WELL I DIDDNT GET MANY REVEIWS, BUT THAT WONT DETERE ME, THIS WILL BE MY NEW PET PROJECT, THE STORY I WRITE BETWEEN CHAPTERS SO MY MUSE WONT GET BORED.

ALSO, THIS IS NOT THE SAME OPERA HOUSE AS IN THE STORY, REMEMBER THEY'RE IN ENGLAND NOW, NOT FRANCE.

I MAY HAVE FORGOTTEN THE DISCLAIMER FOR THE LAST CHAPTER, SO FOR BOTH, I DONT OWN PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, I JUST LOVE THE PHANTOM

CHAPTER TWO

"Ow!" Elizabeth gasped as she yanked her finger away from her embroidery and scowled. On her finger appeared a shiny bead of ruby red blood. It was one of many from pricking holes in her sewing.

"Oh Elizabeth!" said her younger sister Abigail as she shook her head "Can't you at least lay one pattern without hurting yourself?" she took her sisters hand and sucked on the bleeding finger.

Elizabeth smiled affectionately "I feel stupid doing this Abi; I have no talent at it."

"No, you don't!" agreed Abigail, "But don't worry, there are loads of people who cant's sew sister. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

Elizabeth said nothing, she only smiled and nodded as she picked up her embroidery and started again.

It was a warm sunny evening, and she had her sister had decided to sit out on the balcony and practice their needle work, or more, Elizabeth was practicing. Abigail was mastering it.

She snuck a peak at her sisters work. Flawless, as usual.

Abigail was so talented; she could make it seem almost real. It was of a mermaid with tendrils of long flowing red hair and a tail as beautiful bottle green, she was staring out into a orange sunset. Every stitch was in place, every stitch told a story of endless colour and magic.

Then she looked down at her work. She was attempting to do a rose pattern, but now it looked more like a bud. The red stitched, as red as her blood, were uneven and odd, sticking out in places it shouldn't. It looked like something a child would do and it was something she had been trying to do for the past nineteen years with no such luck. Still, it kept her busy and as her mother never forgot to mention, a busy woman was a happy woman.

"Elizabeth!" ah, speak of the d—"Mother!" Elizabeth smiled as she turned in her chair "I was just thinking about you."

Her mother, Sophia Ashwin, was around forty and eight (or so she said) and still looked beautiful for her age.

Her once blond hair not had specks of sliver as it curled around her shoulders in a pretty manner that was all the new rage these days. Her face was covered in powder so you couldn't be sure what colour it was, she was a woman who never went anywhere without makeup. Her hands clasped at her lap and her mouth twisted into an eternal half smile. You could tell she took great pride in her appearance. She resembled Abigail, only Abigail was lovelier.

She was the thin beauty with her mother's deep blue eyes framed in long lashes, rosy cheeks and butter blond hair tied up in an elegant bun.

Sophia glanced with upmost distaste at the embroidery in her daughter's hands "Really Elizabeth, what on earth is that monstrosity?" she asked coldly.

Elizabeth looked down in submissive shame "I am sorry it is not to your liking mother..."

"Of course it's not to my liking! You are nearly twenty and still can't embroil a simple rose pattern!"

"You know that birds are more to my taste in embroidery mother." Elizabeth pointed out.

"Yes, and they are beautiful darling, but you need to have more horizon, try being more like your sister here" she said, placing a hand on Abigail's shoulders as she smiled with pride, Elizabeth's heart clenched tightly, painfully.

"You my dear" she said to her other daughter "are a complete natural, I have never seen anything more beautiful."

Abigail dipped her head "Thank-you mother."

"Now Elizabeth, you really must learn these things, I mean how are you ever going to find a good husband if you aren't a well rounded lady?" she said, turning back to her "why don't you go inside and practice your piano forte with your sister? Heavens knows you need it."

Elizabeth kept her face still as she stood with the grace of a high borne lady and swept out the room with a quiet "Of course mother"

But inside she was seething. Elizabeth was a person with great pride and it hurt to have been humiliated like this. But what could she do?

Elizabeth was the oldest sister out of four, five if you counted her baby sister Charlotte. First there was her, and then there were her younger sisters Hermione, Abigail, Verity and Charlotte, the five Ashwin sisters.

Hermione was another fair one, both her and Abigail. With their butter blond hair and icy blue eyes that could stop the heart of any man.

Her mother and father were noblemen and the Ashwin family were old and rich blood, so they had certain obligations, obligations that Elizabeth had problems fulfilling.

She turned the corner to hear the soft sound of a piano playing. She entered the drawing room to see her sister Verity playing the piano. She took after their grandmother on mother's side with chestnut brown hair and dark brown eyes.

She stood in the corner and watched her play for a while, at first it was a perfect version of something from Mozart, but then it melded into something Elizabeth knew was her sisters own original work. Verity was practically famous for a beautiful piano playing; people always requested it of her at balls. Elizabeth could play also, but nowhere near as good as Verity.

After a few minutes Verity stopped and stretched as she turned and spotted her elder sister. "Oh! Hello Elizabeth."

Elizabeth nodded "I was going to practice some piano, but I won't interrupt you."

"Oh no, please, I was just finishing, we all know you could use the practice."

Elizabeth bit back a remark and sat down beside her sister as she began to play the rest of the Mozart song that Verity was playing, and although it was adequate, it was, compared to Verity's it was a terrible imitation.

Eventually Elizabeth gave up and turned to her sister who was smiling kindly. "Never mind"

"It's ok" Elizabeth smiled "I'm just not as good as you are, I'll get better."

"Exactly, that's the spirit, I'm sure you'll find something you're good at. Do you want to try again?"

Elizabeth stopped for a moment at her comment before shaking her head "No, it's alright, I was thinking of taking a carriage down to the bakers anyway, I wanted to try the cream teas they served there, I was told they were divine."

"Oh, well bring me a cream puff then" she smiled.

Elizabeth exited the bakery with a smile on her face "Come along Linda" she said to her maid "Let us be on our way." She reached up and climbed into the carriage as her maidservant followed after her.

"Miss, you really shouldn't eat so much, what will your mother say..."

"My mother says a lot of things Linda; I tend not to listen to them."

Linda giggled. If it were anyone she would not have dared, but Elizabeth, unlike the rest of her family, was a gentle sort with an open mind.

Elizabeth watched the scenery begin to speed past her as she returned to her home.

She thought of that morning with the embroidery.

It wasn't that Elizabeth was bad at the things she did, it was only that compared to her sisters it wasn't good enough. All her sisters were the best at something (even little Charlotte who was certainly the best screamer). Hermione at her watercolours; Verity with her musical instruments and Abigail with her embroidery and other such things.

Elizabeth however, she was the plain Jane of the family. She took after her father in looks. Instead of chestnut brown or golden blond; Elizabeth's hair was black as ebony, it curled in some places but hung straight in a way that made her mother frown because it was so difficult to put up, she preferred overly curly hair. Her eyes were her mother's at least, a brilliant blue. Her face wasn't that pale white everyone loved about her sisters, instead it was a peaches and cream colour, her cheeks weren't rosy and she wasn't delicate or small. At least she was tall, but her mother so detested tall girls. She said the smaller you were, the more likely to snag a husband as men liked weak women.

It wasn't that she was ugly; actually, Elizabeth was very beautiful. But when in the presence of her sisters she always looked the odd one out.

And that wasn't all.

Elizabeth's family were very well known members of the Ton for having old blood and being very wealthy. But also because every member of the family was exceptionally talented at something. Even her mother and father, her father had a real eye for trade and that was how he made his living. Her mother had once been a beautiful violinist.

Elizabeth however, she was only mediocre at everything she did and anything she did her sisters could always do it better than her, so her mother didn't pay much attention to her.

It was sometimes a little unnerving, having to always live in the shadows of your younger sisters, but Elizabeth put up with it, she had already accepted the fact that there was absolutely nothing special about her and she would be married of for money. After all, did something amazing ever happen for the eldest daughter in any story?

Suddenly Elizabeth blinked out of her thoughts, this wasn't the way home.

"Driver!" she called to the man at the head of the carriage.

"Yes 'Mam?"

"What is going on? Why aren't we going the usual way?"

"Oh, you see Mam, there's so much traffic that way, I know this is the longer path, but I'll guarantee you it's quicker then what we would have taken."

Elizabeth nodded "Very well then, carry on."

He clicked his tongue and snapped at the reigns to urge the horse foreword.

They rode for a while longer then it would have usually taken. This was a good neighbourhood, but it was not one she frequenting about. They were going through a thickly wooded area and Elizabeth was losing sight of the town.

Then something caught her eye, a beautiful, huge building peeking through the trees. The carving on the front was something to behold and there was something about it she couldn't stop herself from calling out "Stop the carriage."

The carriage stopped and Elizabeth rushed out, her maid hot on her heels "Miss! Miss" she called.

But Elizabeth did not stop till she was practically standing at the foot of the stairs of the place.

It was even more beautiful then she had thought,

And then she heard it.

The soft sound of an piano playing.

It was so soft she could barely hear it, but its music was so beautiful and sad that Elizabeth felt sad herself, what a heartbreaking song. It was even more beautiful than her sisters playing. Verity only played each note to perfection, this organ played the emotions behind the song.

"What is that music?" she whispered

"Music Miss? What music?"

"Music Linda, the piano, can't you hear it?"

"No miss." Linda shook her head.

That was to be expected, Elizabeth had always had a good sense of hearing.

"What is this place?"

"Why Miss, 'Tis only an old opera house. It closed down many years ago."

An opera house? How strange, she hadn't known there was one here, and so close to home too. And then suddenly the music stopped, so suddenly that Elizabeth began to wonder if it was only in her mind.

Linda tugged at her sleeve "Please miss, begging your pardon but your mother will start to worry about where you are."

The mention of her mother snapped Elizabeth back to reality "Yes, let us go" she agreed as she allowed Linda to lead her back to the carriage. And all the while they were driving away, the sight of the opera house never left the corner of her eye until it disappeared in the distance.

That night, Elizabeth went to sleep with her mind filled with a strange sorrowful sound of an organ playing.

NEW CHAPTER

IM SA3D I DIDDNT GET ANY REVEIWS, BUT THAT'S OK, I REALLY WANT TO WRITE THIS STORY

ALTHOUGH, I WOULD REALLY LOVE SOME REVEIWS PEOPLE

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