Ugh…my computer is totally eating my disks. I save stuff on a floppy, then when I try to put it in and open stuff a few days later it says that 'the disk is not formatted.' To format said disk will erase all the stuff on it. I had an unfinished novel on one of those disks. Please mourn my lost vampire novel. I will reclaim it yet!
Anyway, it makes it hard for me to reference past chapters and things. Just know that no previous updates have been lost in this fashion. I'll save this to my desktop while I work on it. Also, I was originally going to do one day per chapter, but I'm realizing that it shortens my story, so I may put more chapters to a day. Consequently, this fic will be longer than the pre-assumed 14 chapters. Hope that's okay.
EriksIngenue: Aw, but I have to acknowledge you! I used to acknowledge all my reviewers…back in the days when I only had a few. Now I only reply to a few. You're lucky! (Note: The chances of me replying to your review are good if you asked me a question that I must answer.)
ElfLover: AUGH! LUCKY! I want to see that opera SO bad. Was it good? Give me a play-by-play. I'm reading Doctor Faustus by Marlowe just because it's the same story. And since gondolas are more romantic, you can also see why I decided to go with that instead of a rowboat. And Carolus is choking, dear, loosen your grip.
CloudxInxCrimson: Haha! I know you said 'Mmmm,' or something to that effect in your review, but it came out as just 'M.' They delete excess letters, so if I tried to say 'Nuuuu,' it'd come out 'Nu.' And how much emphasis can that express? Since Cinderella was performed at my school (though not BY my school), I know it well enough to use it.
Enigmatic Mystery: Try the stuff I mentioned in the lesson and see if it helps. I should put singing tips on my website. Why Romanian?
MetaChi: Thanks! I'll put her in as soon as possible. And yes, vocal lessons are like that. At my first one, we spent…maybe forty or so minutes of an hour-long lesson warming up.
……………………………….
When Hana went to bed that night, she had virtually no voice left, and basically had time only to crash into bed – or couch, literally – and fall asleep instantly.
Erik meanwhile, was feeling rather good. He had had a vigorous musical warm up – though his 'warm up' might be a full workout for Hana – and he was in a very melodious mood. He pulled out his yet unfinished violin piece that he had been working on in Hawaii and the Muses struck. Erik ended up going into one of his rather obsessive modes, and didn't sleep a wink that night.
Ah – he had thought the days of surviving only on his music for nights on end were long gone.
Of course…we know that it isn't the best idea for Erik to be interrupted while he's working. Don't we?
Hana arose late that morning, and was struck by a panic attack when she realized that she was an hour late for rehearsal. She scrambled out of…couch, and struggled to get into her corset, with no luck. "HILARY!" she screamed.
The shriek of a phangirl – indeed, any fangirl – can be heard for miles around. Even Carlotta's vocal instructor had to clamp his hands over his ears at the pitch and volume. But it accomplished its goal – Hilary was falling into the room within seconds.
"What? What is it?" she asked wildly.
"I'm really late for rehearsal, and M. Lefevre is going to kill me, and I'm dying of hunger, and my voice is still giving out on me from last night's lesson, and I can't get into my stupid seventeenth-century outfit, and HELP ME." She panted from saying all of this in one breath, and collapsed on Hilary, which was uncomfortable, as Hilary had fallen onto the floor when she first came in. Hana knocked the wind out of her as she landed.
"Okay," gasped Hilary, "okay. I'll get you into the dress, and then you just run off to the rehearsal and…yeah." She yanked the corset and tied it tightly, then helped Hana into another hated dress, this time green. They did all this with the door of the dressing room closed – apparently Hana's locked door-induced claustrophobia had been temporary. Then she rocketed off to the auditorium, leaving a rather windblown Hilary behind. Hilary blinked.
"Aislin really ought to pay me for this," she muttered.
Hana arrived in the middle of Don Magnifico's solo about his dream of the preceding night, involving a donkey that sprouted wings. Don Magnifico was this version of Cinderella's 'stepmother'…obviously a stepfather. According to his interpretation of the dream, his two daughters were the wings, meant to carry the lowly donkey into the heights of honor, nobility, and of course, riches. He himself was the 'ass' in the dream.
Yes well, it was a comic play.
The baritone playing the role of Don Magnifico, whose name was Armand, stopped in the midst of his song to glare at Hana, joined shortly by Isabelle, the woman playing Tisbe, one of the stepsisters hanging on his every word. Carlotta, the reluctant second sister, Clorinda, scoffed.
Lefevre tapped his foot impatiently at the sight of Hana. "Ah, here's our Cenerentola," he said dryly.
"What?" gaped Hana, still not truly awake. "I'm Cinderella."
"Cenerentola is Cinderella's given name in this opera, or have you not read your script, mademoiselle?"
Hana shifted her feet uncomfortably. She hadn't looked too closely at her script at all. When she had her lesson with Erik, they hadn't done much work with the actual material from the opera. Now she didn't even know her character's name. "No, monsieur," she replied softly. Carlotta smirked some more.
"Eet seems that this girl ees not ze right type for zis role, monsieur. Eef I may –"
"Pardon, madame, but you may not." Aislin came striding into the theater, black skirts swirling impressively around her ankles. "I believe Mademoiselle Hana has been selected for this part, and you will rejoice in your role of Clorinda or play the role of a spectator." Carlotta fumed as Aislin settled herself in a center seat. "Don't mind me, I'm not here," she announced, and folded her hands calmly.
Lefevre nodded. "Pardon me, mademoiselle, but have you business here today?" The cast assembled onstage fell out of character as their director lost his focus on the rehearsal, starting to talk loudly.
"I am a patron, if you recall, and I have just finished a transaction with the managers. Please continue. I want to see the rehearsal."
"Of course," said Lefevre politely. "Hana," he barked, losing all trace of politeness. "Get out your script, I want to run through your opening solo." She stared at him blankly, and he sighed exasperatedly. "The one about the story of the king?"
She continued to stare. As he had been speaking, it had dawned on her that after last night's practice, she had been so tired that she'd left the music in Erik's house.
"Erm…I can't." Lefevre froze, looking quite angry. "I left the music at my…teacher's…house." Lefevre sighed again.
"You are dismissed from this rehearsal. But you will retrieve that music and report to me at seven tonight for a private practice. This opera will open at the end of your stay here – yes, don't look surprised, we've been working on it for weeks waiting for word on our Cenerentola – and you must be ready when it does. Do you hear?" He shook her as if to emphasize his words, and Hana nodded. She turned and ran out of the theater.
"Lovely start, Hana," Aislin whispered as she passed. Hana glared at her.
She hovered in the hallway before deciding where to go. She had to get down to the cellars now. She had no idea where Erik was to be found at the moment. So frustrated and confused, she set off in the direction of the first set of stairs going down that she could find. All the way down to the fifth cellar, counting as she went along.
It was really dark.
I mean really dark.
Hana wished she had a flashlight.
Now that we've established the concept of just how dark it was, you can understand how it came to be that Hana walked right into the lake.
Now it was dark and cold.
Hana climbed out of said lake and wrung out her sopping dress. She wondered how she was going to get across for a few moments, until she noticed the boat on the edge of the lake. She didn't stop to think about why it was still on this side, she just climbed in and started poling across.
The first ten minutes found her losing her grip on the pole, slipping on the floor of the boat and nearly falling out, and somehow managing to turn the boat around in every direction but forward. But somehow, some way, she found a way to propel the boat in the direction she wanted to go.
At least…she hoped it was the direction she wanted to go…
As the boat made its way into the deeper darkness over the lake, Hana thought she could hear something.
It sounded like singing…
Was it coming from above? Hana looked up. Perhaps behind her…or to the side… Her head whipped around in all directions before she realized that it was underneath the boat.
It was extremely beautiful singing…entrancing, really…
Suddenly the boat capsized.
Hana shrieked and flailed her arms, trying to stay above water. She felt arms pulling at her, trying to drag her under…she screamed Erik's name countless times…
Abruptly, the arms that were trying to drown her pushed her back onto the overturned boat.
Hana blinked. What just happened?
A blue head with stringy greenish hair dripping with lake water emerged beside her. Hana looked ready to scream again, before said face broke into a wide grin.
"Hi."
"Um…" Hana stared. "Hi."
"What are you doing in the lake?" asked the green-haired creature innocently.
Hana stared some more. "You…pulled me in."
"Oh, right." She rubbed her head. "Sorry about that. But it's my job, you know – guard the house from intruders and all."
Hana examined her closely. "Are you the Siren?"
"Yup!" The Siren clapped her hands happily, splashing water into Hana's face.
"But I thought Erik was the Siren?" Hana had read the book, and was now extremely confused. "Was that you singing?"
The Siren snorted. "As if." She pulled out a little waterproof tape recorder. "It was Sarah Brightman!" She dropped the tape recorder, and it sank rapidly to the bottom of the lake. She then leaned on the capsized boat. "So…come to visit Erik?" she asked conversationally.
"Yes." Hana shivered. "Um…Siren? Do you think you could help me…?"
"Hmm? Oh! Sorry." The Siren dove underwater and pushed the capsized boat over, sending Hana with it. She pulled her back into the little vessel. "There you go." She smiled again. "And I'll even give you a boost to the other side!" With a sudden burst of energy, she dove back underwater and propelled the boat to the opposite side at frightening speed.
Hana clambered out of the boat, very shell-shocked.
"Bye!" called the Siren happily. She splashed away. Hana watched her retreat.
"Weird," she said.
She turned and knocked on where Erik's door should be. She got no response. Then she noticed a dim edge of light coming through. Somehow, the door had been left open. She pushed it.
Once inside, Hana heard thunderous music coming from a room off to the side. Erik had switched from his violin to the organ in a fit of composition frenzy. Entranced, Hana followed the music, and found herself in the music room.
Obviously.
Where, if you recall, she was not allowed.
Now, Erik probably wouldn't have noticed she was there, entwined in his music as he was, if she hadn't tripped and caused a thick, iron music stand full of parchment sheets to clang to the ground.
He struck a great dissonance, and slowly turned to glare at Hana, frantically fumbling with the stand, trying to organize the sheets and ultimately dropping the whole thing again. She smiled sheepishly, and stepped away from the mess. "Hi," she said innocently.
Fire erupted in Erik's eyes. "You're not allowed in here!" he hissed. He picked Hana up by with surprising ease.
"Now, what was it Aislin said I was allowed to do to you? Oh yes." He stormed out of the music room and kicked open the front door.
"Throw you to the Siren!" He flung a trembling Hana back into the lake. She landed with a tremendous splash as he slammed the door behind him.
The Siren – who Hana was now pleased to have befriended beforehand – surfaced again.
"Back so soon?"
…………………………………………
Finally! My update! Hope you all like it. And I hope I haven't lost readers! Don't worry – school is ending. Once it's summer, I'll be able to update a lot more often.
