The Phantom of the Opera: Chapter 3
Disclaimer: DC Comics owns "Teen Titans." Gaston Leroux owns the original story of "The Phantom of the Opera." Andrew Lloyd Webber owns the musical version. I own whatever I write/create. Don't steal and don't sue.
A/N: If some original characters in this story confuse you, please refer to my story "Book of Demons" for more information about them.
Robin grabbed the doorknob with a grin on his face. The grin turned to a scowl when he found that the door was locked. He pushed against the door with his shoulder, scoffing angrily when it did not give way to him.
"I am your Angel of Music…
Come to me: Angel of Music…"
"Starfire!" The voice he so loathed made his own cry come out as a snarl. He stepped away to gain ground to rush, rounding his shoulder again. A single step was taken before fingers wrapped around the back of his collar. He choked on his own cravat from the sharp tug that was given to him.
"What in the hell are you doing?" Robin jerked away from a suddenly slackened hand, whirling around to find a glaring Chaos. He sneered at her and began to straighten his cravat.
"I am le Vicomte de Wayne!" he snapped.
"That wasn't my question," Chaos replied. "I want to know why you're trying to break into a room."
"Mademoiselle Starfire is supposed to have supper with me," he said tightly.
"How strange," Chaos remarked. "She looked ready to sleep on her feet when I left her alone five minutes ago. When exactly did you make these plans with her?"
"That's none of your business, woman," he grumbled. "Give me the key or leave." He held out his hand, thrusting it forward insistently.
"I have a better idea." Her hands shot out, one grabbing his wrist and the other his shoulder. She twisted him about, wrenching his arm behind his back. He gasped as her grip tightened. "Leave the Opera House now, and I won't throw you out."
"What makes you think you can?" he demanded. He tried to pull his arm free, and she pressed his hand flush against his shoulder blade in return.
"I doubt very much that Starfire would suddenly agree to go to supper with a man she had never met before when she's exhausted," she hissed in his ear. "Leave. Now." She shoved him away, moving to stand in front of the door. Robin scowled and rubbed his sore wrist. He gave a valiant attempt, but he could not match her cool stare with any of his heated scowls. Unable to do anything else, he turned away and started to leave. If he dared to throw a glance back over his shoulder toward the dressing room, Chaos was there, staring at him with her red eyes.
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It was five months ago that the Angel of Music first appeared in Starfire's life. For some time, the young woman had been struggling to rediscover her voice. She had faint memories of singing with her sister, but only songs in their native language. The first time she sang in the Paris Opera House, the instant, general impression was that she was horrible. For a child who had been told her entire short life that her voice was beautiful and wonderful, it was a painful slap in the face.
Five months ago, as she sat praying for the souls of her sister and father, Starfire visited those happy memories of singing. In the quiet solitude of the stone room, she had tried to sing. Her voice had grown weak from years of disuse, and she was frightened to even open her mouth. All but whispering her favorite song from childhood, she had heard a voice speak from all around.
"Stronger," the voice had said encouragingly. Starfire had hesitated, but tried to do what the voice said. Her lessons began the moment she accepted the gentle command. The voice visited her when she was alone, and the masked woman in dark clothing soon inhabited her dreams.
It was that masked woman she followed down through the dark corridors. There were so many names for this woman that Starfire could only think of a choice few as they walked, hand-in-hand, deeper and deeper into the lowest, uncharted, and unknown levels of the Opera House.
The Opera Ghost. The Angel of Music. Raven. The last name was a gift in and of itself. It had taken a few days for the masked woman to reveal her true name, but only after Starfire had nearly begged for her to do so. The fact that Starfire's Angel of Music had a human name did not take away from her mystique and her high standing in the young woman's eyes. They grew close in those five months, as their time together was not limited to Starfire's lessons.
Raven asked of Starfire's life, and Starfire learned of the world at large in return. There were times wherein they would simply talk for hours on end, with every subject leading into the next with only the occasional mention of music or singing. Starfire treasured every moment she spent with Raven, whether in her dreams or simply with the masked woman's voice. She went through her days confidently, knowing that Raven was always in the shadows just behind her.
Though she was wearier than she had ever been, Starfire smiled brightly. The hand that was holding hers was soft, strong, and warm. She was with the person that had come to mean so much to her in reality, though everything still seemed a dream. The torch that Raven carried in her free hand lit a small area, but the confidence in her stride would have made Starfire comfortable walking in pitch black.
"You're trembling." Raven's soft words made her look instinctively to the hand not clasped in Raven's. Her fingers were visibly shaking, and she became aware of the tremors that were running up and down her spine. "Are you all right?"
"I believe so," Starfire murmured. "I don't feel at all cold." Raven stopped walking and shifted her grip, lacing her fingers with Starfire's. She looked at the hand that she held so gently, marveling for a moment at the softness of her skin. After a time where she reveled in the fact that the young woman was willingly touching her, she took note of the chill that had entered her fingertips.
"Here." She slipped the torch into a chink in the nearest wall, quickly uncoupling the broach that held up her cloak. In a single, sweeping motion, she lifted the heavy indigo cloth from her shoulders and spread it over Starfire's. After fastening the broach at the young woman's collar, she took both of Starfire's hands. Starfire felt the warmth of Raven's palms seeping into her fingers, smiling at the sensation. They lingered for a moment, Raven staring at their entwined hands and Starfire watching the dark eyes that looked out of the white mask.
"Thank you," Starfire said. Raven started and looked up, finally seeing the smile that had been on Starfire's face ever since she had passed through the mirror. Her surprise slowly gave way to a small smile, and she turned to pick up the torch.
"You're welcome," she said softly. As they began to walk again, she added, "It's not much farther."
"Where are we going?" Starfire asked. They had been walking for quite some time, and despite her happiness, she was relying heavily on Raven's hand to stay on her feet. The corridor they had been walking through ended abruptly, opening to a great underground lake. A dock extended from the rough stone shore, and a small gondola was moored to it. A lantern burned at the bow of the little boat, and Raven let go of Starfire's hand to douse the torch's flame in the water of the lake. She leapt gracefully into the gondola and stowed the torch away in a box. With her small task done, she turned back to Starfire and held out her hand.
Starfire walked onto the dock, taking great care not to slip on the wet boards. She took Raven's hand and stepped into the gondola, sitting down on the seat in front of Raven. After quickly untying the rope that moored the gondola to the dock, Raven picked up the oar and pushed them away from the shore.
"We're going to my home," she suddenly murmured.
"You live here?" Starfire asked.
"I couldn't be with you if I was somewhere else," Raven replied. Starfire went quiet, watching the rippling of the water created by the gondola. After a long moment of silence, she unconsciously leaned back against Raven's legs. Raven looked down at the young woman, utterly amazed. Her bearing—her relaxed posture, her faint smile, her barely open eyes—spoke of the greatest comfort and how at ease she was. Unable to stop herself, Raven reached down and touched Starfire's cheek with her fingers. Starfire leaned into the touch, sighing both sleepily and happily.
By the time they reached the island in the middle of the lake, Starfire was even farther into a waking sleep. Raven tied the gondola to the dock, leaning the oar in a notch on the boat's edge. Instead of jerking back into wakefulness when Raven moved, Starfire simply continued to lean against her, still barely knowing that she was doing so. With all the tenderness she had, Raven put her hands on Starfire's shoulders to balance her as she crouched down. A moment later, she scooped the young woman up into her arms and stood up.
"You promised," Starfire said as her head rolled naturally to rest on Raven's shoulder. Raven stepped up onto the dock and strode toward the house in the center of the island.
"What?" she asked. Starfire looked up at her and smiled.
"You promised to sing for me when I returned to you," she replied. Raven chuckled, turning slightly to push open the unlatched door of her home.
"What would you like to hear?" Starfire could hardly drag her thoughts back to true coherency, letting Raven's familiar and wonderful voice take her ever closer to sleep. "A lullaby, perhaps?"
"Yes, please," Starfire said with a bright smile. She saw the smile on Raven's face as the masked woman sat her down in an armchair.
"Of course," Raven murmured. "But I don't think it would be pleasant for you to fall asleep in your costume and makeup." She crossed the parlor that they inhabited, vanishing through a doorway and returning a few moments later. In her hands was a soft sleeping dress, colored an apropos white. "My washroom is through that door and to the right. Please, make yourself comfortable." She handed Starfire the dress and bowed low, laying a gentlemanly kiss on her hand.
Raven helped Starfire to her feet and waited until she heard the young woman's padding footsteps stop and a door click shut. Suit jacket fluttering at her speed, she turned about and left the parlor. She rushed to the single locked room of the home she had built over the last fifteen of her twenty-six years, unlocked the heavy door, and darted into the room. Careful to close the door gently, Raven turned about and leaned against it. Her hand came up and pulled the white mask away, and she looked into the single mirror across the room.
She will never see any beauty from that face.
"Be quiet," Raven whispered. The voice in her ear was all too similar to her own. The only difference was the abject malice that made a rasp tone every syllable. She slowly made her way to the mirror, reaching out and touching the image that was herself and not herself.
Do not delude yourself. You know that once she knows the truth about you, she will scream and run.
"She's stronger." Raven scowled at the reflection, and it smirked back at her. "She chose me over the boy."
I repeat: do not delude yourself. The boy terrified her—she will be terrified of you. She only came with you because she thinks you're the Angel of Music.
"I can be anything she wants me to be—anything she needs me to be."
Can you now? I didn't know that the laws of the world had changed to allow a lying monster to be with a true angel. I didn't know that women were suddenly allowed to love each other as you want her to love you.
Raven turned the mirror around, unwilling to listen to the voice any further. Her face had become too much like the reflection. She stood with her palm pressed against the back of the mirror for a moment before putting her mask back on her face. After swallowing hard, she did a few short exercises to warm up her voice. As she did these exercises, she began to think of what to sing to Starfire. It took only a moment of thought to decide.
When she returned to the parlor, Starfire sat in the sleeping dress with the indigo cloak again wrapped around her shoulders. She was smiling as she snuggled into the cloth Raven knew was soft and warm, her closed eyes unable to alert her to Raven's presence.
"Night-time sharpens,
heightens each sensation…
Darkness stirs and
wakes imagination…
Silently the senses
abandon their defenses…"
Raven had an exceptional range for a woman, but she naturally sang at an alto. It was with this voice that she sang softly to Starfire. The low, husky sound was so perfect and so entrancing that Starfire barely wanted to open her eyes. The only reason she opened her eyes was to look at Raven in wonder.
"Slowly, gently
night unfurls its splendor…
Grasp it, sense it—
tremulous and tender…"
Almost impulsively, Raven sank down on one knee. She reached out slowly, cautiously, to put a hand against Starfire's cheeks. Just as before, Starfire leaned into the touch, smiling as she put her hand over Raven's.
"Turn your face away
from the garish light of day,
turn your thoughts away
from cold, unfeeling light—
and listen to
the music of the night…"
Their hands came together in perfect unison, and Starfire rose to her feet in a trance. Raven's voice grew stronger, but it remained hypnotic and low.
"Close your eyes
and surrender to your
darkest dreams!
Purge your thoughts
of the life
you knew before!
Close your eyes
let your spirit
start to soar!"
Starfire had only dreamed of reaching the high note that Raven sang perfectly. The sound resonated in her chest, and she let out a sigh of pleasure from hearing it.
"And you'll live
as you've never
lived before…"
If there was one thing Starfire wished for at that moment, it was to see Raven's face. The mask covered so much, and with her eyes closed as they were, she could not tell if the longing and sorrow she heard was taken only from the song.
"Softly, deftly
music shall surround you…
Feel it, hear it,
closing in around you…
Open up your mind,
let your fantasies unwind,
in this darkness which
you know you cannot fight—
the darkness of
the music of the night…"
There was both a plea and a promise within her words, and it was of the same things. It pleaded for her to stay and it promised to always be with her. It begged her for compassion while swearing to return that caring.
"Let your mind
start a journey through a
strange new world!
Leave all thoughts
of the world
you knew before!
Let your soul
take you where you
long to be!"
Raven's voice dropped low, her dark eyes looking into Starfire far deeper than she had ever known.
"Only then
can you belong
to me…"
Starfire found herself being lifted off of her weary legs, realizing a moment later how close she had come to falling to the ground. She put her head on Raven's shoulder, wanting to put her arms around the masked woman's neck.
"Floating, falling,
sweet intoxication!
Touch me, trust me,
savor each sensation!
Let the dream begin,
let your darker side give in
to the power of
the music that I write—
the power of
the music of the night…"
As Starfire put one hand on the cheek of Raven's mask, she felt her eyes close, and then knew no more. Raven saw the young woman's eyes close and her breathing grow deep and even. She carried her out of the parlor and into another room. A soft, luxurious bed was in the center of the room, with lit candles all around. Raven put Starfire into the bed, pulling the soft sheet over her. She knelt down and watched her sleep for some time, caressing her cheek lovingly.
"You alone
can make my song take flight—
help me make the music of the night…"
She stood up, eyes lingering on the unmarred, beautiful face of the sleeping woman who was her angel. As she left the bedroom, Raven knew that Starfire would be the only one of them that would get any sleep. Inspiration was running in her veins, and her hands were trembling to return to her piano. The fact that her masterpiece would have to wait made her scowl, but only for a moment. She reminded herself of what her first task needed to be, and it brought a sadistic smile to her face.
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Robin stood on the balcony of his flat, taking a long drink from his snifter filled nearly to overflowing with brandy. He scowled at the perfect starry night, halfway to a drunken rage over his solitude. Never before had any woman refused him, and he had never thought it possible for a woman to stand up to anyone. In the space of a single day, he had gained two enemies and one woman whom he desperately wanted. As he swallowed the last of the brandy in his glass, he turned to go back in and pour out the last of the bottle.
Darkness enveloped him. Robin dropped his snifter, and it shattered on the hardwood floor. Every candle blew out in the hard breeze that rushed through the flat, and even the gas lamps flickered and died. The light from the stars and streetlamps outside was gone, and he stood unsurely in the black.
A red glow appeared before him, flowing out from narrow, diamond shaped eyes. He took a step backward, hand groping wildly for something to brace himself against. His hand hit his desk, and he turned to open the drawer he kept his pistol in. The weapon was always loaded and ready to fire, and he kept it in the top right drawer.
A black boot kicked the drawer shut so quickly that his fingers were nearly caught and crushed. He stumbled back with a cry of shock, holding his hand to his chest. The red eyes glared at him endlessly, and a cold sweat began to roll down the back of his neck. In the darkness, the silence was deep enough for Robin to hear his thundering heartbeat.
"Who are you?" he demanded. When no reply was given to him, his anger was kindled anew. "How dare you break into my home! I am le Vicomte de Wayne! I will have you thrown into prison!" There was still no response to his snarling and spitting threats. His rage overcame him, and he rushed at the glowing red eyes with a shout. He threw a drunken punch that hit nothing and made him fall to his knees. Something struck the back of his head, and he collapsed to the floor, unconscious.
—to be continued—