The Man Clad in Black: Book Two

So it Begins - Chapter 3

The next morning, upon heading to the star to see the progress of the reconstruction of the chandelier, you got to meet Francois face-to-face... He had dark brown hair and even darker eyes, and he always seemed to keep his attention glued to everything that was around him. His partner - a blonde, all-American boy named Peter - seemed to be more focused on the people collecting around him than the sight itself.

"This is quite a lot of work, no?" someone said. You glanced behind you and noticed Madame Giry, whose eyes were glued to the little progress made. The workers seemed to be a little discouraged by it all - in fact, one of them was busy picking glass shards from out of his hand.

Fun.

"Indeed," you muttered under your breath. "I'm sure it will all be worth it in the end, though."

"Yes..." Madame Giry muttered. Francois and Peter had made their rounds before spotting the two of you.

"Bonjur, Detectives," Madame Giry said, her stern gaze meeting the both of them... Normally it was enough to make anyone nearly faint out of terror, but neither of the men seemed fazed by it at all. "Is there anything that I can assist you with?"

"Not at all," Peter muttered... It was the first time you had heard him speak, and sure enough, his accent was sure as hell American. "Perhaps something to eat would be nice."

Madame Giry shot you a look before she waved the men over, grabbing your hand and leading you off in the process.

"This way," she called out as she began to lead the way to the kitchen. "Don't mind the mess... The cast members still don't know how to clean up after themselves."

You let out a chuckle... That was definitely true. During your entire stunt with Erik - learning a partnered dance just so that he could be with Christine - you had gotten to spend time with the cast, too. They were definitely something.

"I spoke to one just last night," Francois said. He held such a seriousness in his voice that it was difficult to tell how he felt, and he almost sounded like a robot with such a tone. "I'm not certain whether or not she was a cast member, but she seemed to be nice enough."

"Perhaps that was me," you thought aloud... It seemed to just slip out of your mouth.

Francois paused and glanced over at you for a moment, and as he gave you a quickly look up and down, he gave a slight nod. From what he could tell from your height and build, it was you... Well, that and your voice, of course.

"Yes, perhaps it was," he said before glancing back over to Madame Giry.

"Ah, yes, [Y/N]," she said, giving you a stern look before smiling at the two detectives. "She's one of our best, no?"

Francois opened his mouth to say something, but he was cut off by Madame Giry again.

"In our previous production of Don Juan Triumphant, she was all but a dancer... But by God is she a natural. I am almost certain that she will be in for a promotion quite soon."

You knew what she meant by a "promotion." It simply meant a better role with more stage time... And after all of her talk with you being the Prima Donna, it seemed to be coming true but by bit.

"Thank you, Madame," you said with a smile... it seemed as if Madame Giry had a lot of talking to do.

That left you some free time. If you weren't needed in the conversation, you would probably have some time alone... Although, if you were being honest, you needed to use to make up some time at work.

"My apologies, but I shouldn't stay for much longer... I have to make up a shift until late tonight."

"Oh? Where do you work?" Francois asked... He seemed to be trying to strike up conversation, but you simply wanted to leave as soon as possible... At least, before things became awkward.

"I work at the Bouillon Chartier," you said with a smile. "I've missed quite a bit during Don Juan Triumphant, so I'm sure my employer would appreciate it if I pulled my weight now."

Before Francois could say anything, you headed to the door and sent both of the detectives a wave.

"It was a pleasure speaking with you," you said with a smile. You left right after that.

***

"You really met an American?" Chosen, another fellow employee, asked... You had just finished up your shift. Upon telling her a couple of stories, you were now speaking with both her and Matthew in the employee's room, and they both seemed to be intrigued by what you had to say about such men at the opera house.

"Yes," you said with a nod. "He and another man are probably interviewing nearly everyone as we speak."

"Wow..." Chosen muttered. If she knew what was going on between you and the 'opera ghost,' she would have most definitely gotten a kick out of that. Matthew seemed to be a lot less amazed with the detectives and more focused on what (or who) they were investigating.

He knew that it was Erik...

Erik was a man that he had housed, clothed, fed, etc... And what did he get in return? Nothing but a near heart attack when he slept in the same room as you... After all, he could only assume the worst.

"Have they caught him yet?" He asked. "The ghost, that is..."

You shook your head.

"Of course not," you said with a slight smile. "And even if they don't, I'm sure that he won't bring harm to anyone that does not threaten him."

Matthew internally rolled his eyes.

"Sure," he muttered, standing up from his chair as he brushed off his hands. He grabbed his coat (as it was quite cold outside at the moment) and put it on, checking his pocket watch to get a glimpse at the time. "It's late now... [Y/N], it's time for us to go."

Right.

Ever since the night your father had... Well, passed... Matthew had insisted that you walk to the opera house with him - just in case another tragedy occurred and you needed a shoulder to cry on... Or if he needed to 'defend you' at all (the last time that happened, he nearly got pushed off of the roof or something of the like).

"Wait! Let me come with!" Chosen said, grabbing a few things. "I want to meet these detectives for myself..."

Probably just the American one. She seemed to be obsessing over him just a tad bit, but it probably had something to do with her fascination for the American culture.

"Fine," Matthew murmured as he opened up the door. "Just hurry."

Sure enough, the three of you soon found yourselves walking down the icy streets, and you were soon greeted by a light snowfall.

You were nearly at the opera when you noticed the two detectives you had just been speaking about sauntering down the steps.

The dark-eyed Francois saw you first.

"Ah, we were just going to look for you," he said with a small smile. He glanced at you for a moment, almost as a way to confirm whether or not you he still wanted to do whatever it was, although he seemed to brush off the idea.

"We need to ask you some questions."

A/N: Hey! This is just a bit of a filler, but it's still important, haha! Thanks to everyone who voted and commented on the previous chapter... I still can't express how much it means to me. Thank you so much for reading, leave a vote of you wouldn't mind, and I will hopefully see you soon 💖