"Congratulations everyone on a perfect first performance!" Velluae intoned, clapping his hands as the curtains closed, concealing the eager audience. "Great job everyone!"
Alice clapped me on the shoulder and I grinned at her. "You did amazing!" Alice said.
"I was so nervous," I said, in fact my heart was still pounding. "I was so sure I was going to make some mistake."
"It will be like that for the next couple of nights, but you are a natural! I wouldn't worry about it if I were you."
"Thanks," I smiled. Oh the joy of going onstage for the first time, the rush when the music started up, and that single moment before you open your mouth and you know what to do, and everything around you just melts away. The rest of the cast dispersed from the stage, still chatting, but Alice and I hung back for a moment. I sighed as I heard the audience leaving the theater, talking avidly about the performance they had just seen. I wanted to sing again, to let my soul run free like it had.
"Come on," Alice said, tugging on my arm, and I followed her offstage.
When I arrived in my dressing room, I noticed a rose on my vanity. It was a white rose, tied with a red ribbon. I smiled as I picked it up. No need to ask who this was from.
"Who is that from?" Alice asked, plucking the rose from my hands and examining it, as though hoping to find a note attached to it.
"Probably a secret admirer," I teased, taking back my flower.
I waited as Alice left, and sure enough Erik showed up.
"You were wonderful tonight." He said with a small smile. My eyes traveled to the white mask concealing half of his features. His hard angular face softened whenever he looked at me, and he seemed changed since I had first met him. He had his own walls around his heart, I could tell. It would just take time to pull them down. It was odd, being with him. And it was even weirder to know I had to keep it all a secret.
"Thanks," I beamed at him. "And thank you for this," I lifted the rose. Pain flashed behind his eyes for a moment, and he swallowed hard as he stared at the rose. It only lasted a moment, and he was looking at me again.
"Are you alright?" I asked. He blinked.
"I'm fine," He muttered gruffly. I reached up and put a hand on his shoulder. The corners of his mouth twitched and he laid a hand over mine.
"I had better be going," He murmured.
"Alright," I said. And he was gone. Slipping away under that trap door. We couldn't meet here, since Alice was all too prone to walking in unannounced. I sighed, sinking onto the bed, twirling the rose between my fingers.
Erik paced up and down beside the lake. How could he do this? How could he do this to Alanna? He just couldn't help it. And she wasn't helping him try and push her away. She was beautiful, her grey eyes, her slim figure, her golden blonde hair… He simply couldn't get her out of his head. But he felt like he was betraying Christine.
It was crazy how much different she was from Christine… and yet… Erik kicked a stone into the water and watched the ripples spread across the surface. He was crazy. What good could possibly come out of a relationship with Alanna?
