A/N; Bibishi Kuronecko787 made a suggestion that I didn't think would work for a decent story. But after some thought, I decided that it would be perfect for this one, so this is a nod in her direction.
And for the record, I shudder at the mere thought of sifting through all my reviews and PMs to track down the ones that kept begging for this story. You know who you are, and I'm certain that you'll expose yourselves as the story progresses.
Oh, and also for the record; I have the highest amount of respect for Andrew Lloyd Webber and his work on The Phantom of the Opera. But, you have no idea how many stories have been using his songs for their POTO fics (or you do know, and understand the position that puts me in). To ensure that this story will stand out, I will be using different songs to further the plot.
Please don't hate me!
Chapter One: The Opera
He could never remember when he had been brought to the gypsies. All he really knew was that if he let them do as they wish, they might remember to feed him. He was always so hungry… He made another wish that they would remember tonight.
He wrapped his freakish arms around his scrawny body, doing his best to keep warm on this winter night. His unusual hide allowed him to retain more heat than he would have been able to, if he were normal.
But he was not.
xxXxx
A tall black-haired man paced in front of an impressive desk, casting frequent glances at the grandfather clock. "He should be here any minute, Mr. Evans," he said nervously to the old man sitting behind the desk.
Mr. Evans nodded, and flipped through a few of the papers littering his desk. "That's quite all right, Mr. Moon. I have made all the other arrangements, and my train to Yurai doesn't leave until tomorrow. As long as your brother arrives today, the deal is still on."
The dark man breathed a sigh of relief. "I still don't know how I let him talk me into taking on a partnership. We fight badly enough at home, but now at work as well? I must have been insane."
Mr. Evans chuckled a little, his eyes still a little distant. "You did tell him today, of course?"
"Of course. I didn't want to take chances with this-"
He was cut off as another man banged into the room, his face sweaty as he panted heavily. "S-sorry," he gasped, collapsing into one of the chairs with a loud thud. "Traffic… was terrible."
"You've got to get over this habit, Renny," his brother scolded him angrily, even as Mr. Evans clicked a pen, and held it out to the duo.
"Just leave me alone, you bird brain," the fatter brother snapped as he eagerly grabbed the pen and signed his name on five different sheets of paper. He tossed the pen at his slimmer brother, and nearly started quivering with excitement as the tip passed over the paper.
Mr. Evans smiled thinly as he split the papers into two piles, and handed one of them to the brothers. "Congratulations, boys. You're now the co-managers of the Sunset Opera."
Renny's face cracked into a huge grin, since he had been in love with the theatre since childhood. "So, how's everything arranged, again?"
"It's very simple, Mr. Moon. The black file cabinet to your left contains all the financial files for the opera house. You arrange the performances, which are categorized alphabetically in this book." He fished a large book out from under a pile of paperwork. "I'm afraid that the lyrics and lines are held in the study across the hall. There simply wasn't enough room for them in here. Part of being a good manager is being able to match the acts with the abilities of the actors. I've taken the liberty of placing a red dot by the plays and musicals that Milady Rosaline loves doing. Keeping her happy is going to be a major priority for you, I'm afraid."
The slimmer brother quirked an eyebrow. "Is she a handful?"
Mr. Evans sighed as he stood up from behind the desk. "Perhaps it would be best for you to make your own judgments. I need to introduce you to the company, anyway."
The brothers looked at each other apprehensively, but followed the old man out of his office.
Occasionally servants stared at them as they walked down the impressive staircase, and into the main body of the opera house.
The innumerable chairs were upholstered in red velvet, and the stage was massive. A few servant women were cleaning the seats as the orchestra played for a dress rehearsal.
The slimmer brother had hardly ever come to the opera before this, but the fatter one had practically lived in it, so he recognized the prima donna on sight.
Milady Rosaline was a beautiful full-figured woman in her mid-forties, although she looked a good twelve years younger. Her flattering attire was cut in a style that hadn't been popular in a few centuries, and there were actors in armor around her, in a mock trial. Her voice rose and lowered dramatically as she vainly protested her innocence in a high soprano; the finest voice in the entire city.
The ex-manager led his two replacements up a small staircase on the side of the stage. "Always let them finish the scene before trying to announce anything," he whispered to them, his smile a little pained. "It's bad for their concentration."
"Got it," Renny whispered back, his blood still tingling with excitement.
The actors were staring at them openly now, and even Milady Rosaline was sneaking curious glances at them from between her eyelashes.
At last, the scene came to an end, with the judge sentencing the prima donna to a graphic death sentence.
"Your attention, please," Mr. Evans called out in his slightly feeble voice, repeating himself until everyone was listening, even the people above the stage in the rafters. "Some of you may have been hearing rumors of my retirement. Although I know of a few of you that had doubts, I can tell you that the rumors are true."
"Ha!" Milady Rosaline snapped triumphantly at a slightly portly man close to her.
"These two gentlemen shall be handling the opera's affairs from now on. Allow me to present Toto and Renaldo Moon." He gestured to the two brothers, who nodded as one.
Milady Rosaline was already making her way towards the new managers, a sweet smile on her face. "Hello, hello," she gushed in her lilting accent, holding out her hand for Toto, who kissed it awkwardly.
Renaldo did the same, although not as nervously.
"As I understand, there is to be a new patron as well," Mr. Evans said, standing aside slightly so that the two brothers could address the company.
"Ah, yes," Toto announced nervously, coughing into one gloved hand. "Unfortunately, he is not in town as of yet. However, he's due to be back in time for the performance in three days. He has high hopes for the Sunset Opera, and is not one that any of us would wish to disappoint. He has asked us to hold off on announcing his identity until the performance, and we have every intention of doing so."
"Go ahead and finish with rehearsal," Renny added, nodding politely at the composer.
The balding man nodded a little nervously, and tapped his stand to bring his musicians back to attention.
"Good luck, gentlemen," Mr. Evans whispered nervously, strangely casting his eyes to above the rafters as he bowed one last time. "If you need me, I'll be in Yurai. Oh, and two more things?"
The brothers nodded simultaneously, giving the old manager their full attention.
"If you run into problems with Milady Rosaline; grovel. She's the best soprano in the entire city, and we- that is, you- can't afford to let her walk out on the opera. Secondly, if… you receive any notes signed 'O.G.', pay attention to what the notes say."
"O.G.?" Renny asked incredulously, but Mr. Evans held up his hands defensively.
"Please, gentlemen; I know it sounds silly, but you'll need to trust me on this. The one time I failed to do what his note said, there was a disaster. For the sake of the theatre, do as the notes suggest. Farewell, gentlemen." With a final nod, Mr. Evans walked down the stairs, and out of the main room of the opera.
The two brothers watched him leave, as the judge once again announced the trial to begin, starting the scene from the beginning again.
"Who do you think 'O.G.' is?" Toto asked Renny, who looked just as perplexed.
"How should I know? It's the first day, remem-"
A number of screams cut off the heftier brother, just after the old manager exited. They wheeled around fast, to see a spare background fall from the rafters directly onto Milady Rosaline, whose smooth soprano had turned into an ear-splitting shriek of terror as she was slammed to the floor.
"Get this thing off of me!" she howled, in a completely different tone than she had been using mere few minutes ago.
"Who's supposed to be up there?" Renny roared up at the rafters, making a greasy middle-aged man appear near the side, and start cranking on a wheel to bring the spare background back up.
"It wasn't me, sir; I wasn't at my post!" the stagehand yelled back.
"Is anyone else up there?" Toto called up, but the man shook his head.
"No, only me and my boys. But if someone else is up here," he cackled sinisterly. "Well then; it must be a ghost."
"Don't you give me the 'ghost' excuse again!" Milady Rosaline shrieked at him, waving one fist as the two managers hurriedly helped her to her feet.
"Milady Rosaline, these things do happen occasionally," Toto tried to say.
She violently stepped away from them, one hand rubbing her back, where the wood beam from the background had landed on her. "You two! You are as bad as him!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, pointing toward the door that the old manager had disappeared through.
"'These things do happen'?" she snapped, repeating Toto's words before making several frustrated gestures. "For the past three years, these things have happened. And you are both too busy talking to stop these things from happening! No more!" she yelled, turning around sharply to make her dress flare out as she stomped off the stage. "Until you stop these things from happening," she threatened, gesturing to herself with both hands. "This thing does not happen! Carla, Claudia; bring my doggie, I am going for real this time; bye bye!"
Two servant women started following her, one of them cradling a tiny white poodle in her arms, which was quickly taken by the diva.
"Milady Rosaline, there's no need for all the theatrics!" Toto called to her desperately, running after her.
Renaldo looked over at the composer, feeling a little nauseous. "Does this happen a lot?"
"More than you can imagine, sir," the old man said tiredly, using a large white handkerchief to mop his face from the sweat.
The fatter co-manager bit his lower lip in thought. 'Drat. If I had known she was such a drama queen, I wouldn't have been so eager to get control of this theatre.'
Toto slowly walked back to the stage, his face downtrodden. "She'll be back, won't she?" he asked some of the armored actors still on the stage.
A good many of them sighed tiredly. "It depends on how much money you offer her, sirs. Every time she throws a fit, Mr. Evans gave her another raise to make her come back."
"Just how many times has she thrown a tantrum like that?" Renaldo asked him warily.
"We lost count years ago."
The co-managers turned to each other, matching expressions of chagrin present.
"Can you imagine what she must have been getting paid?" Renny whispered in a slightly strangled voice.
"I don't want to," Toto answered, sounding a little sick. He looked at the composer a little frantically. "There is an understudy, isn't there?"
"Are you mad? If one existed for her, she would have taken it as a slight and gotten rid of her immediately!" the old man nearly yelled, almost collapsing over his music stand. He held his head between his hands, groaning with a headache.
"I think I'm starting to understand why Mr. Evans was so willing to give us control of the theatre," Renaldo muttered under his breath. "What are we going to do about this, Toto?"
"I don't know! If constant raises won't keep her here, I can't imagine anything else will!"
"A full house," Renaldo moaned. "Can we afford to refund a full house?" 'More importantly, can we afford to disappoint our patron?'
Toto started shaking his head, but then froze cold. Slowly, oh so slowly, a sneaky smile slid across his pale features. He marched across the small distance between him and his larger brother, pulling on one of his shoulders to start whispering in his ear.
A few of the dancers, standing ready for the next scene, tried to move closer in order to hear, but it was over too fast for them to hear anything.
"Do you think that will work, Bird Brain?" Renaldo asked, sounding a little hopeful.
"It's worth a shot, I think. Ladies and gentlemen!" Toto announced as loudly as he could. "My brother and I have agreed not to bring Milady Rosaline back to the theatre, at least not yet. Instead, I think it would be better to just replace her so that she learns the value of humility. All who wish to audition for her role, please feel free to step forward!"
ooOoo
There were a surprising number of chorus girls and ballerinas eager to audition for the main role. Some were decent singers, and others were quickly escorted off the stage.
After twelve auditions, Renaldo became depressed. "They all sound the same," he complained in a whisper, leaning slightly toward his brother.
They were both sitting in the front row of the red velvet seats, small notepads in their hands to record the decent singers.
"Just be patient," Toto whispered back, brushing his feathered quill across his chin. "There's bound to be at least one voice that stands out. We just need to be patient, that's all."
"Sir?" a soft voice suddenly asked from his left.
He looked over to see a servant girl, holding a silver tray with two teacups.
"Mr. Evans asked me to provide tea, before he left," she explained in a soft voice, carefully setting the tea set in the chair next to Toto. "He said you'd need it."
"Thank you, child," Toto said warmly, although the servant wasn't all that young.
Renaldo sniffed, almost glaring at the teapot. "Thanks, but I don't like tea, Chicky."
She flinched from the nickname, but smiled again. "Can I get you something else then, sir?"
"He's happy with a tall glass of milk," Toto explained, squeezing a bit of lemon into his teacup.
The young woman nodded in compliance, and quickly left to fetch the requested beverage.
Toto took a hesitant sip, his eyes quickly widening. "Holy cow!" he suddenly yelled, cutting off the current singer.
The musicians faltered, and the composer jumped awkwardly, turning around to look at the co-managers.
Toto flushed dark red, and laughed a little nervously as his brother stared at him. "Sorry. Please continue."
The current singer looked a little irritated, but picked up the beat that the composer shakily re-introduced to his musicians.
"What was that about?" Renaldo demanded in a soft tone.
"The tea was too hot," he said sheepishly, blowing on it a few times before taking another drink. He sighed, and refilled his cup. "You really should try this, fat-boy. I've never tasted tea this good before."
"You're not tempting me that easily, Bird Brain. I remember what happened last time you tricked me into drinking tea," Renaldo growled, accepting the glass of milk from the swiftly returned maid. "This isn't going to make me yell, is it?" he asked her before she walked away again.
She flushed, and shook her head. "No, sir. It's a little cold, but nothing's wrong with it."
"Did you make this tea, young lady?" Toto asked her eagerly.
She turned a darker color, shaking her head again. "Oh no, sir; I just deliver it." She quickly bowed, and nearly ran for the door on the other side of the cavern-like auditorium.
"Nice job, Bird-Boy," Renaldo growled at his brother, drinking the whole glass in one gulp. "Now you're terrifying the hired help."
"She was terrified of you, not me!" Toto snapped, forcing himself to look at the current singer again. He sighed, and crossed her freshly written name off the growing list.
ooOoo
"Well, that was a complete waste of our time!" Renaldo groaned a few hours later, as he and Toto made their way back to their joint study. "They all still sound the same!"
"Think about how many years they've been singing as a chorus," Toto reminded him as they walked, side by side. "It will take training for them to break that habit."
"Yeah; too bad we don't have time for that training!" Renaldo sighed tiredly. "I was really hoping that your idea would work, too. I mean; I really don't want to eat crow and ask Milady Rosaline to come back, if she's just going to walk all over us on a regular basis."
Toto nodded, sighing again as he opened the study door. Suddenly he paused, looking into the room with a bemused expression on his face.
"Something wrong, Bird Brain?" Renaldo asked, part of his melancholy changing into concern.
"Maybe. Do you remember seeing that envelope last time we were in here?" Toto strode into the room quickly, sweeping a black-lined envelope into one hand.
One side of the foreign object was shut with a white wax seal, in the shape of a rose.
xxXxx
A/N; If anyone would like to see some really cool fan art based on my stories, I highly recommend looking up InYuJi on deviantart. She seriously looks like she took the images straight from my mind, they're that good.
She and gacktxx rock my world; their work is beautiful.