My eyes widened in astonishment as a large, red, horse drawn carriage pulled up to the front of the Opera Populaire in front of me, snow softly crunching under the weight of the horses as they nodded their heads. The driver hopped off his seat, his red coat billowing slightly in the wind as he opened the door. I peered inside and spotted Carlotta sitting on a cushioned seat. She wore a bright, yellow sparkling dress with red gems and frills, and her hair was up in a large and elaborate style, a few red curls falling down the sides of her face. It was astonishing how she could fit everything in such a small space and still leave room for others.
Carlotta smiled up at me and held out her arm, beckoning me inside, "Entra, signorina, non abbiamo tutto il giorno," she spoke to me in Italian, gesturing wildly to the outdoors. I nodded and quickly hopped inside, despite not knowing what she said. But I could guess. The driver softly shut the door behind me and after a few moments the carriage jolted slightly, signaling that we had begun our trek across Paris.
"How was your Christmas, Carlotta?" I asked. She scoffed softly and pulled out her fan and began fanning herself.
"Boring. I barely went anywhere and only received a couple of gifts. Everyone here in Paris iz so cheap. Non sanno cose di buona qualità quando lo vedono!"
"How many gifts did you get exactly?" I asked.
"32." she rolled her eyes and fingered a fat necklace that graced her neckline, "But zey were small gifts. Minuscolo. Dey were only gifts meant to be given, dey had no meaning, no thought behind dem."
I nodded slowly, pursing my lips at the thought of receiving so many gifts and not caring for a single one.
"And 'ow about you?" she asked softly, "'Ow was your Christmas?"
I shrugged slightly, "It was alright. This was my first Christmas... well... alone, so it was a bit lonely. There was a small party with the crew and I went, but I didn't really stay long. The men became pretty drunk in celebration and I decided that joining the ballerinas was probably better. We played some games, laughed, danced, then I called it a night."
"Did you get any gifts?" Carlotta asked, leaning in a bit closer.
I shook my head, "Only one, the only people that would give me gifts would be Christine, but we're kind of in a rut right now. And I recently had an argument with another friend of mine and we're in a tight spot too. But my other friend, Claire, did give me a gift with the money she earned for working on the dress. She got me some dress shoes for the Masquerade."
"Oh, you poor thing," Carlotta pouted, "But do not worry, I will fix that right away! Ti darò il miglior regalo della tua vita!" she smiled. I smiled softly in return.
Slowly the carriage rolled to a stop. Carlotta glanced out the window and grinned, "We are here!" she exclaimed, shutting her fan.
The door opened and Carlotta let herself out first, the driver helping her down the step and onto the cobbled street. I glanced out the window of the carriage and up at a large, ornate building that had beautiful dresses sitting in front of a large window for show. I looked up at the sign above the door, which read, 'Madame LeGarnet's Soies et Blouses.'
"Resta nelle vicinanze, non saremo a lungo," Carlotta spoke to the driver as I hopped out.
"Si, Mia signora." he said, bowing his head before shutting the door behind me.
Carlotta turned to me with a smile, "Come, Leettle Lady, and I shall show you your masterpiece."
As we approached the doors a bellhop opened them for us.
"Madame LeGarnet will be with you in a moment signora." he said to Carlotta as we walked inside. He wore a cream suit with gold buttons, and Carlotta nodded at him once and he bowed his head in return. I gazed around the room in astonishment. Hanging from the ceiling was a small crystal chandelier. The floor was made out of dark cherry wood, which accented the cherry wood walls. Gold gas lamps adorned the walls and as we walked across the hall towards a room more towards the back, I gazed at the dresses that were worn on the mannequins. They were beautiful and elaborate, shining with crystals and frills and were heavily embroidered. I felt like I was a measly peasant looking upon royal dressing gowns.
"Wow," I sighed as my head whirled around to take everything in, "Everything in here is so beautiful."
Carlotta shrugged, "Eh, I've seen better. Or, well, have worn better. Dose are just for show." I turned and raised my eyes at her, but decided not to question it.
We entered a large room with a grand mirror sitting at the other side. There was a long, cushioned, cream colored couch that sat in the middle of the room and in between the couch and the mirror was a small podium. Near the mirror was what seemed like a mannequin under a sheet.
The sound of heels clacking against the floor entered the room and Carlotta and I turned around to see who had entered the room with us. It was a skinny woman with a pointed nose, she had small spectacles resting on the bridge of her nose, and she wore a simple white dress. She had dark hair whirled up in a tight bun and she smiled at Carlotta, raising her arms towards her.
"Ah, La Carlotta! So wonderful to see you!" she cried and kissed Carlotta on each cheek.
Carlotta smiled back, "Si, it iz great to see me, no? I trust zat zee dress is finished?" she asked, her smile falling slightly as she gave the woman a firm gaze.
Madame LeGarnet did not falter, but simply smiled and nodded, "Oui, Madame, the dress is complete. All we need is for it to be worn to see if it fits and if there needs to be any adjustments." Madame LeGarnet turned to me, "Is the dress meant for you, mademoiselle?" she asked me, gazing me up and down with slight disinterest. I'm sure that my 'peasant clothes' were not exactly appealing to her gaze. It was the warmest one that I had, a simple brown long sleeve dress, but there were a few paint stains here and there. Perhaps I should have braved the cold and had put on something a bit nicer.
I nodded my head, "Yes, Madame. My name is Scarlet Moore. It's lovely to meet you," I said and stuck my hand out to her and she shook it, though hesitantly, "Your dresses are so beautiful, I could stare at them for days and memorize the details."
Her eyes raised at this and she tilted her head with a smile, "Oh, bless your heart!" She cooed, "I don't make the dresses myself, I only design them. But the design for this dress was by you, yes?" she asked and gestured to the covered mannequin.
I nodded my head, "Yes, the dress was my design. Who makes the dresses, if you don't?"
"My seamstresses," she replied, "Although I believe that one seamstress for this dress wasn't done by any of mine, but by a friend of yours, yes?"
"Yes, my friend Claire. She works at the Opera Populaire with me, she sews the costumes."
"Yes, I have seen her work on the dress. She is quite talented with the needle. If she wasn't moving back to Ireland, I would have her employed here instead. Talent like her's doesn't come often."
I smiled, "I'll be sure to tell her that, Madame."
Carlotta rolled her eyes and sat down on the puffy couch, "Alright, enough of the talk, I want to see zee dress!"
Madame LeGarnet nodded, "Of course, signora." she gestured me to the other end of the couch and I sat down. She walked over to the mannequin and wheeled it over to us. She grasped the top of the sheet and looked over at us with a grin.
"Behold," she said, and with a 'woosh' she yanked the sheet of the mannequin where it fell to the floor in a heap. I gasped and sat up straight as I gazed at the dress.
"Oh my," I said and covered my mouth, "It's beautiful!" I stood up off the couch and walked around the dress, "I didn't expect... I only thought... Wow," I laughed. I turned to Madame LeGarnet with a huge smile on my face, "Thank you, and thank your seamstresses too. This is the most gorgeous thing I've seen in ages." I turned to Carlotta, "Thank you, too." I said, then turned back to the dress "Wow."
"Would you like to try it on?" Madame LeGarnet asked me. I turned to her, grinning, and I'm sure my eyes were sparkling bigger than the crystal chandelier.
"Of course!"
xXx
This is what Carlotta said:
Entra, signorina, non abbiamo tutto il giorno: Come in, miss, we do not have all day
Non sanno cose di buona qualità quando lo vedono: They do not know good quality things when they see it
Minuscolo: Tiny
Ti darò il miglior regalo della tua vita: I will give you the best gift of your life
Resta nelle vicinanze, non saremo a lungo: Stay nearby, we will not be long
And the sign above the door read: Soies et Blouses : Silks and Dresses.
Remember, I used Google translate for this, so don't quote me on everything, you can't trust google translate, hahaa. I just wanted La Carlotta to seem more Italian then just sounding Italian, you know?