Flowers (Adina Gillespie)

[Christine Daaé]

It was a rather cool January day when the young bride of two months set foot outside for an afternoon stroll. Snow had fallen the evening before, though it had stopped by the time Christine went out for her walk. It was a bit overcast, but not to the point where it was exceptionally difficult to see. She was dressed in a long frock dress and her blonde ringlets were pulled back atop her head with a black lace bonnet covering them.

She shivered a little upon her initial stepping out of the door, but she quickly pulled her coat closer around her and soon adjusted to the difference in temperature. Once she'd done so, she closed the door behind her and stepped out into the path. She hadn't gone out much recently. After all, the weather hadn't been the best recently, and between taking care of Mamma Valérius, and getting ready for Christmas, and keeping Raoul company when he wasn't at work at the zoo, there hadn't exactly been much time for little walks outside.

She stepped along the frozen path, ice-covered sticks from autumn past crunching under her little feet. As she walked through the gardens, she noticed a woman clearing some frost and snow around the house. She didn't recall having seen the woman before, but it almost seemed as if she worked there. Perhaps she was one of the people who maintained the house? She walked a bit nearer to the woman, trying to watch what she was doing and maybe catch her eye. “Bonjour? Blonjour, est-ce que vous y travaillez?”

((assume from this point out that, unless I say otherwise, Blondie is speaking in French XD ))

[Adina Gillespie]

Adina had had a lovely Christmas and New Year. She had spent the Christmas evening with Erik Lenoir; he had made dinner for the two of them and even played beautiful Christmas music for her. She was still remembering that splendid night when she went out to start some work on the frost-covered sides of the manor. She was smiling with such a joy that it could almost melt the snow all on its own. She wore the same red cloak that both she and Lenoir had found before their venture into the snow. Nothing could take away her happiness and she began to sing to herself as she worked:

Now winter comes slowly,pale, meager, and old.
First trembling with age, and then quivering with cold.
Benum'd with hard Frosts, and with Snow cover'd o'er,
Benum'd with hard Frosts, and with Snow cover'd o'er.

Prays the Sun to restore him,
Prays the Sun to restore him,
And sings as before.

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The young maid was so happy that she didn't even hear the woman approaching her. She was so proud of herself: she had graciously accompanied Lenoir to dinner and had met another man she thought was rather nice; it seemed that she was destined to have a lovely time this new year.

Then suddenly, she heard a voice speaking to her in French behind her. She lept up from her work and whipped around. A young woman- younger than Adina- had approached her; the same woman from the Christmas Eve party. She had seen her there but did not properly introduce herself to the girl. It seemed that she spoke French! Now Adina was terribly delighted; she could speak in her native tongue again! She beamed and curtsied to the girl before straightening back up. "Oui, Madame. Je travaille ici au manoir. Je suis Adina Gillespie. Comment est-ce que je peux être utile ?"

[Christine Daaé]

As Christine approached the other woman, she could hear that she was singing some song about the winter as she worked. She did look vaguely familiar, but Christine could not place where she may have seen her before. She supposed probably in passing at one of the many large gatherings that had happened recently in the manor. There had, after all, been quite a few of them as of late.

“Oh, I was just walking and saw you here and wondered who you were. My name is Christine. Christine de Chagny. And you are?” She smiled and gave the other woman some time to answer. She really was curious about it. As it seemed that she and Raoul were to stay here now (an idea with which she had strangely become more comfortable as of late), then she wanted to know a bit more about it.

She then continued on. “It really is a very lovely garden. I had the pleasure of being able to see it in bloom before the frosts came... You do an excellent job with it. Have you worked here for very long?” She looked around at the place. While it was white and gray and dead now, she remembered only a few months back it had been so green and full of life. Sadly, she hadn't taken the time to enjoy it much then. She had in such a distressed state there at the Manor for the past nearly a year. Between the sudden shock of awaking in a strange and unknown place; the constant worry for her now husband, then fiancé; the frightened feeling of not being able to communicate at all with any of the people in the nearby village... But now.... now things had finally settled down some.

[Adina Gillespie]

Adina sang happily as she reached towards a low window sill and broke off a well formed icicle before letting it fall to the ground beneath her feet. She didn't wear gloves so that she could actually feel the cold of the ice in her hands as it slowly melted between her fingers; it bit at her fingertips and shrank against the warmth of her palm. She knew it was very cold but that did not seem to bother her at all. She wanted to experience everything for as long as she could. After all, she didn't know for how long she would be alive.

"Oh! Adina, madam de Chagny," She bowed her head and curtsied politely. "Adina Gillespie. It is an honor to meet you, madam." She wiped her hand upon her apron and stopped her work to give her full attention to the woman before her. So, her third Christine. She had already had the pleasure of meeting Christine Svenna and Emilie, and she was so grateful to have met them.

When Christine commented on how beautiful the garden was and how long she- Adina- had been working at the manor, the maid smiled with pride. "Merci, madam." She was about to say 'all her life' but then… She remembered that she had come from such a distant time that it was almost irrelevant to say such a thing. So she went ahead with the truth. "I have worked here up until my death… I died many centuries ago, madam. I was once a ghost here at the manor but one day, I suddenly found myself alive again and able to draw breath. It was very strange, but yes, I have worked here all my life." She bit her lip, hoping that her explanation would not scare the young woman. She looked up at the facade of the manor and sighed. "It really is a very strange time I am living in here. So many years have past, so many familiar faces now gone." Adina began to feel sad and sighed again before sitting upon a protruding stone at the base of the building.

[Christine Daaé]

Christine could not help a small chuckle when Adina introduced herself, and she pressed a little gloved hand to her lips in order to stifle her laughter a bit. “Forgive me, Adina. I don't mean to seem rude, I assure you... It is good to meet you as well, though I am a bit curious... Why do you say it is an honor?” About this, the young woman was slightly puzzled. She hadn't introduced herself by her married title – to be quite honest, she found it a little silly, for this was no formal occasion, and it really didn't matter in this place anyway...

But then at the woman's answer to her first question – how long have you been working here – Christine became even more confused. She said that she was once a ghost (which Christine had begin to expect here at the manor, since there seemed to be a few of them present), but then she was living. But how could that be? This place just got more and more peculiar with every passing day, so it seemed. She looked down for a moment in silent contemplation. “But... but how is that possible?” She then looked back up, and saw that Adina suddenly seemed upset about something. She supposed it must have had something to do with her last comment.

It really is a very strange time I am living in here. So many years have past, so many familiar faces now gone.

She bit her lip a little. “If it's any consolation, I know how it feels... To know that... that you're never likely to see any of the people you know... ever...” She remembered feeling that way when she'd first come there to the manor. She remembered feeling hopeless, alone... She still did, to some extent, but not nearly as much. She knew that Raoul was safe, and that her mother would be taken care of... She had even made some new friends here, though she still found herself wishing, quite often, that things could somehow be the way that they were at home...

[Adina Gillespie]

Adina tilted her head a little. Had she said something that had made Christine laugh? Was she curtsying too low? Then she listened to the woman ask why she thought it was an honor to meet her. "Oh! Well, I suppose that I feel that it is an honor to meet someone of a higher status than some of the other guests within the manor, madam de Chagney." She smiled again and tried to hold herself gracefully and keep her eyes down unless she was being addressed.

She noticed the confused look on Christine's face and she quickly straightened out the misunderstanding. "I only mean to say that I died and then by some supernatural means, I found myself alive again. It was very strange and even now I still do not understand how or why it happened to me." She shrugged and shook her head. "Perhaps; it did happen to moi for a reason." She dared not tell this young woman that she had been brought to life to merely be tormented by the Devil nor would she even tell her about…. Him. Just the thought of that frightful presence made her shudder.

"I am very sorry, madam," Adina said, frowning sympathetically. She wanted to reach out and touch Christine's shoulder, but held back because she didn't know if it would be unreceived. "I never got the chance to meet my màmà; she died giving birth to me. And pàpà…" She couldn't believe she was still calling her father that, even after he had died of the plague. But now she had to put it all behind her; she just smiled at Christine and shook her head. "It doesn't matter. That was the past; I have to look forward to the future and keep my head up. And it really is wonderful to make your acquaintance, madam de Chagney. If there is anything I can be of service, please, do not hesitate to ask me. Or you may find me in my dormitory or the library when I am not here in the garden."

[Christine Daaé]

Oh! Well, I suppose that I feel that it is an honor to meet someone of a higher status than some of the other guests within the manor, Madame de Chagny.

Now Christine was utterly confused. What in Heaven's name could she be talking about...? The girl tilted her head slightly, her blonde hair falling a bit with the weight of gravity pulling upon it. “I'm afraid I don't understand, Mademoiselle Gillespie... How should me 'status' make any difference? There are plenty of others here of higher status than I...”

The woman explained to Christine that by some sort of supernatural means, of which she did not completely understand herself, she had somehow been brought back into the world of the living. Christine didn't like the sound of this. It sounded most certainly like witchcraft. She knew that there were evil being here at work in the manor (she had met several demons there herself), and thought that it must have been one of them at work. This woman, however, did not seem evil... In fact, she was quite nice, albeit a bit excitable.

She continued listening as the woman spoke about her mother and her father. Christine certainly knew how it felt – her mother had died when she was very young and she hardly remembered her at all, and she knew that Raoul's mother had died in childbirth like Adina's...

That was the past; I have to look forward to the future and keep my head up.

She smiled a little. She wished that she could have always been so optimistic about the past like that. It always seemed to be catching up to her somehow, distracting her from the present, from the future... The past was something that she knew, and, often times, she'd found she trusted it far more than anything else.

“It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Mademoiselle Gillespie.”

The girl rubbed her temples. Her head was suddenly beginning to hurt and she felt a bit tired. She supposed that it was probably just the thought of the demons of the manor, combined with the cold of the air around her, causing it. “I'm sorry, but I think I need to sit down a moment... is there a bench or chair nearby at all?”

[Adina Gillespie]

Adina tilted her head. Now she too was confused. It was just that this girl seemed rather young and her last name was 'de Chagney' and not 'Daaè' as most of the other 'Christines' were apparently named. "You…. Are now a 'de Changey, correct, madam? Does that not mean that you are married to le Vicomte?" Surely that did mean that this woman was now a part of the nobleman's family, a part of the French diplomacy or government, did it not?

She bit her lip and felt her stomach begin to knot up with worry. She didn't want to frighten the young woman by claiming she was reincarnated by the Devil, nor did she want to seem condescending and not say anything at all. "I met someone frightful who claimed to have brought me back to life. He frightened me so but luckily there was a very nice man whom I met beforehand. Erik Lenoir was his name; he was very kind to me and even gave me encouraging words to not think of the terrible man I had met."

She sighed and winced, feeling a minor ache in her legs and back. "Would you care to sit down for a moment, madam? I am a little sore from all my work just now." She didn't wish to upset the girl or keep her from whatever it was she was doing. "If I am keeping you from enjoying this morning, please tell me. Though I do find it to be a little too cold for my liking."

The maid smiled; she indeed was happy to meet Christine and all the other residents of the manor she had encountered. She looked up at the girl before taking her seat; she seemed to have a bit of a headache. She knew about some herbs that could help the pain of such a headache. Looking around, the maid finally spotted some mullein flowers and plucked them up. "Are you feeling well enough to go to the foyer? I can brew you some mullein flower tea that will relieve the headache for you."

[Christine Daaé]

“Well... yes.... and no,” Christine began, trying to explain. “You see... I did marry, a couple of months ago, actually, but my husband's older brother died a short time before either of us were... brought here.” It still felt weird explaining how she came to be in this place, since she still was not entirely certain how she wound up in this place to begin with... “His title is Comte, though I hardly think that that matters here. After all, we're not exactly at home... And even if we were, I doubt his family would approve of our union...”

While she was a bit concerned at the mention of frightful people who could bring others back to life, she smiled a bit when the women mentioned Monsieur Lenoir and how kind he'd been to her. She recalled all of the aid she'd received herself from the masked man. He'd saved both her life and that of her husbands, he'd given her endless amounts of counseling, and had graciously sat there and listened to her as she poured out her fears, and even gave her advice on how to overcome them... “Yes, you were very lucky to have met Monsieur Lenoir when you did... Actually, I owe the man both my own life, as well as that of my husband...”

She started to nod in agreement when the maid asked if they could sit for a moment, but stopped and passed a hand over her forehead because it made her head hurt more. “No, no... I do not mind at all. Though if you are cold, perhaps we should go inside... Why do you not wear any gloves, or mittens? Your hands must be freezing working out here with nothing covering them...”

Christine slowly sat down, so as not to make her headache any worse. She watched the woman go again, pluck up a few flowers, and then return. “Yes, I am feeling well enough to move, though really, you don't have to bother yourself with making anything. I don't want to cause you any trouble, but thank you. I just need to rest a moment is all. My head has been bothering me on and off for the past couple of days...”

[Adina Gillespie]

Yes and no? Adina tilted her head and tried to understand what Christine meant. She said that she had married some months ago and that her husband's older brother died shortly before the two arrived at the manor. She thought it strange when she said 'brought here'… Why did she choose those particular words? Why not when they 'came to' the manor or some other means of arrival. But 'brought'?… It made the young woman a bit uneasy; had she too been 'brought' to the manor when she became a ghost?

"You know M. Lenoir?" She asked, smiling a bit. She was glad to know someone else who knew Erik. He had rescued her- in a way- and she owed him her eternal gratitude. Not only did he save her, he also had been gracious enough to even brave the cold one night so she could dance in the first snow of December. Her smile grew a bit as she recalled such pleasant memories. Pleasant memories… Yes, no more bad memories of her past before she came to the manor. She now thought of her life at the manor was the start of a new life for her, where she could collect new and better memories. "He is quite the gentleman; I am quite lucky to have met and become friends with him."

Adina looked up and noticed that Christine seemed as if about to swoon. "Mittens?" She repeated before looking at her hands… They were starting to get a bit red from the cold and were shaking. She clenched her fists and pressed them into her lap, blushing a bit. "I suppose that since I had been a ghost until recently, I had never thought of the notion of mittens. I…. Had a sort of power, a healing power if you will, and was able to bring the garden to life just a bit before I was brought back to life again.. Now I have lost that power and can no longer restore the garden with a simple touch. I was so used to working with my hands that it must have- how do you say?- slipped my mind."

"Oh, no! It is no trouble at all, madam," She said with a happy smile. In fact, it was a delight for her; now she could go inside and warm her hands by the hot stove. Then Christine told the maid that her head had been bothering her for a couple days. "Oh? Perhaps you need some fluids, madam. It could be dehydration or nerves. I will go and prepare the tea for you in the kitchen. Should you need anything, the kitchen window is directly in front of you." Here the maid pointed to a small window nestled between the stone of the manor wall ahead of Christine.

[Christine Daaé]

((It's really that she's preggo, but she doesn't know that yet XD))

Christine didn't pay much mind to Adina's unvoiced confusion at the matter of her title and being brought here. It was a matter which she preferred not to discuss unless necessary. After all, it did not hold much importance. Until they could find a way back, they were all stuck here for what seemed like eternity, no matter how much they dreaded it.

She smiled in confirmation when Adina asked if she did, in fact, know Lenoir. “Yes, from what I have seen of him, he seems a very kind man. He was actually my husband's best man at the wedding ceremony. He's helped us both on numerous occasions – you were quite lucky to meet him, especially when you did, Mademoiselle Gillespie.”

Christine shifted her weight a little on the bench. It was quite cold. She suspected that much was because of the given weather and temperature combined with the fact that the bench was made of stone. Stone had tendency to become cold and slick under such conditions. It didn't really bother her too much, however, for the discomfort could easily be avoided by adjusting oneself from time to time. It was no reason to make a fuss.

The young maid explained why she hadn't thought of wearing any gloves or mittens while she worked. Christine supposed her reasoning made sense – as much sense as anything did, that is. Nothing quite seemed to make sense any more... All of this nonsense of ghosts, and being dragged into the future was all, somehow, quite real, although it really should not have been... “Do you have any of your own?” She asked. “I have a pair of spare gloves if you need them, though they're hardly made for working... and I know a little bit of knitting from watching Mamma... maybe I could try to make you a pair of mittens?” She wasn't sure how they would turn out – and she would likely need Mamma Valérius' help – but it was worth a shot.

Adina then explained that it was no problem really for her to make the tea, and then suggested that perhaps she needed fluids or some such. Christine gave a faint smile. “Perhaps. Thank you very much. I could go look for those gloves in the mean time, if you like.”

[Adina Gillespie]

Adina shuddered and looked down at the ground. She did like this new century; it was interesting even if there were many things that she didn't understand or even know about. She had seen a strange machine that brewed tea and coffee by adding water. She remembered that Lenoir had showed her a similar device that held the tea leaves so they would not become muddled in the tea cup.

So, Christine did know Lenoir. How fortunate that someone else knew such a gentleman. She smiled inwardly and brought her hands to her arms to embraced herself, not that she was cold but she was happy. "Yes, I do believe I am lucky that I met monsieur Lenoir. He was so kind and helped me when I woke up in his home. But that is a story for another time." She did not wish to burden Christine with such a long and terrible story, especially not in her fragile condition.

She looked at her hands again and realized that she couldn't really feel her fingertips too well… Perhaps she should have worn some gloves as Christine had said. But she thought that she would be able to warm her hands upon the steam of the boiling water when she went in to make the tea.

"Oh, no! Don't both yourself with the gloves, madam. Dear me, no, I couldn't possibly ask you to make me a pair of gloves, though I do appreciate the gesture. Please, just relax. I will be right back with that tea for you." She hurried in to make the tea, making sure that it was not too hot so that Christine wouldn't burn her mouth on the drink. Her feet seemed to have wings attached to them as she hurried back out to bring the green tea. She blew upon the cup as it steamed with the fragrant, hot beverage. She carefully handed the cup to Christine and stepped back, her hands folding in front of her. "Is there anything else I can bring you, madam?"

[Christine Daaé]

Adina seemed to be the very self-sufficient type, from what Christine could make of her. She seemed to not want help so much when it was offered to her as she seemed to just accept it when it was given without asking. It would explain, at least, why she had been so gracious for Monsieur Lenoir’s help (as she had previously told her), but had refused the gloves that Christine had recently offered.

Before Christine had the chance to insist that it really was no trouble for her to get the gloves, the maid was already off, back into the house to make the tea like she said that she would. Christine sighed and pulled her coat closer around herself to keep warm as a cool, soft breeze blew, creating a slight chill. She knew that there were some workers who were extremely insistent upon doing their tasks without any sort of aid from anyone else – she’d met several workers like that at the Opéra, back in Paris. She’d learned to just let it go, albeit it was rather frustrating when it was a little thing that could easily be helped with, like the gloves.

When Adina returned, Christine greeted her with a silent smile before carefully taking the hot beverage cup from her hands. “Thank you, Mademoiselle Gillespie. No, no, that’s quite all right. You didn’t even have to bring me this much. It’s very kind of you to ask though… But you never answered my question. Do you have gloves of your own?”

[Adina Gillespie]

The young maid did not wish to trouble Christine about the gloves when she already seemed almost faint. She went into the manor and to the kitchen to prepare the tea for the young woman. She looked out the window and saw Christine bundling herself up and thought to bring out a coat for her; the one that she had used when she and Lenoir went out into the snow. She picked up the woman's sized red coat and slung it over her arm as she prepared the tea.

Adina was used to working on her own and even enjoyed the peace and quiet. The kitchen was empty so there would be no one around to bother her, especially not that obnoxious Vicomte! She greatly disliked how rude he had been towards Lenoir and thought him to be very crass and vulgar. She paused a moment and looked down at the teacup as the water began to shift to a light green color from the tea leaves. She still needed to apologize to him and had already apologized to Erik Carrièr. Her thought process was brought back to the tea when she thought she nearly knocked over the teacup. She quickly grabbed it as well as the saucer before bringing both back out to Christine.

She looked back up at Christine and blinked a moment. "Gloves? Oh! Yes, I do have a pair of gloves, but they are back in my dormitory." She smiled and sat down beside her. "I do hope you the tea helps you feel better, madam. Oh, and I also brought you this coat if you would like it."

[Christine Daaé]

Christine nodded once when the woman insisted that she did, in fact, have a pair of gloves. She really wished though that, if she did, she would put them on. It wasn’t good for anyone to have their hands so cold. After all, one’s fingers could become frostbitten, and then where would they be? Perhaps it had to do with this woman’s claim that she was once a ghost, and was therefore not used to the need for gloves. However, it was still better to wear them than to lose the feeling in one’s fingers once it had only just been gained again…

“Thank you, Mademoiselle Gillespie. I’m sure it will…” She took a little sip from the tea, feeling the warmth of the beverage spread through her body, starting with her throat and her air canals. It felt rather nice in contrast to the freezing air around them.

Then, Adina offered her a bright red coat, to which Christine could not help but to chuckle a little. “No, no, I’m quite fine, thank you. You’ve already done more than enough. Why don’t you wear it? I’m sure that the pockets could help to keep your hands warm. We wouldn’t want them to get to cold again, now that you’ve come back outside. You’ll make yourself ill…”