Chapter two
Erik sat at the piano, watching intently from a small platform as Collette moved about the stage, dressed in a blue gown, performing as Belle for the first time after three grueling days of rehearsal. "You monster!" She cried in the direction the beast had just exited from.
If you think that what you've done is right, well then
Think again!
You're a fool!
This is home?
Erik almost cringed; she had messed up the words. Well, at least she didn't make the beginner's mistake of stopping when she did. He thought, and continued to play.
Is this where I should learn to be happy?
Never dreamed
That a home could be dark and cold
Dark and cold. Thought Erik, he felt the sharp sting of regret creeping into the back of his throat. He began to think of another young soprano he had once known, and loved. Christine…
My heart's far, far away
Home is too
Is this home
Is this what I must learn to believe in
Try to find
Something good in this tragic place
Just in case
I should stay here forever
Held in this empty place
Christine Daae, he thought. A day had never passed when he hadn't thought of her; in an idle thought, a bout of sorrow, or on those many, cold nights where he slept alone in the small, dark hole he called home. But now, watching Collette Bordeaux singing a passionate song about home, he was instantly filled with a sadness he hadn't felt for many years.
Home's a lie
What I'd give to return
To the life that I knew lately
But I know that I can't
Solve my problems going back
Stop it, Erik! He thought, clenching his jaw. Christine is gone; she chose that fop Raoul over you, it's over! And even if she wanted to come back to you, you'll never see her again! That was true; even if Christine had wanted to see him it was impossible now. She had died in a house fire many years earlier; her love had died with her.
Is this home?
Am I here for a day or forever?
Shut away
From the world until who knows when?
Focus Erik, he thought, bringing his hands back into the smooth rhythm they had had before. And, step, he thought as Collette took a step forward, turning towards the spotlight for the final few measures of the song.
Nothing lasts, nothing holds
All of me
My heart's far, far away
Home and free!"
Collette turned her face heavenward as she hit her final note. A hushed silence fell over the theatre for a moment, and the audience burst into applause. Good, Collette, thought Erik, turning in his sheet music to the next song.
…
The company had gathered onstage one more to sing the finale as the newly transformed Beast and Belle danced together onstage.
Tale as old as time,
Song as old as rhyme,
Beauty and the beast!
The audience stood and cheered as the cast stepped forward one at a time to take a bow, Collette received the loudest applause of all. The cast then stepped back as the curtain closed. The audience erupted into excited chatter. Erik heard much of it as he gathered his music.
"That was great!" said one man in the front row.
"I enjoyed it very much!" said a woman. "The candelabrum was very funny!"
"What about that woman, Collette Bordeaux who played Belle today?"
"Well, she's no Myrla Augustine but she does have a nice voice all the same."
Erik departed from the piano and walked down the hallways of the theatre, making sure not to catch the eyes of any audience members as they left the theatre. He could hear a woman's voice from down the hall,
"I'll bet you enjoyed that, didn't you Collette?"
Oh no, thought Erik, knowing exactly who it was. She had been tailing him for the past three days, trying to convince him not to let Collette perform as Belle. His response had always been the same; "that's Monsieur LeBlanc's decision, not mine."
"Why, yes I did Myrla, thank you very much." Replied Collette good naturedly.
"Well, enjoy it while you can" said Myrla, still with a slight croak in her voice, "soon, I'll have my voice back, and you'll go back to being a stinking, little, chorus girl."
"I happen to enjoy being in the chorus as well, Myrla-"
"Worthless!" Spat Myrla, "that's what you are, Collette Bordeaux, and that's all you'll ever be!"
"Myrla!" Snapped Erik. The two women, who had not realized he was there, looked up at him. "Leave the girl alone." He said evenly. Myrla gave the two of them a disgusted look, turned on one heel, and left.
"Thanks Erik" said Collette.
"You're welcome; has she always been this nasty?" Asked Erik,
"No, usually she's worse!" Replied Collette, sighing; he couldn't tell if it was a sigh of relief or a contented sigh. "How did I do on my first night?"
"You sang beautifully Collette." He replied,
Collette smiled, pleased with that answer. "I just wish my mother had been here to see it." She waved her right hand at him, "goodnight Erik, and thank you!" She opened the door to her room and a piece of paper was taped to the other side. The word "WHORE" was stamped on it in red letters. She sighed, "Myrla, Myrla, Myrla…" she muttered. She realized that Erik was watching, "she just loves to be cruel to me." She pulled the paper down and rolled it up. "Well, goodnight Erik" she sighed, stepping inside and shutting the door.
Someone needs to teach that woman some manners! Thought Erik, staring at Myrla's door; "well, I suppose old habits die hard!" Muttered Erik.