Hello boys and girls! I have some great news to announce, before I'll let you start with the story. I now have brand new super-awesome beta! Let's give a big round of applause for Not-the-Norm, who gave me ideas and corrected my mistakes. Also, without her, this chapter and the next one wouldn't have been born! Thank you!

DISCLAIMER: the site being the site for fanfictions should hint you enough, saying the characters of the Phantom of the Opera are not mine, but better safe than sorry, no? So, I do not own Phantom or Christine or any other character, you might recognise.

Prologue

It had been almost six months now since the Viscount's death, yet she could remember it as if it were just yesterday. Even after all of this time, though, she still couldn't quite embrace the fact that he was gone. Never again would he stand next to her and lovingly take care of and provide for her, his little Lotte.

Since Raoul's death, she had little to no way of keeping track of her funds. With the de Changy's name trampled to the ground she had found foes almost everywhere and soon discovered it was smarter to use her maiden name once more. Every friendly face had either turned against her or disappeared completely as the grand old family fell apart. Now, only months after her husband's untimely death she found herself struggling to make ends meet.

She had been smart enough to grab some of the most valuable items with her, when she had escaped from the house on that horrid night, yet the money she had gotten after selling the trinkets was almost nothing next to what they were worth. She knew she was being taken advantage of, yet was unable to do anything against it. With every passing day she grew more afraid of being discovered. It was only a matter of time when they would return to find her. She had to find a place to stay and fast.

So she was force to look for a work. The new opera house had crossed her mind, but only for a fleeting moment. She had sworn to herself that she would never again step through those doors after the events that had occurred years ago. The memory of sitting in her powder room getting made up for her first act in Faust was still fresh in her mind after all of this time. She had been so excited and happy, even with the small role she had first been given. Suddenly she was reminded of him. The chill of his breath, the ice in his stare, the white of his mask... No, she would never go back to the life of an opera singer.

Little did she know, that by avoiding the opera house she was walking straight back into the past and the life of the man she had left behind.

You are all very welcomed to drop me a line or two, your comments feed my imagination!

Yours,

NightQuest