Author's Note: This story was the work of two authors. We each chose a portray. So think of your authors as Angèle and Matilda. We spent many weeks working on this and we have it all written already, so there will be no lapses in which there are no posts. We shall post once or twice a week possibly faster depending on the reaction we get. So please read and review!
And please don't forget! This was originally intended as an RP (Role Play) so the beginning isn't as good as the rest of the story. It gets more interesting later on, so please keep reading!
Disclaimer: All original Phantom of the Opera related things belong to Andrew Lloyd Webber and Gaston Leroux.
Chapter One: The Angel Beckons
"Attention everyone! Attention!" The conductor tapped his wand against the stand which held the music for the opera house's new feature.
"Let's start from Scene 3! Musicians, measure 197 of 'The Second Movement'," he instructed.
A girl just barely the age of fifteen sat holding a golden-colored flute with an elegantly crafted rose scroll design etched along the mouth piece all the way to the barrel. The line art was done in red and green for the petals and stem. She took a deep breath and prepared to play after another girl's flute solo.
She pulled back her black hair that was getting in front of her ice blue eyes and sighed in frustration, "She always gets the solos..." she thought to herself as she prepared herself, determined not to make a single mistake.
The ballerinas for that scene quickly stood on their toes, ready to perform. One was not there though, and they muttered amongst one another, searching for the missing girl. She emerged from the back, running towards the front of the stage to take her place as third in line. The almost sixteen year old ran, her brown-red hair tied back in a very messy bun, and as she ran, hopping on occasion to get her other shoe on, it bounced with her, falling out more and more. Finally she made it to the line, just in time to jump into her spot, almost unnoticed. She swayed with the others, but as soon as the rehearsal had started, her hair fell out of its bun and had turned into a mess, messing up everyone around her as well.
"Stop, stop, stop. Matilda, you are never prepared. You must learn to be more organized. I swear, if it weren't for your voice, I probably would have kicked you out," the conductor said with a somewhat cheerful sigh. Her blue ringed, hazel eyes looked down as she quickly put her hair back up, much neater this time, and as everyone went back to the beginning. She looked quickly over at a golden flute player, giving her an embarrassed grin.
The blue eyed girl couldn't help but smile. It seemed to her that striving for perfection was not drilled into the dancers as much as the musicians, but maybe this girl was just different from the others. Either way, if that had been her she would have been mortified. She thought about going to see if the other girl was okay after rehearsal, but decided not to because she wouldn't know what to say and would just end up embarrassing herself. No, Angèle preferred to speak with her music.
The rehearsal was intense. It had lasted several hours, as usual, but with the opening date drawing closer, the days seemed to grow longer.
As everyone finally took their well deserved breaks, Matilda headed towards Angèle in hopes of being able to have some fun. They both loved to explore the passages of the basement of the opera house, and since they lived in the dormitories there, it was always accessible.
"Angèle! Angèle!" Matilda said, chasing after her and the other leaving musicians, waving her right arm frantically, her ballerina shoes held with her left hand. Finally she caught up and hand gotten the Angèle's attention. "After we clean up, do you want to go to the basement and do some more exploring?"
"Um, okay... But this time I think that we should bring enough oil to actually keep the lantern going. I don't want to end up in pitch black darkness again and have you clinging to my shoulder so tight that you rip my shirt again," Angèle replied, giving Matilda a mock glare.
"I was not clinging that hard," she said throwing a fake fit, "Besides, who wouldn't be afraid of the dark in a place that creepy? It's dark, it's damp, and it doesn't exactly smell flower fresh." The two of them went behind the stage and up the staircases to their rooms. There they changed into some casual clothes, the beige dresses the opera house had provided. Everyone had them, and was practically required to wear them when not in rehearsal clothing. Besides, it was the only casual clothing they had anyway.
As the two companions went down to the stage, they took a lantern from a hook where all the lanterns were kept. This time they made sure they had a lantern that was full of oil.
"Alright, let's get going," Matilda said, swinging her arm in front of her with a continuing gesture. As they opened the door to the basement, the smell filled their nostrils, making both of them wince.
"I wonder why no one else ever comes down here," Angèle commented, "It's a lot more interesting than walking around the Opera House, I can guarantee that." She paused and then sighed, "Listen, you can hear the air blowing through here, it's making its own music." She took out her flute, which was, naturally, always with her as she did not trust anyone enough to leave it in the storage room, and played a small measure of music. She looked at Matilda, "So, why are you just standing there? Dance! Sing! Do something! Quick, before the breeze dies down!"
"What? Oh!" Matilda snapped out of the trance the musical breeze seemed to have on her. She opened her mouth and sang a song her mother had taught her, when she was alive.
"Cry no more,
Stop your tears,
All will be alright.
I'm right here,
I'll protect you,
I'm your guiding light..."
She had a beautiful voice. It was in her complete control as well, the ability to control the tone and pitch had come to her easily, although she had never had any singing or opera lessons.
Angèle began to put all her heart into the tone and notes that she played, hitting all accents perfectly. The two truly did make beautiful music and as the song came to an end, the breeze faded. But they still heard the echo, "I'll protect you, I'm your guiding light..." Then, it too, faded.
The two stood in silence. Finally Matilda spoke. "That was weird... and not just the fact that we did unusually well. That voice. The one in the echo. It wasn't mine," she shook her head slowly, her mind still thinking of it. "But I guess the only way to see who, or what, it was, is to go explore. I mean, it's not like someone is living down there. There's no way, is there?" She turned to Angèle, a little fright in her eyes. They both looked into the darkness that lay before them, and both taking a deep breath in unison, continued.
The lantern burned brightly as they continued in the maze that was the basement of the Cogar Opera House. As they passed columns and arch-ways, each turn they took seemed to take them into another corridor exactly like the last.
Angèle sat down, "We are completely and utterly lost. Everything looks the same. We can't go back and we don't know what is forward. On top of that the oil is running low and what light is left keeps shining in my eyes from that mirror!" She blinked, "That's odd... why would there be a mirror down here?"
"Yeah that's weird," the two approached it, confused and bewildered. "Why would there be a mirror down here? It makes no sense..." Matilda reached out and touched it, her fingers running over the glassy surface. It had an elegant golden frame, roses and other plants carved into it. There was a mystifying quality about it that seemed to capture those who looked into it. A light mist seemed to surround the mirror and area around it, although there wasn't a window to be found.
Angèle put her hand against the mirror, "That's weird," she said, "It feels like there's a breeze coming from the other side..." Then there came the voice again, it was singing, "Come! And believe in me!"
Angèle appeared surprised, "That's from the Resurrection of Lazarus! Who could be singing it?"
"This is getting really creepy," Matilda said, but noticed the look she was getting from Angèle and quickly put her fears behind her. "What do you think we're supposed to do? I mean, and I can't find a way in, and we don't know how to get back. Maybe sing? After all that was from a song..."
Angèle thought for a moment, "I know the words, but you probably don't ... and I don't sing... We'll just have to improvise. I'll play, you sing." Angèle took out her flute and began to play a tune.
Matilda sang with a worried look on her face. She wasn't the best at improvising, and not to mention the fact that she had to go along with Angèle's tune.
(Sung to "Angel of Music")
"Mysterious voice
why do you call me?
Your whispers are
persuading.
Although I wander
closer to you.
Tell me the name
of my captor."
Angèle almost stumbled on one of the notes as the voice replied,
(Sung to "Angel of Music")
"Innocent children you have called me,
Why do you play my song?
Should you wish to know me,
Though others would say it is wrong.
See that your light in the darkness,
Has been here all along!"
At these words the mirror began to rotate and torchlight could be seen from the other side.
