HaHa thank you to all my reviewers again! I don't have time for individual thanx, but I'll put them in the next chappie!
Disclaimer: I do not own PotO.
A week later, Erik resumed his usual place in Box 5 to watch the rehearsals. He watched as the dancers and chorus take their places, and watched the lead soprano, Mademoiselle Bosley (who, he felt, sang no better then La Carlotta), take her place in front center stage.
"This trophy from our saviors,
From the enslaving force
Of Rome!" the diva sang, holding what was supposed to be a severed head, but what Erik recognized as a white sack filled with cotton which had lipstick features for the face. Erik raised his eyebrows slightly. The cast had improved since he had last seen them work.
"With feasting and dancing and song,
Tonight in celebration,
We greet the victorious throng,
Returned to bring salvation!" The girl's chorus sang, and Erik strained to hear Jane's voice. She certainly was quiet! Erik had watched from behind Jane's mirror every night for a week, and every night she had sang to herself in a low soprano voice. Every night, Erik found himself thinking of how much she reminded him of Christine.
Erik suddenly had an idea. He could... teach her! Yes, of course! Under his influence, her voice would become great. She could become the next lead soprano! Erik knew that her voice surely had the potential to be great, and he knew that her voice would be great if he guided it. He knew it would... Yes... he would make her voice as great as Christine's.
Wait... Christine. Erik felt a hot tear trickle down his face at the thought of her. Had he really forgotten her that easily? Had he really been able to forget that she had once been the center of his life? How? Erik watched Jane's flawless arabesque and suddenly realized how.
No! It couldn't be! Could he be falling in love with this young girl just as easily as he had Christine? Of course not... he simply wanted to make her great... But the more he tried to convince himself that that was true, the less he could believe it. He... was falling in love with Jane, no matter how hard he tried to deny it, and he couldn't help it. She reminded him so much of Christine, that it was hard (at least for Erik) not to love her.
Her voice was almost identical to Christine's (before Christine was taught, of course), and so was her figure. The long, slender legs, perfect for dancing, the thin, regal torso and neck, the wavy flowing brown hair. It was like seeing Christine all over again! The only difference was Jane's face. Jane had more of a childish, shy look of innocence on her face; Christine had had a more mature, graceful look. When dancing, though, Erik could hardly see their faces, so what their facial features were didn't matter to him.
But why? Why am I falling in love again? Christine was an angel, and even still she left me...
Well, I think it may be worth it to try again. If I do fail, at least the gunpowder is ready... Maybe miss Beaumont will be different... after all, underneath her body, even if it resembles Christine's so much, there may rest a different heart, more capable of love for a monster...
Erik, his mind made up, left the box with a twirl of his cloak. He silently and secretly wandered down the hall to his home. There was so much to prepare for...
This chappie is a little short, but I hope you all enjoyed, regardless. Review, please!