The Phantom's Melody (The Phantom of the Opera)

08. Stable Talk

The next day left me feeling very jittery and nervous. It hadn't really hit me until the night before that I would be receiving vocal lessons from the Phantom of the Opera, aka the man who was currently wanted for murder and was obsessed with one of my only friends.

I covered my face with my pillow as I lay in bed, wondering how I even found myself in the middle of all this.

Well, you did directly seek him out. If it's anyone's fault, it's yours.

I ignored that inner voice in my head and simply tried to focus on the positive. At least I would be able to keep Christine safe this way. Perhaps the Phantom will be too busy bothering with me that he might even forget about Christine for a while. A girl could hope, right?

Besides, if worse came to worse, all I had to do was try and convince Raoul to move Christine far away from Paris and the Opera Populaire. Though I suppose for now just keeping an eye on the Phantom would be good enough. So far it didn't seem like he wanted to cause any harm towards her. I might have to watch my back, however. He didn't seem too fond of my company. I was confident he wouldn't kill me, though. At least I hoped he wouldn't.

Removing the pillow from my face, I sat up and stretched, sighing as I looked around to see all the other ballerinas fast asleep. It was six o'clock in the morning and I think everyone was taking advantage of the chance to sleep in for once. But too many thoughts were racing through my head which prevented me from actually sleeping.

I slipped out of bed and pulled my sweater on before quietly sneaking out of the dormitories. The sun was already coming up over the horizon, casting a soft glow over the Opera Populaire. I breathed in the cold air, tugging my sweater closer around my body when a crisp breeze blew past me. Quickly I crossed the courtyard, making my way over to the stables where they kept the horses.

I made sure no one was around before I opened the gate to one of the pens and stepped inside. Laying against the hay was a beautiful white horse who had perked up when I entered.

"Shh," I placed a finger to my lips. "You can't rat me out, okay?" I whispered as I knelt down next to it and gently stroked it's head.

Thankfully it remained silent. I didn't need one of the stable boys catching me in here and reporting back to Madame Giry. She'd probably make me work twice as hard as everyone else as punishment.

Smiling a little to myself, I sat down on a soft patch of hay and rubbed my hands together to warm them up. I then looked around the stable, my eyes landing on a lantern in the corner next to the gate. I reached over and picked it up, igniting the flame inside as I turned it on. It lit up the inside of the pen enough for me to see.

I then looked at the horse and sighed. "You're lucky, y'know. You don't have to deal with opera ghosts or love affairs," I said quietly as I picked up a brush that had been left on the floor and gently started running it over it's fur.

The horse didn't seem entirely in agreement with my statement as it laid its head down in the hay.

I simply rolled my eyes. "You and I are more alike than you realize, though. We both have to slave our feet away to two different masters, even if we wish that we didn't." I ran the brush through its mane. "Just like me, you probably don't even know who your parents are." I looked down and sighed. "And apparently we both find comfort in talking to horses. God, I'm going insane," I muttered, running a hand through my hair as I closed my eyes.

"Lucille?"

I snapped my head up and froze when I saw Christine standing in the doorway of the stable. "Christine? What are you doing here?"

She raised an eyebrow at me as she opened the gate. "I should be asking you the same question."

"I uh...couldn't sleep." I said, quickly standing up as I dusted the bits of hay from off the skirt of my dress. "What about you? I thought you would be sleeping."

"Oh. Well, Raoul is picking me up soon for an early breakfast together," she explained before cocking her head slightly. "Why couldn't you sleep? Is everything okay?" She asked softly.

I quickly nodded. "I'm fine. I've just had a lot on my mind lately." A lot of which telling her would make things even worse.

"Are you sure?" She asked, casting me a worried look as she took a step into the pen.

I nodded again and forced a smile onto my lips. "Yeah, don't worry." I reassured her. "Now, go. I'm sure Raoul is eagerly waiting." I smirked a bit.

She blushed a little and nodded. "Okay, but try and get some rest," she said softly before walking out.

I let out a sigh after she left before looking at the horse. "Well, at least Christine is happy." I smiled a bit. I then turned off the lantern and walked out of the pen, locking the gate behind me.

On my walk back to the dormitories, I spotted Christine and Raoul in a romantic embrace next to the carriage and horses that had dropped him off. I almost felt a little envious of the closeness they shared. But I remembered that having someone that close only complicated matters. At least for me anyways.

I walked back inside, sighing as I climbed back into bed and tried to get some more rest before Madame Giry woke us all up for the day. But I ended up tossing and turning for the next couple of hours as I thought of the Phantom and our scheduled lesson for that evening.