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

Chapter 11: The Birth of a Siren

Chapter 11:
The Birth of a Siren

Rose's singing lessons began the next day. Derik was very eager to make her voice the most beautiful singing voice the world would ever know. He wanted to help her achieve her dream of having a leading role in a musical. He felt he owed her that much after shutting her out for so many weeks. It only seemed just to help her so. He had cleaned up his room better than before so that she might feel more comfortable in his room during their lessons. He was excited to share his musical genius with her and it showed in his actions. He had been moving around the manor eagerly trying to clean it up more. It was during this frantic cleaning that he had rediscovered the manor's designated music room. Upon finding it, a smile crept its way onto his face.
Rosabella made her way to the manor after school as she had promised to Derik she would. She felt excited to spend more time with him and at the prospect of becoming a better singer and actress. She hoped that he wouldn't be disappointed with her voice nor that he would tell her that her voice and acting needed a lot of work. It was these thoughts that started to make her nervous for her first lesson. As she approached the front doors, she noticed someone frantically moving about inside. She tried to peer inside the windows but had been too slow to catch the person's face. Rosabella then went to the door and had readied her hand to grasp the doorknob when the doors were opened for her. There was no one on the other side which perturbed her.
She walked inside and heard the doors shut behind her. She turned around to look at the doors to find Derik standing there with a disfigured smile. She noted that when he upturned his lips into a smile, his lips looked slightly less swollen. She also noted that the thin areas of skin that had the appearance of gaps stretched and looked as though the thin layer of skin would rip open. She smiled softly back at him and looked at her feet.
"Follow me, I have a surprise for you that I had only just rediscovered this morning," Derik said in an enigmatic voice. Rosabella just smiled and followed him as instructed.
They remained downstairs and traveled through the labyrinthine hallways of the manor. He led her to double oak doors that had been dusted off and the doorknobs polished. Rosabella gave Derik a curious look.
"What's in there," she asked softly.
"Your surprise," was her simple response.
"But I thought we were beginning my lessons...," she trailed off confused.
"Well this room is not only your surprise but where I will hold our lessons," Derik said exuberantly. He had been waiting all day for her to arrive. "Now close your eyes for me."
Rose then closed her eyes as instructed and Derik waved his hand in front of her face. Once he was sure that she couldn't see a thing, he opened the doors and took her hands guiding her into the room. He placed his hands over her eyes after stopping her in the middle of the room as a way of telling her that she could open her eyes. She did that just as he removed his hands. What met her eyes was a glorious room with every musical instrument known to man. She saw a piano, an organ, a harp, and other classical instruments. It was everything she had wanted in a music room. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at the magnificent instruments. She looked back at Derik with a wide smile on her face.
"Thank you so much Derik," Rosabella said with emotion in her voice.
"You are most welcome, meine Rose," he said as a smile crossed his features and making his deformity more prominent. Rosabella's heart swelled at the sight of his unique smile.
"Why do you call me 'meine Rose'?" She looked at him in confusion.
"It is German for 'my Rose'," he admitted bashfully. This sentence affected Rosabella more than she expected his answer would.
"W-w-why do you say my rose," she asked confused as to why he would think of her as his.
"Because you're my only friend and I don't want anything to take you away from me anymore," Derik said looking down. He could feel tears well in his eyes as he looked down at his feet. His words hurt to admit but it was indeed his reality.
"Derik," she gasped. She moved closer to him and rested a hand on his shoulder. "You could never lose me to anything or anyone." She then squeezed his shoulder as if to reassure him of her loyalty to their friendship.
He turned his head to look at her as he fought to keep the tears at bay. Upon seeing his tears, Rosabella pulled him towards her into a tight embrace. She pressed his face into her shoulder as the tears escaped his eyes. His emotions were so overwhelming in that moment. He clutched her to him returning her embrace tightly. He felt so vulnerable in that moment, he hated it and loved it at the same time. He loved that Rose was the only one he could be vulnerable in front of aside from Frau Garrett. His heart soared at this thought and he smiled to himself. The tears began to subside and he lifted his head from her shoulder and looked at her face. She gazed back at him with innocence and concern in her eyes.
"Thank you so much, Rose; you have no idea what it means to me that I have such a caring friend like yourself. You are one of the very few joys I have been allotted in this life," Derik whispered to her softly with gratitude in his voice.
"I'm glad I could bring a smile to your face, Derik," she said looking down with a blush in her cheeks.
After that, they began her lesson finally. He taught her the scale and how to read music notes. Next, he taught her how to warm up her voice. It was then that he finally was able to hear her singing voice for the first time. Her voice was rough around the edges but it was still pleasant for him to hear. Derik knew from that moment on that he would be addicted to her voice, that it would be like a drug to him. That thought didn't bother Derik as much as he thought it would have had it been an actual drug. He mentally chuckled to himself.
This was their routine everyday for the next couple of weeks. They would meet up at the manor and then walk with one another to the music room. It was a pleasant routine to both of them. Rosabella and Derik always counted down the minutes, for Derik the seconds as well, until they would next see the other. This was observed by both Gretchen and Jeanette. They were happy that both found someone that saw them the way they wanted the rest of the world to see them. Jeanette also noticed that Rosabella rarely interacted with her own daughter anymore. She would try to make an effort to be there for her childhood friend but it seemed that Maddie no longer wished to be friends with the girl. This worried the mother. She was worried that her daughter was feeling alone but there was nothing she could do about it.
The two women took to focussing on finding a way they would be able to bring a lawsuit against the abhorrent Baron Clinton von Lockhart. This was in itself a mystery to them both. They soon enlisted the aid of two of Rosabella's teachers, Mr. Loughlin and Mr. Conway. The two men had made it known that they are deeply concerned about Rosabella. With one of the two having a minor in law, they were able to make more progress in their case. This was in itself a blessing. Now they could find legal ways of putting that atrocious man away.