Gankutsuou Fan Fiction ❯ Gankutsuou Reborn ❯ A Night At The Opera ( Chapter 15 )
Anime/Manga: Gankutsuou Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Hentai / Drama / Classic | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 01.22.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 5.4K | Visits: 247 | Status: Completed
GANKUTSUOU REBORN
© December 30, 2005 By Rory V. Pascual
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: A Star Is Born
A woman sat on the porch of her modest home overlooking the sea. The winter ocean breeze was rather chilly, but anger was stoking her blood to the boiling point. All she had to do was glance at the newspaper on the coffee table before her, which showed two young men in a torrid kiss, and her temper would rise.
"Madame?" It was her majordomo.
"Did you do what I tell you?" was her simple query.
"Yes, Madame," he replied. "I thought it would be impossible at this very late date, but I was able to secure a ticket for you for the opera this evening."
She stood up at once, donning a fox fur cloak over her elegant shimmering blue taffeta gown. "Then, we have no time to waste. Tell the driver to get the car. We leave for Paris right this minute."
The door to the dressing room opened and a disheveled Baptistin hurried inside. Before the door could be closed. Albert heard the angry cries coming from outside the opera house.
"It's getting really ugly out there, Albert," Baptistin said, breathing heavily. "I had to beat up some guys who were trying to break in here through the Artist's Entrance. Bertuccio is also having difficulty securing the other entrances. The guards of this place are not equipped to handle a riot. Luigi Vampa and his crew would have handled this more efficiently if they were here."
"The last thing we expected was a full scale riot," Albert replied, very worried. He was already dressed in his costume of the Count. "If we had known this was going to happen, we would've called up Vampa and had him and his men come here."
Bertuccio also came in at that moment, looking a bit relieved. "Monsieur Dupre has arrived with the police. He is speaking with Mademoiselle Eugenie right now. He is asking her that we cancel the performance tonight. We need better security preparations."
"And what did Eugenie say?" Albert asked, praying that his former fiancée would have the sense to listen to Lucien's advice.
"I think she's going to agree with him. We can't risk anyone getting hurt after all."
"Bertuccio…" Etienne began quietly. "Go to Eugenie and Lucien. Tell them that the performance will not be cancelled."
The three men stared at the singer in shocked silence.
"Are you insane, Etienne?" Albert exclaimed. "That's a mob out there!"
The Nightingale, however, smiled reassuringly as he waved Bertuccio and Baptistin off. "Go on. Tell them."
The two men knew it was their former master who was commanding them, and they hastened to obey without question.
As Baptistin and Bertuccio left the dressing room, Albert stood up and approached his lover, who was lightly dusting his face with powder. "Etienne, you must reconsider. Those people out there have come specifically for the purpose of destroying you. Verano has manipulated his admirers too well. The rest of the cast is terrified to go out on stage. Monsieur Jentes, who will be playing the Count in the singing scenes, was once Verano's understudy and he knows what the singer's supporters are capable of."
There was nothing but grave seriousness on Etienne's face as he turned to look at his lover. "If we cancel the performance, that is exactly what Verano wants. Do you want to see that whole month's work of hard work go for naught?"
Albert remembered all those pleasure-filled days rehearsing those erotic dance scenes with the Nightingale. "Of course not!" he declared in heated vehemence. Remembering their situation, however, Albert added hastily, "But I don't want to see you get killed on stage either."
Etienne laid a caressing hand on Albert's cheek. "Oh, my dear Albert! I promise nothing's going to happen to me. Besides, except for those days when I was ill, the Nightingale of Luna had never canceled a performance, and I'm certainly not about to start now."
"I do admire your courage, but you must promise me. Before things get out of hand, promise that you'll get off that stage and just allow us to reschedule the show on a later date."
"I promise." The Nightingale, however, added, "But…if there is even one friendly face in that audience who wants to hear me sing, neither you nor the French army can drag me away while I'm performing. Is that clear?"
Although there was a pleasant smile on Etienne's lips, Albert knew that his lover meant every word he said. Letting out a defeated sigh, the young envoy put in, "If you feel that strongly about it, then I'll share the stage with you. I won't leave you alone at the mercy of those animals. If need be, I'll go out there in place of Monsieur Jentes and sing my heart out."
Etienne quickly waved both hands. "Oh, please, please! You don't have to do that. We want to make this show a hit, not a flop."
The Nightingale drew back with a guilty grimace as his lover shot him a smoldering glare. "Do you have a problem with my voice, Delacroix?"
"Oh, none at all! None at all!" Etienne leaped to his feet, grabbing Albert's dress cloak, and all but ran for the door. "Let's go, Monsieur Herrera! Our audience awaits us!"
"Hey! You come back here! Don't think I'm letting you get off the hook that easily!"
But as Albert hurried after the singer, he was disheartened by the angry shouts that grew louder and louder as they neared the backstage area. Lucien and Beauchamp were waiting for them. Eugenie was talking to the frightened actors, trying in vain to calm them down, which was impossible to do with the furious shouts of the crowd in the galleries and the stomping of feet.
"Vive Verano!" the mob roared. "Go back to Luna, you whore!"
Lucien shook his head in dismay. "I'm sorry. They just barged through the doors en masse, and the police couldn't stop them."
"Don't tell me that all of those people out there are Verano's supporters?" Albert was truly crestfallen. He couldn't muster up the courage to peek into the hall.
"I saw Maximilien, Valentine and the twins earlier, but I fear they must have gotten caught in the rush," Beauchamp answered. "Peppo and Renaud were here as well. I know that a few of our friends have come to watch, but with that mob, I can't blame them if they all decided to go home. It's just too dangerous out there."
"Mademoiselle Eugenie, please, you can't make us perform!" an absolutely terrified Rouald Jentes begged the pianist. His tears were pouring under the phosphorescent pink lace mask he wore.
"Don't worry. The police are here and they will restore order. It'll soon be safe for us to perform, I assure you." But to her own ears, Eugenie was appalled by how insincere she sounded.
While they were busy talking, unknown to all, Etienne had walked up on stage and was peeking at the mob through the curtains. His eyes narrowed in undisguised anger at the sight of the furious men and women shaking their fists in the air and shouting invectives. Sitting in the fifth row, pretending to look annoyed at the hecklers but was obviously enjoying the disturbance, was Guillermo Verano.
It was a very ugly scene, and the singer was close to agreeing to the show's cancellation.
:Etienne…Look!:
The Nightingale did not need Gankutsuou's preternatural vision to see the small, but formidable little group marching down the aisle, led by a dignified old gentleman with a cane. Maximilien and Valentine had brought along the crew of the Pharaon. If the hecklers were not silenced by the crewmembers' glares, a fist and a hard knock on the head courtesy of Penelon's trusty guitar did the trick.
What truly elated Etienne was the sight of Sister Bertrille and the nuns of the Order. With them are the children of the orphanage, Jacques and Clementine Morrel among them. The hecklers certainly did not stand a chance against the orphans' heels of steel and the angry nuns' iron toes that cracked the nuts of any man who dared to block their way. They all took their seats in the front row, primly ignoring the rabble-rousers behind them.
Those friendly faces were all the encouragement that Etienne and Gankutsuou needed.
:For them?: the entity inquired as he extended his power to the singer.
:Yes, Gankutsuou. We do it for them,: Etienne replied, donning Albert's dark cloak, as the pink marks flared up on his forehead.
In the cacophony of the rioters, Albert and the others at first did not hear the singer's low humming. But as Etienne began to sing what was supposed to be the piano intro of the Count's song "We Were Lovers", Albert whirled instantly.
"Etienne, no!" the young ambassador called out in horror.
The singer, however, ignored his lover's warning and, sweeping the curtain aside, strode out onto the stage.
Etienne was instantly greeted by jeers and insults. One even dared to throw a rotten tomato at him, which smeared his cloak. But those catcalls were drowned out by the combined might of the voices of the Nightingale and Gankutsuou, as they poured their hearts and passions into the song that Eugenie had composed for Albert.
Harsh words were said
and lies were told instead.
I didn't ever mean to make you cry.
But love can make us weak and make us strong,
and before too very long.
I was totally in love with you.
I bathed in you.
Lost in you, captivated by you.
Amazed by you, dazed by you.
Nothing can go wrong.
Nothing can go wrong.
Nothing can go wrong.
So tonight I'll sing
a song to all my friends.
Also to those we won't be seeing again.
To those I knew and those I still adore
and I want to see once more.
I just pray that you will love me
and trust me.
Laugh with me and cry with me
spend those silent times with me.
Love me evermore.
Love me evermore.
Love me evermore.
You and I were lovers.
Our dreams were not soured by life.
And then my friends' betrayal
meant you never would be my wife.
Harsh words were said
and lies were told instead.
I didn't ever mean to make you cry.
But love can make us weak and make us strong,
and before too very long.
I was totally in love with you.
I bathed in you.
Lost in you, captivated by you.
Amazed by you, dazed by you.
Nothing can go wrong.
Nothing can go wrong.
Nothing can go wrong.
The jeering died down towards the middle of Etienne's song. No one dared to raise a fuss after that. All listened, mesmerized, to the Nightingale's voice and the touching melody and lyrics of his song. Eugenie, Lucien and Beauchamp, who had listened to Etienne sing in the past, were awe-struck. Never had they heard the singer sing like this.
"Those words…" Beauchamp could not stop himself from whispering. "It's as if the Count himself were singing it."
And he was certainly not talking about the enigmatic Count in Eugenie's opera.
Albert had heard the journalist's words, and it only caused his blood to be chilled. For although he was listening to that haunting song, his eyes were focused on the glowing marks on his lover's forehead.
His hand went up to the lace mask he wore. No! That can't be a mask! My mask did not glow as brightly as that the first time I tried it on the dark!
Gankutsuou felt a crawling at the back of his neck. As he looked out of the corner of his eye, it horrified him to see the shocked expression on Albert's face.
My marks… The entity realized the cause of the young envoy's fear. Does he suspect… Even when the song drew to a tremulous close, he could not avert his eyes from Albert's startled gaze.
:What's wrong with Albert?: Gankutsuou heard Etienne inquire. :Why is he staring at us like that?:
What broke their gaze was a bold voice who spoke from the opposite end of the stage. "Well, now! Do any of you rabble-rousers still have any complaints about this fantastic performance?"
Stirred by those taunting words, one small group near the back made to raise a ruckus. A sharp pistol crack fired through the air stopped them at once. It was Luigi Vampa, Teresa and their band of merry bandits. With them were Haydee, Renaud and Peppo, who gave the surprised singer a wink and a thumbs-up.
"If anyone dares to make even a peep," Verano called out, cocking his gun menacingly, "the next bullet won't be a blank."
The man who had spoken earlier went up on stage. "I'm sure there won't be any more need for firearms, Signore." He was a jovial, portly gentleman with a thick dark beard and a balding pate.
"Hmmph!" The bandit holstered his pistol. "And I thought all Parisiens were civilized patrons of the arts, Signore Cassals."
"Well, we are," the mysterious man laughed. "Most of the time."
Lucien recognized the stranger at once. "Why…that's…"
It was Eugenie who gasped out his name. "Ludivigo Cassals!"
A distinguished gentleman with short graying hair joined the opera legend. Four burly security men flanked them.
Everyone in the hall stood up, as shocked murmurs of "It's the President! It's President Poirrot!" rose among them.
Etienne fell to one knee as he realized that he was in the presence of France's two most powerful dignitaries. "Forgive me, Messrs. Being new to Paris, I'm afraid I did not recognize you, and I…"
Something was placed around the singer's neck. Etienne blinked down at the golden star that hung down from his neck by a crimson ribbon.
"If there is anyone here who deserves the recognition," the President of France kindly began in a voice that was loud enough to be heard by all, "it's you, Monsieur Etienne Delacroix." He turned to the audience, specifically those who had jeered the Nightingale earlier. "This young man was born to a life that was not his choice. He had nothing but his voice and his dreams to help him survive a life that would've left him broken and bitter. Despite this, he assisted the Interior Ministry in apprehending evil men who would condemn Paris' youth to a life of unwilling debauchery. This he did with no thought of the dangers to his life or the possibility that he would never be freed from the hell he was in. He was not even a French citizen, and yet he risked all for total strangers." The President's voice boomed as he railed, "And this is how you honor a hero?"
Cassals trained his heated gaze towards Verano, who was trying to hide behind the woman in front of him. "Signore Verano, I think I told you this before when you were still my understudy. The actions of your supporters are your responsibility. I noticed you sitting there for quite awhile and you did nothing to stop them. Many Parisiens have accused the citizens of Luna as being heathens, but what do you call this scandalous behavior? It shames me tremendously that Paris' artistes would resort to backbiting and rioting to discourage talents before they could even prove their worth to the audience. You never expected Monsieur Delacroix to take up your challenge, did you? He showed great courage by singing before an angry mob, and he silenced you all with the power of his voice and the honesty of his heart." The opera star looked at the humble young man with great pride. "Monsieur Delacroix is a true artiste, someone whom I had always aspired to be, someone that even a man of a stature and years of experience knows I could never become."
It was Penelon who began clapping, followed by Maximilien and Valentine, and his crewmates. The children not only clapped, but cheered as well. Soon, the entire hall resounded with the applause and cheers of all. Vampa and his men would have fired their guns as well in celebration if Haydee, Teresa and Peppo had not thrown them sharp warning looks. Beauchamp, Eugenie and Lucien were close to tears as they applauded the singer's success.
Only Albert remained unmoved, still staring transfixed at those marks on Etienne's brow.
The President then bent down and helped the Nightingale to his feet. "Welcome to France, Etienne my boy! You are now a citizen of this fair country. Not only that…" He glanced at Sister Bertrille and the orphans. "Ambassador DeQuervain had informed me about the imminent closure of the orphanage in Luna. After speaking with the Cardinal, we have decided that the Order will be relocated to a small parish in the heart of Paris. The good nuns shall continue to care for the unfortunates in this city. As for your little friends, many of our kind nobles have expressed their desire to adopt them. They will have homes this new year."
Tears of happiness misted Etienne's odd-colored eyes as he gazed at Sister Bertrille. Smiling, the Mother Superior blessed her beloved ward, mouthing two words, "Thank you!" Ambassador DeQuervain, who had accompanied the nun and the children and was sitting beside them, acknowledged him with an approving nod.
"Now…" Cassals gave the singer's hands an encouraging squeeze. "Wow that crowd, son!"
"Yes, Signore!" Etienne was happy to see Eugenie and the other musicians taking their places in the orchestra pit. He could hear the bustling of activity behind the curtains.
:Are you ready, Gankutsuou?: the singer asked, raring to go.
:Just one last thing.:
Gankutsuou whirled in Albert's direction, smiling. He raised his hand to his brow and gestured as though peeling off a mask. As he did so, he willed the marks on his forehead to gradually disappear along with the movement of his hand. As he pretended to tuck the mask in his trousers pocket, he saw the relief form on his lover's face.
Giving the President and the opera legend one final gracious bow as they descended the stage, the Nightingale of Luna swept his cloak off his shoulders, assuming the role of the valiant prostitute Aimé.
With arms outstretched, Etienne spoke the opening line of the first act. "What are you standing around for? We have customers to entertain!"
~~~~~~~~~~
The next two hours proved to be a magical experience not only for the audience, but also for the cast as the tragic love story of the Count and Aimé unfolded on stage. At the passionate performance of the actors, the audience was swept up in the searing emotions of the Count's desire for vengeance against those who had betrayed him, all the while rooting for brave Aimé to veer him from his path of self-destruction.
Etienne proved himself not only to be an excellent singer, but a wonderful dancer as well as he performed the brothel dance sequences with sheer eroticism. Both women and men found themselves getting aroused by the way the Nightingale swayed and moved his hips with enticing, alluring grace.
One of the highlights of the opera was the part wherein Aimé revealed his true feelings for the Count and seduced him into his bed for a torrid night of passion. Conservative matrons swooned as Albert swept the Nightingale into a passionate dance, his hands caressing sundry portions of his lover's anatomy. While everyone believed it to be a mere act, only a rather irritated Etienne knew that the daring envoy had, in truth, taken liberties upon his person, much more than during their rehearsals. It had to take shrewd placements of a thigh and hand to hide the growing bulge in Albert's trousers.
There were a couple of surprises for the Nightingale as well. In the scene wherein the mysterious nobleman led the prostitute into a playful dance in the slums where he lived, the Morrel twins and the orphans climbed up on stage and sang Eugenie's modernized arrangement of 'The Beautiful Blue Danube'. It delighted Etienne and Albert to see Clementine, Jacques and his little friends serenading them and dancing along with such verve and happiness.
The biggest surprise came during that heart-wrenching moment in the Count's villa when Aimé was desperately trying to convince the man he loved to abandon his quest for revenge. At first, he believed that the actor he was sharing the stage with was Monsieur Jentes. Great was his surprise when it turned out to be Albert. Unknown to the singer, Albert had been taking singing lessons so that he could sing this pivotal duet with his lover.
Lucien revealed during a quick costume change, "It was DeQuervain who insisted that he take singing lessons. 'Do that young man proud by learning how to sing well,' he said."
Those were real tears of pride that poured from Etienne's eyes as he embraced his beloved. "You were wonderful, Albert," he whispered in the envoy's ears, causing a blush to go up Albert's cheeks.
Monsieur Jentes was only too happy to relinquish the stage to Albert in the final scene wherein Aimé was tragically killed when he placed himself in the path of the bullet that the Count intended for his mortal foe. Overcome by the emotions of the scene, Albert poured his heart and soul into his song of guilt and remorse, causing copious tears to flow from the audience.
The opera ended to the roar and cheers of the audience, giving a standing ovation to the performers. The greatest applause was reserved for Etienne who made five curtain calls while confetti and rose petals rained down upon him from the rafters. He waved to the French President and Ludivigo Cassals, who were sitting in the upper box, in gratitude for their kindness. He even gave Guillermo Verano a gracious bow, which the opera star acknowledged with a bow of his own.
Backstage, hearty congratulations and embraces were exchanged before the press, with Beauchamp at the fore, converged upon them.
Somehow, Albert managed to get his lover away from the milling throng, leading him towards a dark corner near the sound booth. Laughing, he lifted Etienne up high and gave him a passionate kiss.
"You were magnificent, my love!" he told the Nightingale proudly. "You've finally made it! You're a star!"
"And it's all thanks to you, Albert, my dearest savior!" whispered Etienne as he hugged Albert happily.
So lost were the lovers in the elation and triumph they shared that they did not notice the figure that was storming their way in a flurry of crimson fur.
Suddenly, Etienne found himself wrenched away from Albert's embrace and a devastating slap bestowed upon his face. Before he knew what was happening, he was pummeled by angry punches from small fists, that he fell to his knees, covering his head with his hands to defend himself.
"DAMN YOU!" a woman shrieked in fury. "WHY HAVE YOU RETURNED? YOU SHOULD BE DEAD!"
Etienne was in shock that, at first, the struggling figure of his lover and the woman did not register to him. What brought him back to the horrific present was Albert's frantic cry.
"MOTHER, STOP IT! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Albert shouted as he held the furious woman back. He was dismayed to see the small crowd that had gathered behind them at the sudden commotion.
"Mother…?" the Nightingale gasped out, as he stared with clouding eyes at the beautiful woman that was his lover's mother.
Mercedes Herrera pointed an angry finger at the singer. "What are you doing here? Why did you come back? Have you returned to torment us? Are you going to ruin my son's life again!? I will kill you first before you hurt my son, Edmond Dantes!"
"MOTHER, STOP! THAT'S ENOUGH!"
Albert led his mother away, but not before hearing his lover's anguished wail to Eugenie and Lucien who came to his aid.
"I don't understand!" Etienne cried, tears streaming down his handsome face. "Who is Edmond Dantes?"
* * * * * * * * * *