#whatliesbehindthemask

[mintbubbletea606]

What Lies Behind the Mask (Chapter Four: The Woman)

"I thought I told you that you should stay still," Orianne said, her heart still hammering against her chest. She shakily smiled as she caught sight of the boy crouching down beside a small opening. "Erik, what in the world are you doing?"

When the guilty eyes of the masked boy flicked up to look at her, her lips fell from her tentative smile. Her hand reached out to pull at his ear, causing the bucket to fall from his hands. Remnants of a red liquid dripped from its insides, catching Orianne's attention.

"There's no point in trying to terrify people. Just try to keep your head low. People are already frightened by the idea of the infamous Opera Ghost-"

"The woman has been trying to find out who I am!" the boy interrupted, picking up the fallen bucket and holding it toward Orianne, who carefully took it from his hands.

"Then, you should not have called more attention to yourself," Orianne responded, a heavy sigh escaping her. "You're a very smart boy, but I don't understand your reasoning at times."

"If she continues to hunt me down and no one is able to stop her, this predicament is going to result in her finding out about me," Erik attempted to explain, standing up and brushing dust from the legs of his pants. "Simply doing nothing will not help our situation."

"We will most definitely be uncovered if you keep drawing unwanted attention toward yourself. I have made a few good connections, and I can find some way to fix this. There is no reason for you to interfere in any sort of way," Orianne said, reaching out to tidy his jet black strands of hair. "Now, come. I still have to make dinner for you before I have to go back to the opera."

Orianne, forcing her lips into a soft smile, grabbed ahold of Erik's shirtsleeve. Trying her very best to not let her fingers touch the yellowed skin of his skeletal hand, Orianne pulled him towards the pathway that led to the house. Their travels were silent, at least until Erik caught sight of the wooden walls of the house. His hand slipped out of Orianne's loose grip, and the little boy raced toward his dwelling. As soon as she was sure that Erik would not see her, Orianne wiped her hand on her skirts, praying to rid herself of his deathly cool touch. The woman continued her leisurely stroll before she came upon the door, which she swiftly unlocked with a key that hung from her neck.

"Go and play the piano. I need to be alone while I'm cooking," Orianne requested, letting out a relieved sigh when Erik stepped into the music room. A challenging piece of music rang out through the house as Orianne began to fix a light dinner for Erik, mindful of his extremely sensitive stomach. Her movements stalled when the piano-playing suddenly halted.

"Mother, why do we have to hide away from other people?" Erik moodily asked, his sudden voice causing Orianne to jump in shock.

"Well, you see..." Orianne started, pausing to gather an explanation for the boy. The woman peeked behind her shoulder at the young boy, who stood in the doorway. "Um-"

"Is it the same reason that I have to wear this mask?" When he did not receive a response, his arms moved to cross in front of his chest.

"Erik, I do not tolerate such questions. When you are older, you can know. However, today is not the day. Now, why don't you play that beautiful song again?"

She let out a relieved sigh when the boy clicked his tongue and stalked back into the music room, the melody soon filling the house again. Orianne focused on preparing his dinner, her eyes wavering to the clock. Upon finishing it, the woman wrapped a shawl around herself and stepped into the music room, tapping Erik's shoulder to alert her that she was leaving the house.

"Mother, are you going to give me a kiss goodbye?"

"Where did you hear about something like that?" Orianne curiously asked, earning an irritated glance from the young boy.

"Such things are in the books that you have gifted to me. Now, are you-"

"I'm going to be running late, Erik. I'll see you tonight!" Orianne interrupted, quickly rushing out of the music room and out of the front door, locking the door behind herself.

Erik, watching the woman leave, let out a soft sigh before turning back to playing his piano. "Goodbye to you too, Mother..." 

[mintbubbletea606]

What Lies Behind the Mask (Chapter Three: The Taps)

 Kat was practically shaken awake by her mother the morning after she was introduced to Maria. The little girl had collapsed into bed after an extra lesson by Madame Giry. Though the woman had promised to bring along her young daughter, this did not make the lesson any easier. She had been vulnerable, no girls to hide behind as she continued with the different positions. Madame Giry, with a slightly satisfied nod of the head, had ended the session later than usual.

"Come, get up!" Louise tried as she pulled the thin sheets out of her daughter's hands. "Your papa just left to go to his work, and your practice is in an hour or so. Darling, you have to get up sometime." With a heavy sigh, the woman gave up and moved away to sit at the scratched table, picking up her thick book and rustling through the creamy white pages.

A few minutes passed before Kat groaned and pulled herself out of her bed. Quickly changing into her required outfit, she sat down at the table and let her mother braid her hair into two separate braids as Kat munched on her porridge. She took one last sip of her beverage before running out the door, bidding her mother goodbye.

---

Maria was curled up in a lavish chair as she listened to her mother pacing around the room. Adina's brown hair was frizzing out of her previously immaculate bun as she bit on her thumbnail. When Maria returned to their room in the afternoon, she was met with an empty room. The six-year-old girl had simply set aside a few pieces of bread that she had gotten from Madame Giry earlier and moved to read more from her book, thinking back to the rich chocolate that Kat--Maria was almost sure that was her name--had given her. Her mother had not returned until Maria was already asleep on the squeaky cot, swallowed up in the covers. The busy day ended with Adina only earning a total of five hours of rest, staying awake to ponder the whereabouts of this ghost of sorts.

As soon as morning rolled around, she had taken only one slice of bread for herself and made sure that Maria had eaten all of hers before helping her daughter into one of her more casual dresses. The mother had gripped her daughter's hand tightly as she pulled her down the hallways and into her usual office. Fifteen minutes had passed before a horrid tapping ensued, causing the woman's current frenzy to calm herself down.

Looking up at her mother finally, Maria offered to find Madame Giry for her, but Adina had merely waved off her suggestion and banged against the wall to stop the rapping. Still, they persisted and she sat down at her desk, running her fingers through her untamed hair.

"What on earth could be making those noises?" Adina muttered before glancing at the chequebook with a dark look in her eyes.

"Maybe the theatre is leaking like our old house? We could not sleep because of the noises."

"The theatre is well-made. Besides, it would have a different sound altogether. Maybe someone is doing it to calm their nerves...?" 

As much as the woman tried to soothe herself, the taps persisted. 

"Can't you ignore it?" Maria asked, tilting her head in confusion. Though the tapping had become quite an annoying nuisance, the child was still able to focus on reading. 

"No. I'm trying to work on something very important, and any background noise is going to scramble all of my thoughts." 

"You could work outside of your office...?" 

Adina let out a deep sigh before taking a look at herself in the mirror. When she could not smooth out her stray hairs, she turned on her heel and opened the door. Once she noticed that her daughter was trailing after her, she held up her hand to halt her. 

"I am going to calm down in the washroom. You can stay here and read your book. Do not mess with anything. I do not want to lose my job," Adina said as she moved into the hallway, closing the door behind her. 

She walked down the hallway, nearing the washroom. The sharp voice of Antoinette Giry caused the woman to freeze up. Though she knew that she should not eavesdrop, she opened the door slightly and pressed her ear into the space that she provided. 

"Why in the world would you need my help?" Antoinette asked, a noticeable edge to her voice. 

"I-I have a family to support, madame..." a young woman answered, her voice shaking slightly. 

"From my knowledge, you were an orphan when you arrived. You have no husband, either." 

"Please, Madame Giry. You don't understand." 

"Then explain it to me." 

"I'm sorry, but I cannot. I promised someone that I wouldn't mention them, and I will not break my promise." 

A tense silence followed her explanation, broken only by Antoinette's weary sigh. 

"I will help you this time. However, I will turn you in if I find you stealing any more food from the kitchens." 

"Thank you so much. You will not regret this, madame!" the woman exclaimed, her footsteps nearing the door. 

Adina immediately straightened up and opened the door, her eyes immediately moving to focus on the much smaller girl that stood before her. The girl's eyes widened, and she quickly moved to curtsy. 

"It's a pleasure to meet you, madam!" she got out before scurrying out of the washroom.  

"Why was she in such a hurry?" Adina asked, faking her confusion. The woman watched as Antoinette's eyes followed the retreating girl. 

"A lot of the girls like to gossip about me, and she must have been on the receiving end." 

Ah, she's vouching for the girl, Adina observed as she moved to glance over her shoulder. Instead of getting a glimpse of the girl, she was met with an empty hallway. What? There's no possible way that the girl walked away so fast. It's almost like she's a ghost, but that's ridiculous. 

"You don't seem very scary to me," Adina commented as she turned her gaze back onto the woman, who was dressed in her usual black attire. 

"You might be the only person that thinks that, Madame Dupont." 

"Please don't refer to me as that. I refuse to be a part of the Dupont family. I'm Madame Monet." 

"It would certainly give you an upper hand if your peers knew that you were from the Dupont family. If you didn't know, they are highly respected in the arts-" 

"I am well aware of that fact, but I am not interested. Thank you for the concern." 

"I did not mean to offend you," Antoinette responded as her sharp eyes surveyed Adina's expression. 

"You did not offend me in the slightest." 

"With that, I will be going." Antoinette dipped her head before quickly moving out of the washroom. 

Adina watched her leave before moving in front of the mirror, hands moving to turn on the faucet. She froze up when she heard light tapping once again. 

"Not again..." Adina murmured as she looked at the window to see if anyone was tapping against the window. However, there was no one there. The woman only grew even more perplexed when she realized that the tapping seemed to be coming from behind the mirror. When she leaned closer to inspect the mirror, she noticed that there seemed to be something red filling the sink. Adina's eyes glanced back down to realize that dark red liquid was dripping from the faucet. Blood... 

The woman whipped around and quickly raced towards her office, wrenching open the door to her office. She had to make sure that her daughter was okay. Instead of being greeted by her child, she was met with an empty office and silence.