The new year was going to be hard on everyone. There were a plethora of changes that were coming under way, and to say the least the opera house was going to be affected.

A new year meant a new opera which started that day, roles already announced, and drama already flying. The parts had been auditioned for a few days after the Christmas holiday, and there was little to say that there was not good fortune in re-hiring the Prima Donna of the opera.

Christine Daae, however, had her own fair shares of rumors flying around her when she appeared at the first rehearsal of the season without her ring... or Erik.

The two as a couple were relatively inseparable, and now that they were no longer such, it would be hard-pressed for someone to see them together. Christine was no weak soul, not in front of her cast, anyways, and showed no remorse other than her stone cold facade the entire day. She wept, it was obvious in her eyes, but not a single cast-mate saw the tears.

The masked-man all the same was curiously absent. He who had never obtained a sickness his entire career seemed odd for him to miss a day that Christine herself did not miss. Their contrast appearance was queer, but the director seemed remiss. He paid little attention to the fact that he had to play all the pieces himself as he instructed them line by line, staff by staff.

The catacombs were home to no one on that day, as Erik Destler was away in and out of the offices and the opera itself. He had been casually informing those around him Christine and he were no longer together, and tactfully attempting to handle the fact that the entire board may soon rest upon his shoulders.

Charles was spreading the rumor of his daughter's engagement, though certainly not to whom it may be. He kept all details brief, and the way she had carried on the evening before, it was easy to see who the crowd would have assumed it was she was to be wed. Of course, his lovely daughter marrying the Vicomte was an improbable outcome, but he didn't mind hearing the rumor or getting asked the question. A no sufficed to quell curiosities.

The Comte was hearing said rumors as well and laughing them off, hoping they were not true. Philippe felt if his little Vicomte had been going about proposing to women significantly older than him it would not fare well for their image and his future as second chair. When he talked to his only superior in the opera, there was relief to discover that the man's daughter was not engaged to his brother. Philippe would have died of embarrassment, though he also pitied his brother knowing the truth.

The poor boy had been complaining the entire start of the new year wondering how exactly he would obtain such an out of reach woman. He wanted her very badly, and there was a fierce need in Philippe's brother to make the woman his wife.

Philippe was entirely surprised he hadn't seen his brother chase the blonde soprano who ruled over the opera with her angelic voice. Those were his friend's words, not his own. He thought highly of the girl, but he never really understood why either the masked-man or his brother had been attached to her. Of course, they were but young men when the youngest de Chagny had encountered the violinist's daughter.

It was no surprise that Philippe was for now, the only one who cared about such meetings. His brother was attached to the elder woman now, Swedish Soprano be damned! The news of the infamous broken engagement was startling, however, and then the news of a new one? Philippe had been genuinely perplexed when he knew that his brother had only met the soprano due to his love interest's fleeing to accompany the masked-man.

It was just a hunch, as there was much evidence about the union, but Philippe suspected nonetheless.

Arielette was more than ecstatic. She feasted on lunch with her fiance and took the time to enjoy her new situation. She no longer felt old or such things, as society would certainly deem her unfit for a sudden marriage. Well, not all of society, because she couldn't bear to be away from her beloved any longer. Arielette had never believed her pining would work, not really. After months of rejecting suitors, and years of being alone, it was almost inevitable she stay alone. If her fiance had thrown his relationship in her face and completely ignored her entire existence, it would have been time to move on... and the pining boy she'd met at the masquerade could have been it.

She was just lucky it wasn't him because her heart unequivocally belonged elsewhere.

The pair had gone ring shopping that very day, choosing something less flashy than what Erik's previous fiancee had been keeping upon her finger. It was a gorgeous piece that was in a gold shank, shimmering in the way Arielette felt her mother's had for years.

The ring truly meant little to her when she could hold his hand and feel his skin callous against her own. He was still his normal self, bony and thin-skinned. His deformity had not changed in the slightest, and while her love was even more persistent about his mask staying on, Arielette wanted to see his face almost constantly. He was her everything, and they blessed their intuitions for bringing them back together that prior evening.

It was the best way to start a new year for a new couple, and a horrible way to star a new year for a young patron.

Raoul was immensely confused when he discovered that the young Lestat was engaged to someone that New Year's Day. It was shocking news, for she had told him at the Masquerade that she was free! He had adored her presence, and he felt love blossoming tightly in his chest for the elder woman.

She hadn't looked older than him, and what was he to say about age when his brother was nearly fifty and had yet to marry still. It wasn't Raoul's fault that she had been presented to him, even if it wasn't the intention for him to suit the beautiful woman. Her brown curls, green eyes, and envious curves were nothing compared to her wit. She was sharp, as far as he could tell by the strength in her voice and her odd feature.

It was no secret that the youngest Lestat withheld no fear in her bosom, and it was an endearing quality to Raoul. He wanted to learn what it meant to hold someone who had no fear in his life, to keep her around and continue to be fascinated by her for the rest of his life. It was no lie that he was most likely in love with the woman, but it was no secret she was now engaged!

His brother had no guess as to who it was, not even after an entire day in the opera meandering through secrets and gossips, hoping to come across something useful. Not even the opera's first chair, father to the woman he loved, would give the information up.

The elder de Chagny had reasoned that it was only the happy couple's secret to give.

Privacy made sense to Raoul, he understood it a great deal, but why did the world have to torture him so! To not only find someone like her in such a way, but to lose her almost as quickly as she'd come! What a cruel trick if he'd ever been victim.

Erik was not happy to learn a few days later how upset the news of engagement had made the younger de Chagny. From his friends he had suspected the confusion and questioning of his sanity, but Erik was sure this time that there was no running. His beloved could not.

His fellow chair holders that were on the intimate side with him were very concerned as to why he allowed his fiancee back into his life. They inquired into his thought process, nit-picking almost every crevice there was to investigate, finding only love for the woman who had loved him just as much for seven entire years.

They mourned the loss of his and the Swedish Soprano's relationship, as they'd all adored her and her innocent presence. Erik simply knew that it was no longer meant to be.

He also learned of how angry it made the Vicomte to find out that he was her engaged.

The boy had been parading around, seriously injured over the fact that Erik's fiance was not his own. Erik was having none of it, demanding that his friend take his little brother and remove him from the opera until he could behave himself. When peace finally came over, two months had passed into the new year.

Christine very much hated being alone. She had had her papa for her entire life, and when there was no papa, she had possessed her teacher under her spell. Now, all she had was the music, and no man in her life to speak of.

Time was irrelevant when it came to her heartbreak with her former masked-fiance, but what was not completely gone was her ability to forgive. She did not hate him, nor did she hate his new fiancee. Neither of them had done her wrong, and she much preferred the full love of a man over the left-over love he had from a relationship now renewed.

Christine had found someone she hoped to claim, seeing as being lonely had gotten boring. The man, however, was completely ignorant of her presence. The Vicomte knew who she was, they'd been affectionate playfellows for years, and yet he ignored her as though she were but a beggar on the streets. Christine didn't understand what it was for a few weeks, until she was privy to the rumors and whispers.

Why he wanted anything to do with the woman who stole her fiance from her was of no consequence to Christine. She didn't hate the woman, but she didn't exactly see the appeal either. Her fearlessness seemed reckless at the best of times, and she was... well, frankly Christine knew the woman was pretty.

Things started to come into place, however, as she realized to the appeal of the opera chair's daughter. While she had never heard from her previous lover the fact was, her voice was magnificent! Christine knew she had talent, her teacher had told her so with more confidence than a million kings, but the brunette? Her voice was just as good, and she wondered how her fiance had never heard her sing!

Christine befriended her, though it was with reluctance at first. The woman was nice, and she held many of the good qualities you would want in a friend. In fact... Christine had never had a friend like her since... well, she tried not to think about the Vicomte who was pining mercilessly upon the wrong woman.

Erik was genuinely upset when he found out about both things. He wasn't necessarily angry about either thing, he was quite glad that his current and past lover got along well... too well some would say for the situation they were in, he merely wished he would have been told. He walked in one day to consult the soprano on one of her upcoming parts to make sure it was manageable, when he heard his fiancee's voice.

It was pure, and while untrained, it had a strength he thought was impossible. He regretted not hearing her sing all those years ago, when they'd first started courting.

Of course, this meant him trying to get her on the stage!

Erik tried, then his ex-fiancee tried as well, the blonde supporting her friend vehemently, yet she would not budge on her position to stay as far away from the stage as could be. The beauty made excuses that she had no place on the stage with so little practice, or so many years on her, or the fact that she would be in her friend's way, especially with Erik assuring her a lead! The brunette wanted nothing to do with it, so eventually she was left alone... just not in every way.

Raoul, as the month of March came and went became even more persistent. He had been introduced... or rather, forced to converse with the Swedish Soprano multiple times, but he held nothing for her besides childish friendship in his heart. They'd played, he recalled, telling romantic stories in her attic while her father played like a seraph, but that was all they had!

Raoul wanted Arielette, and in his foolish mind there was nothing stopping him. Not even Erik, Christine or Philippe would get in his way.