We spent the next day avoiding people in the corridors.
We heard a lot of talk about disembodied voices. People were already spreading the most ridiculous stories – my favorite being that we had been murdered by the opera ghost and that now we were returning to take revenge. I heard that one from Meg Giry. Ariel's favorite was the one that we were dead friends of Christine's, returning to witness her triumph.
That night, Ariel decided to try singing on stage again. Her first song was "Think of Me".
I had almost fallen asleep when the sound of applause woke me. I looked up. A man in a dark cape and white half mask stood at the back of the stage.
Ariel spun around.
"You have a beautiful voice, but so little feeling. Try it again, but try to feel it."
I stared at Ariel and shook my head. He would be able to tell where her voice was coming from.
She started singing again.
I wanted to run up onto stage and stop her, but I couldn't spoil this moment for her. A moment that she would have given nearly anything for before today.
And she sounded really good.
She's a good singer and all that, but this was far beyond anything I'd ever heard her do. "Wow," I breathed.
I was almost glad I hadn't stopped her.
The Phantom walked in the direction of Ariel's voice.
Ariel turned and ran back to me. His head jerked in our direction. Those stupid heels of hers made quite a racket on the floor.
He stared at us - well, more accurately, through us - a small smile coming across his face. "It's alright."
I knelt down on the floor and started tugging on Ariel's shoes. She realized what I meant and pulled the high heeled shoes off, leaving her barefoot and a good few inches shorter. I pulled off my own shoes and began moving in the other direction. "You have a student. Leave Ariel alone," I ordered.
"That was amazing," she breathed.
"Let's go."
We headed toward the doors. He didn't seem to hear the much softer sound of our footsteps, as he didn't follow.
Ariel shook like a leaf and she looked like she was about to faint. I wrapped an arm around her to support her.
"So amazing," she breathed as we the room. "Wow."
This wasn't going to be the last I heard of it.