateful for what I've got. I just sometimes wish that I had a normal life" admitted Elise.
"Me too" revealed Meg quietly.
"But you love performing"
"I do. But there are times I wish I had a normal life"
"I guess neither of us got to choose what we wanted to be"
"I guess not"
"Well, on that happy thought, goodnight Meg"
"Goodnight Elise. Sleep tight"
"You too".