The Essentials (Christine Daaé)

[Erik]

Erik had donned his prosthetic nose today so that he could go shopping. He had to stock up on more food and essentials for the little house on the lake. He particularly enjoyed the open market in the tenth district, as it was large and he was hardly noticed. There were vendors that he always went to here, and the combination of familiarity and bustle made him feel as though he were one of the many customers that showed up to this market. Plus, the crowds of this market made for easy targeting should he be strapped for money.

Erik wandered over to his favourite vendor for vegetables, looking over the wares. They seemed a bit scarce on tap root vegetables, but such was the season...There were plenty of greens, and that would hold Erik over until he could come back. He inspected the cabbages, looking them over for blemishes and picking one particularly nice specimen. He paid the vendor for the head of cabbage and moved on to the next vendor.

Fruit was next, and apples seemed to be in season. There were all colours of apples at the vendor's stand, and Erik picked up enough to fill a quarter of the bag. He looked around at the other fruits, picking up some grapes and the last of the strawberries to finish off his order. There were pears, but he wasn't too fond of them, so he skipped over. Only in times of desperation....

Erik felt a couple of eyes rove over him, and he moved on, moving towards the cheeses. He didn't want to deal with any stupid questions today. Sometimes a child would approach him while he was shopping to ask an insensitive question, and the last thing that Erik needed was an altercation that left him running back to the opera without everything he needed to buy.

[Christine Daaé]

It was a black day, and so there was not much to be done at the opera. There were no rehearsals that day, but Christine had gone into the opera briefly in order to pick up her paycheck and straighten a few things in her dressing room. It wasn’t that she really disliked the place itself, but the memories it provoked were not ones she was keen on thinking of…

It was her first pay since she had started working at the Opéra. She knew that Mamma Valerius would certainly be proud. After all, she was finally singing professionally, just like Mamma had wanted. Just like she’d wanted…

She was on her way back home when a thought occurred to her. This was a special moment for Mamma… Perhaps… perhaps she should stop to get her a gift… to honor the occasion? The market wasn’t too terribly far… Perhaps some flowers, or something of the sort?

[Erik]

Erik picked up a block of newly made Roquefort, putting it into a bag. It smelled delicious in this little corner of the market, and he loved this part of shopping. Wine, bread and cheese were staples to his diet here, and France was never short on any. He searched through the stall for more options, and came upon a lovely tin of Camembert that he knew he would savour with his red wines. He paid for the cheeses and moved on.

There were flower stalls ahead, and he knew that he should perhaps buy a few more flowers for his "mistress". After all, his box-keeper Madame Giry had been asking about her as of late....He pushed his way through the crowds, keeping his bags close, until he made it to a small flower stall that had many different flowers on it. Pale pink roses caught his eye, and he chose a few that looked like they would stay fresh for a while. He paid, had them wrapped, and looked around for anything else that might have slipped his mind.

[Christine Daaé]

When Christine arrived at the market, she looked around at the various stands and stalls. It was a rather large market, with stands for fruits vegetables, cheeses…. Ah! There they were! Flowers…

She spotted a flower stand there in the market and went to go have a better look. There were several nice varieties there. There were some nice daisies, chrysanthemums, sunflowers… She approached the stand examining the various flora. Perhaps a nice bouquet would work well for a gift?

“Madame?” she said, calling to the woman who ran the stand. “Madame, perhaps you could help me? I am interested in buying a bouquet. I was wondering… do you own this stand? I was hoping I could possibly get some help in selecting types of flowers for the bouquet…?”

[Erik]

Erik shuffled past a few people before a girl brushed past him, and his attention focused on her for a moment. He recognized her! It was the little Swedish girl! Mademoiselle Daaé! He hurried across the street to another stand to watch her. What was she doing here? Buying flowers, obviously...But what else?

Erik pretended to look at various breads, and bought one absent-mindedly while watching the little blonde. She was picking out a bouquet. Probably for someone in her family. Mother or sister perhaps. The little waif didn't look like she'd had any kids, so a daughter was out of the question. And women didn't buy flowers for men. Perhaps a friend of hers?

[Christine Daaé]

The woman turned and looked at Christine, and then went over to her to assist. “Yes, I believe I can help you,” the woman said to her. “We have a lovely selection of roses that are in season. Perhaps some of those would catch your fancy?”

“Oh, I think Mamma would very much like roses… would you show me?”

“”Of course,” the woman said, leading Christine to another part of her cart where there were several lovely roses sitting. “It is a bouquet for your mother then?”

“Somewhat… She’s not really my mother, but she took me in after….” Christine stopped herself. She really did not wish to discuss that—not now, and especially not with a complete stranger. “She is family, yes,” the girl said, painting back the smile which had faded for a few fleeting moments. “I wanted to get her a surprise… She cannot leave her bed any more, and so the flowers will be a nice reminder for her of the outside.”

Christine looked over the roses which the woman had shown her. There was quite a variety of colors there. Yellows, purples, pinks…. “Perhaps…. Six of the white… and six dark pink?”

“Certainly, Mademoiselle,” the woman who owned the stand said, and she began selecting some of the blossoms to create a bundle for her customer.

[Erik]

Erik watched Mademoiselle Daaé as she chose the flowers that she would give to her recipient. Six white....white for purity, virtue, humility, innocence...and six dark pink. Dark pink stood for gratitude.

So she was giving flowers to someone she admired, because she was thankful for something. Perhaps someone gave her a gift? And this could be a nice "thank-you" message....Yes! That was probably it. Erik watched the girl interacting with the vendor. The two women were all smiles, it seemed. But Erik had seen the smile on Mademoiselle Daaé fade for a few moments while she'd been talking. Perhaps she and the vendor knew each other? No, no, it was probably a point of conversation that didn't strike well with the Swede that had caused the lapse in her positivity.

Erik gathered his bags and leaned on a wall close to the bread vendor's stand, observing the action from the other side of the street. He pretended like he was looking at his pocket-watch to attract less attention, but kept his eyes glued on the little blonde girl.

[Christine Daaé]

Christine’s eyes grazed over the wagon of floral again, taking it all in, when something caught her eye and she stopped… There were about four black roses there. It wasn’t a common color for roses, but maybe, just maybe…

“I… I’m sorry to be a bother, Madame, but…”

“Oh! Oh, no, Mademoiselle. It’s no trouble at all. What else is it that you needed?”

Christine looked back at the roses again, an idea entering her mind… She didn’t wish to tell poor old Mamma Valerius that she didn’t wish to be at the opera. After all, she’d already let her know her distaste for the idea of becoming an opera singer, but now, with being a member of the company, she did not wish to tell her and break her heart… No… But perhaps she could at least express her unhappiness in a more… gentle way?

“I was actually wondering if I could also have one of those,” Christine said, indicating the little bundle of black roses. “….just as an accent, of course… and…. And perhaps a few rainflowers… and some agrimony… and maybe a love lies bleeding… and do you have any azaleas?”

The woman who owned the stand gave Christine a strange look, but went to go get the flowers, adding them to the bouquet. “I’m afraid azaleas are not in season, Mademoiselle…”

“The others will be fine then, thank you…”

[Erik]

Erik watched as the vendor put more flowers in the bouquet. The girl picked out a...a black rose? The rose of death? Had the person died? And then some rainflowers. Rainflowers usually meant that one returned the affections of another....so....perhaps this was a death bouquet for someone who'd died recently....? That wasn't all. Agrimony...Thankfulness again. This bouquet was becoming completely confusing....And then some love lies bleeding....Hopelessness? What exactly was this girl trying to say?

Erik blinked a few times. What on earth could that bouquet possibly mean? Who was it for? Perhaps he could tail her and find out...he was awfully curious now, and the thoughts of the symbolism would bother him unless he figured out exactly what this bouquet was for.

[Christine Daaé]

Christine’s mind drifted as the woman collected the flowers. Perhaps this was cruel of her? Perhaps she shouldn’t give these to Mamma Valerius at all. After all, in her current condition, the last thing she wanted was for the woman to get the wrong message from her bouquet.

She began almost unconsciously wringing her hands over and over, her blue eyes growing distant as if she were looking into another world… a world in which she lived, desperately trying to hide herself from the one she lived in here in reality. The other woman finished collecting the flowers which she had indicated to her, though Christine did not notice until after a couple times of calling, the woman finally caught her attention.

“Mademoiselle?.... Mademoiselle?.... Mademoiselle?”

Christine jolted suddenly, turning and looking toward the other woman. “Oh! Yes? I… I’m sorry… I… I’m afraid I’m a bit tired…”

“I see… your bouquet? Will this be all then?”

“Ummm…” She looked about the cart frantically. What to help? What to help?.... “And three eglantine roses… please?”

The other woman sighed and went to get the other flowers. Christine bit her lips as she watched her gather them and then and her the bouquet.

“That will be thirty-eight francs,” said the woman.

Christine dug into her purse and pulled out the money, placing it on the little empty counter of the cart before taking the roses from the other. “Thank you. I… I’m terribly sorry for the trouble… Have a good day.”

And she nodded briefly before stepping off into the marketplace again, starting in the direction of home.

[Erik]

Erik watched as Mademoiselle Daaé lost focus, and as the vendor tried to get the girl's attention. When she looked back at the vendor, she ordered one last flower. Eglantine roses...a wound to heal. So the rainflowers were for atonement. She must have disappointed someone who'd done her good.

After Mademoiselle Daaé paid for her bouquet, she walked off, and Erik shut his pocket-watch. He took off after the girl at a casual pace, keeping his distance so he wouldn't look suspicious. He kept her always in his sight line, making sure to keep in mind where she stepped.

A few times, the people around them would walk into Erik's sight line and force him to move to catch sight of the girl again. He was quite the professional at this, however, and quickly found her again each time.

[Christine Daaé]

The girl began weaving through the market place in order to make her way home. Her eyes kept drifting down to the bouquet as she moved. The colors of the thing were surprisingly cohesive for what her thought patterns had been when buying. It was pretty, which was good for her adoptive mother’s sake, but she wondered if the old woman would understand her message…

As Christine was walking, she stopped again once more, this time at a stand full of various herbs. She looked down at the bouquet, thinking for a few minutes, before she addressed the man who ran the stall. “Excuse me, Monsieur, but I was wondering if I could trouble you for a few sprigs of rosemary?”

He nodded and the two exchanged—the money for the herbs—and then Christine thanked him and continued along her way, sticking the sprigs in with the rest of the bouquet and inhaling deeply as she continued walking on.

[Erik]

When she stopped at another vendor's booth, Erik quickly stepped off to the side and pretended to rifle through his bags. He could hear the girl's voice now, and she asked the vendor for some rosemary. Rosemary... remembrance. Alright, the girl was just being downright confusing with her messages. He tried to logically piece together what he knew. It wasn't making much sense, to him.

She put the rosemary into the bouquet and walked on, and Erik picked up her trail again. So, she was grateful to someone...someone she cared about...but she was apologizing? She was sorry for something, that much was sure....So she was apologizing...and she was remembering something as well...

Erik put the ideas together piece by piece, trying to make sense of it as he trailed Mademoiselle Daaé.

[Christine Daaé]

Christine continued walking until she had left the marketplace, completely unaware of the tall and somewhat foreboding figure lingering a short distance behind her, keeping pace with her steps. The market had been a short distance out of her way, but it was the closest market to Mamma Valerius’ flat, so she did not particularly have many other options…

She reached the ninth district and then turned down the little road known as the Rue Notre-Dame-des-Victoires. It had been named for the little church on the street. The church was not very far from Mamma Valerius’ flat, and so it was where Christine usually frequented when she attended mass or simply wished to go pray.

She stopped before the door to the building and examined her bouquet again. The roses, the rainflowers, the agrimony, the rosemary… She really did hope that her message would be gentle and clear enough for her poor adoptive mother… but then her eyes stopped, resting on the black rose.

She stared at the thing for some time with a very pensive frame of mind. It was this particular thing—this thing which had sparked her bouquet’s meaning to begin with—of which she was not quite sure as to whether or not she should actually give it to Mamma Valerius…

After about five minutes of staring, she reached in and plucked the thing out, carefully rearranging the other flowers so that it did not look as if something were missing, and then dropped the black rose, leaving it on the stones of the road, before entering the building.

[Erik]

Erik watched as she stood on the steps of a building that must have been an apartment where someone lived. She didn't knock, so maybe...maybe she lived here? Yes...so it was for the mother or sister, then. She contemplated something, staring at her bouquet. Erik stood quietly in the shadows of a nearby alleyway, trying to look inconspicuous. After what seemed like ages, she plucked the black rose from her bouquet and went inside.

Erik kept his eye on the door as he walked toward the apartment. Carefully, he bent down and picked up the black rose. It seems she'd rather not be so gloomy with the recipient... He held the rose gently between his fingers, then tucked it away in his lapel before going on in the direction of the opera.

Strange...this gave him some food for thought while he walked. He checked his bags, making sure that he really had bought everything that he wanted, and he was rather pleased with his haul. Until he got to the bread. He'd gotten some sort of English style bread without realizing it. Great. Now I have to eat my meals with flat tasting bread... His step was immediately diminished to one of slight annoyance as he made his way back home. By the time he'd reached the opera, he resolved that Mademoiselle Daaé was certainly an interesting little thing to watch...