The Phantom of the Clergy

One

It was a queer place, the Opera Spectre. It was a place of sin and temptations coming true, of deception and debauchery, of madness and mystery. One of the strangest things about the place was what lay beneath the elegant mask of fine art- Satanism. In the 70's, it would be next to impossible to be accepted if the Opera allowed their true nature to be revealed to the public- so their most important dance was the masquerade of deception. Only the employees of the exclusive establishment knew the secrets of the organization behind the Opera Populaire- the masterminds behind the mask, the Satanic Clergy.

It was there, in the Opera house, that Satine Defroque resided. A mere orphan, nothing special. Unruly brown hair and an uncannily fair complexion. But she had a distinct and promising talent that was often overlooked.

It was the day of the grand performance, where the sisters would show off the routines that they had meticulously practiced time and again. The whole place was buzzing with activity. The brotherhood rushing to prepare the set, and the siblings of sin and the lower ranking ghouls frantically rehearsing their dance routines. The Superiors- the lucky former siblings of sin and ghouls who had been chosen as the main attraction for performances such as these- were practicing their arias. The trill and squall of the orchestra tuning their instruments rendered the place an utter madhouse, and befitting to the scenery, everyone was acting as though they had lost their minds.

Satine, however, was not anxious in the slightest. She had climbed the ranks in the Opera corps du ballet, and she was now the best dancer that they had. A part of her wished for more, to shine just like the Superiors did in their garish spotlight. But she knew that these were foolish thoughts, for although her voice was good, she did not have the face nor the confidence to fit the bill.

A harsh clap brought a hush over the recently busy place, and Cardinal Copia was at the center of the chaos.
"We will begin our rehearsal momentarily. I do ask that everyone get into their positions. Tonight shall be our great triumph, and I expect for none of you to disappoint. Places, everyone."

Once again, the noise filled the place. The sisters were stretching and chalking their pointe shoes. The curtain was drawn, and Sister Superior Carlotta assumed center stage. Meg, Satine's only true friend, nudged her. Satine glanced at the girl, who scrunched up her face and crossed her eyes in imitation of Carlotta's toad like appearance. Satine stifled a chuckle, and the music began to swell to life.

The curtains once again opened, and Carlotta's shrill voice cut through the beautiful music. The sisters around her visibly cringed as they waited for their cue. And then it came, and the lively dancers sprang into action, twirling around the garishly-clad Superior. It was an easy enough routine, at least to Satine. She felt the music in her bones, in her heart, pushing the blood through her veins. This was one of the few times Satine felt strong and invincible. She did her best to tune out Carlotta's shrieking and focused instead on putting one foot after the other in the exact right places, on floating.

And float she did, until the noise abruptly stopped at the sound of Copia's voice.

"Ladies! Gentlemen! Madame Imperator. My beautiful dancers, my... illustrious Superiors." he cast a look of obvious disdain towards Carlotta and then continued. "Our Papa has returned to us, and he has an announcement. In the middle of rehearsal," Copia seethed, casting an irritated look at Papa Nihil, who had just entered the scene. "And it couldn't wait."

"Ah, yes. Thank you, my dearest amico." Papa patted Copia's shoulder in a most patronizing way, and Copia batted away his hand, visibly annoyed. "I have heard the rumors circumventing about this place about my untimely retirement."

Titters from the crowd were quickly silenced by a stern look from Papa. He sighed and continued. "It is my gravest displeasure to inform you that these are all true-"

"Ah! I knew it!" Jeered Carlotta, but she was once again silenced by Papa's murderous look.

"And I have come to introduce you to your newest Papa. Ladies and gentlemen, I present my son and your new Papa, Primo Emeritus."

Primo stepped foreward. "I am honored to make your acquaintances, my dearest muses. It is with great pleasure that I also present our newest Alpha ghoul, who will act as the manager for the entertainment side of the clergy. Monsieur Rain Ghoul, please make yourself known."

More murmering came from the crowd as a figure emerged from the door. He was tall and slender, black messy hair falling over his eyes and framing his handsome, chisled face. He grinned at the crowd. It was unusual for a ghoul- especially an Alpha- to appear unmasked so quickly, let alone upon first encounter. He must be very confident, and he had no reason not to be. He was beautiful. Satine paled, and nudged Meg.

Meg looked at her in confusion. "What?" she mouthed.

Satine jerked her thumb at Rain. "I know him!" she mouthed back.

Meg snorted.

"I'm serious!" Satine hissed.

Meg stared at her. "How?"

"I remember his eyes.. My father's house by the sea. I ran into him on the beach one day and.. I guess you could say we were childhood sweethearts." Satine blushed at this.

Rain had not taken any apparent notice to any of them, in fact he looked rather bored.

Meg turned to Satine. "Sati, he's so handsome!"

Satine smiled and rolled her eyes. "He probably doesn't remember."

Their conversation was interrupted.

"Well then, my artists. We will start from the beginning, I suppose. Since our Papa has graced us with his presence." Copia glowered.

As everyone moved back into starting position, Satine snuck a glance at Rain. She was sure it was him. Positive.

The music started, and at their cue, the dancers lept into action. Satine tried not to eavesdrop, but couldn't help but overhear the words of Rain, Primo, Nihil, Madame Imperator, and Copia.

"We take particular pride in our ballet, monsignor," Madame said.

"I can see why," Primo commented.

As the dance progressed, Madame Imperator ushered the men to the side of the stage.

"Who is that little blonde angel?" inquired Primo.

"My daughter, Meg Imperator."

"And that exceptional beauty there?" He gestured towards Satine. It could've been her imagination, but Satine swore she noticed Rain bristle at the comment.

"Satine Defroque. An orphan. Very sad, monsignor. I raised her as my own."

"An orphan? Defroque, you say? No relation to that infernal little man James Defroque?"

Madame Imperator said nothing about that, instead remarking on Satine's promising talent.