Disclaimer: I make no claims of owning anything related to the Phantom of the Opera or Elisabeth, each belongs to their respected creators and copyright holders.
Summary: Selflessly, Erik had martyred himself for love to prevail between the young couple, not believing that the tides would turn and the gratitude of the sacred gift would be returned to him through treachery. He is left then with no choice but to reap revenge on the perpetrators and the innocent—all for the purpose of finally becoming perpetually triumphant.
La Dernière Danse
(The Last Dance)
By: E. C Hollingsworth
Prologue
"Versunken ist die alte Welt;
verfault das Fleisch, verblasst der Glanz.
Doch wo sich Geist zu Geist gesellt,
da tanzt man noch den Totentanz …"
--
He knew he was dying; every fiber in his death like body told him he was. The small bullet that penetrated into his shoulder only reassured it with every staggered breath he took in. He fought natural instinct to cower and try to remove the bullet, but he was an intelligent man, he knew that would only secure his death faster and Erik still had a piece of his legacy to procure. He would make sure his death would not be the only one that night in the cold labyrinth beneath the opera house.
Erik turned around to face his adversary while he regained his cold demeanor with each breath. He unfurled his long spider like fingers gracefully as though he were about to strike the ivory keys of an organ rather than encompass them around a noose.
You have made a grave blunder indeed monsieur and now you shall feel the wrath of Erik. Let us hope your God will show grace upon you ravaged soul. Erik lifted his yellow cat eyes up to the sorry man.
"Who hired you, monsieur?"
His eyes barred into the man like flames.
The stocky man made no reply. From the appearance of him, he did not look the least bit Parisian.
Italian, Erik cogitated, thinking of the people who dwelled in the majestic country. For the man was of no particular height stature; he had curly black hair, a rather thick neck, and skin the hue of the rich Tuscan earth. His dark eyes gleamed bright with the malice and hatred that was entwined in the depth of the steel sea of grey.
"You refuse to answer?" Erik asked walking over to the organ, trying to keep the man at bay. "Then perhaps I shall answer it for you instead."
Clandestinely, Erik grabbed the length of rope lying beside the white keys and hid it in the depths of his black cloak.
"As for your name, it matters not to me, nor does your family or country. But what I do surmise is that you took a job as a murderer and rose up the social ladder to a position where you carry out the dissolute business of the noblesse. A while ago, you were hired by a comte and his dotting comtess to kill me—does the surname Chagny sound familiar to you, monsieur? And so you are here and have undoubtedly completed your task, but my kind monsieur, your perception of your future remains ever so erroneous."
The man watched as Erik circled him allowing him to reflect on the words. Then as quickly as a cat, Erik pulled the noose from his cloak and shoved it over the murder's neck, tightening it to the brink of suffocation. The gun fell from the man's hand.
"Who hired you?" Erik roared.
The man consistently held his silence, glaring at Erik.
"I advise you to comply, Monsieur Muet, for you have yet to see the full grip of the snake. I'll ask you once more, who hired you?"
"Comte…de Chagny," the man choked as the noose tightened.
"And the comtess, did she have any part in it?" Erik uttered, allowing his previous emotionless mask to betray him.
"She was right along side her husband," the man mocked.
His Christine, his Angel of Music, a conspirator to his murder, it could not be, but even so he felt his heart sink as though weighted by all of the sorrows and pains of the world.
The deadly noose loosened, giving the Italian time to pull a dagger from its sheath. Taking upon his chance, he plunged the dagger into Erik. Erik staggered backwards clutching the wound. Without hesitation he collapsed to the floor in shock, taking in shallow breaths while his mind spun from the searing pain.
"It seems the tables have turned, Signor Fantasma. I, Ludovico Ambrogio di Fiernze, have defeated the seemingly invincible Phantom of the Opera!" He laughed and kicked the poor man on the ground and turned to walk away, laughing insistently.
Erik pulled the dagger from the wound and chased after Ludovico. As soon as he caught up with the man, Erik plunged the bloodied dagger into his back and the man fell to the stone floor. His dull eyes lolled back into his head and his hands fell limp to his sides as scarlet blood seeped from the wound.
Erik slowly rose and staggered to the Louis-Philippe room where he grabbed the wedding veil from the cupboard. He pulled the pure white lace up to his morbid visage.
"Oh Christine, why? You have betrayed your Erik, the one who has always loved you, Christine."
A solitary tear fell from his visage onto the intricate lace.
The veil now stained a deep crimson fell suddenly to the floor and the frail body followed it. His bloodied hands fell flaccid and his eyes stared blankly into the darkness as his final plea for his beloved left his emaciated lips.
Suddenly, the air grew still and a great gust of cold air swept through the underground realm of the opera house with such a force, it lifted Erik's body into the air and engulfed it in black and silver swirls.
There was a great tremble and Erik's lifeless body was brought beneath the living world into the realm of death.
The Rather Lengthy Author's Note:
Preface: This story is jointly derived from Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera and the Michael Kunze and Sylvester Levay musical, Elisabeth. As for whether this fan fiction is going to be Erik and Christine or Raul and Christine, I'm not going to give it away because that's an important part to the plot, but rest assured, I can promise you that it will not be Erik and an Other Character or a rather interesting pair I've seen, Erik and Raul.
Note on the timeline of the story: It starts out in June of 1881, three months after the infamous performance of Faust and the subsequent events that followed it. As a continuation of the novel, it will follow Christine, Erik and Raul after the scandalous affair that plagued the opera house. I expect it to be about twenty-five chapters at the end.
Note on translations: I adore languages and I try to use them in my writing to give it a more authentic quality to the text. But there's no need to worry if you don't know the language, I'll provided the English counterpart at the end of the chapter. I also want to make it clear that my translations sometimes are not perfect and I would be ever so grateful if someone would point out the mistakes so I can change them.
Prologue:
- Quote from Elisabeth at the beginning:
"Gone is the old world
Like rotted meat, its gloss faded.
Yet where the spirits join spirits
They will dance the dance of death"
-Noblesse: Nobility
- Muet: Mute or dumb (I used both meaning to make it seem like Erik was mocking Ludovico)
Note on Elisabeth: Elisabeth is an Austrian musical by Michael Kunze and Sylvester Levay about the life and death of Elisabeth of Bavaria, the consort of the Austrian Emperor, Franz Josef I. It tells of her life as it evolved from a romantic fairytale to a tragic murder (a better summary can be found at the musical's website wwww.elisabethdasmusical.at). If you are interested in the musical, you can buy the Vienna revival cast recording (full or highlights) on itunes or you can buy a DVD of the musical online.
A final note from the Author: I do hope you enjoy the story as much as I have had the delight of writing it. I am hesitation to set expectation dates for when I will update next because I refuse to post unless I am fully satisfied with the chapter (well ninety-nine percent satisfied).
Also I try my hardest to make the story as accurate as possible from checking the events that happened during the time to even something a diminutive as if postage stamps were issued in Sweden during the time period (they were first issued on July 1, 1885 if anyone is wondering).
And finally (yes, finally) I invite anyone to leave a criticism, comment, concern or suggestion (etc…) for the story if they wish.