Chapter III

The Angel of Music

I slowly opened my eyes and saw at least ten of the chorus girls standing around me. Each one with a look of worry and fear upon their faces. When my eyes were open, someone shouted, "She's awake!" I looked around, thoroughly confused, and quickly sat up.

"What's going on?" I asked hastily. I could hear the tension in my own voice. Madison and Milly were the ones right next to my bed, inspecting me as if I had died and then suddenly came back to life.

"We were worried sick! Rose! What happened?" Madison's voice was jumpy.

"What are you talking about?" I looked from Milly to Madison. They both looked relieved, yet frightened.

"Well, you wouldn't wake up!" Milly squeeked.

"We thought you were dead at first!" one of the girls said. The door to our room flung open at that moment, and a voice shrieked,

"What's the meaning of this? Why aren't you all downstairs? What's happened?" It was Madame Lauralai, in her normal, strict-mannered temper.

"Rose wouldn't wake up, mamsel," one of the girls answered in a jittery voice.

"Rose? Is she all right? Where is she?"

"I'm here, Madame," I answered bleakly. I heard her move quickly over to me. She looked me over then felt my forehead.

"Are you sick?" she asked. I shook my head. "Well, then, get up. We must start getting ready for dress rehearsals, and I highly suggest you get some food in your stomach, Miss White." Madame Lauralai then gathered herself and walked briskly out the door.

The girls scattered, some leaving for downstairs, others continued getting dressed. "You sure gave us a scare, Rose," Madison said gravely. "We thought you'd left us for a moment." Madison finished buttoning up her shirt before she turned to me and whispered, "I saw a man last night..." Madison came right up beside my bed and sat on her knees, looking me right in the eyes. "He was here...in this room...I didn't want to tell anyone, but I thought that might have been who shook you up." She looked at me, waiting for a reply. For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to tell her who I saw. Then, I remembered what my grandmother had called Erik...she called him an Angel...an Angel of Music. And so I decided that's what this new Phantom was.

"Madison, it was the Angel of Music. He came to me last night..." Madison looked at me in disbelief, then started to get up from her sitting position. I grabbed her arm. "Wait, Madison, remember what I told you about that man I thought I saw, and that voice I thought I heard? It was him, Madison. You have to believe me!" Madison shook her head.

"There is no Angel of Music, Rose. I've heard of it before, but that man has been dead for years. And he wasn't an angel," Madison said in a low, menacing voice.

I was startled by her reaction. "Wh-?"

"Don't think I don't know about the Phantom, Rose. Many of us know about him, few of us choose to speak of him. But that Phantom has been dead for years. And even if he was still alive, he wouldn't live here. He left over a decade ago. If you're going to lie, Rose, don't even bother-"

My face grew hot. She thought I was lying? "That's not who I'm talking about, Madison!" I cried. "This is a new phantom...a different one...he's young...very young...maybe in his twenties..."

"There is no Phantom!" Madison snapped. I had never seen her so paranoid in all my life. I was completely taken-aback. "Don't try to get me to believe in things that aren't real, okay? I don't need anything on my mind right now, and it's enough that you feel you should lie to me about this."

I wanted to reply, but I couldn't. I didn't know how to make her think that I was telling the truth. I was telling the truth. Yet, Madison didn't want to believe that what I was saying was the truth.

Madison left the room in a storm. I looked after her, confused and hurt. I saw Milly watching me from the corner of my eye, and I turned to her. She quickly looked away and walked after Madison.

I thought long and hard about missing dress rehearsals and saying I was sick, but then I remembered what the Phantom had wanted me to do. Go to both rehearsals? That sounded ludicrous. But I got dressed in a simple button-up dress and headed for downstairs. I decided to skip the breakfast room and go straight to my first rehearsal with the Phantom. I don't think I could stomach anything at that moment anyway.

I was halfway down the third flight of stairs when I remembered that I had no idea where the Phantom's lair was. I couldn't have been more upset. Not only would Madison be mad at me, but I would get the Phantom angry with me for missing his rehearsal. I sat on the steps of the staircase and put my head in my hands and started to cry. This was all going wrong. If only the Phantom were here with me now. Maybe he could make the pain go away.

"Rose, why do you cry?" a voice called out. I lifted my head to look around, but saw no one.

"Phantom?" I cried.

"It is your Angel, love." My heart started beating rapidly. This time, it wasn't from fear, but anticipation.

"Come to me, Angel," I cried again. And then, out from nowhere, stepped the Phantom. He dressed in red and black and this time he had a cloak covering everything on the right side of his face but his eye. He looked at me with sorrow and with strength in his eyes. I could feel myself become stronger just by holding his gaze. Slowly, the Phantom walked over to me and held out his hand.

"Dry your tears, my Angel," he whispered to me in a soothing voice. "We have much to accomplish today." I did as I was told and dabbed away the tears streaming from my eyes and down my cheeks. I reached out for his hand and he gently helped me up, his eyes never leaving mine. "Come, we must be swift."