Hello! This is my very first Phantom of the Opera story so bear with me. It is defiantly not as good as most of the POTO stories on this site but I tried. I have never written in 3rd person either. All of my stories are in first person. In this story there is just a gender swap in the main characters and some parts of the plot are different. This is somewhat based on the 2004 like the setting and things like that. I tried to put some of the things from the movie in this story to make it almost the same but not quite.
Also! I changed the name at the last minute. The main characters name was Erik, after the Phantom, but I changed it to Elliot so I went through and changed it though I might have missed some parts. IF you do happen see the name Erik, it is not a different person. It is the same person, I just missed that part.
Anyway please read and review with thoughts or ideas! Thanks and enjoy!
I do NOT own the phantom of the opera!
The opera house was empty besides everyone who was in the upcoming production. Ballerinas, Set and costume designers, and Elliot Giry, the ballet instructors adopted son.
Elliot Giry was born into a wealthy home. His father worked on compositions for a nearby opera house and his mother was a school teacher. Unfortunately, she dies while giving birth, leaving his father devastated. Erik was taken care of by a maid while his father drowned himself in his work. His son was left alone with nothing but a few possessions and a calico cat, which he had saved from the streets.
When Elliot was only seven years old, his father passed away during a coughing fit, his son was orphaned but not for long. He was finally adopted by Madam Giry, a ballet instructor a famous opera house in Paris. For years Elliot had longed for an attentive parent. One who would play with and talk to him. Yes, Madam Giry did work, very hard in fact, but she also made time for her son.
Meg Giry was born a year later and her father passed away soon after. Madam Giry grieved, but only for a short period of time before she was back to work again. At least until someone spoke of him.
Elliot, now an 18 year old man, stood on the sidelines, watching the male lead perform his solo that would close the production. Elliot never saw how it happened, but he heard screams erupt from the ballerinas as something heavy fell and knocked the lead almost off of the stage. Luckily, it only landed on his leg, which a doctor later announced was broken. Madam Giry immediately arrived with a note in hand. The new owner, Mr. Dubois, Finally noticed she was there, and asked what she was holding.
"It is a letter from the Opera Ghost." She stated. Mr. Dubois seemed a little baffled.
"Opera Ghost?" he asked, confused.
"Yes. She welcomes you to her opera house."
"She?! Her opera house?" Mr. Dubois was now furious.
"And she has only a few instructions for you." Madam Giry continued, ignoring his reaction to her words.
"And what might her 'instructions' be hmm?" He asked.
"She asks that you keep Box 5 empty at all times for her use and wants to remind you to leave her salary of 20,000 francs for her per month.
Mr. Dubois was clearly outraged.
"Well, madam Giry, not that I believe in this nonsense, but I will not be able to pay her if I don't have any money because as of right now we have no male lead so therefore we will have to cancel! We will have to refund every person!" He yelled. Madam Giry moved to stand beside Erik who was still standing quietly.
"My son, Elliot, could sing it." She announced. Mr. Dubois looked at her like she was crazy.
"An extra?" he asked. She nodded.
"Yes but he has been well taught."
"By whom?" the owner asked Erik. He stepped forward to answer him.
"I am sorry sir, but I do not know her name."
"Her? Your teacher is a woman?" Mr. Dubois asked.
"Yes but she is very talented. Let Elliot sing for you please. You will not be sorry."
Mr. Dubois sat for a moment, stroking his chin as if there was a beard there. After what seemed like an eternity he motioned for Erik to come forward.
Elliot knew he could sing. He likes to believe he gets his private lessons from the Angel of Music in the chapel. Her voice was as sweet as honey and when she sung, he could have sworn he had died and gone to heaven. Surly if her voice was that beautiful, she had to be an angel. He longed to meet his teacher someday, or at least know her name.
Elliot sang the male lead part and everyone was amazed. He was quickly given the lead role and he ran to the chapel as soon as dress rehearsals were over. He then ran as fast as he could so he could tell his angel about.
"Hello?" he called. Not even a minute after, Elliot heard the voice of an angle. His angel. He spoke quickly, telling her all the events of that day.
"I already knew." She said after the story ended.
"You did? How do you know?" he asked.
"This is my opera house. I can go wherever I please."
Elliot was silent for a few moments. Today, he decided, was the day he would meet his angel. He took a deep breath, and spoke.
"Angel, I would like to finally…"
"Elliot!" Meg called from down the hallway. She appeared in the doorway moments later. "Come on! Surly you haven't forgotten about the performance! Hurry! It's about to start!" she exclaimed.
"Just a moment Meg. I'm coming."
The little Meg ran off, down the hallway, expecting Erik to follow her, but he stayed rooted to the ground.
"Angel, will I ever get to meet you?" He asked.
"Maybe." Came her reply.
"Please, my angel let me meet my great teacher."
"Maybe. Now you must go. You might be late."
Elliot left the chapel and hurried to the stage. He got there just in time.
Elliot closed the performance and went to his dressing room. He found a note on the table addressed to him. Slowly, he opened it and pulled out a piece of paper. The edges were black and the writing was beautiful.
You did very well. I am very pleased with your performance tonight! Please, wait here in your room after everyone leaves.
_Your 'angel of music'
Elliot quickly tucked the note in his pocket and sat in a chair next to his dresser. People came and went. Some came in with flowers. Others just wanted to congratulate him. No matter who they were, he would let them do what they needed to and then sent them on their way.
After a few moments of peace, the door opened again and a woman walking in with a familiar smile on her face. He thought nothing of it. He thought she was just another audience member coming to congratulate him again, but this woman was too familiar. Her long brown locks of hair flowed down to her shoulders. She had big brown eyes that were full of happiness and she smiled brightly at him.
"Hello." He smiled back but as soon as he was about to ask who she was, he figured it out all on his own. The woman was Bernadette Martin, one of Elliot's only childhood friends.
"Bernadette!" she said. She ran and embraced him. The two hugged for a long time until he finally let go.
"What are you doing here?" Elliot asked
"I came to watch the performance. You did very well tonight but I must ask how you got here?" she said. He told her about his father and how he was adopted by the Giry's after her and her family had moved to Rome.
"I'm so sorry about your father." Bernadette said. Elliot just shook his head.
"It's fine. I loved him dearly but he deserved it. He was the one who stayed in that dusty office all the time."
"True, but you still must have been devastated."
"Yes I was. I never really knew him, which makes it even harder." He said.
"I'm so sorry Elliot. Oh look at the time, I really must go. Mother and I are going to supper. You may join us if you would like." Bernadette offered. Elliot was about to accept, but remembered the letter his angle had written him, and denied. The two friends said their goodbyes, and Brendette left the room.
Out of the corner of his eye, Elliot saw something fall behind the mirror. He quickly went over to it and put his hands on both sides, getting ready to pull it away.
When the mirror was moved away he was shocked at what was hidden behind it. A tunnel made of stone, leading to God knows where. Even though there was an estimate of 15 or 20 torches leading to the end, only a few of them were actually lit, making it harder for Elliot to see the end of the hall.
He almost turned around and put the dresser back in its place, but his curiosity got the best of him. He snatched one of the lit torches off of the cold stone wall and moved forward down the hallway. As he progressed, he could only think of one saying Madam Giry always said when he became curious enough to go explore the opera house.
Curiosity killed the cat.
But, even with the quote in mind, he went farther down the passage way.
As Elliot neared the end of the hall, he started to see a turn in the passageway were there was much more light than in the rest of the hall. He kept his torch just in case though. He quickly got to the sharp turn but was surprised when he saw a flight of stairs instead of flat stone floor.
Skipping a couple of stairs on the way, he reached the bottom were a gondola sat on the water. Elliot quickly looked around for the oar, which was leaning against the wall only a couple feet away from the small dock. He tossed the torch in the water, assuming there would be light from there on out, and he was correct. As he paddles the boat, there was numerous torches lit along the wall and he wondered why they were here. No one was down here so why were they lit?
He rowed the boat for what seemed like ages before his arms became tired and he became a little fatigued as well. He sat down on one of the small wooden bars that acted as seats. He glanced up at the walls. They were very tall and all stone just like the passage way behind his dresser and the stairs. Elliot rose from his seat and started rowing again, and was shocked at what he heard.
Music. Sweet music was coming from down the lake. The song was haunting and beautiful and he wished to see who was playing it. This made him row faster and before he knew it, he was had reached the end.
Elliot was careful not to make any noise as he lifted the oar out of the water and set the boat on the stone shore. The room was larger than any cave he had seen before. He looked straight ahead and saw the maker of the haunting music that led him here.
A young woman sat at a piano or maybe even an organ, he back facing Elliot as she scribbled on a sheet of paper, and then sat back, prepared to play. As her fingers touched the white keys, Elliot shifted his weight hoping to get a good look at the woman, but as he did, the boat tilted causing the still water to become waves. The waves were hitting the walls and the sound of the water echoed throughout the room. The woman turned around at the strange sound. When she turned, Elliot finally got a good look at her.
She had blond hair with a bit of black in it. Her face was perfect in every way except for her right side which had a large scar going from the bottom of her right jaw, all the way to her hairline. Around the scar were a few smaller ones, but they were hardly noticeable. She began to walk towards Elliot, tightly gripping her dress and she neared the water. As she got closer, he saw that her eyes were very different. The left eye was a beautiful blue color. The color was so light; it reminded Elliot of the sky. Her right eye was the different one. It was a mixture of green, blue, a golden brown, and what almost looked like gray behind the color streaks. Her eyes were like nothing Elliot had seen nothing like it before, he loved the colors together.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, quickly covering her face like she was ashamed of her scar. Elliot cleared his throat and spoke.
"Who are you and how did you get here?" He asked, but the girl looked at him strangely and he couldn't tell is she meant to be harsh or humorous.
"I asked first. What are you doing here?"
"Something fell behind my dresser. I went to get it and found this passageway that led me straight to this place." He said. "Now answer my question please."
"I live here." She said as she walked back to her instrument. As she spoke, Elliot tried to find out where he had heard her voice before. He searched through his head till it began to hurt. He then gave up and stepped out of the boat just as she sat on the bench. Elliot stood far away, afraid to distract her from whatever it was she was doing. He watched her place her fingers on the keys, press them, and then write on her paper. After a few moments of this dame pattern she began to sing along and then he knew. He knew exactly who she was. She was an angle. She was HIS angel. He almost jumped with joy.
"Angel…" he whispered. He never meant to distract her from her work but as soon as he said the word she turned to him.
"Excuse me?" she asked politely. Elliot cleared his throat for the second time that night.
"You…you're my angel. You're my angel on music." He said and she smiled, nodding. She got up from the bench and went into a small area that looked like some sort of kitchen. She pulled 2 cups from a cabinet and looked at Elliot, almost laughing.
"My goodness. Where have my manners gone? I should have asked when I first noticed you. Would you like some tea?" she asked him. Elliot nodded and she made him a glass. She motioned him to a small table. They both sat down, sipping their tea in silence.
"If you don't mind me asking, what is your name?" he looked up at her and she covered her face every time he did so.
"My name is Evangeline." She replied. Elliot knew the name from his maid who spoke Latin. She taught him some of the language and some names and their meanings. Evangeline was one of the names he remembered the meaning to. Evangeline means 'like an angel'. It fit her perfectly.
"Evangeline." He said. He loved the way it sounded. "Do you have a full name?" he asked her. She nodded.
"Evangeline Rose." She said. Rose had meant unconscious love according to his old maid.
"What about a last name?" he sipped his tea as she shook her head.
"I do not have one." She replied. Elliot became curious again and the quote came back from earlier, but he ignored it.
"May I ask why?" He asked her.
"I never liked my mother and never knew my father. My mother didn't love me wither because I was-am different." She said. She looked as if she was about to cry, but she held back. "So I dropped the last name and ran away. This is where I ended up." She explained. Elliot just nodded.
"Why not give yourself one?" He suggested but she just shook her head.
"I like my name the way it is." She said. They went on sipping their tea. When they finished Evangeline looked at Elliot.
"You looked fatigued. Maybe you should go upstairs and lie down." She suggested.
Elliot did as he was told, but was almost too tired to paddle the boat.
"Here." Evangeline led him to a small guest bedroom and let him sleep there for the night
What did you think? It was a lot longer than I expected it to be, but I guess that's ok. I think it's a bit too long but I didn't find a good place to stop and I really didn't want to stop so I kept going and it ended up being 6 or 7 pages on my Microsoft Word! Anyway hoped you guys liked it and please REVIEW!