The Moon Shed a Pale Gleam (2004 Meg)

[Christine Daaé]

It was getting late in the evening. Christine was headed upstairs to her room in the dormitories. She was still a bi shake from the earlier events, which she had yet to find a reasonable explanation for other than that she was hallucinating. Yes, that was it! She had imagined the whole thing. It must have been this madhouse of a manor finally getting to her head and making her see things that really were not there. All the more reason for she and Raoul to leave as soon as they possibly could.

So far, she had managed to keep him hidden from Érik, which was quite good for Raoul's sake, as Érik would most certainly kill him should he discover that he was there. The sooner they escaped from here, the less danger they were in. They had decided to postpone the initially intended wedding date until further notice for several reasons. For one, there was no certified justice of the peace who could legally marry them, and as they were both practicing Catholics, they wanted to have an ordained priest perform the wedding ceremony. For another thing, if they were to be married and Érik discovered as much, she would be a widow in no time flat...

Christine had just turned the corner in one of the halls in the dormitories area when she saw a woman with straight blonde hair whom she had never seen before. “Hello?”

[Marguerite Jules Giry]

After a tremendous day of exploring the manor Meg was rather tired. She could hardly wait to go to sleep. She ascended the staircase and started to to the right and see where her room was. Most of the doors were labeled for the guests that stayed here. And for the people who came to visit so they know where their rooms were. There were so many and she couldn't believe it. Meg had her hair down and she continued to climb the staircases. She had her own dorm and she was rather happy about that.

There was more to explore in the manor but she would do it while she had her time here in the Manor. Meg hummed lightly to herself as she continued to walk around the hallways trying to find where her room was. Finally she made it towards her room and she passed by a blonde woman. Another blonde. But she didn't acknowledge her just yet. Pausing she heard her speak.

Meg slowly placed her hand upon her knob of the room and she looked up lightly at the woman near the other end of the hall. "Good Evening Miss" she said softly looking upon her. "Hello to you as well, I don't believe we've met. I haven't seen you here before" she said softly looking at the other woman. A small smile appeared upon her face and she said nothing more.

[Christine Daaé]

Christine looked back at the other woman who was entering the door of the room only a few doors down from her own. “I cannot say that I have seen you here either. My name is Christine. Christine Daaé. A pleasure to meet you, Mademoiselle...?” Christine waited for the woman to give her a name. It was almost refreshing to see a new face around here, especially belonging to someone who seemed to be about the same age as herself.

Christine was quite tired. She did wish to get to know this woman, but she also wished to head to bed as soon as possible. She had feared she was hallucinating earlier when she had encountered all of those strange occurrences in the gallery. It was likely a lack of sleep that was causing her to imagine things, as she had been up quite late only the night before with Raoul, telling stories together like they used to when they were children.

Christine passed her door and walked closer to the other woman. After all, it was quite rude to force them to speak at such a distance when she could easily lessen the effort for both of them.

[Marguerite Jules Giry]

Ah, this must have been another one. Christine had told Meg about the thousand of look a likes that were running about the Manor. "Its nice to meet you Christine. I'm Meg" she said softly. "My full name though is Marguerite Jules Giry" she told her suddenly. "Since there are a lot of look a likes here within the manor, I will allow you to call me Jules if you like" she said softly. Giving the woman a small smile.

Meg smiled softly as she looked at the other woman who was coming closer to her. It was nice to see another version of her dear friend Christine. This woman had blonde hair and she studied the clothing she wore. Meg must have looked strange to the others about wearing boy clothing but she was in the lake when she was taken. The young blonde looked at her for a moment and pulled away from her door.

"So, how long have you been here for Christine?" she questioned. "Please come into the room. I was just about to go in my room, to take a nap. But I'm free to any conversation you have in mind" she said with a soft and gentle voice. Meg was always up to meeting new people even if the people were look a likes of her best friend Christine Daaé.

[Christine Daaé]

“A pleasure to meet you, Jules,” Christine said, choosing to call her such in order to differentiate her from her somewhat rude neighbor who oddly enough was also 'Meg Giry.' How very strange, she thought to herself. “Oh, there are not too many of them – at least not that I have met – though the woman with the room next to mine is oddly enough also called 'Meg Giry.' Unfortunately however, it seems that there are quite a few people in this place that claim to bear the name 'Christine Daaé,' although I find that a bit difficult to believe. After all, the name is not all so common – especially not in Paris where all of them claim to live. The surname is Swedish, you know.”

Christine glanced over at the young blonde woman, studying her closely. She was wearing pants and a fairly loose-fitting white shirt with her hair completely down. Granted, the attire was quite inappropriate, especially for a young lady, although Christine could not really say much on the matter. After all, she herself had been required to wear pants on several occasions, out in front of a large number of people, when she was singing in trouser roles at the Opéra – specifically that of Siebel in Faust, which she played quite often, as she was only the understudy for the role of Marguerite, and that particular opera was quite popular. But that was a different situation entirely! After all, she was wearing a costume specific to a role! She would never go out that way in public – not without good reason, at least. The shirt and hair though were another story...

“I have been here for about two months now.” Christine said in response to the other young woman's question. “ It has taken quite a bit of adjusting though, and hopefully I shall not have to remain here for very much longer. My fiancé and I are planning on leaving this place and marrying as soon as we find the means to.” Neither of them wished to stay here for too long and risk Érik discovering their plans. The moment they found themselves able to, they had resolved to go to the village and to seek passage away from this place immediately. They could not go back to France, as Raoul would be wanted there for treason and was suspected of murder there, but there were still other options. They also needed to discover a way to contact Mamma Valérius in Paris and arrange for her to meet them, which they would also do upon arriving in the village. “What about you?” she asked. “I have not seen you before in the manor. How long have you been here for?”

[Marguerite Jules Giry]

"The same to you Miss Christine" she said smiling slightly towards the blonde woman. It would seem that this woman was much older than her and she studied her lightly. Her hand was upon the knob of her door to her room and she listened to him speak. "So I've heard. I hear there are many look a-likes within this place. It's going to be an interesting stay that's for sure" she said chuckling lightly looking upon her. "Sounds like it could be" she responded a moment later. Meg gave a small smile and studied the other woman.

Meg looked at the other blonde for a moment and she said nothing more for a while. Her eyes studied the other woman while she talked. She was definitely much older than she was and she noticed the clothing she wore. A dress and her hair was up as well. "Perhaps we should take this conversation into a much quieter area?" she asked curiously looking upon Christine suddenly. The blonde opened the door and started to go in. "I've been here for a week already I imagine. I'm trying not to go mad.." she said softly. "I've left my mother in the Populaire and i due hope someday she would come here with me so I wouldn't worry about her" she told her softly.

The Manor was certainly going to be an interesting stay with all these different versions of herself, and her own friends and the enemies that lurked within the original Opera. Meg was going to have to keep her heart and mind open as well. She did not want to go mad but she kept the saying in her head that the other Christine had told her within the manor the other day.

[Christine Daaé]

((Eh, I already lectured you how Christine isn't “much older” and that they're both the same age When is Meg's birthday?))

“Oh, not at all!” Christine said. “None of the women I've met here look anything like me” or at least, she didn't think so... “It's only the names I've heard which are so similar. I've found the same with my fiancé. There are other men who are clearly not him, and yet they say that they are also 'Vicomte Raoul de Chagny'... Albeit my fiancé is technically no longer a viscount, it is still quite odd regardless.”

“As to staying here, I for one certainly do not plan to do so any longer than is necessary. After all, with the wedding, and still needing to find Mamma, it is much better that we leave once we find the means to.” Christine nodded wen the woman suggested that they move the conversation to a quieter area. There was no point in them standing in the hallway when there were rooms nearby where the conversation could be more quiet. Besides, it was late and there could be people trying to sleep already. It would be rude to wake them with their chatter in the halls. “Did you have anywhere in mind where we could go? My room is not far from here. Actually, it's that one over there,” she said, pointing to the door with the name CHRISTINE DAAÉ engraved upon it. “I've been here for a couple of months now, myself... You grow somewhat accustomed to it after a while, but I would still prefer to leave. Not to go home really though. I was planning on leaving Paris anyway...”

The woman mentioned the Populaire. Again, Christine had most certainly never heard of such a place, and she was quite familiar with all of the functioning theatres and opera houses in Paris, as she had been living there for quite some time now and had studied music at the National Conservatory there and worked at the national opera house. It was possible that she's never heard of the place before, although highly unlikely. She refused to believe however that it could be larger than or more acclaimed than the Opéra Garnier. After all, it was a well known fact that the Garnier was the largest opera house in the world and that the Opéra de Paris (the company housed within the Opéra Garnier) was clearly the most highly distinguished in all of France. The only house in Paris that came close to it in rivalry was the Théâtre Lyrique...

[Marguerite Jules Giry]

The ballerina smiled softly upon the blonde christine. "It would seem that you are the only blonde Christine here then. You're special." she said giggling a little. Meg loved meeting new people and she enjoyed their company. Hearing different stories by them about their lives and such. Meg looked at her as she spoke. "Congratulations...on the engagement" she said in a bright voice.

With a simple nod of the head she listened to Christine speak. "Alright, that sounds good. I think I'd rather go into someone else's room for now. I can see my room in another time..." she told her a moment later. Looking at her door that read Marguerite J. Giry then she walked over to Christine. "Lead the way" she said smiling a bit. She was nice and she studied her while she was up close to her now. Beautiful. Meg thought. Everyone in this manor was simply beautiful in their own way. Meg never thought she was beautiful but still. "I hope there will be answers upon that soon. Monsieur Lenoir had told me he would be searching for them and on a way out of here. But, I should really enjoy myself here while I can" she said with a simple nod.

"I'm ready when you are Christine. Just start walking and I'll follow behind you" she said softly looking upon her. Meg looked around her surroundings a little more as she waited for the woman to lead the way to her room. "At least now, I know where my room is" she said nodding her head a moment later.

[Christine Daaé]

“Oh, not quite, Mademoiselle. I've met one other blonde, but she was much taller and had dark eyes. Though I must say that we behave absolutely nothing alike. The woman is not the kindest in the slightest. She dumped a canister of flour on my head one. That was not a pleasant experience at all...” The other blond Christine was one of the few people who Christine had met in this place who she could say that she completely and utterly loathed. She didn't seem to have understood the fact that she had been genuinely concerned for her beloved's life the two times that Christine had met her previously. That Christine Nicole, her name was, rubbed Christine like sand in your knickers after a day at the beach, and she didn't like it one bit.

The dark thoughts instantly vanished though when Jules mentioned the congratulations about her engagement. Her face lit up. “Oh, thank you very much, Jules” she said, suddenly beaming with delight. “I'm only happy to see him again. For a while I was afraid that we would never be married. But now, as soon as we leave this place, he says that we are to be wed.” She gave a happy sigh at the thought. Finally, no more press, no more hiding, and no more Érik.

“Oh! I'm sorry” she said with realization upon learning that the woman had not yet seen her own room. “We can go into your room if you would prefer. I'm sorry. I suppose it was a bit rude of me to just assume without asking. I wasn't aware that you had not yet been into your own room.”

[Marguerite Jules Giry]

When Christine spoke about the other blonde she listened to her speak. It made her give an unpleasant face as she heard the torment that Christine had to go through. "That doesn't sound right at all. I'm sorry about what you had experience" she said frowning lightly at her words. Meg looked upon her and said nothing more. That other blonde sounded like she was a rude person and she wondered who she could be. Maybe she could confront her about this issue and work something out with her. Meg looked back at Christine as she spoke to her again.

"No problem Christine" She said giving a small smile. Meg was in her own little world thinking about Love, and other things as she spoke to her. Would she ever find anyone of her own someday? Meg wasn't too sure and she looked at her as she spoke. "Must be nice to be in love..." she said sighing sadly looking down at the ground then back at her. "Do you have a date or anything for a wedding?" she asked curiously looking upon the other girl.

Meg chuckled softly underneath her breath and she looked at her. "Yes, that would be lovely. Don't be sorry Christine, You did nothing wrong" She said smiling. "My room's just the second level" she said looking at her. "Well, I have been to my own room these last few days but I haven't been there in a while" she said softly. "C'mon, Its not that far away like I said" she told her and started to lead the way.

[Christine Daaé]

Christine shook her head a little when the other blonde woman apologized for the misfortune and unpleasantries which she had suffered at the hand of the other blonde Christine. “It is by no means your fault for her atrocious behavior, Mademoiselle. Some people unfortunately possess a complete and utter lack of manners or good bearing of any form”

The girl couldn't help but to furrow her brow a little and tilt her head ever so slightly when the woman sighed. It almost seemed as if she were unhappy about love. There, another one! She still didn't understand this concept of people being so unhappy when they loved. Raoul had tried to explain it to her once, but it seemed a bit silly. “No, there is no date for the wedding as of this moment. We were honestly hoping to be able to leave this place before then.”

Christine smiled again though and gave a quick nod when the woman began to lead the way toward er room. Christine had not seen any of the other residents' rooms yet, so it would be nice to have a change in scenery for a while. She followed the woman up to the second level of the dorms until they reached a door on which was engraved the name Marguerite Jules Giry. This must have been the woman's door, judging from what she had said previously her name was.

[Marguerite Jules Giry]

The blonde remained where she was for sometime after bringing her hands up to the center of her body. Interlocking her hands together and looking upon her a little while tilting her head. "Alright. No worries then.." she said smiling. Meg said nothing more after a while and she moved down the hallway towards her dorm.

Once upon arriving her dorm she lowered her hand upon the knob and placed her key in. Turning to face Christine she smiled and opened it up and turning on the light. Her room was simply the same size as everyone else's. Setting down her key she looked around and walked towards the window and closed the shades. Sitting on the edge of her bed she looked over at Christine.

"Please, come in. Make yourself at home" she said softly in her soft voice as she took off her shoes. "Would you like any tea? I believe there is some tea somewhere" she said as she placed her hands near her bed and walking over to see where it would be. "Aha!" she exclaimed grinning to herself. Turning on the pot she looked over at Christine. "So..." she began trying to make conversation. "What...do you do in the Opera?" she questioned softly tilting her head a litte with curiosity wondering what she did for a living.

[Christine Daaé]

Christine followed the other young blonde woman down the hall and into her dorm room, then glanced about the place. It was a medium sized room, about the same dimensions as her own, but the furnishings were a bit different, as well as the placement of everything.

She smiled when the woman told her to make herself feel at home. “Why, thank you, Jules,” she said, having a seat in a small chair. “Yes, tea sounds lovely, but... you have tea in your room?” She asked, furrowing her brow a bit. Had someone else brought the tea there previously, or was it and older pot of it that had been sitting out for a while?

Christine watched curiously as the other woman took a kettle and set it on some sort of flat black circle similar to the ones on the stove in the kitchen and then turned a little dial. A miniature stove? She'd never seen such a thing. Quite curious. Quite curious indeed...

She shook her head a little, coming out of her thoughts when the woman asked what she did at the opera. “Oh, I am a singer there – or rather, I was I'm planning on retiring once my fiancé ad I are married...”

[Marguerite Jules Giry]

Once in her room she closed the door behind Christine and she looked around. She was glad to be in her room now and once Christine would leave she would fall asleep. A smile came to her face as she spoke her middle name. "You're welcome Christine..." she said after a few moments of silence and nodding her head. "Yes I brought it up from the kitchen before coming to my room..." she said suddenly looking at her.

Meg was very curious about this Christine. "Ah, I see. Congratulations on your marriage" she said smiling after a while. Pouring her tea into a cup she handed hers to Christine then filled one of her own. Sitting on the edge of her bed she looked around her surroundings in her room and then looked back at Christine.

"This place...is interesting I would say. I still don't know why we are brought her" she said softly as she sipped her tea then placed it back down upon her saucer. Meg looked at Christine as she said this. "Tell me, Christine.." she began. "Do you have any idea on how we got here or have any idea on why we are here?" she asked tilting her head. She of all people should know these questions. Considering she was here the longest.

[Christine Daaé]

Christine listened as Jules explained that she had brought up the heating device from the kitchen. She had never seen such a thing before and was quite curious as to what it could be. It certainly heated the water for the tea quite quickly...

She smiled when she congratulated her and handed her the cup of tea. “Oh, Thank you very much. We're quite excited about the prospect of it, though we haven't exactly been able to plan much given the current.... situation.” It was true. This place had certainly put a major damper on their original plans for elopement.

Christine paused a moment when Jules asked her if she had any idea as to how they all arrived there. The girl bit her lip before answering. “I do have a relative idea, though upon.... recent events, I've begun to question my own theories a little... I do think that we were brought here by someone, Mademoiselle, though as to a reason, It would be better not to say...”