A/N: Sorry it took so long...got kidnapped by a dashing pirate captain...(Sigh) Think I'll return...
Anywho, since this is my second most popular story on F. F. Net, I know plenty of people will see this. Someone enter my fanart contest! I'm celebrating my one year anniversary on F . F. Net and I need a special way to do it! Don't you guys want to draw out Cassy in her tour group costume, or of her and Erik kissing? Come on...you guys have till August 14th. See my profile page for details.
read review and as always...
peace, love and lipgloss,
Mlle.Fox
Once again dressed in her pinstripped costume, Cassy looked around the grand foyer nervously. What would Erik do exactly? Then with a sigh, she greeted the tour group before her with a smile.
"Bon jour Madames, Mademoiselles and Messieurs. My name is Mlle.Cassandra and welcome to the Opera Populaire. If you will please follow me, we may begin the tour." She picked up her skirts and moved to the staircase. Stepping up a few steps, she turned to them and spoke over their heads,
"The Opera Populaire was built between 1802-1815, its architect was Gaston Charles. He had been picked from among 200 contestants. A large building, it has a total area of 15,000 square meters and a vast stage with dormitories for up to 750 artists. The auditorium itself comprises roughly half of the total space, most of the rest being used to house necessary logistical support so that the stage demands of any opera can be met and even surpassed. This can include live horses running on a rotating stage. The opera seats only 2,000.
When construction began, it was just as quickly suspended after the discovery of an underground lake and spring. Although this problem was overcome, the lake persists and lies beneath the cellars of the building. But to be honest..." Cassy paused and then cast a watchful eye to the rafters. She said in a hushed tone,
"No one dares go down there...because of the Opera Ghost!" A group of teenage girls laughed, a little boy with his Au Pair asked,
"Un fantôme?" Before Cassy could utter a word, the sounds of a lonely old violin echoed through the halls. The sound was errie, beautiful and all around their heads. Then it trailed off into nothing. One man asked Cassy,
"Was that a musician practicing?" Cassy looked to their unexpected faces...none of the performers or the crew or the orchestra would have been there that day. Smiling to herself, Cassy realized who it had to be. She looked to the man and answered,
"I hope so...for our sakes." That made the group murmur to themselves as Cassy led them to the second floor landing of the grand staircase. She addressed them again,
"This is the grand foyer. This is where people first truly saw the Opera Ghost. At the Grand New Year's Masque in 1871, everyone was dancing and having a truly marvelous time, when he appeared. He was dressed immaculately in red velvet with a long billowing cape. But his face...his face was the face of death itself. A bare skeleton's head! He..." But before she could queqe the painting, a woman gasped and cried out pointing behind her,
"LOOK!" Cassy whipped her head around, her eyes going wide as she saw the painting, but the figure in the painting moved, twirled his cape around and walked away, the image of the true painting returning a moment later. The crowd whispered in excitement as Cassy bit her lip keeping her humor in check,
"Um...it would appear we have been detected by M. Fantome. He didn't always appear in that form though...This is the image in which he showed himself more often to the suspicious stage hands or nosy ballet rats. Until the Masque, not many had seen him up close. Until then, the only correspondence they had with him was his various notes of instructions to the managers on how to run HIS opera...Notes..." Suddenly, a little piece of paper floated down from the ceiling, a hush went over the group as Cassy picked it up and smirked showing them the red wax seal of a death's head.
"Notes like this one. Let's see what he says." Cassy said breaking the seal. She read aloud, but furrowered her brow knowing this was not George's handwriting...and the message was different.
"Gentlemen and ladies,
I regret to inform you all that your presence in my opera house shall not be tolerated. Leave now and I may show mercy. Stay...and the most dire of misfortunes will befall you.
Your Obedient Servant,
O.G."
Cassy smiled and said,
"Far too many notes for my taste. We shall continue on our way...oh...and look out for his traps...you never know when one will just spring up." Then a trap door opened before their feet and everyone gasped in fright.
"...Or in this case, open up." Then a great gush of cold wind blew through the trap door and all the lights in the Populaire flickered out. Everyone gasped again, and Cassy calmed them all down as the trapdoor shut.
"Attention! Attention! Don't worry, we'll find a light it's just a small technical..." One of the teenage girls screamed as a candle floated its way over their heads to stop before Cassy. Cassy could just barely make out the thin fishing line the candle holder was hooked onto. Her eyes followed up the line to the ceiling, where she saw two tall figures hunched over the hatch. One was in a red shirt, so she knew that was George. But the stark white mask gave away his compainion. Cassy smirked and said,
"Stay close everyone." She went up the stairs, the group looking around nervously and huddling close together.
They came to the auditorium and Cassy stopped before them in the middle of the aisle and said,
"This is where it happened. That was the stage he dropped a backstage on La Carlotta, the Prima Diva..." No sooner had she said this, Cassy turned her heard when she heard a creaking backdrop slowly raise up on the stage. Cassy picked up on the queue and told them, "Apparetly our dear Phantom wishes a repeat performance. Hopefully he will not repeat a hanging like that of the nosy flyman Joseph Buquet or the lead tenor Piangi. He strung them up by their neck in his magical lasso."
"Look!" cried one girl pointing up to Box Five. Cassy turned her head seeing the familiar white mask. Cassy smirked to the group,
"Anyone want to give the lonely old phantom some company?" She led the way up to the boxes, but before she could reach for the doorknob, the door slowly creaked open. She cautiously stepped in, the group behind her muttering when they saw a bottle of wine pouring its contents into a wine glass...all by itself. The wine glass then floated up and into Cassy's hands. Cassy shrugged to the stunned crowd,
"Isn't he the gentleman? He told the managers that on top of his 20,000 franc monthly salary, he would have this box empty for his use. This box was the most expensive and therefore the best seat in the house. To do so would cause a great financial loss on the owners parts. But as you can all plainly see, the phantom has expensive..."She took a sip of wine, "And excellent taste." Suddenly, a series of muffled whisperings started in the box. Everyone jumped and looked everywhere for the specter. Cassy was about to speak when a familiar baritone threw his voice into her ear,
"Having fun, Mam'selle?" Cassy had to bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing. Erik continued,
"Meet me here after the tour?" She silently nodded as he said, "If you survive that is!" At this, Erik laughed, his voice echoing in the box, muffling the sounds of the whisperings until everything fell silent. One man looked at Cassy and asked wide eyed,
"What was that?"
Cassy answered leading the way out of the box,
They say, if you enter this box, the Phantom can hear your fears, and then he whispers them in your ear. Shall we press on?" But before she could, a secret passageway opened up from Box Five, in the center of the column.
"Well..."Cassy said with genuine amazement, "Looks as if he's inviting us into his world...Come on..."
"Is it safe?" asked a woman. Cassy shrugged,
"If we don't run into the Phantom then yes..." The crowd followed, not without hesitation. The torches in the tunnels lit one by one, showing Cassy the way to go. Through the wall, various peepholes and false mirrors showed them the dormitories, the vast and complex world of the backstage. Cassy was just as amazed at her group. Erik had a unique and magical way of looking at the world. He was a genius! With a smirk she realized that he was her genius. Finally, the tunnel ended at the other side of a glass mirror. Cassy smiled when she realized it was a very familiar dressing room. Cassy shushed them and said,
"This...is the room of Christine Daae. It was here the Opera Ghost discovered his rivalry with the Vicompt De Changy for Miss Daae's affections...From this side of the mirror...and it was here...Christine first saw her Angel of Music. He came to her an image in this mirror, and he pulled her into his dark underground kingdom on the lake. " She continued as the door opened in the pink dressing room with large bouquets of fresh flowers. Suddenly, the lights flickered off and a dark masked figure entered with a swish of his cape. Cassy only smiled smugly. He looked incredible! Why that man ever doubted his attractiveness was beyond her. From his tall, muscular frame filling out the black suit, to the black rug he wore on his head, his strong hands covered in elegant white kid gloves, he was beautiful. They silently watched him as he placed a fresh red rose tied with a black ribbon on the dresser. He hung his head and groaned. Then he whispered,
"Oh Christine..." Cassy felt a flare of jealously flare up. Did Erik still miss Christine or was this just an act? Suddenly, The Phantom snapped his head up and glared into the mirror.
"He sees us! He sees us!" whispered one girl in a panic. Then they all gasped as The Phantom disappeared from where he stood. Cassy didn't know what else to expect, when Erik's strong voice sang out angerily at them,
"Insolent fools! Impudent meddlers! Now you are trapped...forever!" While everyone quaked in fear, Cassy and all the women were a little turned on by the sound timbers of his voice. Then a secret door opened showing a set of stairs. Cassy turned to the group and said,
"I think it's time to go!" She led the way, down the stairs, further and further down. Finally...they all stopped in awe as they found themselves in the Phantom's lit lair. Cassy was amazed at the transformation. Before it had been mold and decay. Now the place had all it's magic back. Candles were everywhere...to their wonder some candelabras even lifted from out of the green lake. Books, parchments, statues and costumes were everywhere. Cassy stepped into the room a bit, pointing to a scale stage. Little figurines of ballerinas and singers were on the stage.
"The must be where he planned out how the six ton crystal chandelier was going to fall...at his hand the night he took the soprano Christine Daae. The orchestra had just managed to escape it's fiery trap. And he must have taken her down here. To their surprise, the little chandelier dropped, startling everyone. They all laughed in nervousness until the grand pipe organ began to play all by itself. Then the Phantom's strong voice came out once more,
"Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation.
Darkness stirs and wakes imagination.
Silently the senses abandon their defences
Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendour.
Grasp it, sense it tremulous and tender.
Turn your face away from the garish light of day,
Turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light -
and listen to the music of the night..." Cassy couldn't believe the beauty and majesty of Erik's voice. It was the perfect touch to the tour. It was romantic and sad and magical. It was perfect. Just like him. She obeyed his next few words as he sang,
"Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams!
Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before!
Close your eyes,let your spirit start to soar!
And you'll live as you've never lived before
Softly, deftly, music shall caress you
Hear it, feel it, secretly possess you
Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind,
in this darkness that you know you cannot fight
the darkness of the music of the night.
Let your mind start a journey
through a strange, new world!
Leave all thoughts of the life you knew before!
Let your soul take you where you long to be!" Erik's voice drew out the long note, giving every woman there a pleasant rippling in her stomach. But none so more than Cassy. Erik paused a moment and whispered the next line in Cassy's ear,
"Only then can you belong...to me..."
He sang for the group again,
"Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in
To the power of the music that I write
The power of the music of the night
You alone can make my song take flight
It's over now...the music of...the...night..." finished the Phantom, his voice fading into the darkness. The lights flickered out...except one candelabra by a the secret passage in the false mirror draped in the Persian Rug. Cassy sighed, trying to break the spell as she croaked out,
"It's time to go..." She went down the familiar passage, the brightness of the afternoon sun glaring in their eyes as they adjusted to the light. Cassy turned to the group and concluded,
"Don't forget what you have seen here. What you heard and especially...what you felt...For the soul of the Opera Populaire is in her famous legend of the Phantom...and it always will be." The tour group applauded walking off towards the nearby giftshop, talking animatedly about their amazing adventure. Cassy sighed when a hand touched her shoulder. She jumped and turned to see George looking down at her.
"George!" she snapped smacking him on the arm.
"Wasn't that wicked awesome!" George gushed.
"It was...did Erik come up with all of that?" she asked.
"Oh yeah...he told me that there's a tunnel down there leading up to Box Five." said George.
"Thanks George." she said.
"Phantom's Pet!" George teased her. She stuck out her tongue at him as she went back to the tunnel. She tried to calm her racing heart at the thought of seeing Erik after that amazing display. When she entered Box Five, she found herself alone. At least at first. As she looked out over the dark auditorium, a pair of strong arms dressed in a black tailcoat wrapped themselves around her middle.
"Were you scared Mam'selle?" Erik asked her. Cassy giggled and grinned,
"Terrified..."
"Am I in trouble?" he asked wickedly.
"You will be if you don't hold me tighter!" teased Cassy.