Chapter 4: The Things Music Do
Erik was sat within his cavern home and he was staring at an incomplete music score that sat upon his pipe organ and he grumbled in frustration due to the notes that refused to come to mind and he cursed the writer's block that was responsible.
The masked Phantom found himself maneuvering his way throughout the various secret corridors of his opera house in attempts to search for either inspiration or a distraction from his writer's block... Erik soon found himself entering Box 5 and found himself smirking in amusement at the sight and sound of La Carlotta screeching and screaming at the opera's managers in that god awful accent of hers,
"I am surrounded by incompetence and amateurs!" Carlotta screamed,
"Senora please... The conductor was only instructing the musicians to play their instruments as the score is written" The first manager, Andre tried nervously,
"'Ooo cares 'ow the score is written?! 'Ze audience comes to adore me! No doubt it is ze phantom who is making me sound like a fool!" the diva shrieked and Erik gave a silent scoff as he smirked and shook his head in amusement,
"I hardly ever need to do anything in order to achieve that particular result" he mumbled to himself before mentally counting in his head,
"... And in 3... 2... 1..." he counted,
"Zat is it! I quit!" Carlotta screamed before making her usual dramatic exit that she made nearly every week with the usual reaction of the managers, Andre and Richard as well as Carlotta's husband, Ubaldo chasing after her whilst attempting to try and calm her down... Erik shook his head in amusement before leaving box 5 through the same secret passage he entered from.
Madame Giry was running her ballerinas through their warm ups and rehearsals within the opera house's ballet studio and Erik watched from behind one of the mirrors, noting how she was being extra tough on Sorelli whom kept stomping her foot in frustration before going on to rant that she was still in shock from her traumatic experience of finding rats and cockroaches in her bed,
"That is nothing compared to the traumatic experience you put my niece through when you shoved her down the staircase into the phantom's domain causing her to break her wrist" Antoinette scolded, having finally had enough of Sorelli's recite of her 'traumatic experience' for nearly the 50th time in the last 10 minutes... Erik saw Clara place her face within her uninjured hand as the rest of the ballerinas gasped in shock, instantly looking in her direction,
"You were in The Opera Ghost's domain?" one ballerina gasped,
"How did you survive?" Antoinette's daughter, Meg asked in shock and Clara sighed,
"It's really not that big of a deal..." she tried, glaring at her aunt whom scoffed at her words,
"Did you see him?" one girl asked,
"Did he try to catch you?" another demanded,
"Is it true he doesn't have a face?" one girl shrieked,
"I heard from one of the stagehands that he has skin like aged yellowed parchment" one stated and Erik shook his head, rolling his eyes as the gossiping of the ballet rats but his attention was instantly aimed at Clara when he saw her shake her head,
"That's nonsense. He's not some monster" she stated causing the ballerinas to gasp once again,
"So you did see him?" Meg demanded,
"Of course she didn't" Sorelli sneered, glaring at Clara,
"Oh but he certainly saw you" Clara stated causing the prima ballerina's eyes to widen in horror,
"... He wasn't happy that you shoved me down there despite knowing his rules about entering his domain" she continued,
"You're bluffing" Sorelli accused but Clara shook her head,
"I have no reason to bluff. He forgave my unwilling intrusion into his domain and showed me the way back to... 'The realm of light' as he called it... I must admit I never thought I would have the experience of walking through a wall before" Clara stated and Erik couldn't help but chuckle at her obviously playful and teasing way of describing her experiences of moving throughout his domain,
"What was he like?" one ballerina asked curiously and Erik watched as Clara thought for a moment before looking at the ground as she smiled sadly,
"... He was... Sad..." she murmured,
"A complete gentleman. I've never met a ghost before but I was quite surprised by that... He was... Kind, gentle... Caring... but... In his eyes... So much sadness... I thought that there would be obvious frustration and anger by my presence in his domain but he respected that I had not gone there intentionally... He saw that I was hurt and I felt the warmth of his spirit lead me back to safety" Clara explained with a gentle smile,
"He's a monster" Sorelli stated simply but Erik saw Clara look towards her firmly,
"... There's only one monster in this opera house and it's definitely not the spirit of the phantom" she said firmly, prompting Sorelli to roll her eyes,
"I would tell you to look in a mirror in order to find the real monster but I can already tell that your vanity will hide it from your sight" Clara told her and the rest of the ballerinas giggled at the sight of outrage that appeared on Sorelli's face just as Madame Giry smiled proudly at her niece and Erik couldn't help but smile too,
"... Brava, Miss Du Bois" he murmured to himself before moving off to wander the rest of his phantom corridors.
It was nighttime when Erik found himself passing by one of the usually vacant practice rooms but was surprised to see Clara sitting at the piano as she awkwardly tried to play a melody with only the use of her left hand... He made certain that she was the only person present before sliding the mirror window away so that he could enter the practice room and closed the hidden doorway behind him,
"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" he asked with a note of teasing in his tone, chuckling when he saw her jump slightly, turning to look at him but she smiled in amusement,
"I couldn't sleep" Clara explained as the phantom took a seat beside her on the piano bench as she sighed,
"Normally I would practice but because of my favored hand being injured I can't really do so" she said, earning Erik's surprise,
"So you're a musician as well as a ballerina?" he pressed but saw her shake her head,
"Not really... I trained as a ballerina and I learnt to play Piano from my father but..." Clara struggled bashfully,
"... But what?" Erik pressed curiously,
"... What I really want to be is... A singer" she admitted and Erik smiled,
"Is that so?" he teased gently causing Clara to smile and roll her eyes,
"Yes, Yes, I know... It's just a dream. I don't think it will become a reality but... It's nice to dream and I would like to try and achieve it" she explained and Erik looked at the music score she had set up on the piano... He smiled before placing his fingers against the piano keys ready,
"... Sing for me" he encouraged but she looked at him horrified,
"What?... Absolutely not" Clara protested causing the phantom to chuckle,
"How do you ever expect to try and live your dream if you can't sing for a ghost?" he teased,
"I... I'm still learning and I... I've never sang in front of anyone before..." Clara admitted timidly but Erik smiled at her gently, and he gently placed his hand over her eyes, making her close her eyelids gently before removing his hand,
"... Technically there is no one here to hear you sing... Only a phantom..." he whispered in her ear, watching as she smiled in amusement with a hint of gratitude shining through... Erik placed his hands back on the piano keys and began playing the melody written on the music sheets,
"... Think of me... Think of me fondly when we've said goodbye..." Clara began singing gently and Erik instantly looked towards her stunned but thankfully was able to continue playing the melody,
"... Remember me. Once in a while... Please promise me you'll try... Then you'll find that once again you long to take your heart back and be free... If you ever find a moment. Spare a thought for me..." She finished gently, choosing to stop there as that would be the part where the rest of the orchestra would join in... Clara opened her eyes and looked towards Erik whom was frowning down at the piano keys,
"... Mr Destler?... Is everything ok?" Clara pressed,
"What?... Oh I... Yes..." Erik told her, removing his hands from the piano and he stood from the bench,
"You're voice is very... Pretty and there is... A small trace of possibly talent but I'm afraid it's not something that could ever be worthy to find yourself starring in a role such as on the stage of an opera house like this" Erik told her and Clara couldn't help but frown at his cold review,
"... Well of course I don't expect to be ready any time soon. I will need a lot more practice..." Clara tried,
"You will never be ready" Erik interrupted her firmly causing Clara to frown further,
"I'm not sure your feedback is very fair, Mr Destler" Clara told him,
"I am a musician that has mastered every instrument known to man. I have lived in this opera house since I was a mere boy of 10 and I have observed some of the greatest talents that Paris has to offer... I am merely trying to dissuade you from pursuing a dream that will only leave you with fruitless embarrassment" Erik told her and he watched as she looked at him for a long moment as hurt filled her eyes... It looked like she was going to say something but in the end he just saw her simply leave the practice room and the phantom could only close his eyes when he heard the door close behind her.
To say Antoinette was furious was an understatement,
"How could you break her spirit like that?!" she yelled,
"I was doing her a favor" Erik argued simply, not looking at her as he kept his attention on the music scores that sat on his pipe organ,
"I refuse to believe that you heard no talent in her voice" Antoinette told him firmly,
"It is true that she has talent but as a teacher I have to think of my student and them alone. It is hard to obtain a position as an opera diva. It is not unknown for one teacher to try and dissuade the possible competition that might stand in the way of their student's success" Erik stated uncaring and Antoinette glared at him,
"... Christine... This is about her?" she demanded angrily,
"You broke Clara's spirit simply because you saw that she was a better talent than Christine?" she concluded but Erik looked at her sharply as he stood from his stool,
"No one is better than her" he growled firmly before storming away from her, over to his desk were he began attempting to examine other music scores,
"... You know the broken wrist causes Clara terrible pain" Antoinette stated after a long moment,
"... But a broken spirit caused by someone she thought to be her first friend here?... It's not pain she feels... It's agony" she stated before leaving the masked man alone in his dark domain and he sighed... Sitting down within the chair at his desk he silently vowed that the true reason for his cruelty towards Clara was not because of her higher level of talent than Christine's... It was actually because of the fact that when Clara sang... Her voice touched not only his soul but also his heart... He had realized in that moment that this was something Christine's voice had never done for him... Christine's voice inspired his music but Clara's voice... It inspired his very being.
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QueenOfDisney96