When she awoke, she felt refreshed and well rested. She walked towards the window and threw it open. Dazzling sunlight poured inside the room, alighting her face with a sparkling glow. However, she had just remembered some thing. 'I didn't bring anything, so I'm going to have to go get some clothes' she thought. She, however, needed some thing to wear now. She looked through the wardrobe, but all there was to wear was victorian gowns, corsets and whatnot. 'Well, I will be staying in here, so it shouldn't matter to much' she thought and pulled out a red and black gown. She also put on some elbow high, black gloves. Brushing out her hair and puting in her earings she looked into the full size mirror. She was dazzling, and her necklace was the perfect touch. She found the purple bag she was wearing the night before and pulled out her cd player. She popped in some metal, and stepped out of the room.
Walking down the wide steps she caught sight of Damion. Turning off her music and setting it aside, she called out his name. He turned around suddenly and was in shock. She looked like she had just walked out of a movie! Her hair fell so perfectly against her pale neck, and her dress fit her snugly, moving with every curve of her body, then billowing out the way those dresses do. She looked up from under her lashes and gazed at him intently, raising an eyebrow. He shook his head weakly and walked towards her. She giggled softly.
"How have you been Mr. Sorind?" she asked pleasantly, smiling.
"Oh no, call me Damion, ok?" He said immeadiately. "I'm fine. How about you, Miss Cere?" he continued. Dutchess giggled a bit and said
"Please call me Dutchess, Damion, and I am radiant" she said with a smile. She looked around 'it's so quiet here' she thought.
"Where is everyone?" she asked Damion, confused. He smiled.
"It's 6 am" he said. 'Wow, I woke up early. I normally wake up around noon!' she thought.
"Oh wow, is it really that early?" she asked, suprised. He nodded and excused himself; he had to get the performance paperwork out of the way. Dutchess nodded and started to look around the theater.
'It's really alot bigger then it looks' she thought going through several large hallways and rooms. At around 10 was Brunch, so all of the cast was brought into the huge dining room. No one was talking to each other. Dutchess tried to start a conversation with the man who played the brother, but he ignored her.
"Why will no one talk to me?" she wondered aloud. Damion answered from across the table.
"They are shy of you because of your style. I supposed they just aren't used to the fact that the star of the show is a rocker" he said nicely. However, she got the point. They didn't like people who were different. She ate her brunch in silence, not eating much of the feast before her. Damion looked at her in worry. 'What if she's sick?' he wondered to himself.
After brunch he aproached Dutchess.
"Would you like a tour of the Norian Theater?" he asked her.
"Oh, yes, of course! " she said immeadiately, tired of the gloom of her partners. He smiled and lead her through the theater. He showed her the library, kitchens, guest rooms, and the accual theater room. He also explained that his sister and he both live in the theater. Finally, he showed her the gardens.
The gardens are very large and expansive. In the very center was a large statue of a beautiful maiden, in a flowing white dress. The additional statues, including the maiden, were made of white marble.
"Oh, wow" Dutchess said in awe. Damion nodded, looking at her, instead of the scenery. He walked towards her quietly. She turned suddenly and found herself staring into his ever so close eyes. She then blushed and started to take a step back when he grabbed her hand. She looked back, when he shook his head weakly, and let go. 'What am I doing?' he thought to himself. His sister then walked out, completely ignoring Dutchess.
"Damion, it's time for practice and you're late" she said in irritation. Dutchess looked at her in annoyance. 'So this is how it's going to be, now is it' she thought, knowing that they would never be bunk buddies. Walking past Angelica in spite, she entered the theater closing the door in Angelica's face.
From the room where he was watching, the Phantom chuckled lightly. 'Excelent' he thought.'She's perfect. I must have her.' He moved to the the beams in the ceiling, invisable to all. The first scene they would practice would be when the detective is introduced to the families.
"Hello, I am detective Walice Harper, at your service" the man who played him said, shaking hands with the man's family. His mother was supposed to be quite dramatic and his father unfeeling.
"Yes, very nice to meet you" he said in a rough voice. The mother wimpered.
"I want you to tell us how he died, and if it was murder I want the culprit to get what he deserves" she said in a watery voice. 'Wow,' Dutchess thought. 'These guys are good' Walice turned to Dutchess gravely.
"And you're the fiance, I presume?" he asked. Dutchess hung her head, her hair swinging forward to hide her face. Damion from below and the Phantom from above both thought 'perfect'.
Walice patted her shoulder understandingly and moved on to introduce himself to Dutchess's family.
"So, you must be the parents of this young lady." said Walice. Her mother was supposed to be particular about what she thinks is proper and her father was supposed to be a nervous, and greedy man.
"Yes, I am Mrs. Cere and this is Professor Cere." the actor said, gesturing towards the father figure with her long bony hand. The father of Dutchess was thing and short and the mother tall and elegant. However, she looked like a gust of wind could sweep her away. The parents of the man who was to marry Dutchess were both quite thick, while the detective looked like, well, a detective. He was a bit pudgy and went with the whole Sherlock look.
Walice shook his hand and we were told to quit by Damion. I looked up, surprised.
"Already?" she asked. He nodded and began to explain.
"We have 6 months before the play, and I don't want anybody over working themselves" he said. Dutchess giggled a bit. Hanging her head wasn't exactly hard.
"Okay then" she said and jumped off the stage in her dress and went back to the hall way to fetch her cd player. She got it and began wondering the Theater, moving deeper and deeper into the basment. She then reached a door and tried if, but it was locked. Disgruntled she walked back up, but then stopped. She thought she heard a chuckle coming from the walls, over her music. She turned it off and pulled out her headphones, listening. She stood like this for about 5min, but didn't hear anything. FInally she shook her head and turned her music up as high as it would go and moved back up to the main rooms of the theater. The laugh came agian, unheard by her. It revebrated against the walls strangely.