Considerably shorter than the last chapter. But it's supposed to be that way.
Thanks for the review! It really means a lot. And the story's kind of AU (it's in a world where Christine and Raoul don't exist), but it has many similar elements to the movie/musical.
Chapter Two – Contemplations of the Phantom of the Opera
Meg Giry was mistaken. The Phantom of the Opera was, in fact, quite real.
He had been the shadow in Box Five, which had caused such an uproar; he had been the footsteps following Jeanette's tour of the Opera house; and now, he was hovering in the rafters above the girls' dormitory, listening to the ballet rats give the Austrian girl her welcoming criticism.
The curious thing about the Opera ghost was that he was not a ghost at all, nor a Phantom; he was a human, of flesh and bone. His name was Erik, and he was many things: architect, musician, composer, magician—and later, a teacher. But that wasn't to happen for several months.
Erik watched from his perch as the dancers swarmed Jeanette. He was secretly impressed with her ability to respond to their condescending questions and comments with an admirable politeness and straightforward honesty, while still managing to remain loyal to her country without offending theirs. She seemed to gain a bit more respect when it was revealed how she had grown up in the great musical city of Vienna. Erik had never been there, though he himself was an exceptional musician and had composed several pieces for piano and violin, but he'd heard of the splendor of Austria's capital, and found himself growing rather envious, to his dismay.
Despite her favorable origin, Erik lost interest in the girl quickly. There was simply nothing remarkable about her: she was rarely late for lessons; she more or less followed the rules; she wasn't heart-wrenchingly beautiful, or a spectacular singer. Jeanette did have a sharp wit, and she was rather pretty—Erik had to admit to that.
Several weeks later, the Phantom was sitting in a small enclosure beneath one of his more concealed trapdoors, which happened to be underneath the floorboards of the backstage area. Conversation drifted down from above, sounding slightly muffled and distorted to Erik's sharp ears.
Erik was slouched against one of the walls, eyes closed, breathing slowly and deeply. Anyone else would have thought he was asleep, but he was merely listening intently. A white mask covered the right half of his face.
It so happened that at that moment, the light filtering through cracks in the floorboards was blocked by someone standing directly on top of the trapdoor. Erik glanced up, recognizing the voices of Meg and Jeanette. But this was nothing new, and he was settling back into a passive state of mind before nearly giving away his presence by jumping to his feet at Meg's next remark:
"You play the violin!" she exclaimed, sounding awed.
"Well, I used to, when I lived in Austria," was Jeanette's reply.
Jeanette played the violin? Erik tried to recall if she had ever mentioned that piece of information before, but drew a blank. He ran a pale hand through his dark hair, straining his ears to hear more, but the girls were walking away now, out of earshot.
A violinist! Ever since he'd arrived at the Opera Populaire so many years ago, Erik had longed for someone with whom he could share the joys of music: someone who understood music's sweet seductiveness; someone who had felt, at least once, when they opened their mouths to sing, or played their instrument of choice, as if there were only music and nothing else. Someone…someone like him.
Of course, the chances of that had always been slim—but Erik had a feeling that this girl was special. Why he thought so was a mystery, even to him. But the Phantom wasn't the sort to pass up such an opportunity, and so, then and there, he resolved to attempt to speak to Jeanette, as soon as an occasion presented itself.
In another week, he got his wish.
-gasp- What's gonna happen next? Review please!
