White Roses
Disclaimer: I'm running out of interesting (coughcough) disclaimers. So, none of this is mine. Zip, zilch, nil, nada, zero.
Comeuppance
Erik groaned in effort as he lugged the last piece of the pipe organ from the gondola. Antoinette had not helped him as much as she had promised, so Erik was relegated to do most of the work himself in moving the massive instrument. As soon as he learnt how to play it, Erik intended to compose a piece for Antoinette. As their friendship grew stronger, Erik found himself looking forward to their brief moments together more than anything. He felt some sort of connection with the young ballerina; from time to time their eyes would meet, she would give him that shy smile of hers, and his heart seemed to beat that little bit louder.
Sighing as he looked at the scattered pieces of pipe organ littering the floor, Erik began to fit them together again. The pipes he had already installed several days ago with Antoinette's help and now all that was left to do was to assemble the body of the instrument. He hoped to finish the task before Antoinette came; she had expressed a desire to hear what he had been playing on the violin recently, and Erik had gladly taken the hint and invited her to come and listen during her lunch break.
x-x-x-x
Antoinette glanced at the backstage clock for what seemed like the hundredth time. The ballet rehearsal was progressing infuriatingly slowly and she was very much looking forward to visiting Erik again. He's a strange one, she thought affectionately. His enthusiasm for his music was childlike and would be adorable was he not so accomplished or his music so mature for one so young. Nevertheless, Antoinette enjoyed his company and it was obvious that Erik took pleasure in the novelty of having such a close acquaintance. However, she had not been visiting him as regularly ever since meeting Lucas; Antoinette and the new manager's son had formed a close bond and she spent much of her spare time with him, much to the delight of the gossips in the ballet dormitories.
Finally, Madame Leblanc dismissed the dancers and Antoinette eagerly got ready to leave. She was about to exit through the stage door when she felt a familiar tap on the shoulder.
"Luc," she said without even turning around.
"You do learn quickly, Antoinette," Lucas replied, smiling.
"You make it easy for me," Antoinette replied. "Your consistency is unfailing."
Lucas grinned. "How would you like to join me for lunch? If you like, we could go to that little café over the road."
Antoinette sneaked another glance at the clock, wondering how far she could push her luck before Erik noticed her tardiness. He had become quite touchy about the issue recently as her lack of punctuality became more and more noticeable.
"Why not eat from the opera's restaurant as usual?" she suggested, hoping that the compromise would buy her time.
"Because you are too special," Lucas replied, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Come, you will be back in plenty of time for the afternoon rehearsal."
Antoinette shifted her weight uncomfortably, knowing that she should decline Lucas's offer, but also knowing that she could not come up with a reasonable excuse on the spot that did not involve Erik. She had never been a good liar. Reluctantly, she nodded, pasting a smile on her face and allowing Lucas to take her hand in his. Please understand, Erik, she thought.
x-x-x-x
Erik glared at the alarm clock, trying to resist the urge to hurl it across the room. Instead, he returned to the completely assembled pipe organ and played a series of angry chords. Antoinette was late again, despite promising Erik that she would be punctual. He knew that her afternoon rehearsals began in less than fifteen minutes, and had resigned himself to the fact that she probably would not show up. It was always hard on him when Antoinette did not pay a promised visit; she was the only person Erik had ever been able to trust, and in moments of self-doubt he sometimes wondered if she took him for granted, knowing that he had no choice but to remain in his underground chamber.
Or do I? Erik suddenly thought. Why do I restrict myself to lurking down here in the dark and waiting for her? With that thought, Erik made up his mind. He would go and look for Antoinette and catch her before her rehearsal started. There was no reason why he couldn't; he was adept at hiding himself. Donning a large, black cape he had taken from the costume department, Erik boarded the gondola and set out to find Antoinette.
By the time he reached the top of the winding staircase, Erik found himself quite out of breath. He took a few brief moments to recuperate before shrinking into the shadows in the narrow passageways and sneaking into the flies. He found his way there with no trouble, but left immediately upon noting that the afternoon rehearsals appeared to be running far behind schedule; the soprano was in a state of panic upon finding herself hoarse that morning and had dealt with the stress by running into the arms of Marcel Giry, who seemed quite bewildered by the whole ordeal. Erik, on the other hand, found it rather amusing.
However, Erik was not there to watch a melodramatic opera singer throw a tantrum - he was there to find Antoinette. Twirling his cape for effect, he delved deeper into the opera house, heading for the ballet dormitories. Erik made his way through the corridors unhindered and gradually began to relax and was soon running freely, not bothering to stay inconspicuous. It was because of this that he did not see little Madeleine coming around the corner and therefore ran straight into her, knocking both of them to the ground.
Erik was back on his feet before Madeleine and, cursing himself for his carelessness, quickly shrank back into the dimly lighted corner. Madeleine slowly stood up, brushing herself off irritably, but before she could continue on her way, an object caught her eye. Erik clapped a hand to the right side of his face as the tiny dancer bent down and picked up the leather mask, small nose wrinkled in confusion. It must have slipped off when we fell, Erik thought. Why did I not ask Antoinette to find a smaller mask? Erik quickly considered his options, but decided almost immediately that he did need his mask back as his sack had long since disappeared.
Taking a deep breath, Erik pulled himself up to his full height and advanced on the girl, still covering his deformity with one hand. Madeleine's eyes widened in fear as she cowered under the him; although he was but a boy, her own diminutive height made Erik appear to be a giant.
"You have something of mine," Erik said, extending his left hand.
Tiny hand shaking, Madeleine held out the mask, but when Erik took it from her, she finally found her voice. The girl opened her mouth wide and screeched shrilly, pelting away from Erik as fast as she could.
x-x-x-x
Antoinette was panting as she joined the rest of the corps de ballet. Upon realising that the afternoon rehearsals were delayed, she had lingered a little longer at the café with Lucas and had completely lost track of time. She was expecting to be met by a stern glare from Madame Leblanc, but instead was met by a hysterical Lisette.
"Antoinette! Antoinette!" the blonde girl cried. "There's a ghost!"
"I beg your pardon?" Antoinette said, wondering what story had sprouted this absurd allegation.
"Madeleine - she was going back to the dormitory and she collided with something! She says it threw her right across the corridor! And then - oh! It must have been terrible! A ghost - a real, live ghost, Antoinette! It came out of the shadows and it spoke to her!"
Antoinette sighed. "Was it not Madeleine who went out with Isabelle and those stagehands last night and returned after drinking - what was it? Five bottles of wine between them?"
Lisette stamped a foot in indignation. "Well, yes, but she swears that this is true!"
"Do you not think that perhaps the tale is just a little far-fetched?"
"No! Not at all!" At this, Lisette lowered her voice in a secretive manner. "She says that she touched him - and his hands were so cold and clammy!"
"Why would she touch a ghost?" Antoinette was finding the story more and more ridiculous as it progressed.
"He dropped something when he bumped into her," Lisette said, triumphantly. "She was giving it back and its hand brushed against hers."
"And what, pray, would this object be?"
"A mask. A white, leather mask. Madeleine said that he was covering his face when she saw him. I wonder what he looks like underneath? Maybe he has no face! He is a ghost after all! Oh! We shall all have to be so very, very careful now, shan't we, Antoinette? Antoinette?"
But Antoinette had not heard anything after Lisette had mentioned a mask. Erik, she moaned, inwardly. What were you thinking? Meanwhile, Élodie had joined the group of dancers and Lisette had immediately run off to relay the story to her friend.
x-x-x-x
Erik crouched in a corner up in the flies. He had followed little Madeleine and had watched, intrigued, as she shrieked out her story to anybody who would listen. She embellished quite a lot, and Erik found it morbidly fascinating to watch people gasp as they imagined what horrors this alleged 'ghost' would wreak on his victims. In fact, the more Erik thought about this, the more he liked the idea. He had not forgotten his vow of revenge on the ballet rats who had ridiculed him so, and under the guise of being a ghost, he found a whole array of ideas for pranks came to mind. With a twisted smile, Erik decided that there was not a moment to waste.
x-x-x-x
Antoinette tried to forget about Erik's rash actions and ignore the gasping dancers but yards away from her, however she found it quite impossible. What would they think if they realised who Erik really was? And what if his presence was somehow linked back to her? Antoinette winced at the idea of the ramifications she would face for keeping a sideshow freak hidden in the opera house. But before she could work herself into a nervous wreck any more, Madame Leblanc called the girls to centre stage so they could go through their routine again. Antoinette took her place in the back row and all thoughts of Erik left her as she pirouetted and leapt about the stage in synchronisation with the rest of the corps de ballet.
They were beginning the routine for a second time when Antoinette heard a creaking up in the flies. She raised her head and opened her mouth in horror, but the scream never came. She simply watched helplessly as a heavy backdrop crashed down onto the stage, trapping the front line of dancers underneath it. While everybody else immediately ran to the aid of Amandine, Madeleine and the others, Antoinette searched the flies with her eyes. She knew that she stood little chance of catching a glimpse of Erik if he did not want to be seen, but a flash of the white mask gave him away. Brown eyes met amber orbs and she was shocked to see a smirk play about his lips before he twirled his cape and disappeared back into the gloom.
x-x-x-x
As Erik began poling the gondola, he felt a grim sort of satisfaction. He had successfully scared the wits out of the ballet rats while simultaneously showing Antoinette that he was not content to sit helpless and alone. The falling backdrop had been simple, but effective. He would have to remember that one.
And ... reviwer reply!
Missy, it truly is an under-represented idea, isn't it? Glad to know that someone else shares that view ;)
