A/N: OMG! First review! Thank you Musicfriendsharmony and LostatSea17 for your reviews. I'm glad people are liking this so far. Now, on with the story!


Chapter 4: Infuriating

I fumed as the auditions continued after that ridiculous woman spotted me and had the audacity to smile and bow before casually returning her attention to the auditioning violinist. That woman absolutely refused to do as she was told, and her utter disregard for my threats was driving me insane! I hadn't felt so pathetic and unimpressive since that night when Christine chose that brat over me.

I sat in the shadows of my box for several hours, silently observing Mademoiselle Jekyll as she patiently listened to each audition and politely turned away those who clearly had no talent. When the final audition was over, I could easily see how tired Mademoiselle Jekyll was from where I was seated, and a plan formed in my mind. With her exhausted like this, if I made my demands in person, I might be able to properly intimidate her and receive the desired results. As she stood from her seat in the audience, I swiftly entered one of my many secret passages and darted to her office and waited for her to enter the trap. Once she was inside, I would lock the door, sneak inside, and threaten her in person.

Her footsteps were soft despite the riding boots she wore, and I heard her faintly humming a tune as she approached her office. From the vacant expression on her face, I doubted that she even realized that she was humming, and I grinned at how simple locking her in would be. Mademoiselle Jekyll entered her office, completely unaware of my presence, and I heard her speaking softly to herself though I could only make out the faint sound of her muffled voice.

I quickly locked the door and darted into the passage again and snuck around to wait behind the mirror on the wall. Little did the fools who had placed it there originally know that I had replaced it with a false mirror so that I could spy on Jekyll and put her in line if possible. When I reached the mirror, I jumped slightly as she suddenly appeared in front of it on the other side, staring straight at me as though she knew I was there before she muttered something to herself before readjusting the hat on her head and moving towards the door.

She hissed in surprise and frustration as the door refused to open, and I had to fight not to laugh as she glared around her office in search of an alternative exit. Jekyll shook her head with frustration before slumping into the chair at her desk and rubbing her eyes with her right hand. "How could this day get any better?" she growled in frustration as she removed her hat and tossed it onto her desk.

"Perhaps you should have considered my offer, Mademoiselle Jekyll," I suggested, my voice causing her to instantly snap to attention in her seat and look around wildly,"And I might not have had to take such drastic measures."

Her eyes narrowed with anger as she realized that I had thrown her words back her, and a sharp bark of dry laughter escaped her as she glared around the room in search of me once more. "Well, perhaps you should not have made such childish and greedy requests," she snapped, fear coloring her eyes for only a moment.

Rage flooded my mind at her words, and I smoothly slid back the mirror and stepped into her office; the mirror sliding closed behind me. Jekyll's brilliant-blue eyes widened with surprise as she watched me before she rose to her feet and met my eyes with an unimpressed expression on her face. "Out of the two of us, Mademoiselle, you are childish. You refuse to do as you are told, and you behave like an unruly child especially in the way you dress," I growled, my temper beginning to boil my blood the longer I looked at her.

"Excuse me, but I am not the one sending out ridiculous demands and locking other people in their offices to threaten them. I am also the only one out of the two of us who seems to be able to write like an adult!" she retorted, taking a step towards me,"And if you think for one second that I will allow you to threaten and push me around, you are in for one big surprise. I don't take orders from anyone! Especially not scrawny, childish, masked men who hide under opera houses and make ridiculous demands of the manager!" she yelled, bravado taking over as she jabbed her index finger into the my chest.

She slowly retracted her finger, not breaking eye contact, as she poured all of her rage and hatred into the glare she was giving me. My mouth hung open slightly from the shock of her actually touching me and facing me down as an equal, but my shock was quickly replaced by anger as I set my mouth into a firm line and glared down at her. "Now listen here, woman," I growled, drawing myself up to my full height and towering over the infuriating woman,"I am not going to be pushed and ordered about by a young woman who is hardly old enough to walk on her own!"

"How dare you?" She roared, jabbing her finger into my chest again,"You know nothing of me, and I highly doubt you ever will. So I think you best let me out of here and allow me to go about my business, or I will the find most horribly painful way to destroy you humanly possible."

I almost chuckled at her threat before a face flashed across my mind. Christine. The woman who had taken my heart and ripped it apart before my eyes. Her determination and fire when she got upset with me, and the horrified expression on her face the last time I saw her. I faltered as I stared down at Jekyll, and I felt my throat clench up as tears pricked my eyes. Quickly, I turned, fled into the passage behind the mirror, calmed myself, and unlocked the door to Jekyll's office.

Once safe inside a hidden passage, I called out calmly and gave an ominous message to the young woman probably cowering with fear in her office. Then I watched as she fled the Opera House before I returned to my lair deep beneath the grand building.