Elphaba's POV
I was surprised when Erik told me I was to be the prima donna of the Phantasma Opera House. I never expected a large role and I would have been happy with being a part of the chorus. But Erik insisted, despite all of my protests.
"Here is the score." Erik said, passing me a folder labeled in gold letters: Don Juan Triumphant. I flipped through the music. The stuff was pure genius. All of the notes melted into each other and die and fell at just the right time, producing a beautiful melody. When I went through the score in search of the name of the author, I found there was none.
"Erik, do you know the composer of this?" I asked, looking up from the score. He was silent for a moment.
"I do, but he wanted his name to not be revealed until the last performance." he said finally. Why would somebody want to do that? Maybe they wanted to build up anticipation. Oh, well. I guess I would just have to wait and find out.
"Come," Erik said, standing from his desk. "you should start practicing for before rehearsals so you don't forget the words." His face lit up and it looked like he had an idea. "If you would like, I could teach you. Train your voice, that is. I've taught before, and my pupil was a rising star in Paris." he said looking hopeful. He, the teacher of a star, wanted to train me? I smiled.
"I would love it. Shall we start now?" I asked. He nodded.
"I only have a half an hour, though. I have to tend to a broken carousel. It's a wonder how this park is still running." He sat on the piano bench and motioned for me to come. When I was at his side we began to do scales. Erik kept going until I reached my top note and stopped to look at me in astonishment. I giggled on the inside. He looked as though he had just heard an angel from heaven singing to him. Little did I know, at the moment, that that is exactly what he thought.
"Are you sure you're not using magic to help you?" he teased. I smacked him in the arm. "Jesting! But you really do sound amazing; better than any I've taught. Honest to God's truth." I hoped so. It would take a lot of practice to do Don Juan perfectly.
"Could we practice one of the songs from Don Juan? I really do love the piece." I really wanted to sing The Point of No Return. It sounded like an amazing song in my head when I read the music; perhaps it will sound even better now. He nodded.
"You must practice the songs to get better. Which song?" He wanted me to choose? I expected him to choose a song to start from and keep going from there, but not to just let me pick. I knew, at least, which one I wanted to do.
"The Point of No Return" I said without hesitation. He flipped to the first page of the song in the folder and placed his fingers above the keys. "Will you sing with me? It is a duet, after all." I asked before he started playing. He nodded. As he played the first measures of the song his hands were shaky and he hit some of the wrong keys, producing the wrong notes. I took his wrists, causing the music to stop, and looked him in the eyes.
"Are you alright?"
"Fine." He pulled his hands from mine and repositioned them on the keys. He restarted the song and when the part of Don Juan came up first, he started singing.
"You have come here
In pursuit of your deepest urge
In pursuit of that wish which till now
Has been silent
Silent
I have brought you
That our passions may fuse and merge
In your mind you've already succumbed to me
Lost all defenses completely succumbed to me
Now you are here with me
No second thoughts
You've decided
Decided
Past the point of no return. . .
How my mind went blank in those first few lines. It was as if Erik could somehow hypnotize anybody who listened to him sing. I drew in a breath and let the air cool my burning cheeks. When it was my turn to sing the part of Amnita, I took another deep breath and started the song over.
"You have brought me
To that moment when words run dry
To that moment when speech disappears into silence
silence
I have come here
Hardly knowing the reason why
In my mind I've already imagined our bodies entwining
Defenseless and silent
Now I am here with you
No second thoughts
I've decided
Decided
Past the point of no return. . . "
The music wrapped itself around me and I felt nothing but it and my voice, dancing in a beautiful endless song. Whoever the composer was did an amazing job on the piece. At one point I couldn't believe it could get any better. That was before the harmony between Amnita and Don Juan.
"Past the point of no return
The final threshold
The bridge is crossed
So stand and watch it burn
We've passed the point of no return"
The song was over, but I heard Erik took another breath as if he was about to sing more. He stopped himself. I took my eyes of the music and turned them to him. He was shaking worse than before and sounded like he was in the verge of sobbing. I placed a hand on his shoulder and felt him tremble beneath it.
"Erik. . ."
"Leave me."
"Erik, did I do something wrong? I didn't mean to." Surely I didn't do anything to upset him, I was only singing. Then a thought struck me.
"Was I that bad?" I asked, withdrawing my hand from his shoulder. He just shook his head and repeated himself.
"Leave me." I refused to let him see the tears gathering in my eyes and hurried out of the room and to my room down the hall. I plopped down on my bed and buried my face in my pillow, now letting the tears flow freely. Why did he choose me for this part if I wasn't any good at it?