Who is it there staring? (Christine Lucinda Dallas

[Christine Svenna Daaé]

It was mid January, sometime in the early afternoon. Christine Svenna had been thinking back upon the masked ball at which she had been in attendance earlier on that month. It had been a grand event with a wonderful turnout, and Svenna had had quite a fun time there, dancing and socializing. She had out some of the jewelry she'd been wearing that particular evening, most namely the star and moon tiara. Svenna loved just wearing it, even if she was all on her own. It made her feel as if she were a princess, and what young lady had not wished at one time or another that they were some sort of royalty?

She had a few other pieces of jewelry laying out as well, though it was mostly costume jewelry. There were the necklace and earrings which she had been wearing during Il Muto when she had played the Countess, and which she had also been wearing when she arrived there in the manor; there was the tiara that she had worn during Hannibal; there were a few small pieces of jewelry which she had bought in the village; there were a few small presents from Raoul; there were some pieces she'd brought home with her from work for her mermaid costume rather than leaving in her locker there over the entire winter off season... She liked the way that they sparkled in the mid-day's light, which was why she had taken them out to look at during this particular time of day.

It was as she was examining her rather odd little assortment of mostly fake 'jewels' that she heard a small growl and felt a sort of churning feeling in the pit of her stomach. I must be hungry.... It is past lunch time... she thought to herself, setting down her silver tiara to lay among the rest of her jewelry.

Without thinking much as to the possibility of that someone may enter her chambers while she was gone, she left the room, leaving the door unlocked and slightly ajar, and then went down to the kitchen to grab a quick snack.

[Christine Lucinda Dallas]

Lu had left her suite at the far end of the dormitory hall, having dressed in her usual trousers, vest and jacket and her black bolero hat. She was on her way outside to the stable to saddle Effie for a ride. It was cold outside so she had her long gray duster with a cape over the shoulders to wear for warmth while riding.

Lu gazed at the doors without really looking, just a glance passing by. But then she saw a door that was slightly ajar and she peeked in side, curious. She didn't look at the name on the door because through the opening, she could see something set out on a dressing table and they glittered. Intrigued, she pushed the door open a bit further and saw the sun making the glistening sparkles as it touched some jewelry sitting there, right out in the open.

Lu had made a promise to herself not to steal from anyone in the mansion. If she wanted friends, she would have to be honest, at least with these people. She had decided the only things she might take from the mansion would be things which belonged to the mansion itself and its long dead owner. What would he or she care about that anyway.

However, the jewels drew Lu to them as an oasis would draw thirsty animals in the desert. "Hello?" she said tentatively, in case someone was there. "Hello?" she said a bit more boldly. Sure that no one was in the room, she just had to look and see what the pieces were. She drew closer and saw several tiaras, earrings, necklaces and other items. She didn't know if they were real, or valuable, she just knew they were beautiful. She touched one of the tiaras tentatively. It sparkled so. She sat down at the dressing table and held it in her hand. Then she took off her hat and put it on the floor, ran her fingers through her hair to comb it and put the tiara on her head. She smiled at how she looked. She looked very nice. Although with her hair put up and a lovely dress, she would of course, look even better. She took it off and placed it back on the dressing table, then searched in her pockets for something to tie her hair up with. She found a rubber band and a small scarf. She tied up her hair and put the tiara on. Then she removed her coat and looked at the earrings and necklace. Just the thing to go with the lovely tiara. She put on a pair of the earrings and the matching necklace.

"Damn, I look good!" she said, to herself, under her breath. "Wish Gunner was here to see me." She stood up and, watching herself in the mirror, started to dance. How the gems sparkled! This was indeed fun. She completely forgot that she was in someone else's suite...

[Christine Svenna Daaé]

When Svenna got down to the kitchen, she looked through the cupboards and shelves until she came across a basket of fruit and plucked from it a bright and shiny red delicious apple.She picked the piece of fruit up and inhaled deeply (she loved the smell of apples) before taking a bite and heading back up again to her room.

She was dressed in bluejeans and a turtleneck, as the January air was quite cold and, while she did not really plan on going outside that particular day, she knew that it could sometimes get a bit drafty there in the manor. She had just gotten to the door of her room in the dormitories, when she stopped. It had been left open and, inside, was a brunette woman trying on some of her jewelry.

Svenna had seen the woman just briefly in passing before, at some of the manor events, such as the Secret Santa gifting, and the New Years Masquerade Ball, but they had never formally met, nor did Svenna recall this other young woman's name. However, she was not entirely happy with the idea that this woman she hardly knew was in her room and trying on her jewelry.

“Hey!” she said in protest. “Don't you know it's rude to let yourself into someone else's room without permission?” She walked in, folding her arms, with an unpleasant expression on her face, somewhere between hurt and anger. What in the world was going on here?

[Christine Lucinda Dallas]

Lu was so enjoying herself dancing and wearing the beautiful jewels. She picked up her duster and pretended it was Gunner and held it as if she were dancing with him. She closed her eyes for a moment and felt like a princess with the sparkling tiara on her head. She waltzed past the mirror again and glanced at herself and smiled. Someday she would own beautiful jewellery like this. She was in her own world of fantasy, a princess wearing jewels...

Suddenly, Lu heard an angry voice, a woman's voice, and she opened her eyes in horror, realizing she had been caught. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth formed an "O" as she came back to reality. She dropped the duster and stood facing the angry woman. She was dark haired and wearing modern clothing. Lu couldn't really think who she was. She looked familiar...she must have seen her at the parties that had been held for Christmas and New Years. But she had no idea what her name was.

The woman had walked in the room, her arms folded and an angry expression on her face. "Uh, no harm meant, Miss, uh Mam'zelle umm....." She hurried over to the dressing table and took off the tiara, placing it carefully on the surface. She took off the necklace and placed it with the other jewellery, patting it a bit as if to make the jewellery "feel better." She completely forgot she was still wearing the earrings.

"I'm completely sorry, Mam'zelle. The door was open...." She smiled guiltily and swiftly walked past Svenna to see what name was on the door. "Oh, Christine.." she read. But that was as far as she came, she couldn't figure out how to pronounce Svenna or Daaé." Ummm...What's the rest o' yer name? I can't rightly make it out..." She stood in the doorway, not really sure what to say. She had rarely been caught red handed before and when she had, it had been someone she didn't know, and she had made a quick getaway. Of course she didn't know who Svenna was really, but she knew she lived here in the mansion and was one of her neighbours, so it was as if she knew her.

She saw her duster on the floor and her bolero hat near the dressing table. She walked past Svenna again, looking very guilty. She picked up the coat and hat and then said, "You don't have no idea how sorry I am this happened. I mean, I meant no harm, really, ya gotta b'lieve me...It...um...I ...ummm..." Lu was at a loss for words which was an unusual circumstance for her. She glanced at the young woman and said, "How can I make this up to you, Mam'zelle?"

[Christine Svenna Daaé]

Svenna's eyes narrowed as she looked the woman over, wondering what she could be doing in her room. The woman certainly did have a strange accent – it was nothing like any she'd heard before, even in the village, and it somewhat fascinated the soubrette. She watched the other woman's movements very closely. They were a bit... strange, to be honest. After she had set the jewelry down, the other woman seemed to be trying to comfort them, as if they were a little puppy that needed to be petted 'all better.'

Christine brought her hand up to her face in order to conceal the small smirk that was forming upon her lips. She had to snort back a small laugh though when the woman quickly rushed to the door and seemed to have some trouble pronouncing her name. She lowered her hand, attempting to look stern, but failing miserably. “Svenna Daaé,” she giggled. “Christine Svenna Daaé... You uh... you forgot something,” she continued, gesturing to her own ears and hoping that the woman would understand that she meant she was still wearing the earrings. “What's you're name?”

[Christine Lucinda Dallas]

Lu watched the other woman, wondering what she would do. She wasn't of course frightened per se of the woman. It was more that she really didn't want to upset anyone in the mansion considering that she had to live here now and it wouldn't make any sense to steal anything from anyone. The other woman seemed to be trying to look stern, but then it looked to Lu as if she were going to break out in a smile any minute. It made Lu want to giggle a bit, but she only smiled. "Yer name is ...lemme see if I can say it....Christine Savanna Dye-yay. Is that close? It's a right purdy name...ain't never heard o' no body name like that before. Well Christine, yeah. My name's Christine too. Christine Lucinda Dallas. Call me Lu fer short. Lucinda's too long. My Ma name me, so o 'course I love the name, but takes too long to say it."

Then Svenna said she had "forgotten something." Lu looked a little vague. She frowned. Svenna touched her ears. "Yer ears okay?" asked Lu, then she touched her own ears. "Oh, dag nab it, I forgot them earrings." She took out the earrings and laid them on the dressing table next to the other items. "Sure is purdy jewels, Ma'am. I wasn't gonna steal yer jewels, no, b'lieve me true. I wouldn't do that. Just tryin' 'em out. You a noble person too? Like some o' them other Frenchy people who live in the manor? I'm from America, Territory of Arizona. Live there all my life, until I come here. Can't quite figger out how I come here...." She paused a moment for breath. "But it's a nice place. And since I found Gunner here...he's my beau... I don't mind it at all."

"Um, Mam'zelle Christine, can I do something fer you to make up fer my ...ummmm...the dumb thing I done?"

[Christine Svenna Daaé]

Christine giggled girlishly as the other woman tried to pronounce her name and then said that it was very 'purdy'. She's never heard anyone speak like that before, and it sounded different and interesting to her. “Close!” she replied. “It's actually more like saying the number seven but with the stress on the second part, and then 'uh'. Say them really fast, and you'll get it. Seven-un... Svenna. Lu? That's a cute name. And yeah, there seem to be lots of people named Christine here, from what I've heard.”

She giggled more when the woman finally realized that she was still wearing the earrings and then took them off. Oh, dag nab it... She'd never heard anyone speak that was before, and she found herself rather fascinated by it. “Oh, it's okay, as long as you weren't going to take them. Technically some of them aren't even mine – they belong to the opera house, though I'm not really sure how I'd be able to get them back now... No, I'm not a noble person, but I know a few of them. I have a very good friend who's a viscount, and have met a couple other viscounts and counts and stuff...”

She listened as the woman explained where she was from – the Arizona Territory in America. “You're from America? I've never been there before... I'm from Sweden originally – I was born there – but my father and I traveled a lot when I was little, and then I lived in Paris for a good time before I ended up here”

Christine shook her head a little and gave a dismissing wave of her hand. “Oh, don't worry about it. As long as it's all there, it's fine. No harm, no foul. But if you really do want to make up for it, then perhaps you could help me with something...”

[Christine Lucinda Dallas]

Lu was relieved when Svenna giggled. It seemed to mean she wasn't really mad at her. Then she explained how to say her name. Lu tried it out. "Svenna? That how you say it. Yeah I like it real well." Then Lu giggled and rolled her eyes when Svenna said there were so many Christines here. "Sure are! Everybody here seems to have the name o' Christine or Erik. Ain't that strange?" She paused. "Even my Gunner's name is Erik..."

It was an embarrassing situation that Lu had found herself in but Svenna was being very gracious about it. Lu was grateful.She explained the jewels didn't even belong to her, they were from the opera house. And she talked about a subject that Lu knew very little about, but was fascinated with, the European nobility. "A Vicomte and a Count?" Her eyes opened wide. "Yer very lucky knowing them kinda people. I guess, I don't know any."

"Oh you ain't been to America in yer travels? It's beyootiful, at least where I'm from. There's all sortsa diff'rent areas, desert, forest, mesas, mountains, you name it.." When Svenna mentioned Sweden, Lu's eyes lit up. "Oh tell me about it. What is Sweden like?"

Then Christine forgave Lu with a wave of her hand. And then she said there was something that Lu could help her with....

"Yes, Ma'am. What is it? I'll do anything to make it up to you.."

[Christine Svenna Daaé]

Christine Svenna giggled and nodded at the comment about everyone being named Christine or Erik. “I know. Sooooooo..... many Christines! I've met several people named 'Raoul' here too, which is funny, because I know somebody named Raoul – have even since before coming here. He's a vicomte. His brother is a comte though. But I can't say I've met many Eriks – just one, ad I knew him beforehand as well... Your beau's name is Erik though? That's what my teacher is named – Erik Lenoir – do you know him?”

She shrugged a bit when Lu commented that she was lucky to know both a count and a viscount. “i don't know if I'm 'lucky' per se, but They are fun to hang around – Raoul and his brother that is. Raoul and I have known each other ever since we were children... Maybe you have met one here though? I've heard that there are a few roaming about the manor...”

She smiled when Lu explained about what America was like, and giggled again a bit at the way she talked. “It sounds beyootiful[/b],” she said, coping the way that she had heard Lu say it. “What's Sweden like? Oh, it's really pretty, from what I remember of it. There were lots of mountains, forests, beaches... and if you go to Stockholm, there are gorgeous canals all through the city.”

And then she inquired about what it was that she could help her with.

“Well,” she began, “the past month or so, I haven't had as much reason to go to the village because the place where I work closes for the winter. In the mean time, I've been getting kind of bored here – not much to do – so I was wondering... would you mind keeping me company or something? We could go do something fun – anything, really. What do you say?”

[Christine Lucinda Dallas]

Lu smiled. Svenna was so nice. She almost immediately seemed like a friend. Lu had never had a sister or girlfriend when she was growing up and Svenna seemed to be so sisterly. Here she had just discovered Lu touching her things in her suite and she wasn't even mad anymore. Lu giggled with her. "Sooooo many Christines..." she repeated and laughed. "And Rah-ools? I an't met but one o' them ...name of Edward. Don't know him really." She paused as Svenna mentioned Erik Lenoir. "Oh yeah, I met him. Len-wah. Funny name." She giggled, then became serious. "Met him in the kitchen once. With a girl, I guess his girlfriend. He was cross with me. He's kinda scary, really. But I guess he ain't mad at me no more." She looked at Svenna. "He's yer music teacher? What kinda music do he teach you?"

Then Svenna mentioned knowing one of the Raouls ever since she was a child.....and that he was a Viscount and his brother a Count. Lu's eyes opened wide and she smiled. "Then yer prac't'ly royalty, ain't ya?"

When Svenna talked about Sweden, Lu got a dreamy look in her eyes. "I sure do hope I can go there some time. We don't have no canals in Arizona, no beaches neither. We do have mountains and forests. But I like the desert the best. It can be unfergiving and fierce, but if you know how to survive, it's beyootiful. When the cactus are in bloom after a rain....you ain't never seen the like. And it's quiet and serene..." Lu smiled at the thought. "Real pretty here, but I miss the desert. Least I still got Effie."

Then Svenna mentioned how Lu could help her. She just wanted to have someone to spend time with because she was bored, her job not being available in the winter time.

Lu grinned. "I'd love to Miss Svenna. I don't have no one here neither except Gunner...and he makes himself might scarce. He's here, but he don't do nothin' with me no more. He don't like to socialize much with nobody." She shrugged. "I ain't like that. I like everybody!"

[Christine Svenna Daaé]

“Edward?” Svenna repeated, tilting her head a bit. “I don’t think I’ve met Raoul Edward… was he at the gift exchange? Or maybe the wedding? The name sounds a bit familiar… hmmm…” She had no idea how many Raouls were there at the Manor, but she found the whole thing to be rather confusing. Just like they’d mentioned with the Christines, there were soooooooooooo many of them.

She couldn’t help but to chuckle a little when Lu mentioned that Erik Lenoir was scary. “It’s okay. He scares me sometimes too. I remember he got mad at me once – well… no… a few times. I don’t blame you for being scared; he frightens me when he’s angry…” And then she quirked her brow a little. “A girlfriend? I didn’t know he had a girlfriend…” He’d never mentioned having a girlfriend to her before. Maybe there was a reason for that. She shook her head though and put a smile back on her face, looking back at Lu when she asked her what type of music he taught her. “Opera mostly,” she said. “He used to teach me to sing some of the roles at the Opera House where I used to dance.”

“I think you’d really like Sweden. It’s very beautiful…. I’ve never been in a desert before. Maybe someday you’ll get to visit Sweden, I’ll get to visit Arizona,” she said with a giggle. And ten something that Lu said sparked Svenna’s curiosity. “Who’s Effie?”

She beamed when the other woman said that she’d love to hang out with her. “Oh! Oh yay! Well, what should we do? We could play a game, or tell stories, or do each other’s hair…. Ooooooh! We could play dress-up! There are all sorts of dresses here I’d never seen before! You want to? It could be fun!”

[Christine Lucinda Dallas]

"Edward? Yeah. I met him a couple times. He was at the gift exchange with his wife, Emilie. She's a nice lady. Feel sorry for her, though. Met him twice before that and he was drunk both times. I ain't likin' him much. Gunner drinks a little too much too, but he ain't never mean like Edward. He sure told off yer music teacher! But it weren't nice. He was rude, awful rude. It was before Christmas, and some of us ladies was makin' treats. Miss Adina hauled off and slapped Mr Edward right in the face! She's a feisty one. I seen her once before with Mr Len-wah. So I thought maybe she was his girl. But I don't know that. He was nice to all of us that day. But I don't wanna git on his bad side. That's when he scares me."

Then Svenna mentioned he taught her opera. "Oh...that's so wonderful. I never seen no opr'y, but I heared about it from Mama when I was a girl. She seen it when she was a girl. And yeah, you'd love Arizona. It's real different from here. And pretty...lonely like...but I love it." She looked sad for a moment. "I hope I git to see it again..."

Svenna asked who Effie was. Lu laughed. "It's my horse. I named her after Mama. You wanna go ridin' sometime? We could go to the village that way or ride in the woods..."

"Oh! Dress up!" Lu clapped her hands like a little girl. "Dang, I ain't done that since I was a young'un. That would be soooo much fun!"

[Christine Svenna Daaé]

Christine’s expression saddened a bit as Lu told her about her encounters with this ‘Edward’ person. “Oh no…” she exclaimed in a soft murmur. “That’s terrible…” her mouth went slightly agape when she went on to say that Adina had slapped the man across the face. “Oh dear… Well that wasn’t very nice at all… Why did she hit him? Even if he was being rude, is that any reason to hit him? The Raoul I know doesn’t like Erik Lenoir either, but that doesn’t mean he deserves to be punched in the face for it…”

Christine was finding it slightly difficult to believe that Adina would ever be so mean as to hit someone, even if they were being rude. She seemed to quiet end gentle when they’d met in the garden several months ago. And she was with Erik? That seemed very odd indeed. Christine had never known Erik to be the social butterfly at all, and couldn’t imagine him having any sort of a girlfriend. But then again, so many things had changed since she’d come here.

Le mentioned that she didn’t like seeing Erik’s ‘bad side’ and that it scared her. Christine Svenna gave a slow, almost distant nod. “It scares me too sometimes…” she said , her voice suddenly low. In fact, it was something she tried to forget when she looked at him now, but occasionally found herself thinking of nonetheless. It was the reason why Raoul had wanted her to stay away from him. Erik could get… well… violent when upset. She remembered the horror of seeing his tremendously distorted face, and the even more hideous threats and curses that came along with it as he had chased her about his lair… And then that same evening, seeing Joseph Buquet hanging from the flies, and seeing the chandelier come crashing down toward her…

She swallowed, shaking her head as if to awaken herself from some sort of a distracted daze. That was in the past now, right? He hadn’t meant it… And yet she couldn’t wonder whether or not Adina had shared the displeasure of witnessing Erik’s temper. She forced a pleasant smile back onto her face. She truly did dislike thinking about those sorts of things, so it was better not to when possible.

Lu said that she’d never been to an opera before… but she called at an opr’y, which made Christine giggle inwardly. She really did like the way that her new found friend spoke. It was so new, and so very different from the English that she was used to hearing. Strange words and exotic places across the sea… it all sounded so very wonderful to Christine Svenna Daaé, and she hoped that perhaps someday she would be able to visit as well. In the meantime though…

“Oh, you’d like the opera. It’s so beautiful! I’d never been to one either until father’s old friend took me there, but it’s one of the most wonderful places I’ve ever been… Erik is fixing up the one here, you know. He’s planning on putting on performances in it…. Hey! You could see an opera here!”

She grinned and nodded when Lu explained that ‘Effie’ was her horse, and asked her if she would care to go riding sometime. “Oh, sure! But I don’t have a horse actually… Do you think there’s one here that I could borrow? I haven’t been riding since—” and then she paused, her next words traling off just a little. “Since before father died….”

Oh, why was the mood in this conversation so very shifty? Christine couldn’t make up her mind whether to feel happy, or scared, or sad, or disappointed… It was all so terribly confusing. She shook her head again and twisted a few locks of chestnut colored hair in her fingers before looking back up at Lu with a sort of hmm? expression on her face that was soon followed by another wide grin. “You want to then? Here! We can look through the closet… Some of my old opera costumes are here strangely enough…. Wonna see? Maybe they’ll even fit”

[Christine Lucinda Dallas]

Lu looked down a bit then back at Svenna. "It's my feelin', now, not a fact, that Adina is crazy in love with yer Mr Len-wah. But, " and here she snickered a bit, "he don't know that she feels that way 'bout him. You see, what happened is that Edward fella said some nasty things about yer Mr Len-wah and while he didn't git mad 'bout it, she sure did. She was sore and steamin' mad. She didn't want no one talkin' bad about her man and so she whacked Edward. It's what I seen and how it seemed to me. Maybe it ain't the truth." Lu didn't tell Svenna that if Adina had not smacked Edouard, surely she would have. The man deserved it for just being annoying, rude and drunk.

"You seen Mr Len-wah's bad side too? Well, he ain't a bad sort, and he found me with somethin' that weren't mine..." Here a fleeting look of fear crossed her face and she glanced at Svenna and touched her arm. "I tole you I ain't gonna do that no more. But this were before. I picked up Adina's locket and he found out somehow. He was cross and stern and he scared me silly!"

Then Svenna spoke about the Opera and Lu smiled dreamily. "Tell me 'bout that, Svenna. It sounds wonderful. Seein' all them beautyful costumes and hearin' them sing. If that ain't a dream come true, I don't know what is." Svenna said Erik was fixing up the opera house here and Lu's eyes sparkled with pleasure. "So I could see a real opr'y? Ain't that somethin'!" Svenna spoke of horses. "I seen someone brought in a lotta horses to the stables. Find out who they belong to and we can ride. Sure whoever it is owns them, will be there curryin' them horses and exercisin' them....we oughta go there together some time and you can take a look at them horses. The ones I seen look like good animals. And I know good horseflesh when I see it." Svenna spoke of her father's death. "Sorry, honey, that ain't easy. My parents died too, Papa in a stampede. It weren't pretty." She hugged Svenna lightly in sympathy and wiped away a tear which came to her eyes at the thought of her father.

Soon the two felt better and Svenna brought up the idea of trying on costumes, of which Svenna seemed to have many. Lu's eyes opened wide and she grinned. "Yeah! That'd be grand fun!

[Christine Svenna Daaé]

Svenna listened as Lu spoke about how Adina had taken a great liking to Monsieur Lenoir. She recalled the amount of trouble Adina had experienced in her past with men, and also knew how anti-social Erik Lenoir could be, at least in the past when she had first gotten to know him. It still seemed a bit odd to her, all things considered, but if they really were in love, she was quite happy for them.

“Well, I’m glad you’re not going to take thing anymore,” the woman said with a smile. “He got mad at me for taking something of his before too… It wasn’t pretty.” The statement was highly ironic, but also very true. Erik was very sensitive about his mask, and with good reason.

She nodded excitedly when the woman sated that it would be like a dream come true and that she would love to see a real ‘op’ry.’ “It’s like a play, but with singing, and dancing… You get to pretend that you’re someone else and tell a whole story about it. It is a lot of fun!”

Lu then proceeded to explain that there were several horses at the Manor, and that if/when they found the owner, they could ask to ride them. “Oh! That sounds like a lot of fun. We’ll have to ask as soon as we find them, and then you can teach me to ride… if you’d like to, that is. I’d certainly like it very much.”

And then she winced when Lu explained about her parents. “Oh… Oh no… I’m so sorry…” She hugged the other woman back and then thought for a moment. She shook her head though and quickly dismissed the sour thoughts which had come to mind, and then proceeded to go to her closet and open it up, browsing through the many costumes.

“Let’s see here… What sort of costume would you like to wear?.. Oh! How about this one? She pulled out a pale pink form-fitting down with a light peacock feather design on it and held it out for Lu to see. “What do you think?”