Author's Note:
Technically this chapter is set in contemporary times, I am reluctant to say it is 2020 because obviously there's a pandemic right now but the people in this story are living as if there isn't. But really, the actual dates don't really matter (because I'm not really taking this story seriously honestly).
If it wasn't obvious yet, this isn't really a cross-over of Outlander or POTO. I'm taking elements from both stories. It's really just inspired by them both because I'm re-watching Outlander and I thought I'd be really sad if I time-travelled because I can't hear POTO ever again. However, the actual characters or anything of both stories are not featured here. Like, it's not even the right time period of Outlander (1520 as opposed to the 1700s), I'm just totally taking the whole highlander and time travel concept. Let's just see how this goes, shall we?
Magnificent. Invigorating. So much talent on one stage.
After weeks of poring over textbooks, dragging herself to lectures and forcing herself to participate in tutorials, Aria Walker finally had a moment of reprieve. What better way was there to spend the mid-semester break than to watch her favourite musical on stage?
The Phantom of the Opera. A musical masterpiece accompanied by the greatest story of love and crime, to Aria's eyes.
Aria gave into the music, losing herself in it and shedding the burden of all the stress she accumulated over the past few weeks.
She was far away from her sunny home in Australia, on a year-long exchange program with the University of Edinburgh. While she was grateful for the opportunity and constantly amazed by the bewitching views Scotland presented, it had been a challenge adjusting to her new environment.
She was used to the scorching hot Australian summers, and the confusing wild weather of Melbourne, and was now in a place where it rained 250 days per year. The new levels of humidity meant that Aria had struggled with her hair for the first few weeks, often hastily tying it up in a ponytail to keep it out of the way.
The biggest change of course was the people. At first, Aria struggled to understand the Scottish brogue of her lecturers, and often felt too shy to engage with her classmates lest she misunderstand them and make a fool of herself. Yet she was ashamed to have been quick to judge as she found that they were more than accommodating in helping her understand her new surroundings, including her where they could.
Earlier that evening they had invited her to the pub to celebrate Samhain.
"What's the legal drinking age in Australia then, Sassenach?" Sassenach. She wasn't English and they meant no offence. It had become a nickname for her when they found out that she was an avid fan of Outlander. But not as avid of Phantom of the Opera of course.
"Eighteen," she replied to them.
"Join us for a dram then. It's Samhain, the pub will be serving up some nice festive treats too."
Aria was grateful for their invitation and found in her classmates some great friends.
"Unfortunately, I had already bought tickets to The Phantom of the Opera. Perhaps next time?" She did not want to seem rude, but she had been looking forward to the show for weeks now.
"You and your damn Phantom," her friend chuckled. "Alright, well we'll probably be at the pub the whole night so if yer Phantom isnae enough to entertain ye, ye know where we are."
Thus, she found herself wedged between other Phantom lovers in the Festival Theatre, revelling in the dulcet tones of the Phantom.
No matter how many times she had listened to its soundtrack, watched its movies and its shows, The Phantom of the Opera never failed to bring her to tears.
As the Phantom declared his undying love for Christine, who turned away from him tearfully to return to the arms of her beloved Raoul, Aria struggled to choke back a sob. Her emotions overflowed endlessly though, and it came out more like an awkward gurgle.
"It's over now, the music of the night," the Phantom sang, reaching a crescendo and Aria felt a wail of despair rise in her throat. She thrust a fist to her mouth in an attempt to silence herself, hoping to not disturb the other people in the theatre. Tears streamed down her cheeks and the wail converted itself to hiccups.
A patron of the theatre next to Aria eyed her consciously, and kindly offered a tissue which she accepted with a teary nod of thanks. The patron smiled in amusement and passed the tissue onto her hands.
Aria dabbed the tears away, willing the hiccups to stop now that she was thoroughly embarrassed by her obvious show of emotion.
"Just breathe," the patron whispered to her, still smiling.
Aria looked up to see him and nodded, suppressing her whimpers.
"Sorry," she offered for her noisy tears.
The man next to her waved the apology away.
Taking his advice, Aria took deep breaths to calm herself down. Inhale for three, exhale for five, she chanted. A technique she learnt to control her emotions in stressful situations. Never had she thought she'd use it in a theatre to prevent disturbing others! Inhale for three, exhale for five.
The lights slowly turned back on and the man beside her turned slightly to face her. Aria instinctively turned the opposite way, too embarrassed to let anyone see her puffy eyes and streaky makeup from the tears.
"I'm glad to see someone enjoy Phantom so much," the man said simply, and Aria's cheeks reddened with shame.
"I'm afraid that the Phantom has that effect on me. Sorry for disturbing you," she apologised, glancing briefly at him.
Though they were seated still, she could tell he was tall. He had a head of dark hair, which slightly curled around his face. He was handsome, she admitted, which caused a new flood of heat rush to her cheeks again. She made herself look like such a fool in front of a cute guy! Idiot!
He simply smiled again, "Not at all. The audience's reactions are part of the charm of the theatre."
Finally, Aria gathered the strength to look at him properly.
"Hey, aren't you a student at the University?" The man said, tilting his head to the side as if to ponder her identity.
It was then that Aria recognised him.
"Professor Sutherland!" Aria gasped and caused the man's eyebrows to raise.
"So you are a student! I thought I recognised you."
Doctor James Sutherland was a professor at The University of Edinburgh, teaching Scottish history. He was also one of the lecturers in her classes and a man she wished had not seen her blubbering like a madwoman. Could this get any worse?
"Do you have a name?" He asked, ignoring the crimson hue of her face.
"Aria. Aria Walker," she introduced herself, extending a hand but avoiding his eyes. She heard his deep chuckle and felt his firm hand grip hers.
"Nice to meet you, Miss Walker. Not celebrating today? It is Samhain, you know."
Not wanting to be rude, she allowed herself another look at him but the heat in her cheeks persisted. Damn her cheeks, this was not the impression she'd want to leave with her lecturers!
"I know but I've been looking forward to this show for weeks," she explained.
"I'm glad it didn't disappoint." Professor Sutherland grinned. Inhale for three, exhale for five.
They realised that they had remained in their seats for too long and swiftly stood. Professor Sutherland led her out of the hall, his hand at the small of her back. He was much taller than her, she realised as the top of her head just reached his chin.
As they walked out, Aria attempted to regain her dignity and engage in a conversation once more.
"What about you, sir? Not celebrating Samhain? I would have thought a history professor might have liked to uphold its traditions." Yes, that sounded quite dignified.
"Like you, I quite enjoy The Phantom of the Opera. Another great love of mine, other than history, is music. I find Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber's works most…" he trailed off, looking for a word.
"Invigorating?" Aria offered, feeling the exact same way. Professor Sutherland offered her another smile and nodded in agreement.
"Yes, invigorating. Though, I must say some of his adaptations don't do his music justice."
"Like Cats," she sniggered, and Professor Sutherland bellowed a wonderful laugh.
"Indeed," he agreed.
Oh no, he's handsome, Aria thought. Dangerous territory there. Abort. She wasn't sure of the policies surrounding teacher and student relations, but she was sure it would be frowned upon. Even just fantasising about her professor was bad enough.
"Anyway, perhaps I'll let you enjoy the rest of Samhain," Aria offered.
Something undecipherable flashed across the professor's eyes before he beamed pleasantly.
"No celebrations for me, I'm afraid. Lots of assignments to mark, you see. But you're young and should enjoy the night."
He bade her a farewell, giving a brief wave. He turned around quickly and spoke again.
"Best get home quickly. This weather is signalling a storm," he advised.
"A storm on Samhain! How wonderful!" Aria grinned, which he reciprocated before leaving.
Aria's wide grin remained upon her face, her cheeks no longer burning in shame. The evening and their conversations played on a loop in her mind, drawing forth giggles. It was a simple conversation, but pleasurable enough. Hopefully, he would forget her blubbing mess.
As she reminisced, she felt the raindrops begin to fall. It seems that the Professor was right. The raindrops grew heavier and more frequent. Aria's light footsteps turned to a brisk walk, trying to head home.
Soon enough the wind howled, blowing right through her and she gripped her coat around her. What an inopportune moment to wear a dress, she thought.
The thunder clapped, filling her ears with loud growls. She then broke into a run, hoping to get out of the storm quickly. Aria was drenched from head to toe, the roaring wind blew the rain in all directions, preventing her from seeing properly.
She turned frantically, trying to regain a sense of where she was. She heard the booming music from indoors, people continued to celebrate but remained within the safety of their homes.
Lightning crashed down onto a nearby lamp post, eliciting a terrified scream from Aria's lips. What a storm! She began to run once more, her ears ringing and her eyes blurry from the rain, desperate to get somewhere. She couldn't see where she was.
Suddenly a loud crash sounded. Everything went white and Aria felt herself fall to the ground.
She felt the heavy rain pelting upon her body as she grew limp.
The world darkened and there was nothing.
A lovely chirping whistled around her. Aria could feel the soft breeze upon her cheeks, while her forehead burned from the heat of the sun. Slowly, she pried her eyes open and she adjusted her sight to the flood of light.
Feeling as if she had run a marathon, Aria struggled to raise herself onto her elbows. She blinked, trying to take in her surroundings.
The soft prickle of the grass poked at her skin. There was grass everywhere. Rolling hills of it, and some trees in the distance. Where was she?
Aria forced herself up and began to walk. How far had she run? Where was the city? She turned around frantically, trying to locate herself and more importantly, locate the city.
At that moment, it felt as if the ground were moving. The earth was beating under her feet. Inhale for three, exhale for five. An earthquake? Aria turned again, looking for cover.
It was not an earthquake. It was a horde of horses who had mighty men astride them. Mighty men in billowing white shirts… and kilts?
As she came to terms with the sight, Aria realised the were getting bigger. They were riding right towards her!
Paralysed with panic, Aria's heart pounded. She willed her feet to move, but her mind still could not comprehend what was going on, where she was, or what she was doing. She couldn't breathe, she felt numb, and she instinctively closed her eyes to brace for impact.
The sound of gallops grew closer, she could hear it right next to her ears. A rush of wind, presumably the horses, rushed past and she was suddenly swept upwards.
One of the men had grabbed her and placed her upon the horse. Finally breathing, Aria let out a yelp of fear at how high up the horse was and gripped onto the man's shirt.
"Fool of a gel!" He growled.
Everyone slowed their horses to a stop, staring at Aria.
The man shouted at her in some language she didn't understand. Gaelic perhaps, judging from the kilts. She was still in Scotland. And yet, she wasn't in the Scotland she knew? What was going on?
"What were ye doing, lass? We could have killed ye! You fool!" The man roared, causing Aria to flinch at the volume.
"Speak!" He ordered. She didn't appreciate being yelled at in such a way, particularly from a man she didn't know in front of more men she didn't know. What strange circumstances she found herself in recently.
"I don't know," she croaked, horrified to find tears starting to form. "Where are we?"
The man holding her cast Aria a puzzled look.
"Scotland, lass."
No shit, she thought.
"Where's the city? Where's Edinburgh?" She tried again.
"A bit of a way down south. Yer on Douglas lands," he answered but Aria's confusion mounted. Douglas lands? As in clans?
A chill ran through Aria's spine and she pondered the impossible. It couldn't be. This kind of thing only happened in books! In Outlander!
"What year is it?" She demanded and the man's puzzled look was replaced disturbance. Had he thought her mad?
"It's the year of our Lord, 1520."
1520. Holy shit.