Chapter 26: The Tempter

By: PittsBurghFuzz

During, the day, Anna was instructing the ballet, and preparing for the scenes in "Faust". They only has a few days before the premiere to prepare for this lavish production.

"Alright girls, lets take a break!" Anna said to her ballerinas. They all went scurrying around, and went back to their quarters. Anna smiled and turned around to walk somewhere. That is, until she bumped into someone. It was Count Leblanc.

"Oh! Count, so nice to see you!" Anna said sarcastically.

"Good morning, Mademoiselle Girard," he kissed Anna's hand, "or should I say, Annabelle?"

"Just call me Mademoiselle Girard, its more proper."

"What's the matter honey? Tired?"

"Yes." she said.

"What happened?"

"You." she said plainly.

"Was it something I did."

"You wear too much cologne, you little fop!" a voice said, sounding like a man, but trying to sound high pitched.

"What was that?" Leblanc asked.

"Um..."

"Who does your clothes? My dumpster?" the voice said again.

"Annabelle?"

"Don't call me that, you peanut brain!" the voice said again.

"Peanut! I will have you know that I got into the finest school in Paris!"

"Yes, with your father's fortune!" the voice said again.

"You know what, I am coming back later!" Leblanc left.

Anna laughed hysterically. "Thanks Aricin."

"No problem, Anna." Aricin whispered.

"I couldn't believe he believed that your voice was mine!"

"Well, good thing "you" called him a peanut brain!"

"Anyway Aricin, I'll see you later!"

"Sure thing Anna."

Raoul went to look for Audrey.

"Hey! I heard you got the role of Gretchen in "Faust!"" Raoul said with much glee.

"Yeah, I guess I did!" Audrey said to him.

"Can you come with me to dinner tonight?" Raoul asked.

"Sure thing." she said smiling.

"Good, I will pick you up at 6:00 PM."

"Sounds great!" Audrey said.

Raoul kissed Audrey's hand and left the room.

Leblanc returned a few hours later, when the ballerinas stopped practicing. He came up from behind Anna, and turned her around.

"I had to see you!" Leblanc told Anna.

"Well, I am busy right now." Anna, moved away from Leblanc's grasp, but was caught again.

"Let me go!" Anna yelled.

"No! I'm not going to take that anymore from you!" Leblanc stole a kiss from Anna. Aricin flipped.

"Stop it, you freak!" she begged Leblanc.

Leblanc stole another kiss from Anna. "No! I will not be denied!"

Aricin came down.

"Oh who is this? My competition?" Leblanc quipped.

Aricin took off his mask, and gave a ghastly grin!

Leblanc fainted.

"Aricin, don't you think that was a little, too much?" Anna asked.

Aricin put his mask back on. "Don't you think it was a little much that you had to take that from that, fiend?" Aricin asked.

Aricin hid back up in the rafters, before anyone could find him.

Raoul came out of another room. "Oh my! What happened to him?" Raoul asked.

"He saw a ghost." Anna said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Oh, that makes sense then." Raoul quipped. He picked up Leblanc, and ran out of the backstage.

When Leblanc woke up, he claimed to have seen a skeleton, but the doctors judged it has a bit of nerves.

"But I did see one doctor!" Leblanc pleaded.

"Sure, and I am the Phantom of the Opera!" the doctor said, laughing.

7:30 PM

The old Raoul walked into the Opera House looking for his son. Then, he ran into Monsieur Thomas.

"What can I do for you Monsieur de Chagny?" Thomas asked.

"I am looking for my son. Have you seen him?" the old de Chagny asked.

"Nope. He took Leblanc to the hospital."

"What happened?"

"Well, Leblanc fainted and claimed to have seen a skeleton in evening clothes."

The old de Chagny was sweating, and his heart was racing. "You said "skeleton", right?"

"Unless my ears deceived me and I said bunnies, then yes."

Thomas climbed the grand staircase, as the old Raoul was completely still.

"Can he be?" Raoul shook his head. "No, he can't be alive, he must be dead, right?"

Later that evening, Raoul took Audrey back to the opera.

"Goodnight Raoul, I really enjoyed the dinner!" Audrey told him, as she came out of the carriage, but was stopped.

Raoul kissed her. "Goodnight. I am glad you enjoyed dinner."

Audrey blushed, and kissed him back. She finally left the carriage.

Raoul after Audrey went back to the dormitories, an unwanted presence was in the carriage.

"Father?" Raoul asked.

"Alright son, why were you with her? I thought I told you not to associate yourself with their kind?"

the father replied.

"Would you quit it father?"

"You know what? Fine. I'll get out o the carriage, but you must not deal with vermin like her.

Suddenly, Raoul pushed his fifty year old father out of the carriage, causing him to have a nose bleed.