The Phantom's Daughter

11. Trouble At Rehearsals

The first rehearsal of the phantom's opera, didn't go too well.
Piangi seemed incapable of singing the part the way the phantom had written it.
Carlotta then openly mocked the phantom's music, only to be scolded by Madame Giry.
It was then that the piano started playing by itself, causing everyone to start singing correctly, so that they didn't enrage the phantom, who was clearly watching them rehearse.
His presence didn't worry Elise or Madame Giry, but the rest of the cast were intimidated by him watching them, making the rest of the rehearsal very tense.

Once the majority of the cast were dispersed, so that they could work on their lines by themselves, Elise was able to start practicing her tricks.
Since ballet numbers usually accompanied the opera performances, Elise never got many opportunities to perfrom her aerial tricks on the big stage. Most of the time, Elise just practiced in the cavern where her father lived. And she had never been professionally taught, it was just something she had learned herself.
Erik it turned out knew more than Elise had realised, as he had named the tricks by their techical name.
She assumed he had learned this information, while he was a prisoner of the the circus troupe.

Some of the tricks were very hard, especially in the combination the phantom had written.
That, combined with the speed of the tricks and the tempo of the music, made the act very challenging for Elise.
A thin mat had been placed under Elise's silks, to cushion her fall, if she slipped.
And while attempting to complete a complicated manoeuvre at the top of the silk, Elise misjudged how far away the second silk was, and failed to grab hold of it.
There was nothing she could do to stop herself falling, as she hadn't been expecting it.

Elise hit the mat with a loud thud, sending shock waves of pain throughout her body.
Madame Giry had been watching from the wings, and when she saw Elise fall, she instantly ran to her side.
"My goodness, are you alright?" Questioned Madame Giry worriedly.
Elise flexed her arms and legs, making sure that nothing was broken, before pushing herself up.
"I'm fine" she mumbled.
Elise was annoyed with herself for falling, especially as she could tell that her father was still watching, and she hated making a fool of herself in front of him.

"Are you sure? That was quite a height you fell from" admitted Madame Giry.
"You're telling me... Don't worry, I'm fine. I'll probably be bruised tomorrow, but that's nothing new. I'm an acrobat and a dancer, I'm used to falling" replied Elise, as she pushed herself into a standing position.
"Still, I don't think you should practice anymore today"
"But I need to master these tricks"
"You've still got a good few days before the performance, which is plenty of time to perfect your tricks. We start the first ballet number later as well, and I don't want you injuring yourself before that. So for now, you rest".

Elise frowned, but did as she was told.
She rolled up the mat, and carried it to the cupboard it was stored in.
But when she reached the cupboard, she found a note stuck to the door.
'Come'.
Elise quickly took down the note in case anyone saw it, and shoved the mat into the cupboard.
She could tell that the note was from her father, and his message was clear, he wanted her to join him in his underworld.
Not wanting to refuse his summons, Elise found the nearest secret passage, and made her way down to her father's domain.

Instead of sitting at his piano, like he normally was when Elise arrived, she found him standing in the cavern, staring up at her, as if he had been awaiting her arrival, and wanted nothing more than to talk to her. Which was new.
"Are you injured?" Quizzed Erik.
Elise frowned at her fathers sudden interest in her wellbeing.
"I'm fine. Which is exactly what I told Madame Giry, if you'd been listening" replied Elise.
"I assumed that you were just lying so that she didn't worry about you"
"I wasn't lying to her. I really am O.K, so you can drop the fake parental concern. It's too late to jump into the role of caring father, that ship has sailed I'm afraid".

"Why do you think that I care for so little?" Questioned Erik.
"Because you have never shown that much interest in me before" answered Elise.
"I brought you a dress, and even wrote you a part in my opera"
"Oh wow, father of the year, definitely. That so makes up for the fact that you gave me up, because you didn't want to look after me yourself".
Erik frowned, "I gave you to Madame Giry, so that you would be raised properly. I didn't have the means or knowledge to raise you myself".
"Come up with as many excuses as you like, because it doesn't change anything. You still gave me up" replied Elise.

"Because of me, you grew up surrounded by music and money. You got to grow up at the ballet school, which is the dream of hundreds of girls" reminded Erik.
"I hate ballet!" Shouted Elise, finally feeling brave enough to admit the truth to her father.
"No you don't, you love dancing" countered Erik.
"I like dancing, I don't deny that. But I don't like ballet. All the feet positions, rules, painful movements, strict appearance, it's not me. But I never had a choice. Madame Giry runs the ballet school so I was put into ballet the moment I could walk. And I hate it. Why do you think I learned how to tumble, and do aerial tricks? Because I wanted to have the chance to do something that wasn't ballet".

"Why did you never voice these concerns before now?" Asked Erik quietly.
"Because you've never had a proper conversation with me before. You never wanted to spend time with me" revealed Elise.
"I didn't think that you wanted me to. I thought that distancing myself from you was the best thing for the both of us" admitted Erik.
"You thought that I needed money and friends, more than I needed family. But you were wrong. Meg and Madame Giry may be like family to me. But they are not my blood. You are the only family member I have left"
"Then I'm sorry I pushed you away, when all you wanted was my affection".

Elise sighed, "It's too late now for us to rekindle our relationship or start anew. We'll just have to make do with what we've got... I need to get back to theatre, I have ballet numbers to learn for your opera".
"Oh. Right, yes, of course. Just be careful, won't you" replied Erik.
"You too. This opera puts us both in the spotlight. It's a big risk, and the directors want nothing more than to have you in their clutches"
"Don't worry about me, I'm far to clever to get caught by the likes of them"
"That's what Madame Giry said"
"She's a smart woman"
"Yes, she is. Anyway, I'd better get going. Goodbye"
"Farewell".