Chapter 17: Spoken Words Become Song

Erik winced as the director yelled cut for the eleventh time,

"Mrs Y. How many times must I instruct that Mina's lines must be spoken with feeling" the director said with irritation and Hope looked at him and Erik guiltily,

"I'm sorry... It's just difficult to read one side of a conversation and... Make it seem real" she explained causing the director to groan,

"Mister Y. Help your wife" he instructed, shoving him a script and Erik chuckled before heading onto stage,

"Ok. From the beginning of the scene! ACTION!" he yelled and Erik coughed awkwardly before looking at the script,

"My dearest Mina. Words cannot express how I feel for you. I have searched oceans of time to find you. You make my long still heart feel as if it is beating once more" Erik read before beginning to chuckle as Hope began to giggle and the couple began to share bright laughter,

"CUT! What is wrong now?!" The director demanded as Erik and Hope had to lean on each other for support so that they did not collapse from laughter,

"I'm sorry... Myself and my wife need to take a break" Erik said through laughter as he pulled Hope off the stage and out of the auditorium.

Hope laughed brightly as she and Erik returned to his office,

"Oh Erik. I am sorry but you are a terrible script writer" she said and Erik chuckled,

"I know but you cannot blame me for I am a composer not a writer" he reminded her as Hope looked through the script before cringing,

"Erik this script is like fingernails on a chalkboard... The reviewers are going to eat you alive" she told him honestly and Erik nodded in agreement as he sat next to her,

"Yeah I know but unfortunately with all the stress I have been under... Finding out I have a son, Christine coming here... I just haven't had time for inspiration" he said with a shrug of his shoulders but Hope smiled gently as she nudged him with her shoulder gently,

"You can say I wrote the script. That way the negative reviews will be aimed at me and not you" she said gently and Erik looked stunned,

"You would do that for me?" he asked and watched as Hope nodded gently with a soft smile feeling as Erik took her hand in his own,

"Thank you, Hope... You have done so much for me already" he told her and Hope smiled softly,

"Well... I am your wife. It's what I do" she teased and Erik chuckled as he pulled her into a hug which he happily returned.

It was sometime later when everyone was in bed that Hope was returning from the kitchen having gotten herself a glass of water and she was passing Erik's office when she heard the sound of his piano being played so she curiously peeked inside to find her friend playing a lovely melody and she entered quietly, coming to his side,

"That's beautiful, Erik" she said, making him pause in his playing and turned to her quickly,

"Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude" she said gently but Erik shook his head,

"No, No it's ok. Please... Sit" he said, patting the empty space on the bench on which he was sat and Hope sat down with him,

"This is a lot of compositions, Erik. What are they for?" she asked and Erik sighed, handing her the composition he had just been playing,

"These... These are songs for Dracula" she realised and Erik nodded,

"Yes... Like I said, I am a composer. Not a writer." he said gently and Hope looked at him softly,

"You want to change the show into a musical don't you?" she asked knowingly,

"Not for Christine but for myself" he told her quickly,

"The story of Dracula has always given me great inspiration and... Well, this is some of my finest work and before you ask I was planning on having Christine lip sing the song that has been written for Lucy's character" he told her gently, going to close the piano lid but Hope stopped him gently,

"You don't have to do that" she told him softly,

"But the keys will get dusty" he said causing Hope to giggle and shook her head,

"No, I meant... You don't have to have Christine lip sing" she said softly before holding out her hand and a swirling pink sphere appeared in her hand and Erik looked stunned,

"Is that...? I thought you threw that into the ocean" he murmured,

"I did but it wasn't too hard to summon it with the level my powers have developed" she told him gently with a soft smile,

"Hope, you don't need to do this. I don't want to take advantage of your powers again" he told her but Hope smiled gently,

"You're not but Erik I need to know... Do you want to hear Christine sing again?" she asked and watched as Erik nodded slowly after a moment,

"Just one last time" he answered and Hope smiled softly,

"Then you shall" she promised, looking at the sphere and it floated in the air before zooming quickly out the door,

"Christine's singing voice should be fully restored by morning" she assured him gently and before Erik could respond, Hope placed the sheet music on the piano stand,

"Play it for me" she requested gently and Erik smiled softly as he played his hands to the keys once again and began playing.

Hope smiled as she felt the melody of the piano wash over her and she followed the notes written upon the sheet music,

"At last, there are no questions. I know all there is for me to know. My heart and I have all of the answers. I know how I want my life to go" she sang, following the lyrics written beneath the notes and Erik looked at her stunned but he continued to play,

"At last, the mist has lifted. It's all so crystal clear. Why did I fight what was meant to happen? The fight is over, At last I'm here" she continued and smiled at Erik as she went back to reading the lyrics,

"I don't need the sun to make me shine inside. I have your eyes and I don't need the light for me to see what's right" she sang and Erik smiled brightly,

"At last, there are no questions. You know all there is for you to know. My heart and I have all of the answers. I know how I want our lives to go" Erik sang causing Hope to smile even brighter as she placed a hand on his shoulder,

"At last, the mist has lifted. It's all so simple, so crystal clear. Why did we fight what was meant to happen? The fight is over... At last, we're here!" They finished together and the breathed deeply as they both smiled and they both found that they were leaning into each other but the moment was interrupted when Reza's new puppy, Sasha came running into the room, barking happily with a wagging tail and the couple pulled away from each other,

"I... Yeah, you're definitely turning it into a musical" Hope teased with a blush staining her cheeks and Erik nodded,

"I... I didn't know you could sing like that... You're beautiful... I mean... Your singing voice is beautiful" he babbled and Hope smiled softly,

"Thank you... I guess we should both get to bed" she said before looking at him quickly,

"Not you and me go to bed together... I mean that we should both get some sleep but not... Together. I mean, you sleep in your bed and I sleep in mine. Not that its my bed because its in your concert hall so technically it belongs to you but I'm the one that has been sleeping in it" she babbled before groaning in embarrassment,

"Good night, Erik" she said before hurrying out the room and Erik chuckled softly,

"Sleep well, Hope" he bid quietly before closing the piano lid.

Awwwwwwww :D

The duet Hope and Erik sing is 'At Last' from Dracula The Musical sung by Kate Shindle and James Barbour.

Kind Regards,

TheAuthor1996