I sincerely believe I've fallen in love with dear Erik, the Phantom of the Opera. So yeah, another fanfic. Tell me what you think.

Enjoy (and review!)

The Opera house stood there, silent in her dusty glory, empty save for one inhabitant. No, this is not the Opera Populare in Paris, but a different one. The stories that could be told by this building would chill your blood but for one young person, this structure is home. Safety. Love and caring. Shelter.

You see, five years ago the owners of the Opera house died a terribly strange death. They had been queer people, though liked well enough by those who knew them. In their will they had left everything, their small fortune, their large, spacious home, and the Opera house, to their young daughter, who was at the time only eleven years old.

She inherited immediately, as specified in the will and people began to slowly draw away from this small girl who had so much. Mothers warned their daughters away from playing with her out of fear that it might damage their marriageability later.

Seraphina, for that was the child's name, took to covering her noticeable red hair, watching her friends play from a ways away.

Only one family didn't shun her, that of the constable.

The towns people strongly encouraged her to sell the Opera house, telling her that the large house and the huge building were simply too much for a little girl to have. She simply stared at them, her blue eyes flashing.

'Very well,' she told them, 'if I can't have both then I shall sell one.' She had the papers drawn up and placed the house on the market. There were too many memories of her parents there anyway.

Seraphina slowly became a master of disguise, living in the theatre as she was. She started to only go out to market undercover, avoiding stares and prices that had been jacked up for her.

People that had know her when her parents were alive came by and visited her at her theatre, often bringing food or other useful things.

Seraphina began to discover secret passages and tunnels in her home and explored them with great care, locating the traps mostly without mishap. Once she knew these passages inside out she devised her own traps to add as well as furnishing a secret sanctuary for herself deep underground.

Her uncle visited at least once every month and she watched him with distaste from the hidden hallways, noting everything he touched for later cleaning, she despised him that much. Never did she let him see her or speak to him. She wouldn't trust him as far as she could throw him and that wasn't far at all.

Indeed, the time she enjoyed the most was in the evenings or at night when she would go up onto the roof and look out over the lands, gazing at the stars or marveling at the colors of the sunset. After, she would go back inside and sing to herself or dance. She had always wanted to be a singer or dancer in the operas and she'd had lessons when her parents were alive but no longer.

* * *

Five years after the death of her parents she was stretching and dancing on the grand stage, a music box playing softly, echoing strangely in the huge room. Suddenly she heard a sound behind her and turned, dropping into a fighting crouch. There was a figure in the darkness. A man. She glared and backed out of the light until she was just as hidden in shadow as he was. He stepped forward so she could make out his figure a little better. He was tall and well built, holding one hand over the side of his face.

"Might I trouble you for a mask?" He asked, his voice low and very masculine.

"Why?" Seraphina demanded, suspicious of this sudden intruder.

"Because you won't like my face."

His voice was a little hoarse either from too much emotion or exhaustion, she couldn't tell.

Moving slowly and carefully, never taking her eyes off the man in the shadows, Seraphina got one of the many masks that had been scattered around the theatre before she gathered them all. She glanced at the one she first came across. It was black and would cover his entire face but for his mouth and eyes.

She wasn't heartless and if he wanted a mask she supposed it probably wouldn't harm her to give him one. So long as that was all he wanted.

She looked back at the man who hadn't moved and tossed the mask over to him, gratified that he caught it in a quick movement of the hand not covering his face. He turned his back and put the mask on.

"Are you running from the law?" She asked, seeing it as her right to know whom exactly was in her theatre.

The man was silent for a moment. "Do you live here?" He countered.

Seraphina resisted the childish urge to tell him that since she had asked first he had to answer first. "Yes, I do. Why are you here?"

"By yourself?"

Seraphina stared at the man. Surely he didn't really expect her to be he only one answering. This was her home, not his. She decided it was worth the risk and stepped back into the light, sitting on the edge of a crate, though it was only an illusion of surety.

"No, my family lives here too. And our dog, he's really mean so if you see him stay away. He bites." The lies came easily to her lips. And what did he think to gain if she was by herself.

The man looked at her in silence and Seraphina crossed her arms, waiting.

After a few minutes the music box wound to a halt, leaving the air still and silent.

"Look, I gave you a mask like you asked and I've answered your questions. It's only polite that you answer mine as well." She told him.

He was silent a moment longer then said, "Maybe. This seemed the most likely place to stay."

Seraphina blinked. "I see. Why would one think that a seemingly abandoned opera house was the most likely place to stay?"

The man swayed slightly and the girl sighed. "Sit down before you fall down." She ordered imperiously. The man did so, sinking to the floor. Seraphina got to her feet and picked up a lantern, carrying it closer to him so she could see him better. He was tense, his eyes following her every move. She set the light down on the floor and retreated so it was between them and sat on the floor as well.

She drew her knees up and rested her chin on them, leaning back against yet anther crate. They were all over the place. Someday maybe she would get around to moving them.

She stared into the flickering flame, steeling glances at the stranger. He leaned back against a crate as well and tipped his head back, closing his eyes.

"What's your name?" He asked without moving.

"Seraphina. Call me Seraph." She wasn't sure why she'd said that. Only her parents had called her that. Ever. "What's yours?" She asked. Again, the masked man didn't answer.

She sighed. "Fine. May I give you a name instead of calling you 'Hey you with the mask'?"

She thought she might have seen a flicker of humor pass over the man's face but it was probably just the lighting.

"Go ahead," was his only reply.

Go ahead what? Give you a name? "May I call you Gabriel?" She asked quietly, unsure why exactly she had chosen that name for him. It just seemed to fit somehow.

His head came up and he opened his eyes, obviously waiting for an explanation. A faint smile slithered across her face and she leaned her head back, closing her eyes, pointedly not answering.

"Why Gabriel?" The man said, his voice dangerously quiet. Seraphina cracked one eye, watching him to be sure he didn't make any sudden moves.

"You try my patience." He told her, an edge to his voice.

"Your patience. I see." She shrugged. "It just seemed to fit somehow." She wasn't sure how he would take it so she didn't tell him that the Gabriel she had been thinking of had been the angel. Foolish, sentimental woman that she was, she had somehow managed to compare a fugitive from the law to an angel.

After a few more minutes of unmoving silence Seraphina got to her feet. "You hungry?" She asked. The man shrugged and she took that as a yes, going over to the other side of the stage to get the basket of food she had brought with her. While she was there she re-wound the music box before returning to where she had left Gabriel. He was gone. She looked around and heard a faint sound, following it quickly. Before long she caught up with the man, knowing her way through better than he.

She was unsure what she was going to do when she did catch him but that was all right.

"Wait. You should eat something, you look like a ghost."

His eyes met hers and he made a sound that could have been a snort with a little more effort.

"Please," she said as she realized how much she really missed people. He'd been nice enough so far, if a little closemouthed. "You can stay here, I won't turn you in to the police. There's plenty of room."

The man studied her. "And your family?" He inquired after a moment.

Seraphina colored slightly, though she resisted the urge to duck her head. "They'll be fine with it."

She hadn't thought of that. Oops.

She led the man back to where she'd left the food and sat down next to it. He sat back down a little ways away, always watching her.

Seraphina opened the basket and got out the food, splitting each thing into slightly uneven halves, giving him the bigger of each. When she was done dividing it, she passed him his.

"Where are you from?" She asked softly. He surprised her by answering.

"Paris."

She looked up at him, startled. He had a beautiful voice. She wondered if he could sing.

"Paris," she repeated. She had been to Paris with her parents three weeks before they died. They had taken her to see an Opera there and it had been the most wonderful experience. Her theatre wasn't the same scale as the Opera Populare was and the production seemed so much different since she hadn't seen all the actors rehearsing it.

"They have a beautiful Opera house. Perhaps you've been. The Opera Populare?"

'Gabriel's eyes flashed for a moment and he looked at her like she had struck him. Obviously he had painful memories associated with the opera.

"Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it. I went once, that's all."

They finished eating in silence and after she led him out to the rooms that she kept clean. Her living area. She showed him to the spare bedroom and retreated to her own.

The following morning she got up at her usual time and made breakfast for the two of them, liking very much the feeling of having someone else there with her. After it was ready she slipped silently into 'Gabriel's bedroom. He wasn't there but the cloak that he'd been wearing was and the bed was rumpled. She sighed to herself and hoped he wasn't gone.

A bell chimed in the kitchen, alerting her to someone approaching the door. She scrambled to a window and looked down. It was Amelia, the constable's daughter and her only friend, though they didn't see each other often. Seraphina trotted down to the door and opened it, hugging her friend.

"Hello. What brings you to my humble abode? Come in, come in."

Amelia laughed and came inside.

"I brought you some papers and information. There have been some goings on that I think will interest you 'Phina. You know the big opera house in Paris? You went there right? It burned down three days ago. Very interesting story they've come up with as to why as well and I thought you'd like it, living alone in this place as you do."

Seraphina accepted the newspapers from Amelia.

"Thank you. Very thoughtful of you."

"Also," Amelia hesitated. " 'Phina, your uncle's been asking my dad strange questions. Like what happens if a relative dies with no will. Just so you know, all the deceased's property and possessions go to the next of kin, if you get my meaning. He's been sniffing into a lot of legal things and it has us worried. He's planning something."

Seraphina nodded. "I'll be careful. Thank you very much for warning me. Your friendship means a lot."

"I don't like you living here by yourself, it's dangerous, not to mention bad for your health."

The two young women embraced again and Amelia sadly said that she had to be on her way.

After Amelia was gone, Seraphina picked up the papers and trotted back upstairs with them. She would see if she cold find Gabriel and then they could eat. She took the paper into the kitchen and froze as she noticed that her alert system told her that someone was in the tunnels. She had wondered. Quickly she made her way to the nearest entrance and slipped inside, wanting to find Gabriel before he got hurt. If he wasn't already.

Please