Chapter 4

July

Ever since the incident about a month ago, with both Joseph's untimely death and Ashley caught singing, Andre and Firmin have been trying to coax Ashley into singing more of her songs. They would pull her aside and try and convince her to sing, but each time, she would politely, as politely as she could, refuse their offer. Ashley sat in the seat before the manager's desk with her arms crossed and her head turned away from the two men before her.

"I'm not going to sing." She protested.

"Mademoiselle, ever since that night, all of Paris has been talking about you!" Firmin said handing her the paper from the night after Il Muto. "People think you might be a singer here and are wondering about you."

"Just tell them I'm simply an assistant to the ballet mistress here at the opera house and don't plan to make a fool of myself after what happened before."

"But, you don't understand!" Andre said joining his business partner. "Do you not know what happened after you left the stage?" Ashley shook her head. "They began applauding you." She looked over at him with a bit more interest in her eyes.

"They did?" She asked a bit skeptically.

"They did. You were a hit my dear. You are unlike anyone this city has ever heard." Ashley liked the thought that people liked her singing, in fact, she really liked it. But she still thought about the fact that Andre had pulled the curtain on her when she was COMPLETELY unaware of his intentions.

"Well, I didn't even know I was being watched! It's different for me when I'm alone. In front of a large group, I get very scared." She got up from her seat and began pacing. "Listen, I've had stage fright issues for as long as I can remember. It's kept me from not only doing small performances with my elementary school classes, but even in college I can't even get up in front of my peers without breaking! Besides, I don't know opera! And this world, quite frankly, isn't ready for the music from my world."

"Was the song you sang that night from your world?" Andre wondered.

"Yes." Ashley said.

"It didn't seem that strange." Firmin retorted. Ashley raised an eyebrow and pulled out her iPod.

"There's more." She said waving the small device before the men. "Some of it is much more than what you think." She slipped the music player back into her pocket. "Look, I'm not prepared to put your butts or my dignity on the line to attract a crowd." She turned towards the door silently declaring her final word.

"Will you at least think about it?" Firmin asked. Ashley stopped when she reached the handle and turned her head to look at the two men.

"Maybe."

Ashley went back to the roof after her little chat with the managers. She had her music playing once again no longer worried about the battery since it hasn't lost power since her arrival. At first she found it curious but then dismissed it. At the moment, she was listening to the soundtrack to Dracula the Musical in German. She liked listening to this version since the songs sounded really awesome and enjoyed listening to the singer playing Dracula. While she was listening to Life After Life, someone yanked one of her ear buds from her ears and she turned to see Christine putting the bud in her ear.

"Christine!" She cried trying to get back the bud.

"You can listen to music with this? That's amazing!" She sounded like a child in a candy shop. "What is this?" Ashley sighed realizing she wasn't going to catch a break with the young soprano.

"The song is called Life After Life from Dracula the Musical." She explained.

"What is Dracula about?" Ashley looked at her surprised. She thought back to when the book had come out then threw her palm to her forehead.

"Dracula is a story that came out, or will come out in this case, in 1897 by Bram Stoker. It's about a vampire who moves from his castle in Transylvania to London. The book is mostly put together like a collection of journal entries from various characters telling their experience. But the story has changed over the years in my world and was seen more like a dark romance rather than a horror story."

"How so?" Ashley was actually feeling good about her knowledge of the future that Christine has yet to encounter.

"Well, if I didn't read the book in school I probably wouldn't know this, but as years went on, everyone believed in a romantic connection between Dracula, our vampire and antagonist, and a woman named Mina Murray whom is engaged to a lawyer who went to Transylvania to meet with Dracula about the properties he purchased in London. But in the original story, there was no romance between the two."

"Oh, well which do you prefer?" She asked.

"Well, if I had to choose, I suppose I do like the romance story. But that's just coming from a girl who's read too many romance stories." She said chuckling slightly.

"And the musical is the romance story?" She queried.

"Yup." Ashley answered. "I really love the music from the German one, which is the version we're listening to right now." The song soon shifted to Please Don't Make Me Love You and Ashley's expression went from happy to solemn in an instant. As she heard the actress who played Mina sing the song, she couldn't help but sync with the song.

"Ashley?" Christine's voice soon broke her from her little moment.

"Sorry. This song always gets to me." She explained. "Actually, this song was what got me started with this musical." She went to the music device and began moving through her playlists until she got to one titled Other Songs. She moved through the list until she came to Please Don't Make Me Love You sung by Linda Eder. "This is the version I listened to." She tapped on the song and it began to play. As she heard the music play, she was oh so tempted to sing along, but with Christine there she decided against it.

"It sounds so sad." She said.

"It's Mina telling Dracula that she doesn't want to love him if he doesn't love her. This is her speaking her inner conflict on her love for this dark and sinister being and the life that she knows."

"What does Dracula look like?" Ashley smirked at this question.

"Sexy." She said giggling like the fangirl she was.

"Judging by your reaction, he's someone very handsome."

"That's the point." Ashley pointed out. "Dracula is supposed to be his very handsome and sensual being. That's how he's able to lure the unsuspecting into his grasp."

"He sounds terrifying." She said shuttering.

"Well, towards the end of the show, Dracula is looking back on his life and thinking about his feelings for Mina. He realizes that he cannot imprison her in his world of darkness and wants to set her free. So he tells her to kill him." Christine gasped. "He tells her to set him free and give him back his soul. And she grants his request, even though it pained her greatly."

"Did he really love her?" She asked.

"Yes. That's why he was willing to set her free." The song stopped and began shifting to another song. But Ashley pressed the stop button before it could start and turned off the device.

"I heard the managers talked about you singing your music for the company." Christine said. Ashley sighed.

"They did." She confessed. "But I'm still unsure about the idea. There are many cons and not many pros when I think about performing here. One of them includes a certain ghost." Christine's face instantly fell at the mention of her teacher.

"I can understand your fear." She said. "I would be afraid as well."

"He wants that stage to belong to you, and if I go up there again, I don't want to think of it." She took the ear buds and placed both devices in her pocket. "Besides, I've never been one who enjoys a lot of attention." She chuckled a bit at her statement. Ashley never like being put on the spot. She preferred just not being noticed in a large crowd than having all eyes on her.

"If you ever change your mind, I wouldn't mind singing with you once or twice if you'd feel comfortable."

"Well, I don't like the idea of singing on the stage, but I haven't completely pushed it aside." Christine perked a bit hearing her words.

"So, you might do it?" Ashley nodded.

"I'm just weighing my pros and cons at the moment." It wasn't a "no", but she wasn't agreeing either. It was a start. Suddenly, Christine had an idea.

"Why don't you sing a song from your Dracula musical?" Ashley looked at her astonished.

"Are you nuts?"

"No, I'm sure it will be fine. I liked the music, maybe everyone else will too." Ashley was unsure of this proposal. On one side, she'd have to go out and sing. On the other hand, Christine would be there with her. But she'd be singing something WAY ahead of this time. But Christine also had a point that if she liked it, others might like it as well. Ashley rubbed her head, obviously hurting from all the thinking.

"I need a nap." She said and made her way over to the door and back inside the walls of the opera house on her way to bed.

Another week went by and the managers have yet to let up on their proposition to the young twenty year old. Ashley was bout ready to start throwing chairs out the window if they didn't stop.

"Will they ever leave me alone?" She shouted. "Geez, I can't take it anymore!" She plopped onto her bed and covered her face in her pillow. She thought back to what Christine had proposed to her before. She had been giving it some thought since then. She finally sighed and picked up her iPod and went to find her friend.

"Now, I'm just going to use this as a test." She explained to the two managers before her. "I'm going to do one song and if it goes well, I may do another show at a later date. If not, you never bother me about this again." She put more emphasis on the last word making sure her point was clear.

"Of course my dear." Andre said feeling pleased. "You have our word."

"Now, when would you want to sing this song?" Firmin questioned.

"I already know the words to the song, but I will need some time to get ready. I can perform in a few days if that's possible."

"Actually, we do have a special ball planned for this coming Friday. We can have you sing then." Firmin explained. "If you do well, we can introduce you as a temporary artist here. We can work out details on future shows afterwards."

"Works for me." Ashley agreed. "Now, be prepared for anything that goes gentlemen. This could either be my greatest triumph or my greatest mistake."

The night of the ball finally came. Ashley was starting to regret having agreed to this deal.

"What the hell was I thinking?" She said pacing her room. "I must have been crazy for saying yes to this. I can't go out there. But I have no choice. What if they hate me? What if they love me? What if he's…" she didn't even dare to finish that sentence. If the Phantom was out there she would be signing her own death warrant. But, then again, there's been no word from him in a month.

Wait a minute. She thought. This is that period where the Phantom is working on Don Juan. He's not gonna show up again until New Years!

"I am so stupid." She said banging her head on the door frame. As her head stayed leaning on the wood, she pulled out her iPod and went to her Karaoke playlist and found the song The Heart is Slow to Learn. She took a deep breath and steadied herself. "Okay, just relax. You can do this. It's no big deal." Suddenly, Meg appeared in the room and when Ashley noticed her she jumped back a bit with surprise. "Meg! I hate when you do that!"

"Sorry, but you were so deep in thought that you didn't notice me." She defended. "Anyway, I came to get you into your outfit."

"What outfit?" She asked feeling suspicious. Only now did she notice Meg was holding something behind her back when she pulled out a white dress.

"Ta-da!" Ashley could not contain the look on her face.

"Uh… Meg? You know that I'm not a dress girl, right?"

"Ashley, it's a formal ball. People will think you strange if you go out in your usual attire." She said gesturing to her current outfit which was her usual shirt and trousers.

"No one's complained before." Meg put her hands on her hips and gave her a look saying "you're being childish". Ashley sighed. "Fine, I'll wear a dress. But not that one." She pointed to the white dress in her hand. "I like the dress, but white will probably make me stick out more than I'm comfortable with."

"I have another you can try." She went over to her bed and pulled out a box and pulled off the top revealing a black dress. "Will this work?" Ashley took the dress from the box and cave it a once over. It had a very plain look to it but it was something she would wear if she was forced, like now.

"It will work."

The party was in full swing now. Andre and Firmin were standing at the top of the steps in the foyer facing their guests and were ready to present the young singer who timidly peaked out from around the corner of the upper steps.

"Ladies and gentlemen! We would like to present you with a special treat." Andre began and everyone in the room turned to the two men.

Look at all the people! Ashley screamed in her mind. I cannot believe I'm doing this! I'm going to die!

"As many of you remember, last month during our presentation of Il Muto, after the little accident of one of our stage hands, those who were present that night may remember hearing a young lady singing on the stage." Firmin began. The room began filling with chatter, obviously from those who remembered the incident. "That young lady has decided to put on another performance for you this evening. So, let us introduce Miss Ashley." The audience began applauding and Ashley was ready to faint.

"This was my worst idea ever." She whispered. She slowly stepped out from the corner and the light in the room had dimmed but had a spot light ready for the girl. She looked at the crowd and felt like running for safety. But as she looked down and caught Christine and Meg, she felt a small boost of encouragement course through her. Her iPod was on high volume with the track on standby. She pressed the play button and the song began to play.

Why do we risk all we have
Why give into the law
That calls from everything forbidden?
What attracts us to the night
And crushes us however hard we fight?

It seems the heart is slow to learn
No one can tell it what to do
It never learns from its mistakes
What twists and turns it puts us through

Oh yes, the hear is slow to learn
So every lesson is in vain
It goes the way it wants to go
Regardless of the pain
And so I foolishly go on
Ignoring all the signs
Dismissing all the doubt inside me

For the heart is slow to learn
No one can tell it what to do
It never learns from its mistakes
That's why it finally breaks
And overpowers you

Some passions never let you go
Some fires never cease to burn
It shouldn't come as a surprise
That the heart is slow to learn
The heart is slow to learn
The heart is slow to learn

As soon as the song ended, there was just a moment of silence. Ashley felt as if she had come out of a trance by the end, feeling like she had been somewhere far away from where she was now. Someplace far from her troubles, from her fears, where only the music and the wonderful feelings could ever reside. But when it ended, she came crashing back down to Earth and had to face the people. Due to the silence, she was afraid they didn't like the performance and had that feeling to run again. But before she could escape, the entire room was filled with a thunderous applause. Ashley was very astonished at the reaction. It was much more than she would have expected.

Wow, this is… pretty cool. Ashley turned to the managers and smiled. They knew instantly that she was interested in performing now.

"Only once a month?" Firmin questioned.

"Look, it took a LOT of nerve for me to get up there. I don't think I can keep up with doing shows all the time. Besides, in the span of a month, I can think of more creative ways to put on shows." Ashley explained to the managers. "This is my deal. You take it or leave it." The managers looked at one another then back to the girl.

"I suppose there's no other choice." Andre said giving in. "We expect great things from you young lady."

"If every night is like last night, I doubt there would be a problem."

The song used in this chapter was The Heart is Slow to Learn from Dracula the Musical.

This chapter I also left alone, just because. You get the idea. Later chapters, changes, etc.