Phantom Shadows

III~ Open doors.

I arrived the very next morning and entered the grand ballroom. "Madam Daae! Good morning." Arthur said. "Were you expecting me gentlemen?" I asked. "Yes." Blaise said. I laughed at them both. We entered the theater and I saw men at work. "Gerry! Get your ass up here and get to work!" One of the stagehands yelled. "Well what'd expect?" Another man asked. I saw Gerry drink a bottle of beer. "It's been pretty hot stuffed up in here. Especially during the winter season!" Gerry said. He had his sleeves rolled up and he had a orange puffy beard. The other man who appeared to be in his late 40s pulled a rope and brought up a sandbag. "Good morning gentlemen!" Blaise said. "We have a very special guest here today. It is Madam Daae!" Arthur said. Gerry looked at me and immediately the bottle of beer slipped out of his hand. It shattered into pieces as soon as it hit the floor. He soon noticed and became embarrassed. "Ole Gerry's in love!" The man blurted out. "Put a sock in it Marcus!" Gerry yelled. He grabbed a cloth and started scrubbing the mess up. "Here, let me help." I crawled up onto the stage and began to pick up the glass shards. "Thanks." Gerry said. I looked up at him and smiled. He sighed and stood up. "It's never gonna get out. Great!" He said. Marcus came down the ladder and walked over to us. "It's a pleasure to meet you Madam Daae." He reached his hand out for me to shake. I shook it and then Blaise and Arthur got up onto the stage. "Well that was a friendly introduction. Now why don't we meet the rest of the crew?" Blaise said, putting his arm around my shoulder. We started to walk off the stage and I turned back to look at Gerry. I smiled back at him and he took off his hat. I swear I saw him bow and wink at me.

We entered a room where a hoard of little girls ran over to me. They all wore pink tutus and had bows in their hair. A woman walked over and pushed them aside. She looked at me with her cold blue eyes. "Well if it ain't another one of those pesky tourists!" Her voice made me jump and stand up tall. Her sliver hair was wrapped up into a bun. She was hunched over and had a cane. "Madam Villanueva, please. It's the daughter of the one and only Christine Daae!" Arthur said. "Well I only see rich fancy people like you coming in here and believing all the rubbish they say!" Madame Villanueva snapped. I don't know why but I felt nervous around her. She was an old woman who seemed to be strict. She turned around and walked away with her nose stuck up in the air. "That's how she's always been." Blaise said. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. But we love her for that." Arthur said.

We walked down the steps and soon a woman ran up to us. She had red hair and striking green eyes. "Monsuiers!" She called. "Whatever is it Aveline?" Arthur asked. "Madam Garcia has fallen ill with a fever." She said. "What? Does she have a understudy?" Blaise asked. She shook her head and then saw me. "Who's the girl?" Aveline asked. "She's Celia Daae, the daughter of Madam Daae. The famous opera singer and the wife of Raoul De Changy." Arthur said. "My name is Aveline Anahi. The opera house's maid." Aveline said. She shook my hand and I noticed that she had a letter in her pocket. "What is that?" I asked. She looked down at the letter and then looked at me. "It's nothing really important." She said. "Well, Aveline I suppose you'll be off now. Shoo, shoo." Blaise said. Aveline walked away and picked up a basket with blankets. "Well, we must be heading to the grand dining room shall we not?" Blaise asked. I shrugged and we headed off.

We entered the kitchen and saw women washing dishes. We approached one of the maids who was folding clothes. "Madame Anshi! Please meet Celia Daae, the daughter of Christine Daae!" Arthur said. The light haired red head turned and looked at me. "You sure do look a like her dearie. You might wanna be careful around here." Madame Anshi whispered. "Anshi! Don't poison her mind with rumors of the ghost now." Blaise said. Madame Anshi rolled her eyes at him. "I say what I want monsieur. You can't stop me." Madame Anshi said. Arthur let out a chuckle and Blaise looked at the floor in embarrassment. "Good day to you all." The woman picked up the clothes and walked out of the room. "Well I guess that's the end of our tour Madam Daae. I guess we'll be seeing you around-"

At that moment a shrieking voice screamed their names. "Oh no." They both started to cringe. "It can't be her. No, it couldn't possibly be...." Blaise said. "Arthur! Blaise! Where are you?!" The high voice screamed. They both turned around and were greeted by a very angry female. "Madam Garcia! Whatever is the matter?" They said. The woman approached them both and eyed them. "You know as well as I do that we still have that tiny little problem!" She yelled. I covered my ears while listening to their conversation. "Ugh. Is it with the dresses?" Blaise said. "NO! It is that stagehand Gerry! The other day he tried to kill me with a sandbag!" The woman screamed. "We'll fix it Madam-"

"NO! You will fire that man! Today or tomorrow! Take your pick gentlemen!" She yelled. She then noticed me. "And who is that girl?!" She screamed. "My name is Celia Daae, the daughter of Christine Daae." I said. "You mean the little toad that ruined my grandmother's performance?!" The woman screamed. "Well I wouldn't quite say that now but-"

"I've heard quite enough outta you!" She yelled. She turned around and stuck her nose up in the air. "She's quite the whiny one around here. Complaining about everything." Arthur explained. "I would've guessed." I said.

To be continued...

Hello fellow readers. Did you get the first reference to Phantom? I'll give you a hint: It's the stagehands' names.

~Ghostly_Gary_13