Starlight, Star Bright; Open

[lyddietalise]

The gardens were rather beautiful at night, the dew from the nights misty atmosphere. In the middle of a garden rested a fountain, beautifully lit by the moonlight above as the angel at the top spit water so naturally. The flowers were blossomed though it was obvious they had not been tended to in a while. Here and there patches a flowers seemed dried out, on the edge of wilting and in need of tender loving care.

Lydia walked out of the manor in a flowing white gown that seemed to be much too big in areas while much too small in others. The sleeves fell from her shoulders down to her arm whilst the bodice fit tightly against her chest, restricting her airway, slightly. The skirt of the dress flowed down toward her toes. The dress was too long for her short frame. Step by step, she found herself tripping over the bottom of the dress, but catching her balance each time.

She finally reached the fountain and sat along it's edge, listening to the sound of water flowing into it's circular pool. For a moment her eyes closed, listening to the calm of silence and taking in a breath so deep that the tightening of her bodice made her cough as she exhaled. When she was able to catch her breath, Lydia stood from the fountain, picked up a nearby goblet that must have been left there and let the water from the fountain fill the cup just before water the wilting plants.

Plant by plant, Lydia walked past each, watering them as she went along. The silence made her smile. Once more she felt what she had felt in the secret passages of the opera house. Complete solitude and a sense of peace. Her mind reeled with thoughts. How had she gotten here? What was this place? Who else was stuck here? Who could be trusted? In a way, her heart ached to know more, but her shyness would not allow it. Not just yet.

[phantomsdarkangel]

Christine was rather confused when she got to the manor. She didn't really know what was going on, until she saw something that scared her. A ghost. Yes, she thought she was going insane but then the figure appeared again. It couldn't be, it just wasn't possible.
Of course, she had been known for believing in Ghostly apparitions before, but he had turned out being simply a man. The Opera Ghost, himself.

She remembered the first time she met Erik, back at the Opera House. She had heard her friends talking about a Ghost that haunted the Opera and she started to believe it. But when she met the man, everything changed. God, she had never seen something like that! Despite his deformity, something that really scared her at first but she slowly got used to, she knew that Erik wasn't a Ghost like everyone thought. He was only a man who wanted to be accepted. But said man had serious anger problems, she dared to admit.
This was just different. She had seen a /real/ ghost. A young woman floating around the ballroom. She had been scared of approaching her, so she turned towards the gardens. Her casual dark dress made little noise on the floor as she walked around to reach the door that would allow her out to the garden.

It was late at night when Christine stepped out of the Manor, trying to think wheter she was going insane or not. She looked up at the night sky. The moon was bright and the stars seemed to be playing a symphony as they shone above. She inhaled some fresh air and walked alone for a few minutes, wondering what else was there for her too see. How many wonders were there? /Why/ was she there? She hadn't seen anyone else but the aforementioned ghost but she was sure there were other people there. For some reason, she could feel their presence. As she walked, a fountain caught her eye and made her smile. She loved fountains and the sound of water falling. It was a peaceful sound for her and she would spend hours and hours listening to it.

Slowly, enjoying the air and the peace of the night, Christine walked in the fountain's direction, having decided to spend a good time there, relaxing by its sound. But, of course, she didn't notice someone had had the same idea she had, she didn't see the young lady in a white gown. She reached the fountain and reached out to touch the water. She felt a cold chill running through her spine as her fingertips made contact with the freezing water but she relaxed under it.
Christine then lost any relax she might have had when she finally spotted the young lady sitting there. She gasped in surprise, thinking it might be another ghost...

[lyddietalise]

Before the young woman who now sat at the fountain showed up, Lydia had made her way back to the fountain and began to gaze at the multitude of stars. The last time she had seen such a star filled night she was around the age of thirteen. Her mind suddenly clouded with memory. She had been exhausted by the amount of step-by-step rehearsing that was being done, whenever the step had been rehearsed incorrectly he would grab her by the hair, knotting the long strands of dark hair in his fist. She would scream and call for help but no one came. No one rescued her. That was the beginning of her distrust for any one in the world.

You are nothing without perfection Her master would say.

You must be perfect or you can never win. He would warn her. But he never explained himself. What was the prize? Never win? Lydia never found out the answer.

That same night, Lydia had escaped from the chains in her tent and sat upon a nearby hill. The stars were truly a sight to see. Magnificently bright in all their multitude. She used to wish on one every night. Close her eyes and point to one specifically, before wishing.

Here she was six years later in the garden of a manor to which she was not familiar with an immense amount of strangers who she knew not of who they were. Hearing the sound of something touch the water her eyes opened immediately and her heart stopped as she gasped. "A-are you one of the ghosts of this manor?" She asked. She'd heard there were ghosts here but she hadn't really seen any and for that she was grateful.

[phantomsdarkangel]

Christine gasped in surprise again when the woman spoke. The last ghost she had seen hadn't talked to her and, since Christine was making herself believe it was another ghost, she didn't think she'd actually /talk/ to her.
What had she asked, again? If she was another ghost? What if she was?... What if she had died and appeared there? She didn't remember /how/ exactly she got there, so it was a possibility. Now, Christine wasn't sure how to answer. /Was she a ghost?/
She had no way of knowing it. She just frowned a little for a moment and sighed, looking down at herself. She didn't even recognize her dress. When did she change into /that/ dress? Now she was even more confused.

She looked up again and glanced over at the young lady who had spoken to her. Once more not knowing how to answer, she returned her eyes to herself. She wasn't a ghost, she didn't even remember dying...

Christine ran a hand through her left arm. She could feel her skin, cold as always but still skin. She placed her hand over her heart and felt it beating. There. She was alive, she wasn't a ghost. But for some reason, she couldn't be sure of that, not yet.

"N-No," she replied, scared. But what if the person she was talking was, indeed, a ghost? "A-Are you?" she then asked, her voice cracking, not really sure if she wanted to know the answer to her question.

[lyddietalise]

When the young woman responded Lydia could feel a lump in her throat forming as she swallowed hard the suspicions that there were many mysteries to this manor. "Not a ghost?" She asked more to herself than to the girl who stood before her. Standing on her toes, Lydia took a few paces back from the fountain. "W-who are you?" She decided to ask.

Her hands shook, her shoulder's tensed and her eyes were shifting all around as she tried to piece together the possibility that she would have to know those who lived in the manor. For if she didn't, grave consequences would befall her. She just knew it.

Her paranoia grew as she eyed the young girl in front of her. She didn't look a over 20 and she was rather pale. That was a sight she saw in another life...back in Paris. The reminder of her old home made her wonder. How did she get here? The last thing Lydia remembered was rehearsing the newest ballet with Madame Giry. Dreaming of getting the chance to sing on stage. So why was she here? Had she been kidnapped?

Truthfully, she was rather glad not knowing what brought her here, but she hated the idea that there were other strangers around. Perhaps even strangers who could not be trusted and as such, Lydia kept her guard up. Even at the moment with a young woman seemingly as confused as she was she kept herself tensed. Her head was high in alert as she kept a close eye on the girl. She couldn't trust anyone.

[phantomsdarkangel]

Christine's mind started to spin. She was trying to focus on the questions her interlocutor was asking, but she couldn't. She wanted to know so much, and she /knew/ she wasn't going to get any of her questions answered. Why? She didn't know either.

What? How? Where? Who? Why? So many secrets, so many questions.
Christine took a step back and let her eyes examine the young lady standing before her. Even if she seemed nervous and scared, she hadn't answered her question. Was she a ghost or not?

"I-I'm... C-Christine... Christine D-Daaé," she told her, her whole body shaking in fear. What was going to happen? Was this woman going to kill her? Maybe she had entered somewhere that was prohibited. But then again, she didn' know how she had got there.

"W-Who are you?" she demanded to know again, ready to grab something to protect herself but, somehow, she couldn't find the strengh to move a muscle.

[lyddietalise]

Lydia watched the young girl before her with a curious eye. She looked rather confused and rather curious as well but Lydia, herself did not know where to begin with any questions. Her eyes observed the young girl trying to come up with good reasoning for another question.

When the young girl took a step back, Lydia began to believe that perhaps the girl was scared of her. and who wouldn't be? Lydia was more of the cautious, quiet type that rather would keep to herself than speak to a total stranger and that led to ideas that perhaps she wasn't the safest person to speak to.

"Daaé?" She repeated for a moment in a whisper that was inaudible to anyone but her. She'd heard that name before, back when she had lived in Paris. Before coming here the young girl she had heard of was once a ballet rat. Just like her. Lydia didn't believe the girl would notice or remember her. After all she stuck to her corner alone while the others bunched up in a group.

"My name is Lydia." She responded rather quickly. "Lydia Constanzi." Though she was nervous her voice never faltered. She took a step forward and tried to put on a smile to ease the tension.

[phantomsdarkangel]

Christine cleared her throat and swallowed the knot that had formed there. She was so nervous, so confused.
The little girl she once had been was screaming to show up, to show how scared she was. She /was/ scared. She wanted to run away from there, curl up in her father's arms and listen to him, humming a soft song to help her calm down and fall asleep...
But she knew that wasn't going to happen. Her father had died years ago and she wasn't so little and innocent. Not anymore. She was helpless.

Hearing the lady's name, she took another step back and sighed deeply. Well, she knew she wasn't a ghost, at least... and she wasn't going insane, yet. There was something else there, another person, and she couldn't help but feel relieved. Even more relieved as she noticed the soft smile gracing upon her lips.

As soon as she heard her name, she fell silent, deep in thought. She had heard that name before, though she wasn't sure where. "L-Lydia?" she repeated, her voice still cracking. When she noticed this, she cleared her throat again.

'Christine, she won't hurt you, don't be scared...' she heard a voice; a male voice; coming from somewhere. She recognized her father's voice and took a deep breath to calm down. She tried to speak again and, this time, her voice didn't falter.

"Lydia..." she started, "What are you doing here? I suppose you're stuck, too. Well, so am I... I don't even know how I got here... do you know anything?" she asked her, smiling softly at her.

[lyddietalise]

Lydia began to step forward a bit, confidently lifting her head and keeping herself from showing any fear or nervousness that was erupting through her. In fact, now that she knew who this girl was she grew more confused. If Christine was here...Who else would be here? And if there were other's from the opera...could this mean that this place...this new found home was a trap?

She began to panic deep inside and tensed a bit as she walked toward the young girl who said she was Christine. Perhaps she had answers. Yes, of course. She'll have answers. The same as yours. Her mind whirled and she stopped a few feet away from Christine.No one could be trusted. Not without any sort of answer.

When Christine took a step back, she frowned a bit. Perhaps then she and Christine weren't so different after all. For it seemed they both had a problem with trusting strangers. Especially when it came to learning more of this magical mystery.

Hearing her repeat Lydia's name she nodded. "Yes." A small smile once more stretching across her cheeks. Christine wouldn't remember her. Lydia had never truly taken the time to get to know anyone. Perhaps that was why the others would whisper when ever she were around. Perhaps that explained the gossip that she had never heard.. or the words that were left unspoken to the person.

Her mouth opened to speak but she could find no words, no proper sentences. Only the scarce idea of what to ask. Yet she couldn't bring herself to question the familiar face before. Instead Christine asked just what she had wanted to ask which only made her panic ease, if only a little.

"I don't know what I am doing here...I just...woke up one morning and..well...here I was." she answered simply. But the moment she had asked if Lydia knew anything, Lydia's throat grew tight and she swallowed with great difficulty before shaking her head. "And you? Surely you must know something..." She was able to relax now that Christine was smiling.

[phantomsdarkangel]

"Nothing at all... all I knew was that I was brushing my hair and now," she paused. "Here I am..." she added then. "I have no idea where here is." Christine sighed and sat down by the fountain, her head in her hands. She wanted to cry, but she didn't... She wanted to scream, but it seemed like nothing would be loud enough.

Suddenly, another question appeared in her mind. She remembered that time she had seen that ghost, or what she thought was a ghost. Maybe Lydia knew what it was, maybe she had seen it too!

"Not long ago, like... a few hours ago...." Christine started to explain. "I saw something that wasn't normal. I was walking around this place, by myself, and... out of nowhere, I thought I had seen something. It was a light figure, almost like mist..."
Christine stopped for a moment, took a deep breath and continued. She needed time to remember everything clearly.
"I swear it looked like a ghost! It looked like a human person... but it was blurry and it was floating! !" Christine exclaimed, too excited with herself. "Have you seen it, too!?" she asked Lydia, hoping with everything she was her answer was yes. "It was either a ghost, or I'm completely losing my mind..." she added, calmly, looking up at Lydia again.

[lyddietalise]

Standing still in her spot she grew rather serious when Christine explained that she had no idea of where she was or how she had come to this place. Frowning a bit, Lydia tried to make a logical explanation. Some nut had kidnapped them and brought them. Yes. That sounded rather legitimate, yet she could not feel the least bit comforted by that idea. In fact it made her curiosity grow more as she began to expand that idea. But she couldn't put her finger on it.

Seeing a sort of puzzled look on Christine's face she drew herself closer to the young woman, desperate to see if they could find an answer together.
She tilted her head, listening carefully. For a moment she seemed to think that Christine had gone mad. "Everything about this place is rather...odd." She answered slowly and under her breath. A light figure? Like a mist? Surely she did not mean a ghost. Now there were ghost's in this place of strange peculiarity?
When the young woman stopped speaking, Lydia took yet another step forward but jumped back as she had gotten rather excited.
Now she had had one of the questions she was asking, answered. She had thought she'd seen ghosts wandering about. But thought that perhaps she were too exhausted or paranoid and used that as an explanation for what she had seen. Shaking her head and swallowing a bit, she sighed. "I-I've seen shadows wander about where no one was walking, but I have not seen a...ghost...up close." She replied softly.

[phantomsdarkangel]

"Those shadows can be ghosts, too!" she exclaimed, jumping up from her sitting spot. She had an answer already, but now, she needed the most important part... The most important answer she could ever get. The Why's, How's and Where's. Why was she there? How had she got there and where was she?

"Do you have any idea where are we?" she asked her. "Anything... Country, Continent, /Planet/ even..." Christine said. She was over exaggerating, she knew it, but she was really desperate. She needed to know this... Maybe they were still in Paris. If they were, it shouldn't be too hard to escape that place and go back home. But if they weren't? If they were in, let's say, England? Russia? Latin America? What would happen then? How would they go back?
"I remember I was in my dressing room at the Opera, and then, in a matter of seconds, I appeared here... alone, scared and bleeding..." she explained. "I think some sort of glass hit me, for I had cuts all over my arm," she added, showing her her arm, where soft cuts were still visible.

All of a sudden, she paled and looked around. She had heard a crashing noise, not far away from them. It sounded like leaves crashing on the ground as someone walks over them; what she used to do when she was little, back in Sweden. The sound stopped for a minute or two and then, there it was again. And that second time, it sounded louder, closer...

Paranoid, she stayed still and motioned for Lydia to stay silent, placing a single finger over her lips and listening into the night...

[lyddietalise]

Squealing rather loudly at Christine's exclamation, she jumped back. What the hell was wrong with this woman? Obsessed with ghosts? That's what it seemed like. Then again perhaps she was just having a hard time gripping reality.

She shook her head. "I-I wish I were back in Paris...But...It all seems like a distant memory." She answered before looking around the garden. There had to be a crest, a map anything that could tell them what this was place...Where it resided...Why they were here. A small laugh erupted from Lydia as she looked at Christine. She truly did look as though she were barking mad. All these questions and excitement over ghosts. All this not knowing as to where they were or why they were here, it was driving her insane. She listened to her story and then looked at her arm. "My...that looks...awful..." Lydia mumbled, making a face. "That all leads to one big question then, no? Why are we here and how did we get here?

Lydia heard them too, but thought she was going insane, just as Christine must have. She looked around and frowned a bit, readying herself for an attack. She had learned all those years ago how to defend herself and if she had to she would. When the sound stopped, she sighed with relief but as it started again she freaked.

About to say something, Christine must have noticed for she was telling Lydia to stay silent. And in case someone truly was there and not just some toad or a cat, she listened.

[phantomsdarkangel]

Trying to notice where were those noises coming from, she turned around many times. Nothing... nothing but silence. "Did you hear that, too?" Christine asked her, whispering. "Did you hear that noice?" Christine repeated, turning around again.

A lot of questions started to hit her mind and, for some reason, she couldn't hold them back this time. "What if it's a ghost? Or a monster? And what if it wants to eat us?" she started to shoot one question after another; barely breathing between them. When she was done, she looked around them again, her paranoia getting the best of her.

Suddenly, she heard another noise and grabbed Lydia's hand and started to pull her along, running towards the Manor again. "Whatever that was, it might be chasing us now!" she exclaimed as she ran. "We have to hide!"

[lyddietalise]

Her eyes followed Christine's movements as the sounds seemed come to a halting stop. Had they been hearing things? She did not know what to believe when Christine whispered a question. For a moment she jumped back. This girl was seeming to be a raving lunatic. "I-I.." She stuttered. Looking around she could see no one and nothing about. Just the wilting flowers she had watered and the fountain near by.

"Ch-Christine you're barking mad!" She said softly and in a bit of an annoyed tone. But as she spoke those words, Lydia could not help in questioning everything, herself. What if Christine was right? What if someone was after them? She could not trust a doubt. That was for sure. They were in a strange place with strange coincidences and strange people. Perhaps there was truth in Christine's seemingly paranoid mind. Placing her hands on Christine's shoulder's, Lydia looked her directly in the eyes and tried to calm her. "Everything is al-" She began.

When, out of nowhere, the young girl grabbed her hand and began to run off. Lydia squealed and tried to pull away but it seemed that she, herself, did not wish to stop running until she knew it was safe. "Christine...Christine...stop. I'm sure it was nothing. After all. We can not live in fear." She muttered in a shaky, out of breath tone.