Two days later, Odette
was sitting in the Chagny dinning room eating her breakfast, under
the disapproving glare, when Raoul entered looking perturbed.
"What's wrong?" She asked. He looked up from the letter he
was carrying, mystified. Shrugging he threw the letter to her, it was
written on mourning paper, in strangely labored handwriting, and red
ink. "Do not fear for Miss Daaé, the angel of music has her
under his wing," she read aloud, "make no attempt to see her
again." The note was simply signed "The Managers." "Can I see
the envelope this came in?" she asked. Again, Raoul tossed the
paper across the table at her. Odette's blood ran cold when she
turned the envelope over and saw the seal, it was an intricate skull
set in blood red wax. "Um…you had better ask the managers about
this." Odette stammered, sure that the letter was from Erik.
However, Odette was unwilling to alarm the Vicomte, she was surprised
that he hadn't suspected with the 'angel of music' line, but if
he didn't realize that was Erik…
The Vicomte nodded angrily.
"Get dressed," he demanded, "we are going to the Opera!"
Raoul stormed in to the Opera, dragging Odette behind him,
demanding that the managers explain the note. Odette was not at all
surprised to hear that the Managers had also received notes, theirs
signed O.G., asking for the Phantom's salary and demanding that
Christine take the place of the current Diva, Carlotta.
Moments
later Carlotta herself waltzed into the Opera trailing an entourage.
She too had received a note hers reading, "Your days at the Opera
Populaire are numbered, Christine Daaé will be singing on your
behalf. Be prepared for a great misfortune should you attempt to take
her place." La Carlotta blamed Raoul for sending the note, and
began to throw a world class temper tantrum. Luckily, Madame Giry
entered followed by the blonde that had spoken to Odette in the
dormitories. She informed everyone that Christine had returned and
was now resting. She then produced a note of her own explaining that
the other notes had been sent by the Phantom of the Opera, and
detailing his plans for Il Muto, threating a disaster beyond the
imagination should his demands be ignored. Again, Carlotta began to
scream about this being a plot to help Christine, which in fact it
was. Although it was planned by Erik and not Raoul as everyone
suspected. While Carlotta screamed Odette squeezed Raoul's hand and
slipped away to Christine's dressing room. "Erik! Erik, where are
you? Let me through!" Odette plead, banging on the mirror. Once
again the mirror shown with a brilliant light and opened, this time
however, Erik was not there. Odette started down the corridor calling
Erik as she went. She descended a flight of stairs to find the giant
white horse she had seen in the Opera court a few days before.
"Ceasér?" she asked, "What are you doing down her?"
She noticed a note pinned to his saddle "Odette," it read, "I
was expecting you to come about my notes. I saw you riding this
horse, he can lead you to the lake, I'm sure you can find your way
from there." Odette laughed and leapt to Ceasér's back,
"Alright boy, lead me to him." Ceasér took off, flying
down the passages, and in no time Odette found herself at the edge of
the lake she had seen before. Now there was a corral, in which she
left Ceasér. The gondola was still tied to the bank, and
Odette jumped in and started pushing herself across the lake,
wondering exactly how one was supposed to control a gondola. Once she
had gotten almost halfway across the lake she heard the most amazing
singing, sounding like it was coming from the bottom of the lake.
Curious, Odette leaned over the side of the gondola trying to find
the singer, when a memory of an ancient myth about sirens crossed her
mind and she leapt back into the boat, and started to push the
gondola as fast as she could. Finally, she reached the opposite bank
and leapt from the boat, pulling it up on the bank after her. Erik
came out of the house, to greet her and she turned on him, noticing
that he was dripping wet, her eyes flashed with anger. "You tried
to kill me! Erik how could you, you knew I would be coming down here,
you left me the horse! You stole the horse!" She added, seeing this
as the worst of his recent crimes. "And still you try some sort of
Siren trick to drown me! Erik, what is your problem?" Odette
actually bellowed in anger. Erik looked at her and couldn't resist
a smile, her normal pallor was replaced by a flush of anger, her
beautiful red hair had been blown asunder by her wild ride down the
passages, and her eyes were an angry gray. "Don't smirk at me!
Erik, I want an explanation!"
"I wouldn't have pulled you
in." He still smiled at her, she raised an eyebrow in response.
"So, how do you do it, singing underwater?" Erik's eyes lit
up, he had always liked to explain his inventions.
"You
remember I'm a ventriloquist?" Odette nodded. "I sing from the
bank, and if I have to swim out I use a reed to breath under water"
he said showing it to her, "I learned the trick from the Tonkin
pirates."
"Who have you used that trick on before?"
"Only
one, the Daroga, I realized it was him before I drowned him."
"So,
what do you have in mind, Erik?"
"What do I have in mind?"
He asked confused by the change in the conversation.
"Tonight
Erik, what do you have in mind if Christine doesn't sing in Il
Muto?"
"Carlotta will regret it, she will be ruined."
"How so? How many will get hurt?"
"No one." Odette
closed her eyes relieved. "I brought Christine down here last
night" Odette's eyes flew open in surprise, she had not believed
that part of his notes. "She saw me, my face. Odette, you were
wrong, she loves me for me!"
"So do I!" Odette's eyes
flashed again. "Erik I love you so much, I want you to be happy."
"I am happy, I have Christine." Odette sighed.
"No,
Erik I want you to be happy, with me. I love you! Erik can't you
see that?"
"Be in box five tonight. You will see what happens
to Carlotta from there. I'll see you then." And with that Erik
disappeared into his house. Sighing Odette started back across the
lake.
