An Endless Love
Quiet Please, There's a Lady on Stage
"Kristi!"
Kristina had only just entered the green room. Why did everyone insist on attacking her the moment she entered? She softly slid the door shut behind her and turned to the Stage Manager.
"What's the problem?"
Kristina looked at Lauren and knew that the news could not be good. She began to twist her hair around her finger. She was terrified she was going to be lectured for arriving late or for having to skip a few shows in the past few weeks.
"Nadia's sick; she won't be coming in tonight. I need you to cover for her and take the lead tonight."
"But what about my role?"
The Stage Manager shrugged a shoulder. "We can deal without your role for a few nights."
"I might not fit into Nadia's costumes."
"We have time to make some minor alterations. Kristina, stop coming up with excuses and get ready."
She had no idea why she was resisting the idea of understudying Nadia. This was her chance to see how she liked being the leading lady for a night or two. This was her trial run for West End. Who knows, maybe a West End producer would be in the audience tonight and would ask her to be in his show! With that hopeful thought in mind, Kristina went to get Nadia's costume.
A while later, Kristina stood in the wings, waiting for her cue and twisting the hair of her wig. She stepped out onto the stage and froze. She blinked at the bright lights and tried to still her shaking.
Mietta was speaking to her. She tilted her head to the side and repeated her line. Kristina murmured her lines and watched Mietta exit the stage. She began to shake again. Once Mietta was off the stage, she would be singing her first solo.
She opened her mouth to sing the first notes at the conductor's cue. Nothing came out. She swallowed and looked at the conductor. She began again, this time a squeak emerged, followed by a few wobbly notes.
Kristina closed her eyes and willed her voice to perform. By the end of the song, her voice was echoing through the little theatre. Her voice was not as strong as the actress' voice she had heard this afternoon, but it was not bad. Her voice cracked slightly on the highest note, but she smiled brightly, covering the mistake. Hopefully if she smiled enough everything would work out. She breathed a sigh of relief when the song was over. Her next song would not be as difficult now that she had been alone on stage. At her cue to exit, Kristina left the stage and began to pull off her costume as she ran through the backstage area.
"You're doing well, Kristi," Mietta assured her and pressed a kiss on her cheek before heading back onstage.
Erik sat in the back row of the dress circle. In the darkness of the little theatre, no one could see the black half mask that covered the right side of his face. He was not sure why he had decided to attend the theatre that night. He tried to avoid amateur performances; they typically tended to be poor quality. However, when he saw the poster advertising his favourite play, Erik could not pass up the opportunity.
Thus far the performance had been mediocre. He had been rather looking forward to seeing Nadia Rivers in the part of the female lead; she was well respected in London amateur theatre. However, he had been disappointed to hear that Nadia would not be performing tonight. A certain Kristina Dyas, a member of the chorus, had been called in to understudy.
He watched as Kristina entered the stage and winced when her voice emerged in a shaky squeak. Erik silently cursed his stupidity. Why had he chosen tonight of all nights to see the play? Why did he have to attend the night when the less than passable chorus member took the part of the lead?
Eventually Kristina found herself within the song. Her voice was light and had, hidden beneath bad teaching, a purity that he had not heard in years; in one hundred and twenty-eight years to be precise. Erik found himself sitting forward in his seat, watching Kristina move across the stage, entranced by her voice. She reached for the high note, and found it, giving Erik a glimpse at her hidden talent and making him smile with boyish excitement.
He could sense a slight feeling of confusion and vulnerability in the girl and wondered what had caused it. He doubted that anyone else would pick up on it, but he could. She seemed lost, as if she did not know what she was doing or why she had been chosen to perform the lead. Good, that would make his job easier.
She was gifted. She needed a little training perhaps, but he could see the potential, bursting to get out. He could easily see her on a stage in the West End – or even Royal Albert Hall.
The corners of Erik's mouth turned up in a smile.
"Kristi! You were brilliant!" Mietta cried as she wrapped her friend in a tight embrace.
"Amazing!" the conductor agreed. "You should be very proud of yourself, Kristina."
"You have to come down to the pub with us to celebrate your first night as lead. It's Lauren's shout," Mietta continued. "Maybe with her paying you can have something more than a dodgy house wine!"
Kristina shook off Mietta's praise and that of the other cast members. She gave them thankful smiles and quick hugs as she rushed to change out of her costume. She was just slipping on her shoes when a continuous knocking sounded on the door.
"Kristi, Kristi!" Mietta's voice reached her through the door.
"Let me finish dressing, Mietta!" she shouted and threw her brush at the door. She shook her head as the knocking increased to a pounding. A minute later, she threw open the door and gave Mietta a playful slap.
"Are you coming with us?"
Laughing, Kristina wrapped her arm around Mietta's waist and together they headed for Stage Door. The two headed out into the courtyard, which was still filled with patrons. There, a few other members of the cast and their partners greeted them.
"You were amazing, Kristina! I didn't know you could sing," Mietta's sister, Danica said as she gave them both a hug. "Your talent is wasted in the chorus. Who would have thought you could sing so well!"
Kristina laughed. "You know you do have to have some singing ability to be in the chorus."
Kristina, Mietta and Danica spent the next few minutes laughing and talking in the courtyard. Kristina glanced around at the shadows. She was sure that someone was staring at her. Something was making the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She gave a little shudder and rubbed her hands over her arms. But when she squinted into the shadows, she could not see anyone.
She shrugged it off and headed to the pub with Mietta and Danica.
Erik followed Kristina and her small group of friends to the pub. He took a seat in the corner, close to the door and watched her carefully. With her hair covered first by a blonde wig and then in a cap, Erik was able to notice just how like his Christine she looked.
Like Christine, Kristina had dark brown curls that he knew would be soft to touch. Her face was a perfect oval shape. He was not certain, but he thought that she would also have dark brown eyes. Her lips however, were unlike Christine's: full and red and begging to be kissed.
He watched her muck around and joke with her cast and the techies. She jumped up from her chair and wrapped her arms around the neck of one of the cast members and pressed a kiss on his cheek. Erik glared at the man. He could not believe Kristina was so free with her affections. Although he did his best to keep up with all of the changes that had taken place in society over the years, Erik still had trouble adjusting to some changes.
The next three evenings, Erik bought tickets for the play and watched it from what was now his seat in the back row. He watched in pride as Kristina's voice blossomed with her ever-increasing confidence. Her voice no longer wobbled or cracked and she did not look as if she was about to pass out from anxiety. She now owned the role.
On the fifth evening, Erik was disappointed to learn that Nadia had recovered from her illness and would be performing the lead role. He sat back in his seat, comparing the abilities of the two women. Despite the fact that she was only in the chorus – and that she reminded him of Christine – Erik was convinced that Kristina was the better singer. She had a way of feeling what the character was feeling that Nadia lacked.
As he had done for the past four nights, Erik waited for Kristina at the Stage Door. Unlike every other night, she left alone tonight. Instead of being besieged by friends and patrons who wished to talk and congratulate her, tonight Kristina was able to make her way unseen through the crowd. She paused as she spoke to one of the ladies at front of house before making her way across the courtyard to the gates.
Erik noticed the way she would glance over her shoulder as if she could sense him watching her. She had done that every night. That was impossible, he reminded himself. In all his years, he had never heard of a human woman being sensitive. Realising that Kristina was about to leave, Erik easily stepped into her path, blocking her exit.
"Kristina."
She glanced up at Erik and clutched her hand to her breast. The man who seemed to have come from nowhere was handsome. He was a little shorter than the average man, but he was gorgeous – almost unnaturally gorgeous. His black hair seemed to shine in the soft moonlight of the open courtyard and his eyes were the most amazing gold colour. He looked at her with such admiration and tenderness that Kristina could not help but smile at him. His eyes seemed to reflect his emotions so clearly. What surprised her most, however, was the black mask that covered half of his face. She wondered for a moment why he was wearing it. She smiled to herself as her mind came up several unlikely explanations, including that he was a fan obsessed with The Phantom of the Opera. The mask did not worry her. She once went out with a friend who wore a headband with ears from a child's program to a performance at the theatre. It was nothing out of the ordinary. She shrugged off all thoughts of his mask; it took a great deal to faze her.
"Can I help you?" she asked harsher than she intended. She was tired and wanted to go home. It was quite a shock to be back to an insignificant chorus member after nearly a week of being the lead.
"I was hoping I would be able to help you," he said in a silky voice with a subtle hint of a French accent. He inhaled her sweet scent and closed his eyes with pleasure.
Kristina did not know what to make of the man's comment. She was in no mood to deal with a mysterious man – no matter how handsome and seductive he appeared.
"I don't mean to be rude, but I'm rather tired. Would you mind telling me how you can help? Quickly?"
Erik raised a brow at her attitude. Clearly her short stint as the lead had gone to her head. He would have to beat that out of her if she accepted his offer. He would not have her becoming a Prima Donna. What made a good performer was humility. He gestured to one of the benches that lined the perimeter of the courtyard and waited for Kristina to sit down before joining her.
"I have been to several performances. I have seen you both as the lead and also in the chorus. I am very impressed by your vocal talent, Kristina. You have an ability to command the audience's attention – even when you are in the chorus."
"If you have seen Nadia, you will know that she is far better than me!" she insisted.
"No, she is not," Erik admitted simply. "Your voice is far more pure and accurate than Nadia's. You remind me of a lady I knew long ago," he added softly to himself, almost as an afterthought.
Erik remembered Christine and her beautiful voice. He could never forget her. He had loved Christine with all his heart. Just the sound of her voice could move him to tears. Kristina's voice was nearly as pure as Christine's. When he looked at Kristina, he could easily forget that he was looking at a woman born over one hundred years later. If he taught her, he could sculpt her into a modern day Christine!
"What is it that you want?"
"It is not so much as what I want, but what you want, Kristina."
She tilted her head to the side and crossed her arms over her chest. "And what do you know of what I want?"
"You want to perform in West End, of course. You want something more than what this little theatre can give you. With some voice lessons you will be able to achieve your dreams. What do you say, Kristina? Will you allow me to teach you?"
Kristina stared at Erik, too taken aback by his question to respond for a while. How could he know that? She had only ever told Roy her secret; she was too scared that the others would belittle her dream. "You want to teach me so that I can perform in the West End?" She could not believe that this had just happened! Someone was offering to help her so that she could reach her dream. It just seemed far too good to be true. What did he expect in return? She could not afford to pay for overpriced singing lessons. "I can't really afford anything too expensive."
Erik shrugged a negligent shoulder. He did not need the money. He had put his money in an investment account before he was turned. He now had a very tidy sum of money to support his lifestyle.
"I need time before I make up my mind."
Erik inclined his head even as he failed to understand what she had to think about. He had just offered her all her dreams. "You may have as long as you wish."
"How will I get in contact with you?"
"I will be here every performance."
Kristina looked at him in a combination of nervousness and excitement. She found it slightly disturbing that this man was so interested in her that he would watch her every show – even if she were just in the chorus. But he clearly saw something in her that she could not. Maybe she was worth it.
Convinced that she would never be offered such a wonderful opportunity again, Kristina nearly made up her mind on the spot. She wanted to talk to Roy and see what he thought before she made her final decision.
Erik turned on his heel, prepared to leave her, but stopped when Kristina called out to him. She folded her arms across her breasts. "How do I know this isn't a joke?"
Offended, Erik tilted his head as he assessed the brunette in front of him. "I do not joke about music, Kristina. I have been composing my entire life. I have trained some of the best singers known to man; I even tutored the Opéra Garnier's leading lady."
Kristina found herself swaying at the seductively spoken words. That was a very impressive résumé…if what he just told her was true! "Meet me here tomorrow after the matinee and I will give you my answer."
Erik looked apprehensive for a brief moment. "I am afraid that is not possible."
Assuming that he worked during the day, Kristina shrugged. "Tomorrow night then." She gave him a small smile and headed home.
Erik watched her leave with a satisfied smile playing across his face. It was not a bad first meeting. She would come around. If she did not do so of her own free will, there were other ways.