Summary:
The phantom does not know how to love, instead he knows hatred intimately.
But he has a great longing to teach, to have a loyal companion, and a faithful servant.
One day his wish comes true, only there is something terribly wrong with the child…
Prologue:
Residing in the catacombs of the Opera house certainly had its perks, the hollow pipes of the plumbing gave a perfect echo of what sounds were playing above. Debienne and Poligny were scared witless of his messages. There was some rebelling in the beginning, but a dead rat on their dinner plate and a note attached to it was enough to quench their fire.
Sometimes Erik wished someone would defy him, simply because most men he met were spineless cowards, no sign of a backbone whatsoever.
With a tired sigh he rose out of his red velvet chair, putting his newspaper aside made his way towards the entrance of his residence, his steps silent.
Erik felt restless lately, a need to step outside and feel the fresh air overwhelming him at the most inconvenient times. He passed an oil lamp, his thin, skeletal body drawing a macabre shadow on the opposite wall.
Stepping out into the cold dark tunnels, he barely paid heed to the lake while walking down the sidewalk.
Erik knew these tunnels as well as the back of his hand. A small creature ran out of one the sister tunnels,
following in the man's footsteps.
The phantom turned his head slightly, gave a lipless smile but never stopped in his brisk stride.
Ayesha was a joy to have, the grey feline was free and wild. Sometimes affectionate but often aloof.
Erik adored her for being much less complex than humans, simply happy in her existence and never demanding more.
Soon the stars greeted him, bright companions in the darkness. Walking down a seedier part of the city
Erik knew his mask would scare of any riff raff senseless enough to bother him.
Turning around the corner of a dark alley, Erik was alerted by a startled cry of Ayesha. The cat's tail poked
Out from between two waste cans and was swishing rapidly.
Peering between them his golden eyes quickly spotted the small white face peeking from out of a white blanket. Despite Ayesha's curious patting, the figure remained still.
'Still born' Erik thought, a small sliver of a foreign emotion putting weight on his chest. 'What kind of mother throws her child away like rubbish?'
With a gentleness that was rather unlike him, Erik reached for the creature and held it to his chest.
The baby's face hadn't turned blue yet, so it couldn't have been left for too long. The tall man never had held a human so small and fragile, with the curiosity of a lion that had found something new to paw at, Erik lifted an inhumanly thin finger and poked at the child's soft cheek.
Suddenly the creature opened its mouth and the sound that came out of it startled Ayesha into running out of the alley and Erik nearly dropped his newfound charge on the cobblestones.
The child was alive, but that wasn't what startled Erik. Golden eyes fell upon the creature with awe. Erik had watched mothers and their wailing burdens enough to know the irritating sound they normally created.
That was not the case with this one, out of its tiny throat rang a perfect A scale. The man's golden eyes closed up in rapture as his ears drank up the sound.
Slowly he turned out of the alley with his discovery in a possessive embrace, his feline companion in tow.
'An orphan with a talent many can only dream of' mused the masked man 'well isn't this perfect?'