Erik
"Your mother had just come here."
"Wait, what do you mean 'here'?" Christian asked. "This isn't the Opera House."
"Yes it is. The fifth cellar of the Opera House, but the Opera House all the same," I informed him. "May I continue?"
"Yes, go ahead."
"Like I said, Christine had just come to the Opera. She went to an audition and I watched, as I always do, from Box 5," I stated.
"Isn't Box 5-"
"I will explain everything Christian. If you have questions when I am done, then please, feel free to ask."
"Alright," he said, and I began to pace as the story came out.
"I could tell she had great talent right away. She just needed some more instruction. After her audition, she was cast as a chorus girl. I could tell she was disappointed. I soon learned that her dressing room was at the end of one of my passage ways. I gained her trust and gave her voice lessons all from behind her mirror. She called me her Angel of Music.
"One day at a rehearsal, I became displeased with the performance of la Carlotta, the leading soprano. I caused an 'accident' that troubled her so much that she quit. Christine had been taking lessons from me for quite some time, and she replaced la Carlotta as the leading soprano. She sang like an Angel at her first performance.
"After the performance, I brought her here by taking her through the mirror of her dressing room. She was frightened, so I sang her to sleep and carried her to her bedroom."
"You mean the one I've been staying in?" Christian asked. His voice startled me, but I welcomed the break. My throat was getting dry. I took a drink of wine before answering.
"Yes. You noticed her initials carved on the dresser correct?" He nodded.
"So then what happened?" he urged.
"The next morning, she came out of her room and found me playing the organ. I believe I was working on my opera," I stated.
"You're writing an opera?" Christian asked.
"Wrote an opera. Remember, this was almost 16 years ago. Anyway, she came over to me and pulled off my mask. I daresay you get your curiosity from her. I had hoped to God that she would never see my face, but there was nothing I could do to prevent it. She was frightened of me like I was one of the damned who had escaped Hell. I didn't want her to think I was a monster. I loved her more than anything and still do. I took her back to her world but continued to demand that she be given leading roles in each performance.
"She knew I loved her. I told her when I brought her here. So one night, after a disruption I had caused in a performance, I became furious when she ran with the Viscount to the roof and told him she loved him. I had been denied love all my life only to have it happen again from the most beautiful woman I had ever met. At the conclusion of the performance, I caused the chandelier to fall, and then faded away for about six months.
"During that time, I completed my opera. I delivered it to the managers at a masked ball celebrating the New Year and my disappearance. It was performed with Christine in the lead. Part way through the performance, I secretly killed the leading man and took his place. The costume covered my entire body so no one knew it was me right away. Eventually, Christine figured it out and exposed me to the audience. She took my mask off so that everyone could see my face.
"I brought her once more to my lair. The Viscount followed, and when he arrived I threatened to kill him if Christine didn't stay with me. She promised to be my wife and I let the Viscount go. Christine and I married in secret one night about a week later.
"About a month after we had wed, we slept together for the first and last time. Although I knew she had indeed grown to love me, she wasn't happy. She missed the light and warmth she was used to. I brought the Viscount here and released Christine from her vows. I told Raoul to marry her right away and I told Christine to deliver me an invitation to their wedding. She didn't understand why I was making her leave me but she agreed.
"About two weeks after she had left, I realized, after some convincing from.an advisor if you will, that Christine needed to be free of me forever. I took a potion that made me extremely weak and eventually made me appear dead. When Christine came back to deliver my invitation, she came into my room where she then watched me 'die'. I thought I had done the right thing, but now I don't think I did. She still loves me, and oh God do I still love her." I finished my story, dropped my head into my hands, and wept. My son now knew everything except for who his father truly was.
"Your mother had just come here."
"Wait, what do you mean 'here'?" Christian asked. "This isn't the Opera House."
"Yes it is. The fifth cellar of the Opera House, but the Opera House all the same," I informed him. "May I continue?"
"Yes, go ahead."
"Like I said, Christine had just come to the Opera. She went to an audition and I watched, as I always do, from Box 5," I stated.
"Isn't Box 5-"
"I will explain everything Christian. If you have questions when I am done, then please, feel free to ask."
"Alright," he said, and I began to pace as the story came out.
"I could tell she had great talent right away. She just needed some more instruction. After her audition, she was cast as a chorus girl. I could tell she was disappointed. I soon learned that her dressing room was at the end of one of my passage ways. I gained her trust and gave her voice lessons all from behind her mirror. She called me her Angel of Music.
"One day at a rehearsal, I became displeased with the performance of la Carlotta, the leading soprano. I caused an 'accident' that troubled her so much that she quit. Christine had been taking lessons from me for quite some time, and she replaced la Carlotta as the leading soprano. She sang like an Angel at her first performance.
"After the performance, I brought her here by taking her through the mirror of her dressing room. She was frightened, so I sang her to sleep and carried her to her bedroom."
"You mean the one I've been staying in?" Christian asked. His voice startled me, but I welcomed the break. My throat was getting dry. I took a drink of wine before answering.
"Yes. You noticed her initials carved on the dresser correct?" He nodded.
"So then what happened?" he urged.
"The next morning, she came out of her room and found me playing the organ. I believe I was working on my opera," I stated.
"You're writing an opera?" Christian asked.
"Wrote an opera. Remember, this was almost 16 years ago. Anyway, she came over to me and pulled off my mask. I daresay you get your curiosity from her. I had hoped to God that she would never see my face, but there was nothing I could do to prevent it. She was frightened of me like I was one of the damned who had escaped Hell. I didn't want her to think I was a monster. I loved her more than anything and still do. I took her back to her world but continued to demand that she be given leading roles in each performance.
"She knew I loved her. I told her when I brought her here. So one night, after a disruption I had caused in a performance, I became furious when she ran with the Viscount to the roof and told him she loved him. I had been denied love all my life only to have it happen again from the most beautiful woman I had ever met. At the conclusion of the performance, I caused the chandelier to fall, and then faded away for about six months.
"During that time, I completed my opera. I delivered it to the managers at a masked ball celebrating the New Year and my disappearance. It was performed with Christine in the lead. Part way through the performance, I secretly killed the leading man and took his place. The costume covered my entire body so no one knew it was me right away. Eventually, Christine figured it out and exposed me to the audience. She took my mask off so that everyone could see my face.
"I brought her once more to my lair. The Viscount followed, and when he arrived I threatened to kill him if Christine didn't stay with me. She promised to be my wife and I let the Viscount go. Christine and I married in secret one night about a week later.
"About a month after we had wed, we slept together for the first and last time. Although I knew she had indeed grown to love me, she wasn't happy. She missed the light and warmth she was used to. I brought the Viscount here and released Christine from her vows. I told Raoul to marry her right away and I told Christine to deliver me an invitation to their wedding. She didn't understand why I was making her leave me but she agreed.
"About two weeks after she had left, I realized, after some convincing from.an advisor if you will, that Christine needed to be free of me forever. I took a potion that made me extremely weak and eventually made me appear dead. When Christine came back to deliver my invitation, she came into my room where she then watched me 'die'. I thought I had done the right thing, but now I don't think I did. She still loves me, and oh God do I still love her." I finished my story, dropped my head into my hands, and wept. My son now knew everything except for who his father truly was.