Everything was going far too easily.  Slipping, unnoticed, from the tour group had been a piece of cake.  And, since I had not heard shouts or the sound of searching I figured that my ‘escape’ had continued to go unnoticed.  However, I still could not shake the feeling of being watched, especially in the darkened and abandoned parts of the theatre I was wandering.

But, I was never one to scare easily and the idea of being watched in musty rooms no man had wandered in years was ridiculous.  I squared my shoulders, flashed my usual smile to the darkness around me and moved on.

Room after room fell behind me as I made my way towards my first goal: the stage.  Each room was as equally dusty, dark and deserted as the last, although I occasionally caught that strange scent of roses and candles, just here and there throughout the building.  I finally figured that the ventilation ducts must have some strange patterns, just like the rest of this labyrinthine palace.

The fact was, I would have been completely lost if not for two things.  The first was that I had studied some of the plans for the Garnier Opera House, and while I didn’t have them memorized, I did understand the general shape of the place.

The second was that I had been working in various theatres since I was five, and twenty years of experience will teach you how to navigate ANY theatre, no matter how big.  It was instinctual by now, and I did not doubt that my seemingly random wanderings would get me to the auditorium in good time.  I was not in a particular hurry.

Even so, I was doubly pleased when I came out of yet another dimly lit hallway into the relatively brighter hallway around the first tier of boxes.  I knew I just needed to get down the stairs and through the auditorium and I would gain the stage.  I had just put my foot on the first step down when I heard Mimi’s voice again.  It was nothing if not recognizable.  So, I darted back into the hallway, and into the first box I saw.  As I hunched down behind the curtains I thought Well, Sorcha, not everything can go your way!

I was quite surprised and a little apprehensive to hear the tour group stop outside my hiding place while Mimi rattled on about some Opera romance back before the turn of the century and a seeming mimic event only a few years ago.  Something to do with Box 5 (which I was apparently hiding in) and a Ghost, but I was too worried about being discovered to pay attention.  Under normal circumstances, the story would have gripped my attention.  I was also a bit busy wondering about the ventilation ducts again for that strange scent was stronger in this box than anywhere else I had found it.

Eventually, the group moved on and I felt safe to leave my little sanctuary.  Having heard them move further along the hall, I took my chance to dart down the stairs and into the house.  Even though I was eager to get onto the stage and out of sight, I had to stop and stare upwards at the shimmering confection that was the Opera chandelier.  It was glorious, all gold and crystal, light and reflection, but for all its massiveness, it shone subtly.  It was as if all the stars in the night sky had been captured there, concentrated, but not brightened beyond their normal glow.  I felt an admiring sigh pass my lips.

It was to be my last easy breath for some minutes.  I heard an outraged shout from above and looked upward.  Mimi was standing on the edge of the Mezzanine screaming rapidly at me in French and turning the color of her glasses.  The tour group stared at me dumbly, except for the little boy who grinned and waved at me.  He thought this was all great fun, and I was not going to disappoint him.  The only sentence out of all of Mimi’s speedy rant I understood was, “Get up here at once you miserable gypsy or I’ll call the cops on you, you wretch!”

I do not take orders.  From anyone.  So, I grinned at her, flipped her a rude gesture and ran for the stage.  I heard the little boy cheer and Mimi’s outraged scream, followed by the pounding of feet.  I glanced behind and saw Mimi running for the exit best she could in her skirt suit.  So she wanted to catch me, did she?  She could try, but I’d make sure she got her exercise for the day.

I had made my way to the front of the house and a glance in the orchestra pit confirmed that it was empty.  Without a thought, I swung over the side, dangled from the rail a moment and then dropped.  I misjudged the depth and hit rather hard, falling over.  But I rolled sideways as I hit the floor and came up without even a bruise.  As I stood up I grinned at the dumbstruck tour group still lining the balcony rail, took an elaborate bow, waved at my little friend and ducked into the narrow conductor’s stairs.  

The steps brought me onto stage in the stage right wing and I cast about for a good hiding place.  I saw and began making my way towards the ladders to the fly house high above when a set of doors directly in front of me burst open and there was Mimi, out of breath and looking furious.  I had not thought she could move that fast; she must have known a short cut!

With nothing else to do I darted straight out on stage, hoping to outrun her.  I was looking for options and running hard when I spotted an open trap in the stage floor.  I swear it hadn’t been there a few seconds before, but who was I to doubt fate?  Knowing my night vision was some of the best there was I dove for the darkened rectangle.

I realized my mistake as I hit the top stair hard with my shoulders and tumbled down the set of wooden stairs into the darkness.  I landed in a rather undignified and painful heap about ten feet down and tasted blood in my mouth.  Opening my eyes made me rather dizzy, but I still needed to get away.

Though my sight was swimming a bit, I could make out Mimi’s figure silhouetted against the top of the stairs, hesitating.  Her caution will by my salvation! I thought and rose shakily to my feet.

“I’m right here, you great twit, come get me!” I shouted as I prepared to dart off into the darkness.  Mimi made up her mind to follow me into the depths and came down the stairs with rather more grace than I had.  I leapt into a run for the shadows.  

Or attempted to.  In my unceremonious decent of the stairs, I had gotten tangled in some spare rope and had a section of it looped about my ankle.  My attempt to leave was cut short as my face hit the floor for the second time that day.

A hand wrapped itself firmly about my arm and dragged me upright.  “Got you!  Now come away from here, now!”  Mimi’s voice was not particularly what I wanted to hear just then.  I only groaned in response and wrenched my arm from her grasp.

“Why should I?” I finally managed to croak, wondering which of the many Mimi’s spinning in my sight was the right one as well as wondering which shadow to leap for as soon as my vision cleared.

“Because, Mademoiselle,” her politeness had returned though curtly.  This was likely because she realized she was no match for me and my youth if it came to a fight, “It’s very dangerous down here!”

Despite my rather battered state, which was the result of being down here, I laughed at her.  “Stuff and nonsense!  It’s not going to fall down!  I know.  I’ve studied plans and construction techniques.  This place was built solid as a fortress.  As a matter of fact, it was used as one for some time, I’m sure you know that Madame tour guide!  And if your concern for my safety comes from the theatrical equipment scattered about, I’ve worked in theatres for twenty years.  I would never allow myself to hurt or be hurt by such stage devices!”  By this point in the conversation my head had stopped spinning and I was ready to hide again.  I was inching away and scanning the shadows as I shot back at her, “So, why is it dangerous!?”

“None of those things Mademoiselle, but I’m not allowed to say.”  She really looked quite nervous, fidgeting her hands and glancing about in the understage twilight.  “Please, it only gets more dangerous the longer we stay, we must go now.”  She reached for my arm again, and I pulled it back out of her reach.

“Before I move one inch I will know why under the stage is so dangerous, so why?!?”

And then my world turned upside down and my life was forever altered.