"This way sir, this way." A young woman guided him through the halls of the Opera Maria. Erwin still couldn't believe his fortune, the new owner of such a renowned opera house. "As you see here, rehearsals for our latest production are well underway." She smiled, leading him up to the stage.
"No, no, no brats! How many times must we go over this? Altos. You have ONE note, agree on it! And you, backstage—clean this up, there is no reason for that much filth" the conductor ordered, despite the fact the actors and stagehands obeyed his every beck and call without question, his short stature made it quite comical.
"Monsieur Revaille, everyone," The young woman cleared her throat. "May I introduce the new owner of the Opera Maria, Mister Erwin Smith." The performers all applauded.
"Wonder how long this one will last…" one of the stagehands sneered. Erwin turned toward the petite redhead and tilted his head.
"What does he mean by that?"
"Nothing, sir. Really, nothing at all." She offered him a meek smile.
"Now if you're done blathering, can we please get back to rehearsal? These brats need all the help they can get if we expect to open this thing next week. And where is Connie with that big-ass staircase. We need the damn staircase for the beginning of the third act." He raised his baton once more, tapping it on the music stand. "Now, from the top, let's show the new owner what he paid for!" Without question, the performers took their places, the opening number went flawlessly and bridged into a ballet number. Erwin took a step back and sat down in one of the seats in the front row, occasionally turning to the woman, whom he'd found out was named Petra, to ask a question.
"Who is the oriental girl? She's excellent!" he pointed to one of the dancers.
"Mikasa Ackerman, one of our most renowned ballerinas."
"What about that fellow?" he pointed to the fellow with two –toned hair supporting Mikasa in an intricate looking lift.
"Ah, yes, Jean Kirschtien, son of Benoit and Inge Kirschtien, a famous cellist and ballerina, respectively. He's lived here ever since they died when he was young. The number continued, and the male lead, a tall, nervous fellow, was in the midst of an aria when suddenly a backdrop from overhead suddenly fell, scaring the poor lad out of his wits.
"He's here! The Phantom! He's here!" Another one of the dancers called out.
"Don't be ridiculous Sasha." Mikasa said bluntly. "Connie most likely did something stupid in the fly's again."
"I was doing what?" Connie peered around the corner; hammer in hand, in the midst of fixing a platform. "I wasn't in the flies Mikasa."
"AHEM!" the commotion fell silent at the sound of the voice.
"Hanji Zoe, Ballet mistress." Petra explained.
"You're late." Levi muttered.
"I bring a message, from the Opera ghost!" she said, holding up a letter, perhaps with a bit too much enthusiasm for Erwin's comfort, "He simply wishes to welcome our new owner to the Opera Maria, and to demand that you keep box five empty for him, and to remind you that his salary is due."
"Salary?" Erwin nearly scoffed. What would this so-called ghost need with a salary?
"Monsieur Zacharius paid him nearly forty pounds a month.
"Ridiculous." Erwin scoffed. "From the aria, if you will."
The singer, Bertholdt nodded nervously, but began singing nonetheless. He was undoubtedly talented, but was a bit flat, perhaps from the nerves. As if on cue, the curtains fell, nearly falling on him and a few of the dancers had they not gotten out of the way in time.
"For God's sakes Connie! What are you doing back there?" Levi snarled toward where he'd last seen Connie, only for his head to peer out from the other side.
"It wasn't me sir, I swear! Either someone's being a jerk and messing things up, or it's the ghost."
"We don't have time for this. From the aria again."
"N-no." Bertholdt spoke up. "I don't want to be in this production anymore."
"Come now, it was merely an accident. No need to be so shaken up about it, these things do happen." Erwin held up a hand, trying to calm the young man.
"These things do happen? You have been here five minutes, what do you know?!" A petite blonde spoke up, the famed Annie Leonhardt, who also happened to be the soprano lead. Her pale eyes fixed into a harsh glare as her brows knitted, sending chills down Erwin's spine. "Yes, these things do happen. All the time, and unless you stop these things from happening, this thing does not happen! Bertholdt, come on, we're leaving." she nearly snarled, snatching Berholdt by the wrist and practically dragging him away.
"But the production! It is in just weeks! The show is already sold out!" Petra pointed out.
"Perhaps they can be replaced. Hearing the same songs repeatedly on a daily basis, the cast probably knows it frontwards and back, the problem is which one of these brats is good enough." Levi mumbled.
"Kirschtien! He's been taking lessons!" Hanji piped up, Jean tried to shrink away, praying he could fade into the backdrop.
"No, no really I—."
"From the aria, Mister Kirschtien." Levi tapped his baton on the music stand to mark the tempo. He swallowed hard, but complied, though a natural baritone, he sang the tenor part with ease. Softly at first, unsure of himself. Sure, he seemed cocky while dancing, but that came naturally, Mikasa did most of the work there, all he had to do was keep the tempo in mind, know when to assamble and pas de bouree, and to be sure not to drop Mikasa during a lift, and especially not if they were in the midst of a pas de deux.
"You've got to be joking…" Erwin mumbled, before Petra elbowed him quite violently in the ribs.
Jean closed his eyes, the stage and his peers disappeared, he was in his room again, his sanctuary. The knots in his stomach loosened, his chest felt less tight, the notes came effortlessly. He crescendoed and decrescendoed with ease, the piece was his and his alone suddenly. When he opened his eyes at the end, everyone was staring wide-eyed at him in shock, before falling into a thunderous roar of applause.
"Jean…I never knew you could sing like that!" Petra beamed standing and applauding still. "Who is this tutor?"
"Yes, who is this tutor?" Levi asked, perhaps to contemplate bringing them in, seeing as the sorry brats did not seem to listen no matter how much he emphasized the importance of dynamics and proper breathing.
"I…I don't know sir." Jean said.
"Well. We've found our lead! That's for sure." Erwin grinned at him. "Why don't we wrap up rehearsal here, while Levi so kindly auditions some of these lovely young ladies to see if we have anyone to replace Miss Leonhardt. Levi glared in Erwin's direction for a moment before sighing, although his stoic composure remained.
"You heard him. Go. Sopranos. We have work to do…"