Demon of the Opera

Chapter 2 – Discontent

o-o I see that a few of my old readers found this story and are happy that I've started writing again xD I shall attend to all of your reviews at the end ((something new I wanted to try o-o)) But yes, Nadil is the demon/phantom ((though in hindsight it would have been interesting have the roles switching…and I was actually thinking of Nadil-Raseleane-Lykouleon at the beginning but Khetti said Nadil-Cesia-Rath)) and even though they are in stand-in as the original Pot(at)O characters, that doesn't mean they have to act like them -wicked grin- And as a forewarning, if you're a diehard fan of Phantom of the Opera, even though it'll be similar at points, there will also be MASSIVE changes as well. So don't expect this to be like a rewrite of the story. Take my Sleeping Beauty fic for example xD; So yeah, keep that in mind as this is my version –cackle- Oh, and again, OOC-ness WILL occur. So no griping when it does -o- Any comments griping about how different a character is or how off the story is from the original will be ignored. (or maybe laughed at)

Oh, and there WILL be references to some of my other fics. If you've read them before and you catch it in this fic, then congratulations and if you want, tell me the ones you caught xD; Some are more obvious than others :O -is sneaky like that :3-

Anyway, just wanted to throw that out there first. Now, as I've always said in the past, READ ON!

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It had been a few days since Alfeegi and Ruwalk first settled into the opera house and they had been relieved to hear no more of the demon lord save for in silent whispers among the cast and crew. But they gave the mysterious figure the least of thought as the day of the opera performance drew ever, if slowly, closer. The two had been busy proofing and editing the script here and there to help bring the whole opera more to life, and during that time Ruwalk discovered he had a knack with music.

"It's odd, I really don't remember dealing much with music before," he told Alfeegi one afternoon as he looked over the music. "But ever since I've been here I've been feeling…well I don't know, "in touch" with music. I've even found myself humming to these compositions and I've never even glanced at music notes before!"

"Must be some sort of hidden talent, or as the previous owner had said, something from your past life," Alfeegi murmured as he continued to go through the scripts as well as the paperwork for the costume designs.

"Maybe I was a famous composer in a previous life!" Ruwalk exclaimed as he took in what his partner had said. "It's possible. I think I've got the looks to be one, don't you?"

Alfeegi just snorted. "Don't forget to talk to Ringleys about any changes though. Amazing little faerie. What amazes me more is how he can hold that stick and the players able to see him!"

"Maybe it glows?"

At that Alfeegi just laughed a bit and shook his head. "Maybe. Or maybe it's a whole group of those little water lights playing those instruments."

Ruwalk snorted. "Imagine a water light playing a tuba!"

At that image both of them burst out laughing and were still laughing when they heard a knock on their door and as they slowly started to regain control, Ruwalk managed to shakily call out "C-Come in!" and the door opened slowly to reveal a young girl in her late teens with another girl of about the same age, only instead of the long black hair and lighter colored bangs that the first had, she had short amber hair.

The amber haired girl blinked and raised a brow at the two managers who were still shaking a little. You would have to admit, it was a little difficult trying to rid an image of a small water light blowing into a giant tuba that was probably 20 times its own height and still not laugh. "I hope we weren't interrupting anything," she said amused.

Alfeegi wiped an eye. It had been a while since he laughed like that. On a moment's reflection he realized it had been a very long time. "Oh, no, we were just going over the script and such. What can we do for you two young ladies?"

She grinned. "Actually there is…can you get rid of that bitch Shyrendora from the lead and replace her with Cesia instead?"

The other girl looked at her in shock. "KITCHEL!"

Even Ruwalk and Alfeegi had their eyebrows shot up and were looking at one another as Cesia started to talk furiously with Kitchel, her face a furious shade of pink as the other girl just stood there with a smug grin on her face. As it was obvious that none of what she said was entering Kitchel's mind, Cesia gave an exasperated sigh and turned apologetically toward the still stunned managers. "Please ignore that, I had no idea she was going to say that when we came here!"

Kitchel just made a "t'ch" sound. "Well I, and pretty much everyone else, personally think that you are a better lead! You have a much better voice than hers and you are definitely a lot easier to work with!"

Cesia flushed a bit at that. "I'll admit to the working bit…but I don't think my voice is that great!"

"Oh you LIAR! I've heard you practicing in your room! And I've heard you singing outside! It was like nature was just dancing to your voice!"

"Is that true, Cesia?" Ruwalk asked curiously.

She turned a brighter shade of red. "I-I don't really think so…" she barely whispered as she looked down to the floor.

Ruwalk exchanged glances with Alfeegi and after a brief moment they stood up. The girls blinked and Cesia looked up to find Ruwalk grinning widely at her, sheets of music held out to her. "If you would be so kind as to give us an example?"

At this Cesia went white and stammered as she tried to refuse but before she knew it Kitchel had thrust the papers into her hands and she could feel the music tingle through her. After a few heart racing moments, she started to sing, though a little haltingly and a little hushed, her voice slowly and steadily growing stronger with each measure and soon all three of them were lost within her wondrous and melodious voice. Her voice carried throughout the whole opera house and soon everyone stopped doing what he or she were doing to listen to the mysterious voice, only a few recognizing it as Cesia's. Zoma was able to tell right away and shoving the bucket of paint to one of the other stage crew members he swiftly went to follow the voice only to stop abruptly as there was a high pitched shriek. The spell of the voice had shattered and as Zoma whipped around the hall he quickly ducked back behind the corner and listened as he heard a torrent of voices near the manager's office.

"Shyrendora—," Ruwalk was saying, or try to say rather as the prima donna continued to spew forth her rage.

"I am the one appointed for the lead not this stupid little wench!" Shyrendora shrieked, pointing a pale slender finger at Cesia who was frozen wide-eyed and clutching the papers to her chest.

"Well, yes, you are—" Alfeegi tried to say until Shyrendora turned red faced to him and shrieked, "THEN WHY IS SHE SINGING THE LEAD'S SONG?"

"Because you're a stuck-up bitch and she would be a better lead than you!" Kitchel yelled at Shyrendora heatedly.

Shyrendora rounded on Kitchel then, her red violet eyes cold yet burning with rage at the same time. If looks could kill, Shyrendora's could have created a massacre, but Kitchel was unfazed and just stared back stonily. "How dare you talk to me you little brat!" she hissed, her voice sending chills through everyone present. "Without me you wouldn't even have half of what you see! This pathetic little opera house would be nothing!"

Kitchel winced a little at this. She knew, and everyone else who could hear Shyrendora knew as well. Her voice, though cold as it was, as well as her chilling beauty, had brought in a lot of the business. She was also the only one who had a voice strong enough to take on the leads. It was those reasons that the previous owner had really bothered to keep Shyrendora at all.

But now things were different. A new star was rising within the opera house and Kitchel and the rest of the members knew it. Remembering this, Kitchel felt her strength return and looked at Shyrendora stonily. "That may have been true in the past, but now it's different." Ahs blinked as a thought struck her and she said slowly and deliberately, "And you know it."

Shyrendora just glared at the girl. "Lies! She could never amount to me!"

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone turned to look at Cesia, her knuckles white she was clutching the sheets of music so hard to her chest and her eyes hidden by the shadow of her oddly lighter colored bangs. She took a shaky breath. "…Shyrendora's right…I'm not good enough…not yet at least…I still need to practice more…"

Alfeegi rubbed his temples. "Then it's settled then? Everyone keeps their part and can leave us alone to do the mounting stacks of paperwork?" He wondered how much more he could take of this and dreaded the inevitable future.

Kitchel just glared at Shyrendora before taking Cesia by the hand. "Lets go, Cesia…"

Though her voice had been soft Cesia could feel the frustration her friend was going through. She knew Kitchel hated to lose an argument, particularly one she felt she was in the right. Hastily she handed Ruwalk the music and walked after Kitchel murmuring an apology. Kitchel just gave her a small smile and shook her head. Zoma stepped out from hiding place and gave them both a small but reassuring grin. They returned it and hugged the small horned boy, causing him to blush a bit before zooming back to his post. The two girls sighed and went back to rehearsing their parts.

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The day of the opening night came with no further incident, save for Kitchel "accidentally" dropping a basket of eggs on Shyrendora. The turnout for the performance had been spectacular as usual. When Ruwalk had gone to the ticket booths to ask how the sales were going, Nohiro, one of the ticket sellers, told him they had completely sold out for all performances. Delte, the other ticket seller, added that most of the costumers always came to see these plays, but there were a good few new ones too. Zoma, who had been helping out with ushering the people to their seats, also told Ruwalk that most of the males came just to see Shyrendora. Ruwalk had found this a little disturbing, but if it brought in the business, he supposed it was all right. He could not think on this much longer, though, as he soon discovered he had a new set of problems of his own. After walking around and greeting some of the people, he had shortly discovered a small but ever growing amount of females clustering behind him and, to his utmost horror, they were following him.

"Great," Ruwalk muttered as he hurried away in a desperate attempt to lose them, "just what I need…a fan club." Briefly he wondered if the previous owner had these kinds of troubles and if those were the real reasons she had decided to leave. That or the stress. He could also see that as a good possibility.

As he snaked his way into the auditorium, he was shocked to see so many people there. Even the box seats had been filled. However there was one box still empty and after a moment Ruwalk remembered the note he and Alfeegi had received a few days prior.

He and Alfeegi had been taking a break from watching one of the rehearsals when a note had suddenly appeared on Ruwalk's desk. Seeing the Demon Lord's seal on it he showed it to Alfeegi and they both read it. It had only said the following: Leave box number 5 empty.

Well, we did as he said. I wonder if he'll be watching the opera from there…and it's also the best box seat of the whole house! Ruwalk noted the box's position (it would not be too difficult to remember; it was directly facing the stage. There were 3 rows of 9 box seats and box number 5 was right in the middle of the first row, which was also right in the middle of the whole wall).

When the lights flickered he took his cue and made his way to one of the doors leading to the backstage, ignoring the many pairs of female eyes he felt on his back. He let out a breath of relief after he closed the door and strode through the back halls, taking care to keep out of the performers' way. As he walked through he heard Alfeegi's voice over the intercom, giving everyone last minute instructions. Though Alfeegi's voice was as commanding as ever, Ruwalk could also detect a slight sullenness in it as well. He must still be disappointed that His Lord could not come, he thought, chuckling a bit.

He recalled the day when Alfeegi had gotten the response to the invitation. As usual, it was Rath's fault that the royal family could not come down to see the opera. Something about Shyrendora making him want to puke. They're way too soft on the boy, Ruwalk mused as he leaned against a pillar and watched everyone get to his or her place. Then there was pitch black and the opera began.

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There was a resounding applause, even a complete standing ovation, when the opera was finish. As usual, Shyrendora had received many roses from the male spectators and was taking it all in with a false modesty. Ruwalk just watched her in disgust and wondered what it would have been like if Cesia had played the lead instead. He repressed a smirk from his lips and congratulated everyone on their hard work as the actors came off stage. Alfeegi soon joined him and they both looked at box number 5. It had been empty throughout the whole performance. Alfeegi was a little perturbed by this.

"He tells us to leave it empty and doesn't even show up!" he quietly fumed. "That box alone is worth at least $2000! It's the best seat in the house!"

"Maybe he was there and we just couldn't see him?" Ruwalk offered. "Or," he smirked, "he just couldn't stand to hear Shyrendora's voice?"

Alfeegi just grumbled. "Bitch sent chills every time she sang…"

Ruwalk raised a brow. "There must a blue moon out tonight, this is the second time I've heard you use such language in one month!"

Alfeegi just said nothing and stalked back to the manager's office. It was Ringleys who filled Ruwalk on what had happened.

"Shyrendora told Alfeegi the settings were horrible and the costume made her itch and the spotlight needed to shine more on her and so on and so forth," the little water light had told him. "And then she threatened to leave if you continued to run things the way you do."

Ruwalk thought it would actually be better if the prima donna just left the world completely. He was sure everyone else thought so as well, but the loss would also damage the business and that was the last thing they needed. At least, not until the performances were over. Then maybe…

He let out a sigh and went after Alfeegi only to find his head buried in work and papers. Ruwalk knew better than to try and talk to his friend when he was like this and so decided to just sit at his desk and leaf through his own paperwork. He had a feeling that they would soon be sailing through trouble waters if things continued to go the way they were going.

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Cesia sighed. It was after the second night and as usual the opera was a hit. But she could not help feeling a little slighted and that made her even more miserable. She was now sitting in her dressing room (well, it was also her own living quarters. Like most of the actors, the previous owner had let them stay if they were going to be working there for a long time and did their jobs well, and Ruwalk and Alfeegi had also upheld this policy) and had her arms crossed along her vanity, her head gently resting on her arms and her eyes closed. It was after a few moments of silence when she heard his voice and looked up.

"My sweet angel of music you seem to be in distress." The voice was deep and soothing.

Cesia blushed a bit but she felt comforted by his presence, wherever that may be. "My teacher…I feel shamed by feeling such jealousy toward Madame Shyrendora…"

"You need not feel such ways, and certainly not jealous," he said. "Why feel jealous over one who is inferior to you?"

"Sir!" she said aghast. "I am by no means above her! I'm still learning…!"

There was a soft chuckle. "We shall see…come next performance you shall be the lead. And do not forget to practice lest your voice will harden and you will truly be inferior to that witch."

And then there was silence and she could feel he had gone. Cesia just stared blankly into space. Come next performance? Surely he could not mean the one tomorrow! Perhaps the next opera…but I don't think I could ever make up to be the lead…and surely Shyrendora would throw a fit and Lord Alfeegi and Ruwalk would have to assign her the role…

She sighed and decided to practice her scales like her teacher had instructed her to. She did them softly, however, as she did not want to attract any unnecessary attention to her room. Who knew when her teacher would come again (though she knew it would be a while yet) and she had kept her relationship with him a secret, ever since that first night she came here. Smiling a little at the memory her voice lifted a little and though she did not notice, the flowers within her room started to bloom fuller and even the furniture seemed to liven up.

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Alfeegi by this time had calmed a bit and had decided to just spite Shyrendora's ever growing complaints by doing nothing about them. There was only one night left and then they could worry about the next opera, whatever that may be. He had been pulling off several different operas from the shelves and seeing which had been done before when he heard a soft "pop" and saw a piece of paper with the Demon Lord's seal on it. Wondering what this demon wanted now, Alfeegi snatched the paper and read it. He immediately gave it to Ruwalk and hunted for his blue squishy ball. Once he found it he then immediately began to do what his doctor had told him: squeezed the living daylights out of the thing.

Seeing Alfeegi squeezing the ball as if to kill it (it was a good thing those things don't explode easily), Ruwalk took the paper and read it. He could then see why Alfeegi was feeling the way he was though Ruwalk thought he was taking it a little to the extreme.

Dear Managers of this Establishment,

It has come to my attention that there has been some unrest among the performers and that Shyrendora continues to be her old self. Therefore you should sack the witch at once and replace her with Cesia. If not then there shall be terrible repercussions and Shyrendora may not be the only one to leave.

Yours truly,

The Demon Lord

"Hey, at least he agrees with the rest of us in having that bitch out of this place," Ruwalk said to Alfeegi who had calmed a bit by now and was now just squeezing the ball with less force and anger. His ball had a few dents in it from his nails, but otherwise it still looked the same. "I don't see why we shouldn't do as he says."

"Although I too am in favor of this, the repercussions from Shyrendora might be worse than the ones that demon might do," Alfeegi grumbled. "We can't just sack her with no warning. She might think there was a conspiracy or something and then create some outrageous propaganda about the opera house. Then where would we be?"

"Hm…you have a point there, Feeg." Ruwalk thought for a minute before snapping his fingers. "I got it! How about we hold a contest of sorts between the two of them? Along with us two, we could have some other anonymous judges to help decide who is actually the better." Though I'm sure all of them would agree that Cesia would be better. Hands down.

Alfeegi looked at Ruwalk thoughtfully. "There are times when your brain astounds me, Ruwalk."

"Thanks…I think."

Alfeegi gave a grin and nodded. "All right, that's just what we'll do then. If Shyrendora leaves, then that would be of her own choosing. It may be slow at first but I'm sure Cesia will be able to attract a crowd even greater than Shyrendora! We might have to have more performances!"

Ruwalk laughed. "Oh lords no! Don't torture them more than they already are!"

But they both knew that everyone would not mind working harder if they had a new lead to work with and they had both seen how everyone practically loves Cesia, some more than most. And so they discussed when and how the contest should be held and immediately started drawing up the plans and figuring out who else should be part of the panel of judges.

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After hearing the managers' discussion, a figure slowly crept away from his hiding place above the ceiling of the office and stealthily made his way through the dark upper hallways. No one dared to go up here, save for the few brave technicians who had to access the lightning. But it did not really matter. The one whom they feared did not inhabit this area.

If anyone had been there, they would have seen a young male youkai with light, mint green hair walking through and across slowly rotting wooden boards and planks before swinging on a chain across a wide gap of space. Upon landing he opened a secret door and climbed down the long, dimly torched lit stone stairwell, all the way down to below the opera house and through another secret door. Upon reaching the underground lair he slowly went up to a dark, caped figure sitting in an old antique chair behind an even older hard oak desk, sheets of paper littering its surface.

The youkai stood before the desk. "They'll be holding a contest, my Lord."

The figure raised his head revealing a handsome half masked face, his dark red eyes glowing. "So I see…well then I suppose I should participate in this event. Don't you agree, Sabel?"

Sabel's bright emerald green eyes lit up as he gave his master a soft smirk. "That I do, my Lord. And since I believe the judges will be masked, it would indeed be a perfect opportunity for you. They would never recognize you. Want me to draw up the submission forms, my Lord?"

The Demon Lord gently stroked his chin with a long, slender finger, a quill still held poised in the other hand. "Yes, Sabel. And I suppose you could use my real name. No one would know it was actually me."

Sabel nodded. "As you wish, my Lord. I shall have those ready for you to look over and sign as soon as they are released. How is the opera coming along?"

The Demon Lord looked back down at the several sheets on the desk and gave a small smile. "It should be ready within the next few days, giving me ample time to reread and edit before submitting it. Have you heard anything from the Mistress?"

"Galaba has yet to return, my Lord, though I did receive word from one of my soul soldiers that he is on his way back. I'm assuming she went somewhere far."

"Very good," he said before waving Sabel off. "Carry on then, Sabel."

The youkai bowed and quietly walked down some steps and disappeared through one of the many corridors that branched off from the main room. The pen worked furiously as the Demon Lord continued to create his musical work before he let out a soft sigh and put the quill down. He leaned back against his chair and picked up a framed photograph from the desk, a rueful smile on his face.

"How ironic…you will finally see me yet you will not know it is me…" After a few moments of staring at the picture he gently placed it back and continued to work, his long violet hair gently trailing from his shoulders, the shorter strands hanging from the sides as his head bent low and the pen returned it's furious pace.

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Faraway, standing at the top of some lone cliffs, a girl dressed completely in black gave a small smile as she watched the giant green fish disappear in the horizon. She held up her hand to let a small bird gently perch on her outstretched finger and gently stroked it.

"Looks like the winds of fate are once again working," she softly murmured to the bird before releasing it back into the air, watching it fly after the fish and soon disappearing as well.

Shouldering her backpack she closed her eyes and black and white winds started to surround her and soon she was gone.

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Whoo 8 pages oO Well, barely 8 if I took out that forward at the top xD;; At any rate, this was a rather interesting and time jumpy chapter. Cesia is more like her white counterpart at the moment. Whether or not she stays that way is still up in the air soooo yeah. And as I said before in the previous chapter, I shall address all of your reviews up to this point :D So here we go!

Kavic: S'was the first one to review :D! I hope my fics being addicted isn't too bad xD Thanks though!

Yokai no Miko: Heeey is it bad that this fic is different from the others? XD;; It's always good to have variation!

Knowwi: Yeah, this fic can't be in script format because like Fanfiction disabled ALL of the characters save for like the following- :()!-:;?"' and that's about it I think. Any of my usual keys that I would have used are no longer registered. Not even the equal sign. I mean, what if someone had something to do with an equation? Why write out all the numbers and stuff when you could just like actual numerical equation! Stupid people --;

Peridot-chan: Slap-stick expert? Me? I think you give me too much credit xD! But we'll have to see! It's not the first time I've done something serious so…yeah. But don't worry, I'll still have the humor :3 And also, Rath won't be ANYTHING like Raoul and as I think more about it I don't think I'll have as much angst as I thought I would have, but who knows? But yeah, Rath will be himself. Somewhat…I have a feeling this is sort of in tone of my Hidden Roses fic…erp. But they'll be different for sure!

dark-birdie: o---------O I'm…um…glad you're happy I'm writing again….o------O And you've never seen Phantom of the Opera? For shame! )OOOO (The things I have to come with to make new faces…)

Remana: Disappointed that Nadil is the phantom? Well like I said up top, I had other ideas and even now I'm thinking of other possible ways to do it but I really think this is best. Besides, I've always been a NadilxCesia fan xD;; Glad you like it nonetheless!

bananaluvie-rc: Glad you like it! And I shall continue to chug forward as new waves of ideas keep rushing through me )D