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Post by Armand Faure on Jul 10, 2008 12:33:41 GMT -5
Armand's shoes made sounds on the floors that reverberated around the hallways and inevitably rejoined him. As he walked aimlessly he had passed through passageways of gold leaf, velvet, and towering statues that had left him breathless with their beauty and detail; he had also passed through grimy little corners where rats huddled around sleeping drunks and boards creaked. No matter where he went, though, it seemed that there was an echo. The sheer vastness of the place had always been amazing to him, but returning to it after this time, after what had happened, overwhelmed him.
He had been walking this way for hours, lost in thought. He often inflicted himself with guilty, vengeful thoughts of that night that he had lost his family. Well, most of it, anyway--Lucien was still there, though the boy was out of control. They were both grieving for the loss of their only family, yet they had a hard time of understanding each other because of it. They could hardly even get along. Armand sighed in frustration. Lucien was nothing like his gentle mother or father. He was more like... well, Armand. A younger Armand, for the adult had sworn off such petty pursuits.
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Lucien Faure
Chorus Girl/Boy
Children be seen and not heard? Don't make me laugh.
Posts: 43
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Post by Lucien Faure on Jul 10, 2008 14:49:26 GMT -5
Lucien couldn't believe how big this building was! He had gotten lost several times since he walked into it, only finding his way with the help of stagehands and singers. But the l'Opera Populaire was beautiful and astounding and Lucien wanted to build something of such grandeur someday. But he also thought that all the gold leaf looked overdone and overused, it wasn't needed for anything but the statues and some candelabras, not entire sections. He had been here once before, but that was before the restoration and he liked it better the old way. Whoever had designed it must have been a genius, though some rumors said that Monsieur le Fantome was on the original design and construction teams.
But Lucien's main task here today was to hide from his uncle and striking fear in him. He wanted his uncle to go sick with worry and he wanted to see what he went through. Terrorizing people was his specialty and he did it better than anyone in all of Paris. Hiding in the Opera Populaire was his latest attempt at terror and Lucien thought it would work well.
He heard someone walking down the hall and hid in one of the grooves of the hall, that shrouded him in darkness and made him almost unseen to the human eye. Well almost...
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Post by Armand Faure on Jul 11, 2008 3:55:07 GMT -5
Armand watched a little flash of white duck into the wall. It looked like an impossible feat, but then... he knew a little white-shirted devil who was good at that sort of thing. Others around him kept on moving, not having noticed the strange manoeuvre. So Lucien was here. What an odd development! He held in a huff of agitation and kept up his casual walk down the hall until he reached that spot, where he plunged his hand in and among knocking his knuckles rather painfully against a hard wooden object and gaining unseemly attention from the passer-by, grabbed onto the collar of Lucien's shirt and hauled him from the hiding place rather violently.
Armand immediately held the child aware from him, at arm's length, making sure to watch his limbs. He had made the mistake of holding the tike up to his face once, and that had earned him some bruising. Lucien was not violent or outwardly crude, in fact, he liked to keep up a very silent and adult appearance. Yet he did not seem to mind tormenting Armand more than the average Parisian.
"Boy! Ya should be in the kife," Amidst his anger he fell into the terrible street language of his youth. "I should do down on your nancy, I should, you little--" He let out a frustrated breath and reminded himself that he was in public. Only Lucien seemed to be able to make him this angry, or talk like he used to.
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Lucien Faure
Chorus Girl/Boy
Children be seen and not heard? Don't make me laugh.
Posts: 43
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Post by Lucien Faure on Jul 11, 2008 21:07:30 GMT -5
Lucien waited for the figures to pass by, but it was no use. He was caught by one of them, probably one of the managers who wanted a child out of the Opera unless they were a patron, which he was not. Lucien looked to see who his captor was and groaned silently in his mind.
Of course it was his uncle Armand, grabbing and dragging him by the collar out into the open. He heard get anger and speak the language that street urchins had used. Lucien liked the idea of him making his uncle this angry. He got a joy from seeing his uncle's face turn a bright shade of red and how he couldn't properly punish him in public like he wanted to.
"Would you calm down, Armand," said Lucien rolling his eyes, not using the formal title. "I was just walking around this old place. What would I do around here? Kill a stagehand?"
Lucien liked referencing the deeds of the Phantom, except the chandelier crash that ruined his parents, bless their souls, mainly because he knew of his uncle's hate towards the impostor. He knew that only the Phantom could make his uncle madder than he ever could and he used that knowledge to his own personal gain. Could he help it if words had such power? How did a four-year old control the way people felt about words said? No one knew the answer and Lucien was perfectly fine with that.
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Post by Armand Faure on Jul 15, 2008 2:27:44 GMT -5
Armand took another deep breath, and another, and his body relaxed all over except in his tightly clenched fist, which held Lucien by the collar. His eyes went quickly to the child's face and stared there with the scrutiny of an inspector. His nephew was surely one of the greatest mysteries that he had ever encountered. How in the world did a boy so young articulate so well? Perhaps it was his determination. Hell, the determination of that boy was a wonder. Lucien had a mind and a vocabulary that no boy his age should have.
Now completely calm and businesslike, as usual, Armand said steadily, "I would not put it past you. I would not put it past you to have dropped the chandelier right on your own parents, either," He said in that selfsame casual voice as he began to drag Lucien down the hall and toward the main foyer, where he would escort him out and back to the apartment. He was surprised at himself. He had certainly never said anything that cruel before to Lucien, but he was absolutely frustrated, and secretly oh so frightened that the boy would turn out the worst of the worst. Sometimes the frustration and the bitterness took over him. God knew he was never any good with children, either. He felt terrible now that he had said it, but hid it completely. Overriding his guilt was his own pride and determination.
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Lucien Faure
Chorus Girl/Boy
Children be seen and not heard? Don't make me laugh.
Posts: 43
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Post by Lucien Faure on Jul 16, 2008 20:48:37 GMT -5
Lucien went along with his uncle and didn't pay attention to what he was lecturing. Why his uncle was so strict was beyond him, Lucien's father sure wasn't like that. Maybe he took his job as an inspector too seriously and brought it home with him.
When Armand said that he wouldn't be surprised if Lucien dropped the chandelier on his parents, Lucien turned his head sharply towards him. His eyes flared bright flames and his face showed every once of his anger.
Lucien Faure, don't you dare react! Keep calm otherwise you'll show weakness and this so-called relative could take advantage of it.
Lucien calmed down and continued to follow his uncle. He noticed Armand let go of his collar and was now just dragging him by the arm.
"Why do you waste your breath Armand?" asked Lucien smiling. "You know just as well as I do that there's no use in lecturing me. Lock the doors, bar the windows, I'll find a way to get out of the house! When I'm old enough I can escape from your life for good, I can disappear! I can make anything disappear!"
Lucien was still smiling coolly and saw his uncle glare at him with daggers. In his weaker moments, Lucien felt sorry for his uncle. He felt sorry because his uncle was such a fool!
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Post by Armand Faure on Aug 28, 2008 21:03:14 GMT -5
Armand turned sharply to stare at Lucien, glaring at him in warning. His comment set a deep seed of fear in his heart, though. He couldn't, really, make anything disappear. The idea was ridiculous... wasn't it? Trying to justify his almost superstitious fear, Armand reasoned with himself that though the child probably could not achieve such a feat, surely he could cause a great deal of harm trying. In any event, the boy needed to be watched somehow. Watched, and oh! how he wished that he could teach him. This path that he was following, this arrogant trouble-making, it was the humour of the man who had stolen everything from them! Did Lucien not understand that? It was not a spot of fun. It was real harm.
Armand sighed, shaking his head to himself. He had resolved to be kinder with Lucien. After all, he could not have his brother's son running off into goodness knows what terrible position. Perhaps... he should try saying something kind. Armand struggled for the words before managing, "No, boy, don't do that. You are all that I have left." He said, and it was the truth. Good grief, though, that last piece of his family was a hassle. His hair would probably grow prematurely white, with all of these shenanigans.
Remembering something, Armand said, "By the way, you have a package. I don't know what in heaven's name you did to her, but somehow you must have gotten on the wrong side of the Parlour Witch." He paused, and then glanced around, terrified that someone should have heard him call the Marquess by such a name. The police hated her, because she was always suspected of assassination and such other terrible things and they had never been able to supply enough evidence apprehend her. "Did you happen to play a bad trick on a tall, fair society woman or her daughter and get caught? They found your name, and then mine. I received the package at the department. This must be bad." He noticed that his tone had once again become warning and harsh.
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Lucien Faure
Chorus Girl/Boy
Children be seen and not heard? Don't make me laugh.
Posts: 43
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Post by Lucien Faure on Aug 28, 2008 21:36:04 GMT -5
Lucien listened to his uncle's touching sentiment and knew that he was trying to be kind to Lucien. It didn't make a change in Lucien, but at least he knew that a disappearance would make his uncle a tad upset... maybe more? He didn't know and he wouldn't spend time trying to figure it out. He had to find a way to know where Armand was during the day so he could avoid him and know when he was expected to be at home. This way Lucien would avoid lectures and possibly a sitter. Then he would waste time trying to get rid of them.
"By the way, you have a package. I don't know what in heaven's name you did to her, but somehow you must have gotten on the wrong side of the Parlour Witch."
That's where Lucien knew her from! The Marquess de Jondrette was the Parlor Witch that his uncle spoke of. When he heard the title of the upper class woman in the park he heard her name somewhere but he didn't know where. But the package was a shock to him. What would she possibly give him? Was it maybe from Marie who sent it under her mother's name?
"Did you happen to play a bad trick on a tall, fair society woman or her daughter and get caught? They found your name, and then mine. I received the package at the department. This must be bad."
"I didn't play a trick on them. I tripped over her daughter's foot and we started talking and playing. Her mother didn't say a word until they had to leave the park. I'm not an idiot, I don't play tricks on people in power who could easily get the upper hand afterwords," That was a lie, but it was only on very elderly rich women who wouldn't catch sight of him. "I gave the daughter my name, I'm not sure how they got yours. it couldn't be that bad, no harm was done."
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Post by Armand Faure on Aug 29, 2008 1:08:59 GMT -5
Lucien seemed unaffected by Armand's attempt at expressing affection. The truth was, he did care, and quite a bit. He would be devastated should Lucien run away and come to harm. And Lucien looked so much like his parents. To look into his eyes was like looking into those two kind people's, except that in there was a mischief and an anger that was not contained in the others'. It hurt Armand to see it, but he had never bent to suffering before. He would solve the problem.
Lucien denied having caused any harm, but Armand was still a bit apprehensive. Pulling the tiny package from his coat, he pulled the string and glanced at Lucien from the side, letting out a deep breath. Oh, he hoped that his nephew was right. He extracted a note from the packaging that was labelled "Monsieur Faure" and then handed the rest of the package to Lucien. Inside of the thick wrapping was a tiny white music box with golden gilding at ornate edges. When the music box was opened it played a short, sweet little tune. Armand was reading over the note silently, and then grunted and glanced at Lucien. "The lady sends her regard to the kind young man. You got off easy. But you are not to ever interract with her daughter again, for the good of both parties. She is right, you know." He said the last bit mostly to himself, and knit his brows, not liking the idea. He didn't want to keep Lucien from a potential friend, as it (surprisingly) seemed to be. Yet for the good of the young lady, she needed certain associations, within her own class.
He stared at the packaging. "What did they send you? It was written that the two of them wrote the music. Is it a book of songs?"
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Lucien Faure
Chorus Girl/Boy
Children be seen and not heard? Don't make me laugh.
Posts: 43
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Post by Lucien Faure on Aug 29, 2008 9:46:12 GMT -5
As Armand gave the package to Lucien, Lucien became very curious as to what it was. He opened the covering and underneath found a beautiful music box, white in color with gold trimmings. There were many music boxes in the windows of stores he passed on the street, many of them were big and had famous piece of music. But Lucien liked this one better, for it had a little simpler tune that flowed into the air and made the world seem sweet.
According to the note Armand had received, the Jondrette women send their regards and that they had written the music themselves. But it was also mentioned that Lucien shouldn't interact with Marie again, not s much for his sake, but for hers. Lucien never really did get why the upper and lower classes had to be separated. They certainly weren't on the streets, after all, everybody was just another person. It didn't matter if you were a duke or a countess, people saw you as human. But it was useless trying to figure out why the class system was like that. It had been around for a long time, people just gotten accustomed to it over the years.
"What did they send you? It was written that the two of them wrote the music. Is it a book of songs?"
"No, it's a music box," Lucien said, mesmerized by it.
Even though the piece had been original, it reminded him of a lullaby his mother sang to him before... well you know. She sang it to him every night while his father was ushering the audience at the Opera Populaire. It scared him, but when he tried thinking about his mother he couldn't. The vision was fading...
Lucien shook the thoughts away and turned to his uncle. "Am I going to be punished?"
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Post by Armand Faure on Aug 29, 2008 20:58:19 GMT -5
Armand's eyebrows rose and he stared at the fantastic gift that Lucien had received in silence. How very different from the usual routine. He shook his head, stunned. Of all of the people that Lucien did not offend, it had to be a suspected murderess and her daughter. He turned to stare back down the hall as they walked, still contemplatively silent and brooding. What could this mean, truly? The young lady Jondrette was obviously very fond of Lucien. What had he done to make it so? What had she done to persuade him to do it? Was this girl possibly the key to correcting Lucien's current attitudes?
No. Her Ladyship had made it infinitely clear that the association was pleasing for the moment in which it had lasted, but to continue no further. It was reasonable. Countless people would raise their brows at that and at the parent's for allowing it. A lack of scandals made a good marriage, and a good life, for a young noblewoman. Armand sighed. Was there anything he could do?
"Do you like this girl very much?" He asked softly, without anger, ignoring Lucien's question. Of course he wouldn't be punished. For once, no mischief had been perpetrated on his part.
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Lucien Faure
Chorus Girl/Boy
Children be seen and not heard? Don't make me laugh.
Posts: 43
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Post by Lucien Faure on Aug 29, 2008 22:04:04 GMT -5
Lucien was shocked by the directness of the question. His uncle had never been that direct with him, usually speaking everything else than what he wanted to say. But Armand wanted to know if he liked Marie, why he wanted to know was a mystery, Lucien actually wanted to know himself.
Did he like Marie, or was she just another child in the park that you would never connect to? Lucien thought she was sweet and kind, unlike most girls her age who really just thought about themselves. She liked music apparently and so did he, that was another thing that raised her up in his mind. Maybe the fact that there was so much that Lucien could teach Marie was why he liked. She probably also could teach him a few things as well. She was wiser than any ordinary child.
"Yes, uncle, I do like the young Lady Marie Jondrette," Lucien said closing the music box and slanting his eyes. He said it as if if it were a great realization. "But it's not proper for her to be seen with me."
Lucien had said this almost to cover up the other statement. What could possibly do in a situation where he had no control?
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Post by Armand Faure on Sept 20, 2008 20:07:44 GMT -5
Armand nodded solemnly down at Lucien, surprised. It was not like him to accept things so easily when a challenge was presented, but then, maybe he realised the impossibility of the situation. Maybe he was judging a course of action based on possible damage to other. Maybe, then he was improving already! Armand allowed himself a small smile.
"That is so," He said seriously, releasing his tight grip on Lucien. He thought for a moment and then began to speak in a slow, measured way, unsure of the reaction he would receive. "I was thinking of taking you to the performance of Roméo et Juliette," He stated, then amended, "For good behaviour, of course."
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Lucien Faure
Chorus Girl/Boy
Children be seen and not heard? Don't make me laugh.
Posts: 43
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Post by Lucien Faure on Sept 20, 2008 22:45:04 GMT -5
An opera? Lucien was confused at this sign of a truce, mainly because he had never let someone make a truce with him. It was an insane idea! Him, Lucien Faure be taken in by such a bribe, the idea was strange and foreign to him and anyone who knew him. Then again that was very few people and even they did not know his ways or thoughts, so maybe the attempt was made with a reason.
The boy had to make a decision, one that was tough for him. Would he try to play the role of the "good child" who did whatever an adult told him, even if it was unreasonable and completely out of his normal ways? Would he do this just to view an opera? Lucien loved the opera, he heard his mother lull him to sleep with arias that took him into the opera and experienced it as if it were being performed as a private show.
A silent groan let out in his head as he thought. He could only be good in front of his uncle, he couldn't get caught with anything else otherwise that privilege would be taken away so fast. He had to get away with murder to get to Romeo et Juliette and Lucien was up to that challenge.
"I will be good," Lucien began with a devilish and suspicious smile. "But only to get to the opera, uncle. There is no change of heart in me yet."
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Post by Armand Faure on Sept 21, 2008 1:45:13 GMT -5
Armand frowned, but had to allow himself a small internal smile. It was victory, albeit a small one. The battle had been won, if not the war. He nodded simply, saying nothing. Perhaps he had found something that would help in the battle for Lucien's nature. Opera. A thought occurred to him suddenly, and he was surprised that it had not occurred to him before. He gripped Lucien's arm once more without an explanation and veered from his former destination, the foyer doors, to drag his nephew down some halls and then onto the state. The auditorium was empty aside from a few people cleaning or conversing, and a few seamstresses sat stitching in the back.
He stopped and sat down at the piano, playing a chord awkwardly. Music was never one of his talents. "Sing that, please, Lucien." He said, turning to stare at the young boy.
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