Okay minna, I'm back with the next chapter of The Phantom Of Ashford. -smiles- This is going to be a pretty interesting chapter as we will all get to watch Millay having people starting to audition for the play. It's going to be really funny I assure you. Lol...Poor Suzaku...lol...that's all I'm gonna say. Lol Okay then, enough of my babbling. I now bring you the second chapter of Phantom Of Ashford...enjoy everyone!! -giggles-
Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or any of the Lelouch hotness you will witness in this fic. Lol would be nice if I did though. Lol
-The Phantom of Ashford – Chapter 2: Auditions/Think Of Me pt. I -
Lelouch climbed slowly up the steps up to the grand piano organ on the stage, and took his seat at it. He eyes Millay curiously as he thought: "Okay President. What are you planning?"
Millay didn't even bother to explain to him why she needed him for this, but just proceeded to chatter on and on about this play that she assigned the student council to put on. As the violet eyed boy stretched his fingers out and played a quick tune across the keys, the overly enthusiastic Millay sauntered over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, a mischievous grin still on her face: "I'll bet you're wondering why I asked you to come up here and do this huh?"
Lelouch heaved a heavy sigh and nodded as he flipped through the sheet music that was given to him. He recognized this music and this play as The Phantom of the Opera. He had seen this production twice with his mother and sister, and thought it to be very interesting and thought provoking, he even remembered singing a few of these songs with his mother from time to time, but he very well couldn't let Millay or the others know any of that, or he wouldn't hear the end of the teasing until his graduation day. He noticed that Millay was still standing there waiting for a response from him, so he replied coolly: "Yes, I am. So I'm just going to ask flat out if there's absolutely any way I can get out of this?"
Millay shook her head firmly, shoulder length blonde hair bouncing as she did so: "Nope. No way out. You should know that by now my dear vice-president."
Lelouch shook his head and couldn't help but chuckle in response: "Yes. It was stupid of me to even ask. Please...continue with your explanation President."
The energetic blonde grinned and then turned to address everyone: "Okay people. As you all know, every year around this time, the student council is asked to sponsor a certain event, but this year...I decided it was time for a change."
From the audience, Lelouch's friend Suzaku Kururugi raised a curious eyebrow: "A change?"... "What kind of change?"
Millay's ocean blue eyes met his emerald ones as her grin grew even wider: "I'm glad you asked me that my dear Suzaku. It's because this is also will be your official induction into the student council."
Lelouch glanced up from the piano keys long enough to notice his friend growing slightly nervous, and he heard him ask in a slightly confused manner: "My official induction?"... "What do you mean?"
Millay chuckled: "You're going to be in this play. It's a very famous novel and musical entitled...The Phantom of the Opera."
Suzaku's eyes widened as he then proceeded to shake his head furiously: "No. No way. I can't sing. Didn't I tell you that if we ever did any kind of productions like this, that I specifically want to be a stagehand?"... "Manual labor is fine, but singing?!"... "I'm sorry, but I can't do that."
Millay shook her head, a small smile still lingering upon her lips: "Aww...that's too bad, but unfortunately...you have no choice. Everyone must participate by order of not only me, but the school dean as well."
Suzaku heaved a heavy, defeated sigh: "I guess I have no choice either now...do I?"
Millay shook her head and grinned impishly: "Nope. Sorry, but trust me. I'll make this worth your while." She scanned through the audience and counted heads. It was when she got to the third row that she noticed someone was missing...a particularly loud someone: "Hey...where's Rivalz?"... "I told him there were auditions today." She heaved a heavy, tired sigh: "Oh well. It doesn't matter. He'll get here when he gets here I guess." She eyed Suzaku: "Since he's not here, you get to audition first." The spunky blonde then proceeded to yank the speechless soldier up to the stage and thrust some extra sheet music at both him and Lelouch: "Maestro...tickle the ivories if you please...and Suzaku...this is just a speaking part, but read it as dramatically as you can okay?"... "I'll respond as Christine so you don't lose your place in the dialogue." She took a seat on a nearby chair and waited for Suzaku to follow.
Suzaku heaved another defeated sigh and nodded as Lelouch chuckled and began to softly play the piano in the background as his friend read: "Little Lottie...let her mind wander."... "Little Lottie thought...am I fonder of dolls, or of goblins, or shoes?"
Millay looked lovingly up at him and responded as Christine: "Raoul..."
Suzaku continued reading with a light chuckle at the beginning of this sentence as the script indicated: "Or of riddles or frocks?"
Millay smiled and responded again with a smile as Christine: "Those picnics in the attic."
Suzaku smiled warmly in return and responded: "Or of chocolates?"
Millay continued to smile lovingly as Suzaku walked over and knelt down next to her where she sat, and delicately touching her hand as the script indicated. She blushed slightly and read the line: "Father playing the violin..."
Suzaku looked up at her and smiled as he read: "As you read to each other...dark stories of the north."
Millay shook her head and responded as Christine: "No."... "What I love best..." Lottie said, "Is when I'm asleep in my bed..." Millay then began to sing: "and the angel of music sings songs in my head..." She motioned for Suzaku to harmonize with her as Raoul, which he reluctantly did. So now the two finished their scene by singing: "The angel of music sings songs in my head."
Millay then clapped her hands and grinned to indicate that the scene was over, and Lelouch could stop playing: "Great job Suzaku!"... "You see?!"... "That wasn't so hard now was it?"
Suzaku turned a slight red in embarrassment and looked away: "No. Not really...but I have a feeling you're not done with me yet."
The blue-eyed blonde chuckled and patted his head as if he were a lost little child: "Very good. How very perceptive you are Suzu-kun." She then turned to Lelouch: "Lulu...you were a touch flat on the first part, and you kinda sped up a little too much at the end."
Lelouch sighed heavily and shook his head: "Hey...I haven't played in a few years. What do you want from me?"
Millay simply chuckled at his frustrated tone: "I just want you to slow down." She then quickly turned back to Suzaku: "Oh...and Suzu-kun. You need to be just a little louder next time okay?"... "Don't let Lulu's loud, speedy piano playing overshadow your lovely voice."
Lelouch simply shook his head as Suzaku groaned: "I told you I can't do this!"... "I'm just not a good actor."
Millay raised a golden eyebrow: "I don't buy that."... "Something tells me that you are, but in case you still don't believe me, watch a master at work. She handed Lelouch her music and began to sing Christine's "Think of Me" aria in a very nice, yet; very loud and powerful voice, causing Lelouch to twitch slightly when she would hit the high notes. He shook his head as he played the piano and thought: "Her voice is far too loud for this song. When mother, Nunnally, and I went to see this play awhile ago, the girl who sang it had a powerful voice like this, but it was softer. Since then, I kind of always wanted to hear this song sung that way again."
Once Millay was finished with her aria, she then turned around and announced: "Okay. Since we're very short on talent, I've made a few phone calls and got ourselves some more actors. My fiancée Count Lloyd has agreed to take one of the manager's parts, and his assistant Miss Cecil will take the other. So that takes care of those parts. Now...for our next entry.." She looked around again...still no sigh of Rivalz, so she glanced at Shirley and grinned: "You're next Shirley."... "Sing us something. Here..." She gave the shocked Shirley her aria and replied: "Sing this."
The red-headed girl briefly glanced shyly in Lelouch's direction before turning away and nodding as she jumped onto the stage and began singing. The way Shirley sang the same aria was quite different than the way Millay had sung it. Her voice was soft and delicate, as it should sound for this song; but
Lelouch couldn't help but notice that something was missing. As he turned the pages of his sheet music, he couldn't help but think: "Shirley has the delicate and gentle part down, but the problem is...I can barely hear her." While Millay had been belting the tune out loudly with a powerful voice that had no innocence to it at all, Shirley's voice seemed to be too innocent.
Millay nodded and clapped as Shirley finished the piece: "Great job Shirley!"... "Very nice."... "I even think Lulu was impressed." She then glanced at Lelouch with a smile as she finished her thought: "Weren't you?"
Lelouch smiled and nodded as he casually ran his fingers through his short, black hair: "Of course."... "Very pretty." He noticed the red-headed girl blush bright red at his compliment and mentally scolded himself: "What?!"... "I wasn't gonna tell her she wasn't loud enough. It's better for a person to hear compliments...it builds self esteem."
Millay turned her attention to Suzaku once again, the impish grin on her face reminding him of that of the Cheshire cat's from Alice in Wonderland. It was at that moment that he felt a slight shiver run down his spine before he asked: "I take it you're really not finished with me...am I correct?"
Millay giggled and nodded: "You read me so well Suzu-kun. I do , in fact; have another surprise for you...but you have to close your eyes, count to three, and think of the person you most want to see; otherwise, your wish won't come true."
Suzaku raised a curious eyebrow, appearing to be as puzzled as ever: "What do you mean?"... "Why wouldn't it come true?"
Lelouch shook his head and sighed tiredly as he rubbed his aching temples. He could feel a headache coming on and there was nothing he could do about it: "Just do what she says so we can get on with this."... "My hands are cramping up." He loudly cracked his knuckles to emphasize his point.
Kallen, who had remained silently sitting on the steps of the stage awaiting her turn; cringed at the sound of his knuckles cracking: "Could you please not do that Lelouch. One of my friends used to do that and it totally grosses me out."
Lelouch chuckled, and just to annoy her; he cracked his knuckles again, earning himself one of Kallen's signature death glares.
In the meantime, the reluctant Suzaku closed his eyes and silently counted to three as Millay had instructed, and when he opened them, he came face to face with Princess Euphemia; dressed in a white peasant top and a long, pink skirt. She cheerily greeted him with a smile: "Hello Suzaku-kun."
The fair-haired soldier's green eyes widened in shock, as did Lelouch's, who's hand then slipped; causing him to hit a really loud, flat note on the piano. Everyone turned to see where the noise came from, and when they did; Lelouch simply laughed embarrassed: "Heh...Heh...ummm...oops."... "Sorry."... "I guess my hand just slipped."
In the meantime, his inner self was panicking: "What is she doing here?!"... "Who'd she leave in charge to guard Area 11 today?!"... "God. I hope it's not that "Orange" guy." He glanced over at Suzaku, who's face was a slight red, and shook his head as he watched his friend fumble the few words he tried to utter.
Suzaku, in his shocked state, and after five minutes of staring; finally managed to speak a coherent sentence by asking in his usual calm voice: "Euphemia-sama. Why are you here?"..."I mean...is there something wrong?"... "Do you need me to be at my post." He was, after all; her Knight, and he would never be able to forgive himself if when she needed him the most, he wasn't there.
The pink-haired princess giggled and shook her head firmly: "No...no...I'm fine...and everything's alright."... "I'm here because Miss Millay asked me to be in your play."
Lelouch's violet eyes widened slightly and he heard Kallen nearby mutter under her breath as she played around with her cell phone: "She'll probably automatically get the lead. Stupid puppet princess. Oh well...at least this will be over with soon."
Suzaku smiled warmly at Euphemia: "Really?!"... "You're going to be in the play?!"
Euphemia nodded and smiled back: "Oh yes...and I've even been given my part already."
Suzaku looked at her curiously and asked: "You already know?"... "But today's the first day of auditions."
Euphemia brushed a tress of her long, pink hair behind her ear, and explained; that warm smile still upon her lips: "Well...Miss Millay needed extra help, so when Count Lloyd requested to meet with me and discuss this play, I couldn't say no...so I agreed to take a part. It won't be the lead since I don't have enough time to offer for that; but it is still a very significant part."
Suzaku nodded and smiled softly: "That's great."... "It'll be fun doing something like this together."..."I look forward to it."
The pink princess blushed slightly, and before she could say anything in response to that; Rivalz finally came bounding in extra late: "Sorry I'm late!"... "I had a make-up test in math."... "What did I miss?!"
Millay sighed heavily and shook her head with a grin: "Oh nothing...just all of the first day of auditions, but don't worry. We'll be having more auditions tomorrow, and you'll be first."
Rivalz heaved a defeated, tired sigh in response: "This is what I get for rushing through that make-up test."..."I bet I failed again too." He then turned around and noticed Princess Euphemia was standing not ten feet away from him and nearly did a double take: "Oh...my...god!"... "It's Princess Euphemia!"
Euphemia chuckled as Millay rushed over to cover the loud boy's mouth and then drag him to the auditorium entrance. She then turned to address everyone: "We shall finish up with auditions tomorrow, so that's a wrap for today guys." As everyone cleared out, Millay stopped Lelouch at the door and asked in a pleading tone: "You'll clean up won't you?"
Lelouch sighed heavily for what seemed like the hundredth time that day: "I guess I have no choice in this either huh?"
She simply grinned and shook her head in response: "Just remember to lock up when you leave."..and with that, she was gone.
Lelouch shook his head, and ran a tired hand through his dark hair: "Thank god this day is finally over. I can finally get back to more important matters." He thumbed through his cell phone as he continued to clean up the papers on the floor and thought: "Damn it!"... "Where is Ougi's number?!"... "I thought I saved it in my contact list." He threw all the scrap paper in the trash and then sat down really low in the chairs just in case Millay was still watching from somewhere nearby. As he was going through the numbers in his phone, he heard a soft, yet strong voice singing: "In sleep he sang to me."... "In dreams he came."... "That voice which calls to me...and speaks my name."
Lelouch peered carefully over the seats and his eyes widened in disbelief. Kallen was still on stage...apparently she had misplaced something and was singing to herself as she was looking for it: "And do I dream again. For now I find..."... "The phantom of the opera is there...inside my mind." The violet eyed prince then noticed her smile and nod as she lifted up a piece of paper and found her red razor cell phone under it. Lelouch was shocked beyond belief, he could not believe that this was the same girl who was his "Ace of the Black Knights." Her voice just then was beautiful, so much so that he felt drawn to it somehow. He checked around the corner, behind him, in front of him, from side to side...just to make sure there was no sign of Millay, or anyone else for that matter, and it was then that a small mischievous smile turned up on his face as he thought: "I'm going to have a little fun with this. Just as long as Millay or anyone else doesn't see me, it should be fine." He crawled on his knees through the tall theater chairs in the auditorium, and tiptoed silently up to the fifth box balcony where he kept the lights turned off as he carefully hid behind the curtains that hung there. He then took a deep breath to prepare, and just as Kallen was starting to head for the door; he sang the next part of the song: "Sing once again with me...our strange duet."... "My power over you...grows stronger yet..."
Kallen's ocean blue eyes widened in surprise as she quickly turned around, ready for a fight as she called out in a hiss: "Who's there?!"
Instead of responding with an answer, Lelouch responded by finishing his part of the song in a mysterious sounding tone very like the phantom's: "and though you turn from me...to glance behind."... "The phantom of the opera is there...inside your mind."
Kallen, still startled and with her small pocket knife at the ready; stopped getting agitated by this for a minute, and carefully slid her weapon back into her coin purse. She nodded to herself and a small smirk suddenly appeared on her face as she decided to respond with the next verse, hoping that would help her find the person that was spying on her: "Those who have seen your face...draw back in fear."... "I am the mask you wear..."
The mysterious man's voice sang the next verse: "It's me they hear." Then they both sang together as Kallen continued to slowly approach the direction the voice was coming from. She sang: "Your spirit and my voice..." While the voice sang in harmony with her: "My spirit and your voice..." Then they both paused and then sang: "In one combined."... "The phantom of the opera is there...inside my mind." Just at that moment, the cunning Ace of the Black Knights approached the balcony and quickly drew the curtains, revealing nothing but thin air. She heaved a sigh containing frustration, weariness, and anger all rolled into one: "Damn!"... "I was sure someone was here!"... "Oh well." She turned to walk out the door and stopped as a thought suddenly occurred to her: "Whoever it was sounded an awful lot like..." She continued thinking about it for a minute before then abruptly shaking her head and responding: "Nah...no way."
As Kallen turned and left the auditorium one way, Lelouch, who was now hiding in the next balcony over, who was relieved that he hadn't been caught; chuckled as he slung his school briefcase over his shoulder, and walked the other way.
In the meantime, Millay grinned mischievously as she had been peering into the auditorium from a crack in one of the side doors: "Something tells me this is going to be the best production the student council will ever put on."
Okay minna...that's the end of this chapter. -smiles- So...what does Millay have planned for the next day's auditions? What exactly is the part that Euphemia received before anyone else?...and Will Rivalz be on time for auditions this time? Lol...All of these answers and more will be revealed in the next installment, so stay tuned! -giggles- Just make sure you press that little blue button on the bottom that says review cause the gorgeous Lelouch and I would greatly appreciate it. Don't make him use his Geass on you. Lol
