I'm soo happy with the response I got so far! Although there were no reviews, I'm fine with people looking over the stories (reviews very much appreciated.
*I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! nor do I own PTO. I only own Daphne
Well... here's chapter two!
Daphne could still hear the ovation through the curtain and she smiled broadly. The other dancers ran onto the stage hugging her and saying how incredible she was. Isis walked onto the stage and whacked her cane to get attention.
"Yes, you did well." She said, "He will be pleased." Touching Daphne's chin. "And you," Isis continued looking at the dancers, "you were a disgrace! Such rond de jambe! Such jumps! Come!" She said whacking her cane, "We rehearse, now!"
The ballet members filled out and started to stretch and others practiced their extensions. Daphne walked out the other way and toward her dressing room. She was almost there when she heard someone singing to her.
"Brava, brava, bravissima..." The ghostly voice said.
The three boys had snuck away from their instructor and had followed Daphne. Soon they noticed that she was staring off into space.
"Daphne. Daphne." They called to her.
"Daphne..." The ghostly voice said again.
"Where in the world have you been hiding?" Yugi asked running up to the girl, making her come out of her trance.
"Really, you were perfect." Ryou said giving her a hug.
"I only wish I knew your secret." Malik said taking her hand, "Who is your great tutor?"
All three boys were curious about this question. Daphne hesitated to respond but then smiled.
"Father, once spoke of an angel, I used to dream he'd appear. Now as I sing I can sense him, and I know he's here!" She said pulling all three of them into her new dressing room. "Here in this room, he calls me me softly, somewhere inside, hiding. Somehow I know he's always with me; he the unseen genius."
Yugi looked to the other boys, her words seemed strange. Normally, Daphne was logical, not going on about angels.
"Daphne, you must have been dreaming." Yugi said taking her shoulder after she had finished changing.
"Stories like this can't come true." Ryou followed, agreeing.
"Daphne, you're talking in riddles, and it's not like you..." Malik followed.
Daphne burst into song and felt a warm presence surround her.
"Angel of Music, guide and guardian, grant to me your glory!"
"Who is this angel this;" Yugi, Ryou, and Malik sang to themselves.
"Angel of Music, hide no longer. Secret and strange, Angel." They sang together.
The warm presence turned icy and Daphne stopped.
"He's with me even now." She whispered.
Malik gasped, "Your hands are cold!" The temperature wasn't common in their desert home.
"All around me." Daphne continued.
"Your face, Daphne, it's white!" Ryou commented taking her chin.
"It frightens me." She said pulling away from their grasp.
"Don't be frightened." Yugi soothed.
There was a loud crack and the four of them were silent. Isis had walked into the room and was giving a hard look to the three dancers.
"Yugi. Malik. Ryou. Are you dancers?" She asked in a stern voice.
The three didn't respond but nodded. "Then go and practice." The three boys smiled at Daphne and then walked away. "My dear." Isis said pulling out a small envelope, " I was asked to give you this."
"Thank you." Daphne said taking the envelope.
She read the letter quickly and was confused. "A doll? The garden? Little flower?" She brushed it off and finished getting all of the stage makeup and glitter out of her hair.
Three men approached Daphne's dressing room and two of them were laughing.
"A tour de force!" Pegasus exclaimed, "That is the only way to describe it!"
"Not even a single refund!" Dartz said smiling. "Ah, here we are, my lord." He said when they reached the door.
"Gentlemen," Timaeus said sharply. "This is one visit I shall prefer to make unaccompanied."
"Very well, sir." Pegasus said as he and Dartz walked off.
"Daphne Milore." He said simply, "Where is your ballerina doll?"
"Sir?" She asked.
"You can't have lost it?" Timaeus said with a chuckle. "After all the trouble I took to get it back? I was just 13 and up to my throat in mud."
"Because you had run into the pouring rain to get my doll! Oh, Timaeus it is you!" She exclaimed.
Daphne had known Timaeus since she was a child. Even though he was a player when it came to other women, he was always a gentleman when it came to Daphne. He had a scar that covered his left eye and it wouldn't allow him to open the eye. He wore teal robes and had an ornate sword on his side.
"Daphne!" He smiled and handed her a rose, "Little flower, let her mind wander; little flower thought: am I fonder of dolls;"
"Or of goblins, of shoes;" They sang together.
"Or of riddles, of frogs?" She said smiling.
"Those picnics in the garden, or of chocolates?" Timaeus said putting his hands on her shoulders.
"Father, performing for us." She said remembering.
Timaeus also remembered, "As we read to each other dark stories of the north."
"No, what I loved best little flower said, is when I'm asleep in my bed; and the Angel of Music sings songs in my head." Daphne whispered facing Timaeus.
They sang together, "The Angel of Music sings songs in my head."
"Father said, 'When I'm in heaven child, I will send the Angel of Music to you'. Well, Father is dead, Timaeus. And I have been visited by the Angel of Music." Daphne said with a smile.
Timaeus smiled to his friend. "No doubt of it. And now, we go to supper."
Daphne froze and took the hems of Timaeus' robes.
"No, Timaeus. The Angel of Music is very strict."
"I shan't keep you up late." He said simply.
"No..." Daphne tried to continue but Timaeus stopped her.
"You must change; I must get my hat. Two minutes," he smiled to her from the entrance of the room, "Little flower." Then he closed the door.
"Timaeus!" She called after him, her voice shaking.
She looked around the room quickly and then sat back down at her vanity. "Things have changed, Timaeus."
"Insolent boy, the slave of fashion! Basking in your glory!" The ghostly voice of her angel shouted, his anger boiling over.
Daphne froze when she had heard the voice. "Ignorant fool! This brave young suitor, sharing in my triumph!"
Daphne stood and looked around the room for her teacher, her angel. He was always there when she was lonely and upset and this is how she treated him? How she honored her teacher and friend?
"Angel, I hear you! Speak, I listen... Stay by my side, guide me! Angel, my soul was weak, forgive me. Enter at last, master."
"Flattering child, you shall know me." The voice said sounding calm again, "See why in shadow I hide. Look at your face in the mirror, I am there inside!"
Daphne approached the tall mirror and looked deep inside. She could faintly see a face watching her from inside the mirror.
"Angel of Music! Guide and guardian! Grant to me your glory! Angel of Music! Hide no longer! Come to me, strange angel!" Daphne sung to the mirror and the face became clearer.
"I am your Angel of Music, come to me: Angel of Music." His baritone voice sang to her, "I am your Angel of Music. Come to me: Angel of Music..."
Nobody heard the doorknob shake from across the room. Timaeus had returned and could hear the singing from inside.
"Who is that in there?" He shouted from outside the room.
Daphne stretched out her hand and somehow her angel's hand gently took her own. He pulled her through the mirror and started to lead her down a passageway.
The girl stared at her angel carefully, he had similar hair to her friend Yugi but the tips of his hair were lined in crimson. His eyes were a stunning crimson. He wore a mask that only covered the right side of his face. He wore what appeared to be dress clothing but it was more suitable to wear down in the dankness of the tunnels.
Daphne was overjoyed now having seen who her angel was. She allowed him to pull her a small ways before curiosity consumed her again.
"Angel, do you have a name?"
Her angel smiled and brought her hand up to his lips.
"My name is Yami, little one." He said kissing it lightly.
Daphne blushed and Yami continued to pull her forward. Her feet moved like she was under a spell and soon started to sing, she thought it was to herself but it was out loud.
"In sleep he sang to me, in dreams he came... That voice which calls to me, and speaks my name. And do I dream again? For now I find, the Pharaoh of the Opera is there, inside my mind."
Yami looked back to her and gave a charming smile. Daphne couldn't remember how many turns she had made. She was utterly lost. Yami continued to lead her down the tunnels and Daphne could see a multitude of eyes watching her.
"Sing once again with me, our strange duet, my power over you grows stronger yet," Yami lead her down a side passage and there were many candles lit among the walls. Daphne looked back for a moment and she couldn't see the mirror where she was a few minutes earlier. "And though you turn from me, to glance behind," Daphne quickly turned around expecting for him to be angry with her but he only smiled. He wasn't trying to scare her now. "The Pharaoh of the Opera is there! Inside your mind."
They reached a black lake with a small wooden boat on a pier close to them. Yami helped Daphne inside and then climbed in gracefully. He grabbed a pole and pushed the boat through the water without a sound. Daphne looked around amazed and started to sing again.
"Those who have seen your face draw back in fear, I am the mask you wear,"
"It's me they hear." Yami sang back to her.
"Your/My spirits and your/my voice in one combined. The Pharaoh of the Opera is there, inside my/your mind." The two harmonized.
"He's there! The Pharaoh of the Opera! Beware, the Pharaoh of the Opera!" Daphne heard those voices from all around her, resembling the voices of the frightened performers.
They soon approached a large rock and Daphne could see large amounts of candles lit on it. There were splits in the rock that people could easily enter to get to another room.
"In all your fantasies you always knew, that man and mystery." Yami sang as he continued to push the boat forward.
"Were both in you." Daphne finished turning around to face Yami.
"And in this labyrinth, where night is blind, the Pharaoh of the Opera is there inside my/your mind." Yami helped her out of the boat.
Daphne was correct in her assumptions about the cracks in the walls. Rooms filled with instruments, a bedroom, a study and other things.
"My Angel of Music!" Yami declared.
"He's there, the Pharaoh of the Opera."
"Sing!" He called.
"Oh!" Daphne sang in a strange form not sung in any of the operas that the house performed.
"Sing!" Yami called out even louder.
"Oh!" Daphne sang even louder still in that strange form.
Touching her lightly, Yami turned her toward the openness of the cave and urged her again to sing. Her voice went even higher, she had to obey. He kept urging her until she had reached her highest note and was about to ask him to stop.
"Sing for me!" He said in a commanding voice.
"AH!" She sang and then lightly grabbed her throat. She had never sung that high in her life, and she highly doubted that Teá had even reached that note before without some assistance. Daphne caught her breath and heard an organ play.
"I have brought you to the seat of sweet music's throne... To this kingdom where all must pay homage to music... Music..." Yami sang as he played the keys of the strange instrument. "I have brought you for one purpose and one alone. Since the moment I first heard you sing, I have needed you with me, to serve me, to sing for my music... My music."
Yami looked up to Daphne, who had finally caught her breath, and gave a slight smirk.
"Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation. Darkness stirs and wakes imagination. Silently the senses abandon their defenses..." Yami had walked around the organ and turned Daphne to face the entrance of his cavern home.
"Slowly, gently night unfurls its splendor. Grasp it," Yami took her hand quickly, "sense it, tremulous and tender."
Daphne tried to turn to face him but lightly using his other hand he lightly pushed her face away. "Turn your face away from the garish light of day. Turn your thoughts away from cold unfeeling light." Just barely putting his hand under her chin, he pulled her back, "And listen to the Music of the Night."
Yami pulled on Daphne's hand lightly and she walked toward a far side of his home. "Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams, purge your thoughts of the life you knew before. Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar."
Following his simple commands, Daphne felt like she was floating inside her body. "And you'll live as you've never lived before." Yami continued to sing softly into Daphne's ear. "Softly, deftly, music shall caress you, hear it, feel it, secretly possess you. Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind in this darkness which you know you cannot fight. The darkness of the music of the night.."
Daphne opened her eyes and she was suddenly frightened. She tried to pull away but Yami held her hand in a comforting way and continued singing. "Let your mind start a journey to a strange new world, leave all thoughts of the world you knew before. Let your soul take you where you long to be!"
Daphne fell back into the trance once she knew that she was truly safe here. "Only then, can you belong to me." Yami whispered walking behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist but not touching anywhere else. "Floating, falling, sweet intoxication. Touch me," Yami took her hand and placed it against the side of his face that wasn't covered by his mask then against his heart when he had released her waist. The rhythmic beat kept the time of his seductive song. "Trust me, savor each sensation. Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in, to the power of the music that I write... The power of the Music of the Night..."
He lead her through a small hole in the wall and there was a what looked like the stage of the opera house. The only figure on the stage was a girl with black hair with blonde highlights wearing silken white robes. Daphne couldn't comprehend it, she stepped backwards and everything caught up with her. She nearly fell to the ground unconscious but Yami caught her and picked her up bridal style.
Yami carried her to his bedroom, careful of hitting the sleeping girl's head on any object in his way. His bed was made to resemble a ship, a circular mattress lied inside and blood red cushions lied along the top edge. The black silk sheets were moved out of the way and Yami placed the sleeping girl on the bed.
"You alone can make my song take flight," Yami sang softly pulling up the sheets to cover the girl. "Help me make the music of the night."
Yami sat beside the sleeping girl and stared at her sleeping form with a sort of love in his eyes. After a minute, he tore himself away and left the room. Daphne slept peacefully, the music of the night playing in her head.