The Phantom's opera

Masquerade

**Above is a picture from Phantom Greece. I based Alina's masquerade outfit off Christine's masquerade costume in this production.

"I'm going now Nina." Erik called out to me.
"Ok, I'll see you there!" I yelled back, while I put earrings in. Erik and I had decided to go to the ball by ourselves, so that we could try and find each other, like a game of hide and seek. Erik decide that he would arrive at the masquerade on time while I appeared fashionably late, so that we wouldn't see each other before the masquerade. I had done almost all I could to make myself unrecognisable to Erik. I had curled my hair, which would throw Erik off since he would be used to my straight hair, and I was wearing a bright red lipstick which I had bought exactly for this occasion. I usually wore more pink and peachy colored lipsticks because I liked the more natural look they had, unlike the loud red lipstick that seems to be very popular in this time. I knew that Erik hadn't seen me in red lipstick before, which was my main reasoning behind wearing it. Once I had finished my hair and make up, I carefully got into my costume, making sure that I didn't smudge any make up onto it. I had decided to go as an angel costume, complete with little angel wings attached to the back. Taking a look at myself in the mirror I was immediately was hit with a large dose of serotonin from how much I loved the dress, despite the fact that making the dress made me hate tool because it needed so much of it. I was about to leave when I realised that I had forgotten my mask. I internally laughed at myself for almost attending a masquerade ball without a mask. I hastily put on the white mask with gold detailing making sure that it was knotted tight so it wouldn't fall of. I was so glad that I was able to find the mask when I went shopping because it matched my dress perfectly, almost as if the mask was made for this dress. I felt as though I was a wealthy Nobel who had paid for a personalised costume from a renowned seamstress. I hoped that Erik if saw me, he would assume exactly that and not recognise me. I could barely hold back my excitement as I made my way up through the cellars, the music from the ball resonating throughout the secrete pathways. I knew that the ball had officially started over half an hour ago and by the sounds being carried down to the cellar, it sound as though the party was already in full swing.

I was overwhelmed when I arrived at the opera house. The opera house was normally quite intimidating but was even more so with its decadent decorating the had added solely for the masquerade. I had myself announced as the lady Angela by the the announcer in order to keep my identity a secret. I would have probably told the announcer my real name had the couple in front of me, who were both wearing matching peacock costumes, which could only be described as asked to be announced as Mr and Mrs peacock. As soon as I entered the ball, I was offered glass of champagne by a waiter, which I quickly accepted to help quell some arising nerves. I quickly scanned the room to see people I recognised. Although it wasn't easy to tell who was who exactly, it was easy to distinguish  the rich patrons or socialites from the opera house workers. The upper class had classy, quality costumes with intricate detailing and tasteful accessories while performers had cheap fabrics that tried to imitate the designs of the nobility, which came across tacky when juxtaposed with the styles they attempting to copy. Madame Giry was easy to spot ,as she was wearing one of her black dresses that had almost become a trademark to her and a hat that had a mesh fabric that came out of it cover most of her face. It was almost as though she wanted to send a clear message that she had put in minimal effort into her costume. She seemed to be glaring at a ballerina, who was wearing one of my fairy costumes that I had made for the production of sleeping beauty that was coming up. I was a little annoyed that she had just taken it without asking, especially since it wasn't finished yet, it still had to be fitted to her, so I had just did some rough stitching, since I knew I would have to redo them. I just hoped that for her sake, nothing pulls on her outfit because I knew that the seams would rip. I knew that Madame Giry was death staring the ballerina less because of her costume and more because of her shameless flirting with nobles. She was very clearly already drunk, which would also annoy Madame Giry because it would impact her dancing tomorrow. I attempted to weave my way over to Madame Giry through the crowd but was somehow intercepted halfway by Count Philippe. It was easy to tell it was him since he wasn't wearing a mask. I thought that Madame Giry put little effort into her costume but Philippe had put less in. He wasn't even in a costume either, he was in his normal evening clothes which would have usually been a nice outfit but at a masquerade, the ensemble was a bit underwhelming compared to all the other colourful costumes.
"Lady Angela, would you care to dance?" He asked politely. I knew that by etiquette had to accept his offer to dance or not dance at all for the rest of the night. I accepted his offer, putting on a little voice so that he wouldn't know it was me, if he hadn't guess so already. The band playing struck up a waltz. Luckily for me, I had the foresight to get Madame Giry to teach me to dance so I wouldn't be totally clueless tonight. We joined the other dancers on the dance floor and began the waltz.
"Tell me, lady Angela, have we met before?" He asked in a low voice so that only I could hear it.
"If I told you, it would limit the possibilities of my identity." I replied putting on the same voice as before.
"I see that you came in costume. l understand that you are trying to be an angel but your costume would be more convincing as a swan." He commented. The comment annoyed me since I had  put so much effort into making my costume to be angel, not a swan, but brushed it off, telling myself that he probably assumed that I had it made by someone else.
"I see that you didn't come in costume Count De Changy, did you forget to wear a mask to a masquerade?" I asked as we continued to dance.
"Why wear a physical mask when we all truly wear one to hide out flaws?" He reasoned.
"I see you are quite the philosopher." I said, trying to stay vague in my comments, as of not to give the thinnest clue to him of who I was .
"The scholars at the University in England would be pleased to hear you say that. It's good to know that fortune that was spent on my education had some use." He said. I honestly couldn't believe that I was currently experience a 19th century flex. The waltz ended before the conversation could continue. I got a little bit worried when it looked like Phillippe was going to dance another dance with me but luckily a voice pipped up behind me.
"May I have the next dance with the Lady Angela?" An unfamiliar voice spoke. Phillippe gave a curt node before quickly walking away, clearly annoyed that someone else now had another turn to dance with me. I was a little upset that they had asked Phillippe if they could dance with me, rather than asking me, the person they wanted to dance with. I understood that it was just how it's done in this time but it still annoyed me. I turned around to see who my next dance partner was and was immediately delighted to see that my partner was Erik. I hadn't recognised him when I couldn't see him since, like me, he had put on a different voice. The only real reason I could immediately tell it was Erik was because of his height. I always knew that Erik's height was nothing to sneeze at, but at a ball full of other people, most of which I would not consider to be short, he was almost a giant by comparison. Apart from his height, he was well hidden in terms of a costume. He had worn as full faced black mask with a matching full black costume with black feathers seen on. The band struck up again with another song and we began to dance.
"Angela. I like the word play Alina." He commented, subtly letting me know that he found me.
"Thanks. What are you meant to be Erik?" I asked, also letting him know that I knew who he was.
"A raven. I took inspiration from Edgar Allen Poe's story." He answered "what gave away my identity?"
"Your height. It's pretty hard to miss" I replied as he picked me up "how did you know I was Angela?"
"Your eyes. There different from all the other blue eyes, they're deeper." He said as he placed me back on the ground. I felt my checks heat up as we continued to dance perfectly in sync with the other couples dancing.
"I guess it's a tie then." I said.
"No, I think I won. I definitely found you before you found me." He argued in a teasing manor.
"We'll continue this discussion when we get home. Did anything happen while I wasn't here?" I asked, changing the subject.
"You didn't miss anything." He informed me "the masquerades don't get good until the end when everybody makes complete fools of themselves because they are drunk. You should have seen the managers last year, they tried to prove that they could do a cartwheel." I laughed at his comment as the song came to an end. I curtsied to Erik like all the other women to the dance curtsied to their partner and from the corner of my eye, I could see that Phillippe was ready to swoop in and ask for the next dance. I also noticed that Erik saw him as well, and did not seem pleased that Phillippe wanted the next dance.
"Let's go to the gardens." He said as he grabbed my wrist and lead me through the crowd until we got outside.

"I'm surprised that the gardens are empty when inside is crammed full of people." I mused as I looked around the garden. I had been here a couple times before but I had never gone this deep into the garden. I, like most other employees at the opera with the exception of the gardener, usually forgot that the opera house even had a garden.
"I used to wonder why too but that was before I realised that the alcohol was inside." He told me as he continued to lead me further into the garden until we reached a nice stone bench under a large tree.
"Why are we here?" I asked Erik as I took a sat down on the bench. I was relieved to sit down as my my feet were killing me for dancing in heels.
"I wanted to get away." He answered simply.
"Get away from whom? Phillippe?" I probed. "I think your jealous of him."
"And what would lead to believe that, my dear?" He asked, in condescending manner to make me feel as though I was wrong.
"I don't know, it's just that you get upset every time I talk about him and just now, when he tried to ask me to dance again, you took me outside so he couldn't." I suggested "it just seems to me that you are jealous of him."
"Well, you are wrong. I am not jealous of the Count De Changy, for he has nothing for me to be jealous of." He informed me.
"Good, because Phillippe just offered me to court him and I accepted." I lied.
"What?" Erik snarled "you agreed to court that air headed, little-"
"Easy there tiger." I interrupted "he didn't actually offer me a courtship, but I wanted to prove a point."
"So I am a little jealous of the Count De Changy. He has everything that I have been denied in life. His whole life he's been able to do whatever he wants and can go wherever he pleases while I've had hide in the shadows and scavenge for the scrapes that people like him drop " he lamented.
"He doesn't have me." I told him softly. "Erik, I don't want to beat around the bush anymore. I've been thinking hard about my emotions and I like you more than I've ever liked anyone else before. I came here six months ago but it feels like just yesterday I came, and it made me realise that life goes by quickly. I can't just wait and wonder if you will ever ask me to be anything more than a friend."
Erik didn't look at me.
"If things don't work between us, then you might leave and Erik will have lost the only true friend he's ever had." Erik said in a small voice, hesitating after every couple of words.
"Erik if we decide that we aren't right for each other, then we can still be friends. I would never just leave you alone." I comforted, standing up and taking his hands into my own. He met my eyes and a I gave him a smile.
"I'm not going to lie to you Erik, when I realised that I was going to have met you, I thought I was going to met an awful, broken person who was more of a monster than a human. I'm glad that I actually got met a funny, intelligent, beautiful and good man. That man that I met, I fell in love with him." I told him. I had finally told him that I loved him.
"You didn't fall in love with me." He said as he pulled his hand out of mine. "I'm not beautiful and I'm not good Alina, I am the man that you thought you would meet. I am a monster"
"No you're not." I fought back fiercely "that was the man you were going to be, but Erik, you are not him ad you're never going to be him because you've changed. And Erik, you are beautiful even if you can't see it yourself."
"Alina. you've seen my face, don't lie to me to try make me feel better about myself." He sighed.
"Erik, if I only cared about looks I would have been long gone by now." I assured him "your beauty lies within you. Whatever your face lacks in looks your heart and soul makes up for it." With a surge of confidence, I went to pull off his mask. He pulled back quickly, making his mask out of my reach. I looked him in the eyes, trying to convey my well meaning and empathy through my own. It must have worked because he put his head down, as if to offer me his mask. I gently pulled it off him to reveal his face. I could see the tears rolling down his face only through the soft light that the moon had to offer.
"I'm going to kiss you now." I whispered, giving him some warning so that I didn't shock him like he shocked me last time we kissed. I pushed my lips onto Erik's. At first he didn't kiss back, making the kiss hard like the first time. But after a couple of seconds he warmed up and began to match my action, creating a warmth that flowed from my lips and infiltrated every aspect of my body.  I began to feel the goose bumps rising on my skin as I held my hands behind his neck. I began to pull away as I Lowered myself off the tip  of my toes , but Erik had other plans, picking me up and spinning me around while laughing. Nothing funny had been done of said, but I found myself giggling along with Erik. He put me down eventually, but not before stealing another quick little kiss. We pulled away both immediately became shy, sheepish from our actions. I turned to see my red lipstick all over Erik's face and I couldn't help but laugh at him.
"What?" Erik asked confused, unaware of the state if his face. This just Made me laugh even harder. I was eventually able to tell him between giggles that he had my lipstick smudged on him. Erik quickly whipping his face with his hand in order to clean it, this resulted in me laughing even harder.
"Just you wait Nina. I'll get you back." He playfully threatened

We spent almost the rest of the night in the garden. We forgot that the masquerade ball was indoors a couple of meters away. That night, we were the only two people on the world. We had each other's company and that was all we needed. We had walked around the whole Garden multiple times, danced with each other without any music and Erik had even attempted to climb a tree, which didn't end well. We eventually found our way back to the stone bench where we had started. I had my head on Erik's shoulder as I watched the sun slowly rise over the horizon. I could believe that we had actually spent the whole night together. I was certain that the masquerade ball had ended hours ago but I guess we didn't notice it.
"You know, despite everything. You still haven't asked me to court you." I yawned, tiredness suddenly washing over me.
"tonight was wonderful Alina. But I can't always go out like this, like a normal man." He sighed.
"I didn't fall in love with the garden or the masquerade ball, Erik. I feel in love with you. I don't care if I have to be in public or private, just so long as I get to be with you." I rambled on.
"Will you court me, Alina?" He finally asked, still a little hesitant. I closed my eyes.
"Of course I will." I murmured, beginning to drift off to sleep.