The opera house was grand. Marble statues of the Greek muses greeted guests from the walls of the lobby, each one holding something symbolizing her art. Crown molding - the intricate, gothic, expensive kind - decorated the wide ceiling, which was painted to look like the heavens during the day.
The audience's seats were a deep red velvet, that arms and legs made of gold. The stage was empty, and the red curtains were drawn, but it was easy to imagine the bustling people running to and fro. This was a richly decorated theatre, and whoever owned it clearly had extravagant tastes. The strangest thing about the place was all of the mirrors. The dozens of walls of pure glass that separated rooms, the glass in the backstage rooms, the long mirrors in the dressing rooms.... All very peculiar, Grace thought. And these were not normal mirrors. Taller than the average man, running the width of a room, which could have been anywhere from one wall of glass to three. To go further still, the more Grace looked at her reflection in the mirror, the more she thought the mirrors were not really mirrors... but with only one looking-out side instead of two. She couldn't quite see what was on the other side, but something certainly was there.
Nora, worried as to why Grace was staring with a curious and puzzled expression on her face, deeply into a mirror, called her over. George was talking to the gentleman who was giving them a tour, and would be one of the judges deciding whether or not Grace would be a good addition to the opera house.
Grace walked awkwardly to Nora's side in her ballet slippers, the long toes of which dragged and scratched across the floor with each step. Nora said a few words of encouragement, then left as the gentleman - Monsieur Lefay - guided them to the first row. A row that had previously been empty but was now filled by the other two judges. One of them was a severe looking woman whose hair was pulled so tightly back it gave the impression that the tautness was stretching her face, exaggerating her scowl. Next to her was a young, handsome man who made Grace irritable due to the way he was looking her up and down. She was pleased that while her ankles showed, and the bodice was tight, her dress did nothing for her figure and did not reveal anything. He wouldn't have much to look for. Thank god this wasn't a risqué gown. And yet he still continued to survey her with his intent clearly written across his good-looking, rakish features.
Grace was told, once everyone was seated, to start anytime she'd like. She was about to get into position when something strange happened: she felt a sixth pair of eyes on her, coming from a direction she could not place. An old bit of music she had long forgotten rekindled a few notes inside of her. She got into position... and sang.
"Say it now, but don't tell me my dear,
Those words I long to hear.
Tell me the truth,
How I spent my youth,
Pining away by loving you.
And now hear my voice rise to a roar,
For never again shall my heart soar..."
What on earth was she doing? Realizing Nora, George, Monsieur Lefay, and the other two were staring at her like she was crazy - this was a ballet audition after all - Grace immediately began the steps to her routine. She felt the sixth pair of eyes leave her, just as the woman stood up and asked her to stop. A child ran out from behind the stage with a note in hand. She handed it to Monsieur Lefay. The woman meanwhile, started to speak.
"Mademoiselle Treacle, this is a ballet audition, not an audition for an opera singer. We don't need one of those. I'm not sure if you should be put on stage either. This opera house does not want to risk the ensemble dancers coming up with spur of the moment ideas in the middle of the second act on any night."
Grace couldn't reply because at that moment, Monsieur Lefay was folding up his note and clearing his throat. Fixing the position of his glasses on his nose, he said in a rather nasal voice, "It does not matter anymore, what you think, or what we see or hear her do. It is no longer in our hands. The head of this establishment has spoken and she is hired. I suppose he liked her singing and has confidence that her dancing will be just as good." He held out the note to the woman. She took it and began to read the proof of this decision.
Nora was about to burst into tears of joy, and George was bursting with pride. The smile on the handsome man's face widened.
He springs forward and introduced himself as Guy. He's the lead dancer next to her and will be dancing opposite her should she ever get anything outside of the ensemble.
Everyone exchanged a few words, and Grace nodded and smiled through it all, whenever her part called for it.
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The Man Behind the Mask: The Sequel to Gaston Leroux's the Phantom of the Opera
قصص الهواةCeline, the daughter of a French prostitute, falls into the hands of a mysterious man when she is just six years old. She is interested in her benefactor, who is young and lively one minute and dark and angry the next. Life has badly beaten both of...
