We all know the story of The Phantom of The Opera. We all know how tragic it was for Christine to leave with Raoul. We could all see that love had driven the poor, pitiful soul of the Phantom mad. Erik loved her and in all his life he had wanted just one thing, to love and be loved in return. Christine, a child, left with Raoul for selfish reasons. Christen needed security and she knew that Erik could never giver her that, or so she thought, but of course Raoul could. To an observer one would say that the poor soul of the Phantom was just not destined to be loved. But only God would see Erik's true soul. Only God could give him true love.
Ch 1. ♪
The city of Paris was always a fun and exciting place to live. People were always living a wild and adventurous life. The Paris Opera Populair had burned down and with it, the music all of Paris loved so much. Paris's Theater Magnifique was in high demand now, and the managers welcomed the booming ticket sales.
M. Michel Dubon was a very respectful man. He took a tremendous amount of pride in the performances that the Theater Magnifique put on. He was a man who truly loved his work. But he was a man who loved money, his greed often lead to many bad decisions. He was from a wealthy family, brought up in the south of France. He moved to Paris when he had left home to search the options that many had said Paris possessed. M. Dubon had become a political advisor to a few wealthy men and started making a great sum of money. It was not until her invested some of his money into the cotton industry that he was finally able to work for himself. After earning enough money he bought the Theater Magnifique. He then went in search of a partner.
The second manager M. Patrik Gustav was of the German decent. His parents had left Germany for the start of a new and better life. Although they did leave Germany for no apparent reason, M. Gustav flourished under the environment in Paris. He had blossomed in to an articulate, intelligent, nice, caring man. He, on the contrary, had never actually grown up over money and as a risky boy in the midst of his youth invested everything into the cotton industry. When his luck turned and he became one of Paris' most wealthiest men he then decided to invest what he had already received into the Theater Magnifique. M. Gustav had known of M. Dubon from their profits in the cotton industry and they soon became good friends, deciding it would be wise to run the Theater Magnifique together. Needless to say all of his investments eventually paid off for him.
The star pupil of the Theater Magnifique was seventeen year old girl who was given the name Anna Peré. She was an incredibly short girl with a wide set frame but the face of an angel. Anna had pouty, sensual lips and lighter than air brown eyes. Although she was a small girl she had a personality as big as some of the richest men in Paris. But many did not know that Anna had a voice just as big as her personality and just as heavenly as the music the angels play on their harps up in heaven. Anna won the affection of everyone she met, and if she was disliked it was by people jealous of her talents. Anna was truly considered a gift from God.
The days at the theater were like any other. The managers usually received a note from the infamous Opera Ghost. His demands were quite simple, he always instructed that Box Five be left empty for his personal use, that his salary of fifty thousand francs was always to be paid at the beginning of each and every month until he said otherwise, and that Anna Peré was to always be the lead in any production put on by the Theater Magnifique and if they did not obey his commands, well then a disaster beyond any of their imaginations would occur. Both the Theater Magnifique's managers were both cowards so they obeyed this unknown creature of darkness.
Like any other morning Anna Peré would wander to the theater's magnificent stage. She usually used this time to reflect on the things going on in her life, her empty life. Anna truly did have the love of everyone she met, the respect of her fellow colleagues, and the love of Andrew Caldwell, Duke of Paris. Anna would stand center stage and sing. She would sing of all the things she had lost, her birth mother who was only but a teenager at the time Anna was born. Anna's mother was a small girl named Kimberly Macron and once her mother had found out that she was with child, she threw Kimberly out on the streets.
Kimberly had no where to live and decided it would be best to leave her daughter in the company of someone who would take care of her. So she decided to leave Anna at the doors of the Theater Magnifique. Upon leaving her there the ballet mistress Madam Kathryn Burbon had found Anna and decided to take her in as her own child. Anna had always felt a void without knowing her real mother, but she truly loved her adoptive mother above all else. No one would ever replace Madam Burbon in Anna's heart.
Like most mornings Anna would sing. The theater company did not allow operas to be performed; they saw themselves strictly as a theater company and only that. Anna would sing notes so beautiful that it could have made the angles up in heaven cry. Most of the time when Anna would sing, she would sing so loud that you could not focus on any other thing besides her booming voice. Anna would sing when she thought no one was watching or at least she thought no one was watching. But for the passing months after the destruction of the Opera Populair Anna was indeed being watched. In the wee hours of the morning when she would sing she was being watched. She was being watched by a man who had been denied by fate the chance to truly live, denied by fate the chance to truly be loved, denied by fate the chance to show compassion.
He was a man of darkness, the living dead some would say referring to the distortion of his face. A man at the very height of his potential, while all the while he was never allowed the chance to show his true God given talents. If you knew Erik you would not see a distorted creature rather a true genus, who was so cruelly shunned from society. Filled with so much pain and sorrow it was very hard for him to truly show compassion for anyone. But as he had watched Anna for the last thee months he had begun to feel his heart lift. The burden of hurting Christine with the many murders he had committed was finally starting to fade. With every note Anna sang he felt a sense of rejuvenation come over him. He would have never thought it possible but maybe he was truly falling in love with Anna. Erik felt the need to find out.
The productions the Theater Magnifique were some of the greatest ever performed. They were some of the most romantic, bring you to tears performances you could have ever asked for. Anna Peré was one of Paris' most loved actresses, Anna possessed charm, beauty, and above all else talent. She was the Theater Magnifique's lead actress and had been since she was fifteen. Anna was now seventeen. She was deeply loved by the Theater Company and their patrons, and mainly by the managers. The new production of Romeo and Juliet was in rehearsals and moving along at a steady pace. The new production was to be the star attraction for the end of the season. Things had been going along like normal, the ballet rats were rehearsing in the background and the understudy for Anna, Madam Kathy Degas, was throwing her usual fit.
"Why is it that she always gets the lead for these productions," Madam Kathy wailed over the music, " she has been getting lead roles since she was fifteen and I have been acting a fair good amount of time before her."
M. Gustav was just standing taking her tantrum like a boy getting a beating for trying to steal a cookie from a cookie jar.
" I am just as good as she is wait hell I am far better than her, but no she is the little twit who gets all the lead parts and all the glory that comes with those leads and they all should belong to me." She shrieked even louder
"Well it seems like someone is a little full of themselves." Anna heard M. Richard Cann speak in her ear.
M. Cann was the Theater Magnifique's leading man and was Anna's best friend. M. Cann had been late to rehearsals that day.
"Well Romeo it is about time would you not say?" Anna said smiling at him.
"Stop teasing I know how you hate tardiness but I had a late night last night." Richard said giving Anna a wink and the most devilish grin he had.
"You pig." Anna said laughing as she hit his stomach but only to once again be interrupted but Madam Degas raging voice.
"Gustav I demand that you recast me as the lead right now." She demanded to M. Gustav. "I have been acting longer than that whore. I deserve this part more than she does Gustav."
Her words had caused the whole company to gasp.
Anna just stood there with blazing eyes before she finally spoke. "Madam Degas it is my pleasure to inform you that you have been acting longer than I have been alive." Anna said meaning to insult her age.
"You insolent bitch." Madam Kathy said back rudely and quite shocked at Anna's words.
"Madam shut up and get on with it." Anna yelled once more growing angrier and angrier with each breath. "If we need your service we will notify you at once." Anna said pausing before she finished. "But I am quite positive that we will not been needing your services any time soon." Anna finished with the most satisfactory grin ever.
All that Madam Degas could do was huff loudly off the stage. She had looked as if she had just been slapped in the face by the devil himself.
"Well I now know to never upset you," Richard began grinning. "You are quite frightening if you care to know."
"Oh Richard stop it." Anna said still quite angry by Madam Degas.
For the remainder of the day the theater company rehearsed their scenes and finally around six o'clock they decided to bring an end to rehearsing.
"Anna I will see you tomorrow." Richard said giving her a quick kiss on the forehead.
"Okay and remember to be on time tomorrow, please Richard." Anna said returning his kiss on the cheek.
"Okay I will try." He said teasingly.
Anna was making her way through the stage area to go and wind down in her dressing room, from the stressful day of rehearsals, when she was suddenly stopped by the two managers.
"Excuse me M Dubon, M. Gustav you gave me quite a fright." Anna said smiling at them.
"Oh please forgive us Anna but we have some urgent news to discuss with you." M. Dubon began but Anna quickly cut him off.
"Is it in reference to the Opera Ghost?" She asked worriedly.
For the last few weeks the mysterious Opera Ghost seemed quite taken with Anna and had been leaving strange notes to the managers complementing them on the fact that they featured Anna as the star pupil of the Theater Magnifique. Indeed the Opera Ghost seemed quite taken with Anna.
"No Anna it is not a note from the Opera Ghost but a note from the Vicomte de Destler." M. Gustav said politely as the confusion showed on her face. "I know you do not know who he is but he had offered to pay a great sum if you were to go visit him at his home tonight to provide a little bit of home theater." M Dubon replied.
"Do you wish me to go?" Anna asked them, not entirely believing that they would send her off like this.
"Yes Anna we would like for you to go." Gustav answered, shame covered his face.
He truly did not want to send Anna off like this; he cared for her like most did. He wanted her to be safe from harms ways.
Anna could not believe this but she figured there was no reason to protest their instructions. "Okay I will go." She said skeptically.
"Wonderful Anna the carriage will be ready in one hour so please do not dilly dally." M. Dubon said walking away.
"One hour." Anna said hardly believing that was all the time she had as she looked at M. Gustav.
"Anna I am sorry but it is out of my hands." Gustav said rubbing her shoulder. "Be safe Anna." And with that he too left leaving Anna standing there dumbstruck.