So sorry for the long delay. I finished most of this chapter on my own, which explains how short it is and how long it took me to write it. My cousin and I live far apart, so the joining of our two manic minds is not as frequent as we would like. a quick loving note to my dear reviewers - please check for typos before you post a review. i'm not so good at reading around them. anyways, sorry this intro is so dull compared to the last one, but i am desperately want for sleep and for whatever reason, that makes me feel quite eloquent. more manic episodes will follow in other chapters, i promise. right now though i am about four inches from my pillow and practically drooling on it already. sleepy time nigh-nights.
(collapses.)(snores.)
Meanwhile, Tzipporah was wandering through the Phantom's tunnel.
When she came to the door of the dressing room, she attempted to make a dramatic entrance by kicking it open. Sure, the door swung open, but as she waltzed through the opening she tripped over the unnoticed ridge. "Oh, snap!" She hissed as she picked herself up off the stone floor. Tzipporah would grow to regret her shout. Instead of Christine's room she was in none other than Carlotta's room. The diva of the opera sat straight up in her bed, mud mask and all. Carlotta let out a scream as though she was being murdered.
"THE DEMON OF THE OPERA HAS RETURNED!"
Tzipporah lowered her voice to sound like the Phantom's and growled "Silence you toad!" and quickly drove back into the tunnel, slamming the door.
"Back, shoulder, face..OW!" she said as she tumbled down the stairs.
Mental note: don't dive down the stairs. It ain't fun.
Tzipporah picked herself up off the stone floor, and pressed her ear against the door. She heard about 3 sets of feet come running to Carlotta's aide, then Carlotta panting out, "I saw the Phantom!"
Someone told her she must have been mistaken, the Phantom hadn't been seen in the Opera house since Christine left.
"I tell you I saw a Phantom! Only he was shorter... and black!"
Another voice sounded astonished, "A black Phantom..."
Tzipporah suddenly felt a firm hand on her shoulder. The Phantom whirled her around. "What do you think you are doing!" He whispered fiercely, taking her by the arm and practically dragging her down the tunnel. Once in back in the lair, he exploded.
"I told you never to leave the lair!" He yelled.
To the Phantom's surprise, Tzipporah remained perfectly calm in the sight of his anger. He was not used to that. "No, actually," Tzipporah began, "what you said was 'there aren't many children wandering around the opera house.'" She made quotations with her fingers and everything. "But the fact is, I'm not a child, and I wasn't wandering around the opera house. I was poking around in your tunnels."
The phantom glared at her ferociously, then looked at her attire. "Is that my cape?"
"Yeah. They're calling me the Black Phantom! How awesome is that?"
"You stole my cape!"
"What? I was cold. Come on you've got like fifty of them laying everywhere."
"I do not."
"You're wearing one just like it right now."
"Don't patronize me, you little wretch!"
"I was going to put it back." Tzipporah said.
"Good. That's better."
"Oh no. I said I was going to put it back. I changed my mind. This one is mine now. Besides, I've got a name for myself now. I've got to keep my image intact."
The Phantom suddenly became infuriated, needing to make her fear his anger. He grabbed her by the collar and got in her face. "If you value your life, you will NEVER leave the lair again!"
Tzipporah stared at him. "Excuse me. You're in my bubble."
The Phantom reluctantly released her, still pulsating with rage. Tzipporah spun around and marched confidently into what was now her bedroom, and shut the door quietly. The Phantom rubbed his neck, trying to calm himself down. As he stormed over to his Gondola, he frowned. "The Black Phantom?" He said to himself in disbelief, climbing into his boat and gliding away swiftly.
