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A New Beginning	By : Lum Category: M through R > The Phantom of the Opera > Het Views: 5783 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own The Phantom of the Opera, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Disclaimer: please see the prologue for the disclaimer.

A New Beginning

Chapter 1

Architect

Erik stayed in New York for a few short months, establishing his reputation as an architect amongst the plethora of wealthy upper-crusts that inhabited the cleaner, safer parts of the city. It was as if there was a great divide amongst the wealthy and the poor, an invisible wall that separated the two. It was a fortunate few immigrants that ever made their way from the docks to the inside of the city, a barricade of prejudice and inopportunity served to block those seeking freedom and prosperity from their goal. Erik was amongst the few to ever cross that near impenetrable boundary.

It was his relentless tenacity and his ability to twist the human mind that aided him in his transition into the mostly highly sought architect and engineer. News of his infamousness never crossed the sea, not that it would have mattered if it had. The American aristocrats were starved for Parisian flair, and Erik was the man to deliver that. His aloofness and sometimes cruel manner aided him in blending in by standing out. None dared question the obviousness of the half-mask for fear of angering him.

He was not, however, without his kindness. The opportunity arose to travel to Chicago to design a building, a skyscraper, so named because it was the contractor’s dream for it to appear to touch the sky. The pay was meager for the amount of work and thought this building demanded. In the end it was the challenge that swayed his decision. If there was one thing Erik desired more than power it was knowledge.

Erik’s reinvention of the ancient Greek technique of reinforced concrete revolutionized the world. Buildings were no longer limited to wood and stone and they posed less of a threat to fire or damage. It was this boost of fame that spread his name like wildfire amongst the wealthy all the way to Virginia. It was in this simple state of mountains, fields, and expanding cities that fate decided to hand Erik a new card.

A letter was sent to Erik, who had adopted the last name of Durmand, detailing a wealthy merchant’s plans to build a second home for his family. The invitation arrived crisp and clean, a fine, expensive piece of cream parchment sealed with blue wax stamped with the image of a sparrow in flight. The note itself was short and simple, giving the newly famous architect a brief description of the patron’s wishes. It was the simplicity of the language and the distinct lack of pompous arrogance of wealth that saved the letter from fueling the fire in the hearth of Erik’s library. He gave it another glance before browsing the neatly scripted lines once more.

Mr. Durmand,

I am contacting you in regards to a business arrangement. I am in need of an architect to design and oversee the building of a second home, a gift for my daughter. She has quite an imagination, one that was too daunting for normal architects. Payment for your talents will be generous with an added bonus if it is completed within one year. I eagerly await your reply,

Johnathan Swift
Raleigh, North Carolina

Erik stared into the fire, seeing beyond the crackling flames as he puzzled over the proposition. The daughter’s supposed imagination that would send lesser men running intrigued him greatly. At the same time he was wary. His brief affair with the master stonemason and father figure Giovani had ended abruptly and horrifyingly with the death of the architect’s daughter, Luciana. Spoiled and naïve Luciana, his first glimpse of tragic beauty. He still blamed himself for her death. And Christine, sweet and beautiful Christine who had forsaken him too in the end. She had trembled with fright and acceptance as she kissed his cheek in the cellars below the grand opera house, as if his face were there to merely torment her. It was because she would give her body and voice to him but not her heart that made Erik let her go.

Selfishly he would not have her if he could not have her completely. He knew that while her body was willing spend the rest of her life with him, her soul would have withered into dust before the year was out. She was a creature of light and happiness, him one of dark and despair. She could have never loved him as he wished her to and so he pushed her away, before he destroyed her too. He was doomed to live alone. Erik glanced at the letter again before letting it fall to the floor by his feet. He removed his mask and ran his fingers over his face as he often did when faced with a difficult or trying decision. Brash he was not, and neither was he foolish. Daughters posed a threat to his sanity.

Weighing the pros of relieving his boredom against the cons of dealing with an irrational young female. Erik decided to accept the invitation. He had decided that denial was the best way to deal with this, he had decided that the daughter would be young, too young to tempt him, for no young miss is equipped with imagination in this day and age. Imagination is bled out of young women by governesses like illnesses are with leeches. He made a resolution that night, one he was destined to break irrevocably, that he would never again have his judgment clouded by the cold beauty of women. He rose and crossed to his writing desk to find a piece of unused parchment.

Author’s Note

Sorry this chapter is so late. Between college, family, friends, and a sorority my time is taken up considerably. Instead of churning out a crappy chapter I took my time to write one that I am pretty happy with. It’s obvious that Erik would be deeply affected by Christine, a woman who took up many years of his life. I’ve decided to go with Leroux’s version of Christine simply because I think that’s how a traditional young woman would have acted in the 1880’s. I’ve never liked her character but I will try to do her justice. She was a big part of Erik’s life so she won’t disappear completely.

A note of warning, I’m terrible with keeping a plot. If the story starts to take an abrupt turn, let me know. Sometimes I get too close to my writing and I need to back up and think about it. If you spot any major mistakes or inconsistencies please let me know. Also, I’m planning this story to take place around the early 1900’s or late 1890’s. I’ll try to be historically accurate but will probably be taking a lot of artistic licensing to get it the way I envision it.
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A New Beginning