Chapter 6: A startling rehearsal
Raoul's POV
A week or so passed after our return to the opera and our dinner with our friends. I kept a close watch on the papers and the most recent news on the gypsy robberies. There had been two more burglaries, and one woman had been injured during the past five days, and the Parisian authorities had no new leads. One of those robbed had been a former colleauge of Phillipe's, which had caused him to be ever the more nervous about the situation. I tried my best to reassure him, hoping that I could calm him down, and it seemed to help a bit. But I could tell that he was worried that the troupe would come after us next. All this aside however, there was quite a bit of excitement in our household, for today was the first day of rehearsal for Hannibal. Andre and Firmin had chosen to perform this particular opera for two reasons; first because it was very popular among opera goers, and secondly because many in the cast had performed it previously, and therefore the performance could be scheduled earlier.
The managers had reported that there had been no disturbances from the Phantom while the finishing touches had been put on the theater over the past week. The word had spread however, that the masked man still lingered in the cellars of the opera, so amongst the joy and anticipation of the Populaire's reopening, there was the smallest bit of apprehension among the cast and crew. I now sat upon one of the navy blue velvet covered chairs inside the theater, watching this first rehearsal progress. It was ironic, for they were working on the very same scene that they had been working on when Andre and Firmin had taken over managment of the opera just over a year ago, the same day that I had found Christine again. Christine stood in the center of the stage, wating for her part as the chorus entered with the young man who was playing Hannibal. His name was Pierre, and he was only a few years older than myself, being about twenty five. And he sang with much more flare and talent than Piangi, bless his soul, ever had.
They were just doing a quick run through of the first few scenes today, but as Christine began to sing the role of Elissa, I began to lose myself in the music. Her voice was so beautiful, so pure, and so heavenly to my ears. I had been attending operas for as long as I could remember, and I was quite sure that no voice had ever matched hers. This of course caused my mind to rheel with thoughts of her former teacher. I knew and respected that he was a musical genius, and I knew as well that the advancement of Christine's voice was due in part to him. But I believed that Christine's amazing talent came from another important source; not only did she sing from her diaphram, she sang from her very soul. Her father had taught her that. I watched for a good while longer until I heard someone sit down next to me, and I looked up in surprise to see Lucien's grinning face.
"Hello there Raoul, are you enjoing the rehearsal?" he asked nonchalantly.
"Well, yes." I said distractedly. "But what brings you here? You've never cared very much for the theater. I recall the only way I could ever convice you to come to an opera was by promising to go out for a drink later. The only time you ever came by your own choice was on the occassions when Christine was singing last year." I looked at him curiouly, wondering what he was up too.
"Yes, well coming to the opera involves me having to talk to a lot of my parents friends that I don't really care for. But you're right, you have had to drag me from amongst my books to come to the theater. But I've recently taken an interest in this theater that you have always loved so much." His voice drifted off as the dancers came on stage and Meg began to dance her solo.
Christine, who happened to shoot a glance at the theater as she sang, noticed Lucien's presence and gave me an amused and questioning look. As Meg's solo ended, Lucien looked back over at me, a slightly dazed look in his green eyes.
"Raoul, have you ever had the feeling that when you're with a certain person, it feels as though all is right with the world? You know what I'm talking about, you've been married for a year."
I smiled slightly as I answered him. Christine and I had been right; Lucien was falling for Meg. "Of course I have my friend," I responded. "I feel that way every time I set eyes on Christine."
It was quiet between us for a moment, which was abnormal for Lucien. I didn't want to pressure him into telling me about Meg until he was ready; but I knew that when he was, I would be the first to know. I contiued to watch as the rehearsal wound down, glad that it seemed to be going quite well. I heard Lucien begin to speak, but before he could even utter the first sentence, a most strange and chilling event occured. All at once, every single source of light in the theater was extinguished, leaving everything in absolute darkness. It suddenly became so cold that a shiver ran down my spine. Monsieur Reyer stopped playing the piano and there were a few startled screams from the chorus girls.
"Dam and blast, what happened?" asked Lucien, sounding irritated that this sudden event had interrupted what he was about to tell me.
"I'm not sure," I murmured slowly as I stood up and began to quickly make my way up to the stage to find Christine. I had a feeling that I knew what, or rather who was responsible for this, but the only thought that raced through my mind was to get to Christine before the opera ghost had a chance to take her, which I was sure was his plan. I would not let her be enveloped by the darkness again, I absolutey refused. I had promised her, and I would never break that vow. Even though it was pitch black inside the room, I could just make out the stage in front of me. I leapt onto it, trying to avoid running into any of the cast members. My feet landed with a soft thud on the wood.
"Christine?" I called out into darkness, hoping desperately for a reply. Much to my relief, there was one.
"Raoul is that you?" came her soft voice directly beside me. It shook with an uneasy fear, sounding as though part of her were ashamed to be afraid. I sighed inwardly, she had always been so brave in the face of all of this, and I wanted to let her know that it was okay for her to feel frightened.
"Yes, my darling it is me." I said soothingly as I reached for her delicate hand. "Stay close. I don't know what has happened, but this does not bode well."
I could hear the whispers of the ballet girls as Madame Giry's stern but motherly voice beckoned them towards her. It was deadly quiet for a moment, as though no one, not even Andre or Firmin dared to speak. I pulled Christine to me; if the Phantom was behind this, it would be over my dead body that he took her. But the awful silence was was broken as a laugh, a terrible, maniacal, laugh resounded throughout the room. It seemed to shake the entire therater, and it sent dread to the hearts of all who were present. There was no douct to whom that voice belonged. But no one was prepared for what happened next. Just as someone was able to light a single candle, I heard a rope swish through the air and brush the top of my head. As though it were now an instinct, I held my hand up to the level of my eyes before the accursed object could secure itself around my neck.
Christine let out a horrified gasp, and sqeezed my hand tightly, leading me away from the rope that now hung from the rafters, swinging wildly. As more and more candles were lit, I could see how wide her brown eyes had become, and there were tears welling up in them.
"Oh, my God!" exclaimed Andre frantically, as though he did not want to believe it. "He really has returned!"
"It seems that way." said Madame Giry gravely. "I believe that is quite enough for today."
As she said this however, a letter fell from above us, floating slowly down. I recognized it instantly, by the oninous red skull that served as a seal. Madame Giry instantly ushered the ballet girls off of the stage, obviously not wanting them to hear a word that the letter said, as the dancers were so prone to gossip. The letter landed directly in front of Christine's feet, and she picked it up, her hand shaking so badly that she almost dropped it. Everyone left on stage instantly gathered around, as Christine handed the letter to Meg to read.
"Dear cast and crew of the newly refinished Opera Populaire: Congratulations on repairing the damage from last year, the opera house looks magnificent, I commend you. I am quite glad to see that you have placed Christine in the leading role; that is one thing that we will not have to argue over. But you see, Hannibal is not the opera that you will be performing. After the fire destroyed Don Juan, I was really very devestated. But over the past year, I have written a new version of it, and this time it will be finished. My angle shall of course play Aminta, and I shall inform you of the other roles as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely,
O.G."
Meg stopped, her voice shocked. I noticed that Lucien was next to her, looking as though he was looking for a way to make her feel better. The faces of all on the stage were distraught, and Christine looked as though she might faint. I could only imagine what was going on in her head when the mere thought of performing Don Juan was mentioned.
"Monsieurs," I said quietly to Andre and Firmin. "What are you going to do?"
"I shall tell you what we will do," said Firmin, his face looking quite angry at the fact that Erik had once again disturbed his plans for the opera. "We will not perform this opera! I absolutely refuse! We shall progress as planned tommorow. I suggest that everyone should go home." He stalked off, and cosidering the mood he was in, no one was going to stop him.
Everyone slowly filtered off of the stage, leaving only Christine, myself, Lucien, Meg, and Madame Giry.
"Raoul," said Lucien in a serious tone, which was rare for him. "That rope was awfully close to wrapping itself around your neck. You ought to be careful around here."
Madame Giry nodded in solemn agreement. "Yes, you must watch your every step. I can see that Erik is as determined as ever to do away with you and have Christine."
I looked over at Christine, who seemed to be growing paler by the minute. She looked up at me, her eyes asking for comfort. "Raoul," she whispered. "May we please go home?"
"Yes, we may Lotte." I answered her, wrapping an arm around her thin shoulders.
We bid goodbye to the three of them, and all three promised to come calling tommorow, to discuss this situation. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Later that night, after dinner, I found Christine standing on the marble balcony outside our master bedroom. Her white nightgown blew slightly in the breeze, and the full moon illiminated her face, making her truly look like an angel with mahogany hair. I came up behind her and wrapped a gentle arm around her waist, and pulled her close. I loved her so much that I broke my heart into a million tiny pieces to see her so sad and confused. She deserved to be happy forever and for always, and I would do whatever I could to make sure that happened. I did not want this incident to scare her away from her music that she loved so very much, and I often wondered if the phantom realized that what he was doing frightened her so. She leaned her head on my chest, and we stood there for a few minutes, and I was so glad to have her safe in my arms.
"Raoul," she said suddenly. "I must confess that part of me is reluctant to return to the opera after what happened today. If anything were to happen to you my life simply wouldn't be worth living. I thought that Erik had changed on that night a year ago, I don't understand why he is doing this again." She turned to look at me, brushing a stray blond hair from my face.
"I do not understand either my love, but I can say that I don't want this to keep you from your singing. You love it Christine, and you have such a gift. And I promise, that no matter what may happen, I will protect you, and I will do whatever you ask concerning this." I said, as we watched a shooting star fly across the sky.
She smiled at me, and I felt my heart racing; her smile made me want to melt. "You're right mon amour," she said. "We will get through this together. I love you Raoul, my knight in shining armor."
"I love you too Little Lotte." I grinned as we sank in to a kiss, the words to our song playing in my mind, and I knew they were playing in Christine's as well.
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A/N: Hey everyone, I hope that you like this! I know everything seems topsy turvy right now, but in a few chaps, everything will come together and it will all make sense. This chapter feautured the dark Erik, and he will become mroe prominent in later chapters, and you will se changes in him, but I can't tell you why! There are some big surprises in store for this story! Thanks for the reviews! RC forever and for always!
jtbwriter- Yay for Raoul, he is very patient and loving. I'm glad that you liked it. As for the gypsies, well, you shall see! Thanks for the review!
Ameythys fluff- I'm glad that you liked it, and yes the plot is certainly starting to develop. Ya, I thought it might be neat for Meg and Lucien to get together, so we shall see how that goes! Thanks!
Guitarprinces- Thankyou so much for all of you support on all of my works, you ahve truly been an inspiration. Ya, I really like Lucien too, so I decided to use him in this story as well. And yay for RC fluff, can't live without it! Oh, and believe me, I will need that good luck on my college stuff and my singing, thanks for that!
Glitter Queen of the ice show- Yes, Erik is up to something, but I will not tell you what yet! I shall leave you in suspense. Thanks!