Author's Note: In reply to Christine Persephone - yes, that was a bit from Terry Pratchett's Maskerade. I always liked how he described the corps de ballet, so I decided I'd do a sort of homage.
Edit: Erk. . . sorry, I made a mistake in the coding. My most humble apologies; it's been fixed.
Christine:
Half-heartedly, I twisted the sheet music into a tube to keep my hands from shaking. I questioned my choice of song nervously, ignoring the stares I received from the giggling ballet girls. Obviously, my arrival was not the jealously-guarded secret I had hoped it would be. The young tenor on stage missed his note, his voice cracking as he forgot the lyrics. Anxiously I shifted my weight to the other leg as I looked over my music one more time.
"Greetings, Mlle Daae," said a heavily accented voice behind me, causing me to jump. "Sorry to frighten you; it wasn't my intention."
I was staring into a familiar face, drinking in his features - especially the eyes which seemed to bore holes into my flesh. I recognized the voice after a moment and said shakily, "Nadir?"
"Indeed," he replied. He raised an eyebrow as he glanced over my music. "Interesting song selection. Have you someone to sing the male part?" I shook my head slowly and he sighed. "Perhaps," he said sagely, "I have found a partner for you. . ."
"You have?" I asked hopefully, trying to hide the frightened excitement in my voice. "Where is he. . .?"
Nadir sighed again and I squirmed slightly under his hard gaze. "He told me that you know already where he will be," he said sharply, his expression harsh. "I only hope that history won't repeat itself again?"
Dumbly I shook my head, trying to hold his eyes with my own. I stared at him quizzically, trying to get him to elaborate more, but he only sighed a third time. Before I could say anything else to him, a wavering voice broke our concentration.
"Miss Christine Daae!"
I cast Nadir one last glance, trying to make it as sincere as possible, before making my way on stage. I handed my music to Monsieur Reyer, who was playing the piano, and he stared at me in shock. Rubbing his forehead briefly, he gave a curt nod and set the music on the piano stand. Flashing him a smile, I faced my only visible audience - MM Andre and Firmin.
"I see you've returned, Miss Daae," said Andre flatly, and I tilted my head slightly.
"Welcome back," said Firmin, in the same tone as Andre. He seemed exhausted, and I had presumed it was because he had to listen to and watch so many young hopefuls parade around the stage like hens.
Andre, after a moment, broke the nervous silence by asking, "What is it you will be performing for us?"
"It is a duet -"
"A duet?" Firmin echoed dubiously. "A duet? But where is your partner?"
"I imagine he shall be here in a little while," I answered, watching Box 5 out of the corner of my eye and willing him to be there. "Well, the song has been re-arranged, but it is a duet titled, 'The Point of No Return,' from the opera, 'Don Juan Triumphant'."
Erik:
It was a bit depressing, having to watch all these young men and women dance and sing and basically make fools of themselves. Now, there were a few who stood out among the rest and perhaps, with a great deal of training, could come out among the top. I slumped down a little in my seat, feeling a great deal more content than I had in months.
Then she walked onto the stage, and there was a dull ache in my chest as I stared down at her; I averted my eyes to something even worse - the plain gold wedding band in my hand, which I had given to her so long ago. I felt a lump in my throat when I had noticed that there wasn't a ring on her finger. . .
A duet? I repeated silently along with Firmin. I had noticed early on that the two fools were jittery, and I suppose it did not help when I had threw my voice down to them in good spirits. I didn't say anything threatening - I just moaned and groaned. . . like a ghost.
Leaning forward in my box, not caring if anyone else saw me, I watched her in the center of the stage. My angel, my beautiful angel! No mere memory can truly capture your perfection! I reached out a hand as if to touch her cheek, as if to calm the nervous girl. Her eyes flicked over in my direction as she said, "I imagine he shall be here in a little while," and I realized her intentions. Clever child! I thought as I gripped the railing. What is it you're planning?
And I nearly laughed aloud when I heard the song's title. The managers went completely rigid and I imagined seeing them pale greatly. I noticed that M Reyer had kept his composer. (I've always had a slight respect for the man, who seemed to dislike Carlotta as much as I did.) "W-when you're ready," stammered Firmin, while Andre wiped sweat from his brow.
Christine cast one quick glance to my box and cleared her throat softly. She nodded to Reyer and he played two measures introduction to set the tempo.
Suddenly her throat filled with the music as she sang the lyrics perfectly, and my heart melted; it seemed as if I were floating with the music, being washed away with the notes. I had forgotten, as well, how perfect her voice had been, how completely pure it was. I noticed numbly that she herself had changed the song so that it was Aminta's part that would go first. As she reached -
"Past the point
of no return,
the final threshold -
what warm
unspoken secrets
will we learn?
Beyond the point
of no return. . ."
- she stopped and watched the shadows of my box expectantly. Quickly I took my cue and threw my voice down to the stage. With the first line, her face lit up wonderfully. . .
I was completely lost while I drowned in the euphoria that the song caused. The words fell from my lips without my knowing it; I saw her smile widen when our voices twined together as we came to -
"Past the point
of no return,
the final threshold -
the bridge
is crossed, so stand
and watch it burn. . .
We've passed the point
of no return. . ."
- and suddenly the music ended. As if hypnotized, Christine snapped out of the trance she had gone into. She, unknowingly, had been edging towards my box and was now moving down the stage towards the managers. A brilliant smile was on her lips as she stepped to the edge of the stage and stood before the horrified and amazed managers. It felt as if hours passed when they said nothing and I impatiently waited to hear their comments.
"Erm. . . th-thank you, Miss Daae," came Andre's nervous stutter. He and Firmin exchanged glances and nodded slightly. "We would like for you to return to the opera house as soon as possible." Firmin was staring at the box I was in as his partner went on, "Of course, you will have to look over a contract, so we would like for you to come to our office at six o'clock today."
"Thank you, gentlemen," Christine replied, almost coyly. "May I ask a favor?-" they consented "-Well. . . I was just wondering if I could have my old dressing room."
"That small one. . .? But we're willing to provide you with a much larger one -"
"Thank you, sir, but I would much rather have my old one. I hope this doesn't pose a problem?"
"No, no, not at all. You may have it now, if you wish. . ."
"Thank you very much, messieurs."
And with that, she retrieved her music and walked off towards her dressing room; as quickly as I could, I left the auditorium and silently followed her in the hidden passageways.
(A/N: The song used was from the ALW version of PotO. In my rough draft, I had the whole song written out, in which Christine started out with Aminta's part, and ended with the last stanza/paragraph [umm?] of Don Juan's part; and Erik sang Don Juan's part, and Christine joined him for the last part. Just thought you'd like to know. Review much appreciated.)