Erik was so alone. Hot tears coursed down his cheeks as he sat and thought about Christine and the love they had shared. But she was gone now, and he was left with only memorise of her procelain skin and how it felt under his warm, soft hands when he had wiped tears from her cheek on the night they had said goodbye for ever.

He had gone out to the countryside after she had left him and he had escaped the mob. He was living alone in a cabin deep in a forest, where the only company he had were birds and animals and the stars in the night sky. He was sitting under a tree wily he thought of her, and he was looking at the stars. He remembered the night up on the roof of the opera house and how there had been stars then too and he had also cried then. Cried because Christine had betrayed him with that fool who called himself a vicompte and who had stolen the only woman who had ever loved Erik back.

He had a new life now though and tried not to think to much about the past at the opera, but on nights when it was this quite he couldn't help but let his mind wonder. He had surrounded himself with animals, always taking in stray and wounded creatures and helping them. They had no problem loving him and never seemed to want to leave him even after they got better.

Tired of thinking of his lost love, Erik stood erect and walked back to the cabin. On the way he was greated by a little black fox who liked to follow him around like he thought he was a dog, and by a raven who cawed a couple of times before flying down to sit on his shoulder. He didn't name the animals because he didn't feel like he owned them. They owned themselves. He remembered what it was like, as a child, being kept as a prisoner and not having his freedom so he always wanted to make sure that any one in his care was always free to come and go. He had remembered that the night he had let Christine go to be with her foolish young nobleman, and had sworn to be that way ever since.

Damn it, he was thinking of her again! A single tear rolled down the white surface of the half-mask, glowing in the moonlight. He didn't wipe it away, but just let it fall. The little black fox rubbed up against his legs, sensing his pain the way only animals can, except for Erik, who had always been able to sense, himself, when they were in pain. That was why he was always so good at fixing them when they were sick.

A/N Okay so I don't have much yet because I'm really tired but I hope you like the beginning. I wanted to do something different, and I have some cool ideas for this, so I hope you'll keep reading and review! Thanks guys! 3