Unmasking the Phantom – Part 2

The new electric lights in the room made it look so bright that Edmée had to squint for a few moments to adjust her eyes. The full-length mirror that took up nearly an entire wall made the room look much larger than it was. The room was well-furnished, as befitted the room of a Prima Donna. Across from the mirror was a dressing table that had three mirrors of its own with a chair that had fabric matching the chaise-lounge in the antechamber. Edmée, now used to the light, walked over to the mirror on the wall. She stared at her reflection for what seemed like minutes before she reached up to the hem of her veil. She began to lift it when she heard a knock at the door.

“Yes?” she asked, lowering the veil and turning away from the mirror to face the door.

The door opened and a woman with blonde hair poked her head into the room.

“Hi, I’m Meg Giry,” the woman said, stepping into the room. “I found the Vicomte and the managers in the hallway and they told me you were in here. I can’t remember the last time I was in here. It always made me uncomfortable after what happened. So, you’re Raoul’s new wife?”

Edmée gave a shallow nod. “Yes, I am the new Vicomtesse de Chagny. How do you know my husband?”

“Oh, from ages ago!” Meg replied, making a gesture with her hand. “I was a dancer here back when he was the patron. And, of course, I was friends with Christine Daaé.”  

Edmée’s eyes narrowed at the name of Raoul’s former wife. It always made her have a strange feeling whenever someone mentioned Christine’s name, like a sick feeling in her stomach. Perhaps it was jealousy, but after all these years? Why should she be jealous of a woman long-since dead?

“Wait,” Edmée said, narrowing her eyes. “What do you mean ‘after what happened?’ What did happen?”

“Didn’t Raoul tell you about the Opera Ghost?”

Edmée pursed her lips. “He did mention it, but not in great detail. Apparently, it was a time that he would much rather forget.”

“I think we would all rather forget about that time,” Meg replied, understanding.

“He did mention something about an underground lair,” Edmée hinted. “Is that true?”

Meg’s face immediately became more animated. “Oh, yes! I couldn’t believe that anyone would care to live down there in the cellar, but if the rumors were true, I don’t blame him for hiding. According to Monsieur Buquet, his face was like a skull and his eyes were on fire! I’d be terrified to see anything like that.”

Edmée said nothing. Meg shuffled her feet in the awkward silence, then she had an idea.

“Would you like to see it?” she asked, moving to the mirror.

“See what?” Edmée hesitantly replied.

“The Phantom’s Lair!” Meg exclaimed. “I’ve been down there a few times. There’s still a lot of his stuff down there. That’s where they got a lot of the auction items. There’s a bunch of papers and musical scores. He even stole wigs of all sorts, though no one knows why. Do you want to go down and see what’s there? He had hidden passages all throughout the opera house, including the one behind this mirror.”

“Why not?” Edmée said, half to herself.

Meg pushed on the glass and slid the mirror aside. There was a flashlight on a table beside the mirror, and Edmée picked it up to hand to Meg. They stepped into a dark corridor that ended at a staircase, which led to another corridor and then another set of stairs. It seemed like they were descending for hours, though it couldn’t have been more than half of an hour at most. It got trickier the deeper they went as the cellars were full of old sets and props. It also got progressively damper.

“There is a lake down here in the fifth cellar,” Meg mentioned conversationally. “Luckily, we’re on this side of the lake, where the lair is. When we first found it, on the night he disappeared, we had to find a way around the lake. It wasn’t until later that we found this entrance.”

“You were here that night?” Edmée questioned, stepping carefully on the damp stone.

“Yes, I was. There was a group of us that came down here after he took Christine for the second time. I was the one who found the mask that they were auctioning off tonight.”

There was silence between them as Meg led Edmée around the corner to a vast space. As Meg went around lighting candles with matches, the large cavern came into view. On the right-hand side was the large lake that Meg mentioned, complete with a boat pulled up onto the shore. However, it was the living space that drew the eye. There were hundreds of candles that lit up the large space. Against the wall was a pipe organ which had rusting pipes, a clear sign of disuse. There was a table covered in architectural drawings, musical scores, and drawings of various people. To Edmée’s immediate left was a diorama depicting a scene of an opera, complete with tiny figures of the opera cast. To the right of the organ was a set of stairs that led up to a bedchamber, complete with a bed.

“Well, here it is. The lair of the Phantom of the Opera.” Meg said, motioning with her arms.

Edmée smiled. “It’s quite magical.”

“Yes, I suppose.” Meg said, laughing. “Feel free to take a look around. I’m going to go back upstairs to let the Managers know that we’re down here. Don’t want them thinking the Phantom came back and stole us away!”

“Yes, that would probably be best. Raoul does tend to get worried.”

Meg nodded and headed back in the direction they came. Edmée, meanwhile walked over to the table and began sorting through the objects. She found a very nicely drawn image of a young Raoul and another of a woman with long dark ringlets, which had to be Christine. As she put the portraits down, her hand landed on a leather-bound book with papers stuck inside. Opening it, she saw that it was a journal. Flipping through, she settled on a random page.