"Fleurette," stopping at the sound of her name the woman in question turned to look at her father. He stood at full height which usually meant he was about to lecture her about something. She pulled the ribbon out from her hair which caused the red locks to tumble to her shoulders.
"Yes?"
"Refrain from wandering." He spoke slowly, surely as if that would be the end of it. Fleurette frowned, Eleanor appeared by her side and put an arm around her shoulders. "Keep an eye on your sister."
"I shall try, but you must realise that I cannot be everywhere she is." The eldest of the two explained. Their father merely nodded and walked away, "You've been exploring on your own again?" Eleanor watched their father leave them before turning to her, Eleanor looked sceptical. Fleurette used to sleepwalk as a child, her wandering was just something she did, awake or not. Luckily the sleepwalking had diminished throughout the years. The actual wandering, no.
"Yes."
"Fleurette!" Eleanor scolded and moved away from her side. Standing in front of her she frowned. "Do you not hear what everyone says?" She was worried, the last thing she would want is for her sister to stumble into something, someone, she shouldn't and get into trouble. Or worse yet, hurt.
"I do not like to eavesdrop into other people's conversations." Fleurette stated while crossing her arms over her chest lightly. So now that Lucien had had his moment, it was now time for Eleanor's. She understood they came from caring places, well, Eleanor's did, she wasn't sure about her father's.
"They say there is a ghost who roams the corridors."
"Fine."
"Fleurette! I'm being serious yet you are acting like this is all a joke." Eleanor scolded yet again. When there was talking from the entrance she looked up and then back at her sister. "He has killed. Maybe that will stay in your head when you walk freely around." Eleanor spoke in a whisper and walked off. This being that called the halls and shadows home had caused serious harm to others, death to some. She didn't want her sister near, no sister would. "Felix!" She exclaimed happily and the sounds of her running footsteps were heard.
Fleurette bit her tongue and swallowed the sentence she was going to retort with. Uncrossing her arms she sighed and listened to the happy words of her sister. By now most of the musicians and performers had dissipated and went off on their own business. There was talk of going to the nearest pub by a few musicians from the woodwind section of the orchestra. Whether they went or not, Fleurette wasn't sure. The thought of dancing to music which was being played by drunken musicians made Fleurette want to laugh. But she didn't, letting out a sigh she ran a hand through her hair. Stepping forward slowly she peered around the curtains and looked at her sister being twirled around happily in the arms of a brown haired man. That man was Felix, Eleanor's soon to be husband.
"You still do not heed warnings? You are either extremely idiotic, or possibly the most naïve person to step foot in here." A voice whispered from somewhere behind her.
Fleurette nodded, "I'd go for idiotic." She was slowly coming to terms with her own foolishness that she did not know even existed until now.
"I'd go for naïve." The voice countered simply. "Shouldn't a sibling be happy for her sister and fiancé?"
"I should be." Fleurette said and waved when Eleanor had finally been put down and waved to her.
"Fleurette stop lurking in the wings! Come down here," Eleanor said lightly. Fleurette frowned yet walked out from the wings and down the steps. Little did the young dancer know that she was being watched from the shadows of a backdrop.
Erik had simply stood and watched as Fleurette got enveloped in an embrace by the dark suited man. In return the redhead reached up and held him. Fleurette smiled at the two, but the smile was so false. There was not any feeling behind it at all. What could cause someone to look so jaded at two people who surely would be impossibly close? There was more to this than met the eye, and whatever it was, it certainly caused Fleurette some level of pain, and sadness. There already seemed to be this lingering sadness around her, she did her best at shoving it down, burying it deep so other people wouldn't notice, but Erik did. Erik was good at noticing what other people didn't, such as dark, overshadowing sadness.
Casting his eyes to the stage, Erik looked up at the three people. All in all, Fleurette was suffering from a small bout of jealousy, anyone could see it, even a blind man. She radiated jealousy. It was a little comical. All of a sudden Eleanor had pulled the man by the arm out of the space. Fleurette sighed from her standing position in between the aisles and turned slowly. Looking up at the stage she walked quickly back up to it. Walking up the steps she stood in the middle and looked around.
"Yet again you will not find me, little dancer." Erik stated, with his words Fleurette's odd attempt at searching for him with just her eyes ceased. "You are jealous of your sister. Or are you jealous of the man who is about to take her away from you?"
"It's not like that." She said quietly while looking at her feet. She looked suddenly so small in her standing position. "To love someone who does not love you back is painful." Fleurette turned and looked in the direction that they ran off in.
Erik frowned, so the small woman in front of him was experiencing something similar to what he had felt. People related and look for similar problems within another to console, to find commonplace; Erik did not want to relate to this relatively new person. "How does that work?" He asked, she seemed so unknown to the outer world to know true pain of love, or love that isn't returned.
Fleurette sat down and stretched her legs out in front of herself. Her casual disposition in his presence was a little intriguing but also slightly worrying. Especially considering most people's reaction to him making his presence known was to act all on guard and jump at nearly every sound. "Eleanor and I grew up differently. I have my mothers features whereas my sister has my fathers. I grew up hiding away reading. Living in bonnets to hide my hair, you see I hate red. I have a huge dislike for my hair." Fleurette looked to the side, little did she know that her eyes actually landed on his figure. Erik knew she could not see him though because she just rolled her eyes skyward. "Even my own father hated my appearance. My mother died not that long ago and he took a disliking to me because I look like her. But that's a different story." Fleurette leaned back on her hands. "Then Felix appeared. He liked my hair because it reminded him of warm fires in winter, and the colour the sky goes when the sun sets. As dramatic as it sounds I believe I fell in love with him right then and there. But sadly it was not meant to be. Eleanor is everything I'm not. She's pretty, talented and caring." Fleurette shook her head and stood up slowly. "The interest I took in Felix just lead to my father trying to partner me off with anyone. How can you fall in love with someone when your heart is not over another person? I don't know Monsieur Opera Ghost, matters of the heart are most confusing." Fleurette stayed on the stage even after everyone had left, including her sister and Felix. "Monsieur, have you always been here?" She asked while standing up and brushing herself down.
"I don't feel obliged to answer your question." Came the reply, Fleurette frowned and rocked on her heels.
"Does that mean that any question I pose to you, you shall not answer?"
"Yes."
"You just answered a question I posed to you." Fleurette smiled. She had caught him out on that one, even he couldn't lie or say otherwise to that. So maybe there was a loophole her into getting more of a conversation that could evolve into something more than whatever their conversations classed as.
"Do not act so smart, little dancer."
With that she stopped smiling and looked down at the stage floor. "Sorry." Fleurette said quietly while lifting her arms up. Effortlessly she went onto pointe, the action making her taller by another few inches as she and pulled off an arabesque.
"Have you always danced?"
"You are allowed to ask questions but I am not?"
"Yes."
Fleurette leaned forwards and seemed to reach out to grasp onto something which could not be seen with the naked eye. "Yes, in a way I suppose." She answered eventually and lowered her leg and went into practising pirouettes. Once she had pulled off doing several turns she returned to standing in an arabesque position.
"Young Bousquet what have we said about being on your own?"
"My sister was here until a moment ago." Fleurette said while slowly lowering her leg and standing normally. She was sick of having to defend herself and her reasons for doing whatever it was that she was doing. Could she just not do something without someone having to comment on her not doing that, or this or whatever? Her life was surely dictated and planned by others, and it was tiring.
"I believe you have done enough practising for today." Madame Giry said sternly. "Go get changed, dinner shall be served in twenty minutes."
"If I must."
"I never got informed of the possible chat back that I would receive from you. Go, Fleurette." Madame Giry said while nodding to the side. Fleurette smiled and walked off the stage leaving the woman looking up at the empty stage.
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Reedited: 7/Jan/2022