A/N: This is my first fic! It's a collaboration between myself and another. It's Erik x OC.
Enjoy and review!
As always, I don't own POTO.
Chapter Two
Kate sang softly to herself as she dusted the drapes in Box Five. It had been a couple weeks since she'd woken up in the opera house, and as soon as she'd been well they'd given her a room and set her to work. She didn't mind, though. It was light work for now, just cleaning the boxes, but it gave her a chance to explore… and see the shows the company put on.
"Goodbye, our little table
At which we met so often!
Goodbye, our little table
Yet so large for us!"
Erik watched her in hidden amusement from the shadows of his box. Of course she couldn't see him. As he listened to her sing softly, he found himself transfixed with her voice. It was...almost better than Christine's but much more raw. Something the singer still lacked. He couldn't help himself from joining in.
"One thinks that it's unimaginable,
So small a space...when we're embracing...
Goodbye, our little table!"
Kate spun around, her eyes wide. "Is someone there?" Someone had heard her singing! And had joined in! She swallowed, looking around. "I didn't know someone was in here–I'll come back later–"
Erik chuckled, allowing his voice to carry over to her. He wondered if she had even heard of the opera ghost. He wondered what her reaction would be? He backed up further into the shadows, and slipped into the secret door that would lead him back to his home.
He wondered what he could do the next day to make his presence known? Maybe a letter.
Madam Giry was walking to the boxes to tell the new girl that she was free for the rest of the day, especially because the current manager was making arrangements for his retirement. No one knew of it just yet, but he had let it slip to the ballet mistress, in the hopes that she would watch over the opera until his return.
She knocked on the doorway, not daring to enter box five. "Miss Turner? Are you finished yet? I need you downstairs to help my girls with getting their things organized."
Kate spun again, her eyes still wide. "Y-yes. Coming, Madam."
She wondered why the woman hadn't entered the box, but pushed it from her mind, instead bending to pick up her broom and following the woman back downstairs.
And… whose had that voice been? It was a beautiful baritone, and had joined in so effortlessly…
Erik headed back upstairs soon after hearing Antoinette tell the maid to clean the ballet chorus' dormitories. He knew the girls would return after some time, and that this will be the chance for Miss Turner to finally learn of him. He settled himself behind the wall, sitting on the floor so as to not be uncomfortable. He leaned his head back, and closed his eyes.
The door in the room suddenly burst open as the girls began to enter the room. They were talking animatedly about the upcoming show of Hannibal that had just been released to them for practicing. La Carlotta was among the talk, and not in a favorable light.
"I'm telling you! I wish the ghost would just scare her off already!" one of the girls exclaimed.
"Don't speak of him!" another girl hissed, one Eril recognized as Meg Giry, the daughter of the ballet mistress, "He has ears everywhere!"
Kate's head lifted as she swept under a bed. "Ghost?" she asked with interest, and a little trepidation. She wasn't sure she believed in ghosts, but she did enjoy the stories.
"He's the Phantom of the Opera!" Meg began, "He haunts this opera house, and makes requests of the manager in regards to productions and casting. He's even given the manager operas that have never been seen!"
"They say he has yellow parchment for skin-"
"And he carries a lassou that looks like a noose so that he'll have a ready way to kill us!" another girl cut in.
Meg sent them a glare. "No one has even seen him...aside from a glimpse of a black cloak around a corner that houses no one when you even get there!"
Christine bit her lip. "I...I've heard him sing."
All the girls looked at her and she flushed.
Kate looked at Christine in curiosity. "Does he–does he have a nice voice?"
Maybe that was who had been in box five earlier… Kate found that she wasn't frightened one bit at the prospect.
Christine was nodding. "Beautiful… like an angel."
Erik chuckled to himself. He knew Christine felt his voice was something to be desired, but he couldn't bring himself to care for her in that same aspect-something to be desired. He may have one day, if he continued in his pursuit of her career, but for now...this maid had all of his attention.
"But he's dangerous, Kate. So...be careful in box five," Meg said, her eyes haunted.
"Is–is that where he stays?" Kate stammered. So it was him! And even with this knowledge, she still wasn't frightened. In fact, she looked forward to going back to–to maybe sing with him again.
Meg nodded. "He always demands that it be left empty for the shows. Promise us you'll be careful, all right?"
Kate looked at her and inclined her head. "I promise."
But she would still go back.
The next day Erik made his way back to the box again. He knew she would be there, cleaning, and he wondered if she would try to speak to him today. A small part of him was excited at the prospect. No one has ever tried speaking to him-too afraid of the phantom that could hurt them.
He slipped inside the box and watched her from his darkened corner, hidden behind a curtain for good measure.
Kate was singing again as she brushed the velvet seats of the box in the hopes that the Phantom was there.
"Welcome? joyous spring,
Who bright hope may bring To all lovers' hearts. 'Neath thy feet bloom flowers…"
"Winter's gloomy hours,
die by thy bright darts
In our souls all sadness
Doth give place to gladness..."
Erik's soul soared with the happiness that she was singing again, possibly in the hopes of hearing him. Was this what it felt like to have companionship? Would it be selfish of him to hope it could be more? Maybe friendship?
Kate stopped and looked around. "Is that you?" she whispered. "The phantom? The one they call the opera ghost?"
She swallowed, suddenly nervous. "The others are all scared of you, and maybe it's because I'm new, but… I'm not."
HE spoke slowly, allowing his voice to carry. "You should be."
Everyone feared him to some extent. Even Madam Giry and she had been the one to bring him here. Besides, if she didn't fear him now she would once they met. Once she saw his face. He had no fantasies of her ever accepting him when no one else has.
"Have you not heard the stories? The accidents?" he pressed.
She shook her head. "The girls were talking about you last night, that your face was scary and that you had caused people to get hurt, but I don't think I believe all of it. I like to see things with my own eyes before passing judgement."
He looked on in curiosity. So she wouldn't go along with the others simply because they were there? A strange creature indeed.
"And if I do have death's face as they proclaim?" he pressed.
He did honestly wonder what would happen if she ever saw his face without the mask. Would she scream and run? Or just stare in horror, frozen and unable to move?
Kate shrugged slightly. "I've seen Death, and he wasn't as scary as some think he is."
She remembered how cold it had been, wrapped in her thin woolen cloak as she sat outside the baker. How she'd finally fallen asleep and dreamed of awful things.
Erik frowned, his thoughts in turmoil. Dare he think that she is different from everyone else he has ever met? He shifted in the darkness, his eyes watching her. Finally, he withdrew the note he had written her, welcoming her to the opera house. He threw it lightly when she turned away, smirking as it landed silently on the seat behind her.
Miss Turner,
Welcome to my Opera House. I hope you enjoy yourself and continue doing a good job with cleaning my box. I will enjoy seeing the operas from here now that I do not need to sit among the dust. Please feel free to come here to clean at your own discretion. You alone will have the privilege to do so unharmed.
And please don't stop singing as you work. I quite enjoy it.
-O.G.
A/N: Most of this is already written so when I have time to actually post, I will!
