PP12: Hiya all! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and as a late Christmas present I have...
A shirtless Sebastian under a tree. *squeal*
No, sorry. Don't have that (unfortunatley) but I do have a new fanfiction I'd like to show you lovely readers. As you would've guessed from the title this fanfiction is based on the plot of Phantom of the Opera but with the characters from Kuroshitsuji, and yeah, this is what happens after listening to an opera for more than two weeks. Hehe, my poor fandom.
Anyway here's a disclaimer: I don't own Kuroshitsuji or Phantom of the Opera in any way; lyrics also are not mine.
ENJOY~
Joyous music filled the London Opera House during the rehearsals of its newest production, the sound of trumpets blasting and the melodies of violins reverberating within the grand theatre. Thousands of seats were empty, though it wouldn't be long until a sea of spectators would soon fill them, and upon the large stage were performers dressed in Roman costumes with the richest colours of red and green, singing in time with the conductor. Dancers dressed in slave costumes twirled and leapt around a singer with flowing long red hair who sang the highest of them all, holding up a severed head as the chorus neared its end.
"With feasting and dancing and song, tonight in celebration! We greet the victorious throng, returned to bring salvation! Hear the drums ….Hannibal comes!"
The actor playing the role of Hannibal entered the stage.
"Sad to return to find the land we love threatened once more by Roma's far-reaching grasp-"
"No, Sir, if you please," the repetiteur interrupted, sitting before a piano with a sigh. '"Rome". We say "Rome" not "Roma"'.
"Right, 'Rome'," the actor grumbled, tipping his glasses, "Forgive me if my lines aren't perfect."
As he walked off practising his lines, a lively but elderly man dressed in an expensive suit and top hat led two men onto the stage.
"This way, gentlemen," he directed as the two men followed him across the stage, "Rehearsals, as you see, are under way for a new production of Chalumeau's "Hannibal"." He looked around for a moment, seeing the rehearsal had paused, and he cleared his throat loudly, receiving the attention from the performers. "Ladies and gentlemen, some of you may have already met Abberline and Sir Randall."
The men bowed politely but the repetiteur interrupted.
"I'm sorry to intrude, Tanaka, but we are in the middle of rehearsals. Would you mind waiting a moment?"
"Oh, my apologies," Tanaka said, bowing, "Do proceed."
Claude nodded with satisfaction and returned to the piano as Tanaka introduced him inaudibly to Abberline and Sir Randall. "Claude Faustus, our chief repetiteur. Rather a tyrant, I'm afraid."
The three men jumped when the sound of a cane was banged upon the surface of the stage. The cane belonged to a woman in a black dress scowling at them.
"Gentlemen, please! If you would kindly move to one side?" she scolded.
"My apologies, milady." Tanaka moved aside along with Abberline and Sir Randal. "Lady Francis, our ballet mistress. She is quite a strict woman but with remarkable teaching methods." Tanaka smiled at the dancers practising their steps. "We take a particular pride here in the excellence of our ballets."
One dancer stood out amongst the others with light golden hair and smaller amounts of clothing than the rest. Abberline raised an eyebrow curiously.
"Who's that boy, Tanaka?" he inquired.
"Him? That boy is Alois Trancy. Promising dancer, Mr Abberline, most promising."
The dancers moved to their next position revealing a smaller boy dancing next to Alois, whose smoky navy hair fell over his right eye, displaying his left sapphire blue eye. He was struggling with his steps and awkwardly tried to copy Alois' moves, and Lady Francis banged her cane again as soon as she spotted him.
"You! Ciel Phantomhive! Concentrate boy!" she said strictly.
Alois snickered next to him. "What's wrong with you, Ciel? Honestly, your dancing is no better than a pig attempting to do it."
Sir Randall glanced at Tanaka.
"Phantomhive?" he questioned, letting the name roll off his tongue. "Curious name."
"Any relation to the violinist?" Abberline asked him.
Tanaka nodded. "His son, I believe."
Their discussion stopped when the chorus started up again, and Abberline stared with amazement at a life-sized replica of an elephant mechanically entering the stage. The male playing Hannibal was lifted victoriously onto the elephant, and the female lead began to sing.
"Once more to my welcoming arms, my love returns in splendour!"
The lead singer was joined by the surrounding chorus singers proudly finishing the ending lyrics to the song.
"The trumpeting elephants sound, hear, Romans, now and tremble! Hark to their step on the ground, hear the drums! Hannibal comes!"
Tanaka clapped his hands for silence when the rehearsal ended. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please?"
All of the dancers and singers gathered before him, waiting to hear his announcement.
"As you know, for some weeks there have been rumours of my imminent retirement. I can now tell you that these were all true, and it is my pleasure to introduce to you the two gentlemen who now own the Opera Populaire, Sir Randall and Mr Abberline."
Tanaka gestured towards the two men. There was a courteous applause as Abberline and Sir Randal bowed. They were both greeted by the female lead singer and Tanaka was the first to introduce her.
"Gentlemen, Miss Grell Sutcliff," Tanaka presented, "Our leading soprano for five seasons now."
Abberline widened his eyes as he took in Grell's appearance. Her figure was more masculine than he expected, and her jaw was much broader than any female's, but what really surprised him were the jagged teeth that showed when she smiled rather widely.
'Miss?' he thought to himself, before taking hand which was held out to him. "Ah, of course, I have experienced all of your greatest roles."
The male lead singer with slick black hair appeared before them, tipping his glasses with a rock-hard gaze at the two.
"And Sir William. T Spears," Tanaka added.
Randall firmly shook his hand. "An honour, sir."
"Quite," William replied sternly.
"If I remember correctly," Abberline cut in, referring to Grell, "Elissa has a rather fine aria in Act Three of "Hannibal". I wonder, Miss, if as a personal favour, you would oblige us with a private rendition?" He took a quick glance at the repetiteur before adding almost caustic, "Unless, of course, Mr Claude Faustus objects…"
"My manager commands, Mr Faustus?" Grell enquired, glancing at Claude expectantly.
"My diva commands," Claude replied, flipping through the sheet music, "Will two bars suffice?"
"Two bars seem like a sufficient introduction," Sir Randall answered.
The repetiteur nodded and played the starting chord on the piano.
"Ready, miss?" he asked.
Grell clicked his fingers and the spotlight shone brightly upon him.
"Maestro."
Everyone fell silent when the piano began to play softly, sweet melodic music filling the theatre. Grell cleared his throat.
"Think of me, think of me fondly, when we've said goodbye," Grell sang confidently, "Remember me once in a while, please promise me you'll try. When you find that once again you long to take your-"
A chilling high-pitched scream sounded behind the theatre. Grell gasped and the dancers looked around nervously, and suddenly, very slowly, the backdrop collapsed to the ground. Grell put a hand to his heart.
"Ah! What just happened?!" he demanded.
The dancers huddled together, quivering with fear. "He's here….the Phantom of the Opera….he's here! The Phantom of the Opera!"
The new managers looked around anxiously and with confusion. William rushed over to Grell who appeared to be hyperventilating. "Breathe. Try to calm yourself."
"Miss Sutcliff! Are you alright?" Tanaka asked concernedly, walking hurriedly around the stage, "Undertaker! Where is that fool? Get that man down from there!" The ex-manager approached Abberline and Sir Randall with a grave face. "Chief of the flies. He's responsible for this."
"Who's 'Chief of the flies'?" Abberline asked, until he was interrupted by an eerie giggle that echoed the wings of the stage. A chill ran up the managers' spines and they looked up to see a grinning man with long silver hair, his eyes completely hidden by the fringe, and was holding a length of rope that looked similar to a noose.
"Undertaker, for heaven's sake, what's going on up there?" Tanaka called below him.
Said man chuckled again.
"Hehehe~ Please sir, don't look at me, as God's my witness, I was not at my post," he smiled creepily, dangling the rope side to side, "Please sir, there's no one there, and if there is, well then…it must be…a ghost."
The dancers gasped at his words.
"So it is him." Alois stood up slowly and the dancers stared at him, especially Ciel. "The Phantom of the Opera…he's haunted the theatre!"
The dancers, except for Ciel, screamed with panic.
"Good heavens! Will you show a little courtesy?!" Sir Randall shouted. Abberline approached the flabbergasted Grell and put a hand on his shoulder, looking calmly at him.
"These things do happen."
Grell flicked his hair. "Hmph! Well, these things do happen." He furiously tore himself from Abberline's grip. "Then until you stop these things happening, this thing does not happen! William!"
William inaudibly sighed as he followed Grell who stormed off the stage. Sir Randall and Abberline glanced at each other and backed away a bit when the cast stared anxiously at them.
"Miss Sutcliff will be back," Abberline reassured.
"Is that so?" Lady Francis asked sternly, "I have a message from the Opera Ghost."
"Opera Ghost?" Abberline questioned. At this the dancers twittered with fear, until the dance teacher banged her cane to silence them.
"Yes. He welcomes you to his opera house and commands you to continue to leave Box Five empty for his use, and reminds you that his salary is due."
Sir Randall scoffed. "Salary?"
"Mr Tanaka paid him ten thousand pounds a month, sir."
An uncomfortable silence followed as the cast waited for someone to propose an idea. After a pause, Sir Randall cleared his throat.
"Madame, who is the understudy for this role?" he asked.
"There is no understudy. This production is new-"
"Wait!" Alois cried. The dancer rose up quickly and took a hold of Ciel's arm, pulling it up so the boy stood with him. "Ciel Phantomhive can sing it!"
Ciel widened his eyes and glared at Alois who didn't respond and continued smiling. Randall stared at Ciel for a moment and raised an eyebrow.
"The chorus boy?"
Alois smiled proudly. "Yep. He's been taking lessons from a great teacher!"
Before Alois could say more, Ciel furiously yanked him, dragging the dancer away from the group. "What the hell are you doing? Are you mad?" he hissed.
Alois pulled himself free and smirked devilishly at him.
"What? You said yourself you wished to be a star. Don't tell me you want to take it back."
"I cannot sing a female role!" Ciel protested.
Alois grinned wider. "Why ever not? You've got the look, the voice…."
"That's ridiculous!" the boy shouted, covering his mouth in embarrassment when unknowingly his voice lifted to a very high pitch. Abberline and Sir Randall exchanged unsure glances until Lady Francis cut in.
"Let him sing for you," she advised, "He has been well taught."
"Hey!" Ciel yelped when Alois pushed him to the centre of the stage. Suddenly all eyes were on him. Ciel whipped his head around to see Alois giving him an encouraging grin, and before he had the chance to run off the stage, the piano started to play again and everyone waited for him to sing. Ciel took a deep breath and refused to look at anyone.
"Think of me, think of me fondly when we say goodbye," Ciel started slowly and unenthusiastically, "Remember me, once in a while, please promise me you'll try…"
"Abberline, this is doing nothing for my nerves," Sir Randall said, shaking his head. Some of the dancers giggled and Ciel scowled when he heard them. He decided he was going to prove everyone wrong.
"When you find that once again you long to take your heart back and be free," Ciel sang more confidently and higher, "If you ever find a moment, spare a thought for me."
When Ciel hit that last note, the managers' faces were struck with dumbfound. Ciel smiled triumphantly when the dancers around him clapped their hands, and soon Abberline approached him with a wide smile.
"Congratulations! The part is yours!" he declared.
Ciel blinked. "What?"
"Yay! Go Ciel!" Alois cheered. Ciel just scowled at him knowing full well the little tart was more than entertained at the fact that Ciel was playing a girl. The energetic dancer skipped over to him and put an arm around his shoulder. "Well, you can't have the role of Elissa if you're dressed like that. We need to get you in a dress!"
"Bloody hell..." Ciel grumbled as more dancers surrounded him and congratulated him on his well-earned success.
The night of the performance arrived quicker than most expected, and it wasn't long before the production of 'Hannibal' commenced in the London Opera house. The theatre was crowded with watching spectators who witnessed Ciel's solo with enchantment in their eyes. Ciel was fitted in a wide dress with a shimmering green and red corset, and his navy hair was added long extensions that reached to his waist. The spotlight glowed on him that made his skin look paler against the rich red curtain behind him, and it comforted him a little when he couldn't see the faces of the audience.
"We never said our love was evergreen, or as unchanging as the sea," Ciel sang as sweetly as he could, a small smile planted on his lips, "But if you can still remember, stop and think of me." As Ciel wandered across the stage, a certain presence existed within the theatre sitting in Box Five, examining the performance before him with a gratified smirk on his face.
"Think of all the things we've shared and seen, don't think about the things which might have been…" Ciel continued as the music grew softer, "Think of me, think of me waking silent and resigned. Imagine me, trying too hard to put you from my mind.
"Recall those days, look back on all those times, think of those things we'll never do…" Ciel raised his arms. "There will never be a day...when I won't think of you!"
The crowd erupted with applause and suddenly roses were thrown at him as the applause thickened. Ciel curtsied with a smile, but little did he know that he received a certain attention from a young girl with big blonde hair sitting amongst the upper rows in the managers' box.
"Can it be…can it be Ciel?" she wondered. She smiled as soon as she recognised him and she stood from her seat, clapping her hands. "Bravo!"
She sat back down and gazed at him with a nostalgic feeling in her heart. "What a change, you're really not a bit the shyest boy that I once knew." She sighed. "You may not remember me….but I remember you."
"Flowers fade, the fruits of summer fade, they have their seasons, so do we..." Ciel took a deep breath before finishing the song. "But please promise me that sometimes, you will think..."
The music halted as Ciel vocalised, his voice delicately gaining pitch until he finally hit a very high note, and he brilliantly concluded the song.
"Of meeeeeee!"
I'm going to make a shout out to Unique Pain for being the best help I could ever ask for with not just this fanfiction, but for all my others. She provides amazing ideas and I just want that to be acknowledged :)
Hit the review button people~!