The Opera house towered above me as I hurried with Meg into its dark interior. In the gloom I could see her blond hair bobbing up and down with her gangly run, almost like a gazelle with a blond mane.

" Hurry Christine, we are going to be late." She half giggled back at me, her hands trying to pull her dress back together before her mother saw her. We were enjoying the company of the stable boys when we saw the clock and realized we were late for the dance rehearsal. Running back, we discovered that we were actually early for the rehearsal, and we had to listen to Carlotta bellow out the new play.

It was based off the story of a man who slowly lost his mind as he grew, and pushed his daughter away until the very end, which he tells her that he loves her and dies. The song was called " Scaretale." It was meant to be the song that represented the madness that the man had, but with Carlotta singing it, I knew we would all go mad.

" There you two are. Get into position, your part is next." Madame Giry snapped at us and I felt the end of her cane whack me in the shin. Running to my place with my leg stinging, Meg and I smiled to each other before our cue. I didn't know how long we danced the same scene over and over again, but it was Carlotta's fault, not ours; She kept missing her cue. Instead she was petting her Hyperion cat. Sometime in the middle of all of this, a pair of men came on stage to observe us.

" Those must be the new managers they told us about." Meg murmured in my ear, but I was distracted by two of the other chorus girls. They both must have realized that the men were rich and wanted them as Guardians. I shuddered slightly at the thought. Having a man touch me in that way for money… Dismissing the thought I came face to face with the one man I had dreaded to see. It was Raoul the captain of the guard.

His blond hair was up in a ponytail, his dark blue eyes sparkled like the bubbles in a Ice bottle, and his well accented speech made all of them swoon. Personally, I hated the man.

" Raoul's family has decided to become the new patron to the theater." The words echoed through the building and swirled around me. I wanted to melt into the floorboards, never to be seen again. He and I went to the Academy together and all that time he tried to get me to be his mate. With him around now to check up on his precious theater meant he would be near me. As he spoke I suddenly felt a strange, but comforting feeling.

" My Erik must be watching over me." A small chuckle filled my mind.

" I am watching over you, my child. I can't leave out in the cold for so long." His magnificent voice calmed, yet excited me at the same time. Smooth and level, it wrapped the words he said around me and like a blanket warmed me from the inside. Suddenly Raoul walked by, his eyes on me the entire time, but the look in them told me he could not see me.

" Thank you Erik." I muttered a bit too loudly. " So who is your erik?" Meg voice made me jump out of my skin.

" No one. Why?"

" Well, you did just say thank you as the cutest man I have ever met walked past."

" So?" My tone was bit too rough with her, and Meg suddenly grew red with anger and stomped off.

" Meg, I am sorry." I called after her, but she ignored me and continued walk across the stage in a huff and ran directly into Carlotta.

" Eggh. You little brat, I should whip you for that." Carlota screamed and I saw that in her pudgy hands she held a bowl of cream puffs, which she claimed were good for her skin, and now were spread all over her costume.

" I'm sorry." She stammered, but it was too late. Carlotta enjoyed whipping people and many Opera House employees had scars from where she caught them, and she already had it out, ready to give Meg a sound thrashing. Running in between both of them, I heard the whip crack and a lash of fire radiated over my back. It felt like someone had poured fresh acid onto my skin, my blood coating the wood stage in heavy gouts. Lying on my belly I watched it spread, every moment growing bigger. I could also hear Carlotta blaming me for making her use the whip, such and so on. Suddenly I felt hands grab my body and carry me off stage… "Why to die somewhere else? " I wondered to myself, the world being a mix of mottled greens and blues. I must have been behind the set for the play. Everyone else was out on the stage probably avoiding the blood, my blood to win their chance to argue with Carlotta.

" So this is how I am going to die." I told myself when a soft pair of hands suddenly caressed my arms.

" Shhh. You are not going to die." It was the voice of my Erik, my angel, which meant I had to be dying. I felt him, I felt his hands followed by the warmth of his body as he carried me somewhere. When he set me down, I realized he had taken me back to my room in the dorms.

" Lay here. I shall return." He told me and that is when I knew he was no celestial being. He had placed a gentle peck on my forehead, and it burned with a sense of unforgiving rage and unfulfilled revenge. Slowly my world dimmed as exhaustion and blood loss mingled together to allow sleep to take me. The last thing I could recall was a hand placed on mine, a hand that bore a scar on the inside.


The name of the song and idea to the play belong to the band Nightwish, not me. Anyway R&R and if you want to, you can request to add a few things into the story that would make it better.