His Voice as Soft as Thunder

Act 1 - Scene 7: Magical Lasso/I Remember (Stranger than You Dreamt It)

The screams of the chorus girls were heard three halls down from whence they came, making a tired Madame Giry groan in annoyance as she left her private room to sort out the situation.

"Like yellow parchment is his skin. A great black hole serves as the nose that... never grew." bouquet smiled a lustful smile, and chuckled a sinful laugh as he drew fear into the young ballerina's. He produced a noose from his belt, stroking it gently as he eyed the half-dressed women watching him.

"You must be always on your guard, or he will catch you with his magical lasso." he threw the rope, capturing one of the young women only just entering the room. She gasped as she was pulled toward him, his slimy mouth running up and down her throat as he growled like an animal. The slam of the door startled them all, creating a deafening silence as they stared at the disappointed face of Madame Giry.

A resigned sigh left the Persian's lips as he made his way around the dark hallways of the theatre, opening the vault's locked door with his skeleton key. He nodded his head to the workers as they made their way out from their shifts. He made his way down, the sound of running water increasing in volume reassured him he was on the right path.

_________ awoke to something pressing down on her cheek, it was heavy, and hairy, and it moved in a very peculiar way. She tried to move her head, but the motion frightened the mass, and a loud meow made _________ jolt upward. She stared down at the sheets, where a playful cat examined her.

"Hello," she smiled. The cat purred back before shuffling from the other room made them run away. _________ smiled to herself as she left the bed, peeking out of the large curtain to the cavern, the man who took her there was seen at the large organ. She giggled quietly as she watched the cat energetically jump atop his head. She began to walk toward him, the embroidery she saw before making her more and more interested in seeking the truth of the man and the mask.

"I remember there was mist. Swirling mist upon a vast, glassy lake. There were candles all around and on the lake there was a boat. And on that boat there was a man..."

Her presence behind the man made him shiver slightly as he tried to continue his work. He closed his eyes as her hands snaked around his shoulders and up his neck to rest on his cheek. He leant into her palm as he smiled softly.

"Who was that face in the mirror? Who is that face in the mask?" _________ leant in closer, and closer her heart beating against his chest as her breath ran down his cheek. He smiled more, until a sudden breeze fell upon his left side.

His eyes widened as he yelled out in fright, pushing _________ away in anger. His screams echoed as the young woman fell to the floor with a grunt. Pain shot through her side as she held herself against the rocky wall, watching empathetically as the man continued to scream at her, tears streaming down his face.

"DAMN YOU! YOU LITTLE PRYING PANDORA! YOU LITTLE DEMON! IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED TO SEE?" he turned to her, his face no longer covered. She looked at him with apologetic sorrow as she looked over the deformity that now replaced the mask.

His skin was red, as though it had been burnt, and his cheekbone protruded like there was no muscle attached. His eye seemed to droop, like it did when she and Meg would pull at their cheeks to pull a funny face, and his nose seemed to stretch into that blotchy skin. _________ let a tear fall from her eyes as he continued to scream.

"CURSE YOU! YOU LITTLE LYING DELILAH! YOU LITTLE VIPER! NOW YOU CANNOT EVER BE FREE!"

"Erik..." she whispered, but he couldn't hear her as he fell to his knees, his sobs tearing her heart apart.

"DAMN YOU! CURSE YOU..." there was a solemn silence as _________ watched him star at the ground, his back erratically rising and falling as his choking sobs calmed down. She looked down at the mask that lay in her hand, the echoes of his soft voice filled her heart with the memories of his gentleness. She held the mask close to her chest, the pain of her fall reaching her wrist as she moved them. His voice returned, as she looked up to find him staring at her with a sorrowful look.

"Stranger than you dreamt it, can you even dare to look? Or bare to think of me... this lonesome gargoyle who burns in hell but secretly, yearns for heaven! Secretly...secretly... _________." He slowly made his way over to her, his movements soft and calculated as he hid his face with the same hand which forced her to the ground. She watched the image of him changing to those years past. He would bend down, and plant his handkerchief on her knee with a smile.

"Fear can turn to love, you'll learn to see, to find the man behind the monster this... repulsive carcase who seems a beast but secretly dreams of beauty, secretly... secretly... oh, _________"

"Erik..." she whispered again as he sat in front of her. His eyes lit up as she said his name. She smiled softly as she moved closer toward him, mask in hand.

"Yes..." he whispered back, closing his eyes in shame. He clenched them shut as he felt her soft hand run up his cheek. His sobbing turned as the feeling lingered.

"Thank you." she whimpered as she pulled herself onto him, and into an embrace.

Erik let out a loud gasp as he felt her arms wrap around him. His eyes remained closed, too afraid to see her as he felt her move around him. Her warmth left, but her presence remained as he sensed that cold, dead mask return to his face.

Like a ghost, her presence disappeared from him. Erik opened his eyes to find her once again looking around the cavern. He watched her examine everything, talking to herself as she fiddled with the ruby on her neck. He looked at his hands as he calmed himself down.

"Come, we must return. Those two fools who run my theatre will be missing you."