A Rose and A Phantom (Descendants of Classics Book 1)

Chapter 2: Phantoms are Haunting

Chapter 2:
Phantoms are Haunting

Derik watched from the window of his bedroom as people crowded into the theatre that sat across from his family home. He had heard from Frau Garrett, his head maid of three, that the theatre was performing "Romeo and Juliet" that night. The good Frau was friends with one of the dance instructors within the theatre, a woman by the name of Jeanette Pamplin. Derik wished he could view the performance but knew it would be a regretful decision. He would never wish the horror of his face on anyone, let alone a crowd of people. His face was so atrocious that even he couldn't bear to look at it.
Frau Garrett would be in attendance of the performance so that she may record it for Derik. This was the only way that he would be able to view the performance at all. He was rather fond of Shakespearean works and could hardly refuse the chance to watch a performance of one. He hoped that the actors would portray their characters well. He was rather picky when it came to acting. He had read so many books and scripts for plays and musicals that he knew them like the back of his hand. He was proud of this fact and felt a sense of self pride. He had been gifted with a genius I.Q. to make up for what he lacked in appearance of which he was happy say.
Of all the attributes he had, his musical genius had to be his favorite trait. This trait would never fail him and would not let him down. He would forever possess this talent and never part with it. He had composed many musical scores of which he wished to show to the world. He knew not of how he would get them produced with his name on them. His name was tainted and should never be used on another human being, for doing so would damn the poor child to a life in Hell. He hopes he will be the only person burdened with the name of Derik Arthur Kane. His full name was a lie. He was not a ruler of the people nor was he brave or a warrior. The only meaning behind his name that stood true was that he was indeed gifted in some way.
Derik watched as more vehicles parked in the parking lot of the building and crowds of people rushed in so that they, too, could view the evening's performance. Soon the crowds dwindled and the sounds of a live orchestra could be heard from the outside of the building. He found himself in an almost trancelike state staring at the marqui. Music floated through his mind that only he could hear. His fingers began to tap on the windowsill as he stared through the blinds across the street. He thought about what the doctor had said last week when he had inquired about plastic surgery. The doctor had told him that if he were to undergo facial reconstructive surgery, he would put his life at risk. It was a miracle enough he had stayed alive with how distorted his disfigurement was.
Muscle and bone were visible through gaps in his skin. He always wondered how his body was functioning even with some of his internal nerves and muscle showing like that. If this had been any other patient, they would have died. Derik had been born that way so his body had been well adjusted to the vulnerability that those internal systems were exposed to in this way. The doctor had also been surprised that he was still alive with a portion of his brain visible. He said that because that was how his body was used to functioning for twenty-five years, he could not perform the surgery without damaging any muscles or nerves. He was stuck looking like that for the rest of his life.
His thoughts then turned to his parents. Of all the years he had been in that house isolating himself from the rest of the world, not once did they visit him. The moment he had decided to live in solitude, they were all too eager to help him in that endeavor. They had made sure he would be able to move into the building as fast as possible just so they would be rid of his abhorrent face. Tears came to his eyes as he continued to gaze out the window through the blinds from darkness with which he had surrounded himself. The darkness was a constant reminder to himself that he had been the work of the Devil, himself. He had cursed Derik with the mind of a genius but the appearance of a demon spawn. The curse was also for his parents as a reminder of the wrongs they did in life that cost them their firstborn son's chances of a good future. This had made them hesitant to rear a second child.
Derik was their only child, son, and heir to the family fortune. His father was an only child so he had inherited the entire fortune and was left with it all to give to his firstborn son. What use was a vast fortune on a son that couldn't even use it to make his appearance more bearable? What could he do with the fortune aside from funding his education and payment for their servants? He most definitely could not use it to pay beautiful girls to even have dinner with him let alone be in the same room as him. He was that ugly that people would run screaming bloody murder away from him. He would never know the kind touch of another, know the gentle caress of a lover, and never know the love of a woman.
This one single thought brought the tears over the rims of his eyes and pools of which the tears had gathered gave out as a sob soon wracked through his body. His eyes continued their stare across the street in an unseeing gaze with the tears clouding his vision as his fingers continued their tapping. As a musician, he found himself composing whether he realized it or not. He was always subconsciously coming up with musical scores and storylines to go with those scores. It wasn't until he was sat in front of a piano or ready to play another instrument that they entered his conscious. This was one of the only times that he could access his subconscious while he was awake.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of tires on pavement and car engines. He shook his head from the trance and left the room to go to his piano. His piano was his favorite instrument to compose on when he would go to see if he had indeed started composing in his dazed state. Piano playing was the only way he could begin a new composition with the music sounding how it did in his mind. Ever since he was little, he could hear music in his head and told his parents of this. His parents had responded with having a bunch of doctors to perform tests on him. They had suspected him of having schizophrenia because of the music he heard. When the doctors had finished their tests, they concluded he was perfectly sane and that he was simply a prodigy. They were ever so slightly disappointed that he was a prodigy because a mental illness would better comfort their knowledge of their son never being able to function in society.
This went through his mind as he poured his emotions into the composition. When he had finished, he remembered each note and recorded them onto his music sheets he kept on his piano. While he was doing this, Frau Garrett watched the entrance as a young girl entered the manor. She immediately found her way to Derik to inform him of the intrusion.
"Sir," she said as she entered the room he was in.
"What is it Frau Garrett," he asked with a growl in his voice.
"There is a young girl in the front parlor." Derik growled in frustration and made his way to the balcony that hung over the entry parlor.
He did, indeed, find a young girl staring at her surroundings in wonder. She carried a smile on her face as she turned around in circles walking to the center of the room. Derik remained hidden within the shadows as he watched her energetic form. He couldn't make out many of her features due to the lack of lighting in the room but could tell she was beautiful. He could tell that she possessed an innocent sort of beauty that she didn't realize she possessed. He could tell she was pure in every sense of the word and naïve to the attention that the male species must give her. He knew that had he been born normal and they had met, he would shower her in gifts and affection.
He watched as the young beauty walked into the dining room and away from his line of sight. He followed her into the room after going down the grand center staircase. He watched as she admired the room in great satisfaction. She looked like a baby that was just experiencing the wonders of the world for the first time. Or like Frankenstein's Creature looking at the world after escaping to the forest. Now that he could observe her up close, he could tell that his earlier assumption of her beauty was an underestimation. Although the room was still too dark to make out her hair color accurately, Derik could tell her hair was a shade of red that suited her pale skin that gleamed like porcelain in the moonlight. Her complexion was flawless as he gazed at her with a longing in his chest for her companionship.
She turned around and admired the roses that adorned the walls allowing him to catch a glimpse of her eyes in the moonlight. They were a deep and dark shade of green like emeralds with a touch of blue in them making them seem almost like a turquoise color. He shivered at the color of her eyes that held so much innocence and curiosity in them. He envied that about her for he was void of any innocence that he had when he saw his hideous face when he was only ten years old. He had gone through so much torment after that moment those fifteen years ago. His parents had taken to treating him poorly now that he knew he deserved it.
He shook his head of the memories and continued his observations of the girl. Her eyes were spaced perfectly from the bridge of her small nose. The rest of her face was portioned similarly so that she had a small face. She had medium height cheekbones that were rounded on a slant giving her appearance a more curious look. Her cheeks were doused in a natural blush that enhanced every feature she had. Her lips were plump, the upper lip being thinner than the lower lip, as they remained parted in her amazed state of mind. Her lips moved as she subconsciously muttered to herself. He found every aspect of her beautiful which ignited the longing he had in his chest from before. He knew not of what the longing was but knew that this girl would remain dear to him.
She soon entered the kitchen and he followed behind closely. He watched her face go from curious to confused and right back to curious all within one minute. He smiled at how she reacted to seeing the well used room after seeing two rooms that were completely abandoned. He continued to take in her appearance as she walked around the room. She was petite and had a slim figure that wasn't too thin nor was it too wide. Her hips gave the effect of an hourglass figure when he looked at her from the waist down. Her legs were short but toned, most likely from a sport or some other physical activity. His gaze travelled back up her body to see her frame from the waist up so he could fully appreciate her beauty. He noticed that her chest was perfectly rounded to complete the hourglass figure he had observed before. He blushed at the thought and looked away.
When he returned his gaze to where she had been, he found that she was gone. He slowly made his way into the room and peaked into the study to find her looking at the sheet covered furniture with excitement. Her excitement was, however, interrupted by a phone call on her cellular phone. He listened in as she spoke to a man that she addressed as her father of whom called her Bella. Derik thought that the name suited her very well seeing how it meant beauty. He caught the end of their conversation and quickly hid from her sight as she hurriedly made her way out of the mansion to return home. He followed her to the entry parlor and watched her leave the premises from one of the windows in the front.
She appeared to live within the theatre across from him. He smiled at this and knew he would be seeing much of her in the future. He smirked to himself for the first time in fifteen years. It felt good to feel a positive emotion in comparison to the negative emotions he had been feeling for so many years. He retreated to his chambers and found Frau Garrett waiting for him there. She handed him the recorded performance and left after asking him about the girl.
"She was of no harm so I let her explore before her father called her to go home. She was merely only curious so I let her do as she pleased," he had responded before she left.
He moved to his TV screen and set up the performance video. He watched as the multiple actors and dancers performed their parts. He glimpsed a flash of red hair and paused the screen when the face of the person was looking at the camera. He zoomed in on the face and saw his beautiful Bella. She was playing a minor role in the production which he found surprising. She was too beautiful to only be on the stage for just a short period of time. He continued watching the performance and observed that she had been playing the part of Rosalind. He smiled at the fact that he would be able to look for her in the playbill once the video was done.
Once he had finished viewing his recording, he copied it over to a thumb drive so that he may again view it at a later time. He also did this so that he may glimpse the girl's beauty without needing her actual presence. He found the playbill and looked through it until he found the person playing Rosalind. He looked at the name and concluded that her full name suited her completely. The way it flowed so easily made him shiver at the meaning behind it. He wanted so badly to be able to whisper it in her ear to make her shiver from the sound of it coming off of his lips. He wanted so badly to show her that he was not a monster or a beast, but a lost soul searching for redemption. Maybe, just maybe, she would be his chance at redemption.
He stared at her name with longing, the same longing that had begun in his chest before. It was swelling in his chest. It was only then that he realized that the longing was resonating from his heart. He then decided to assume that the longing was for her to redeem him, to save, to lead him from solitude he had been trapped in his whole life. Just her name alone was a beacon of hope in his heart. He just couldn't resist the temptation of whispering it at least to himself. He closed his eyes as he prepared himself for the sweet sensation of saying her full name, a name that meant she was a beautiful moon rose siren of yours. Or in this case mine, he thought to himself. He smiled as his lips parted to say the name he thought so holy.
"My sweet Rosabella-Luna Lorelei Deiner."