Chapter 2: It's What's Inside That Counts


Erik had been keeping an eye on Princess Isabelle as she carried out her day to day activities; The past 3 weeks of watching her taught him that she was a young lady whom loved her routine.


Every morning she would rise at precisely 9 O'Clock before having a breakfast consisting of one cup of coffee, one sugar and a dash of milk along with a single boiled egg and a piece of lightly toasted bread that had been buttered and cut into soldiers that she would dip into the yoke of her boiled egg; Following breakfast, she would get herself ready for the day, take the elevator to the penthouse where she would offer a polite good morning to her fiance whom was usually still asleep whilst suffering from a migraine due to long hours of drinking the night before; Isabelle then took the elevator to the ground floor where she would bid good morning to the all the staff within the lobby before venturing out of the concert hall for her morning walk.


Due to the fact that Erik never left the concert hall; He had instructed Nadir to follow her to see what she would do during her morning walk but Erik was relieved to learn from Nadir that she would walk to the pier where she would sit on a bench, reading her book before eventually making her way back to the concert hall for 12 O'Clock precisely.


Although her was relieved, Erik still instructed Nadir to keep observation on Isabelle which he was reluctant to do but knowing better than to argue with his masked friend; Nadir agreed... It was one morning that Nadir felt his heart stop when he exited the elevator to find Isabelle sitting in the lobby, reading her book... He quickly checked his watch to discover that is was currently 9:15... A Time that meant the princess should have been at the pier,

"I suspect you'll be informing your employer of the 'oh so concerning' update that I have chosen to read my book in the lobby this morning" Isabelle said in an amused tone without looking up from her book and Nadir gulped,

"Oh... No... I wasn't..." he tried, falling silent as she looked at him with a smile before standing, closing her book as she did so,

"For the past three weeks your employer has had you following me" she concluded with a knowing tone and Nadir quickly tried to protest as he shook his head,

"You may tell your employer that I am very grateful for his concern but the reason why I do not have official bodyguards is due to the fact that I am not yet an official member of the royal family so I am in no danger... I assume that is the reason why he had you following me these past few weeks" Isabelle enquired with a gentle tone and curious expression and Nadir mentally sighed in relief before offering a bright yet bashful smile,

"I am slightly embarrassed to learn that my attempts of subtly guarding you were actually not so subtle at all" Nadir fibbed and Isabelle giggled with a bright amused smile,

"Well it was extremely sweet of your employer to think of me" she told him before looking outside and sighed to discover that it had begun raining,

"Oh well, I guess It's a day of reading in my room... Have a good day, Mr Khan" she bid and Nadir gave a polite bow before watching her head to the elevator,

"I wish the same to you, your highness" he told her as the elevator doors slid closed.


Isabelle sighed in relief and lent back against against the elevator as it started moving,

"Finally... Now i've got the monkey off my case... let's see what the organ grinder is hiding" she mumbled to herself, letting her book drop to the floor before removing her full length blue wool coat to reveal simple riding clothes she had put on that morning so that she could move around a bit more effortlessly; Isabelle picked up her book once again and opened it to where she had been reading when Nadir had found her in the lobby but she quickly flipped the page to reveal that the book had been hollowed out so that it could conceal a screwdriver! She retrieved the tool, dropping the book once again and made quick work of removing the button panel of the elevator, revealing the mechanisms beneath,

"Ok... " she murmured to herself as she began playing around with the gears and smiled brightly as she managed to remove the right cog that brought the elevator to a stand still. Isabelle moved quickly, knowing that it would not take the staff long to discover that the elevator wasn't working; She quickly removed the roof hatch of the elevator and tossed her hollowed out book and her coat through the hole and quickly, put the gear back and screwed the button panel back in place and proceeded to then pull herself up through the service hatch that lead up into the maintenance shaft that the elevator travelled up and down through; The princess then put the service hatch back in place.


Isabelle took the ladder that lined the wall of the elevator shaft and began climbing the long way up but frowned when she discovered that the ladder only went as high as the 12th floor but yet the fact that there was still a large amount of elevator shaft above her meant that there was indeed a thirteen floor,

"Why go to all this trouble just to keep one floor hidden?" she mumbled to herself before straining her arm as she reached out for the sliding doors that lead to the 12th floor... Also known as the floor that held Mister Y's Private office, living quarters... And Isabelle hoped it would also hold an entrance to floor 13.


The 12th floor was just as elegant as every other floor within the phantasma concert hall and the walls were lined with portraits of famous musicians and artists; Isabelle couldn't help but admire Mister Y's taste as she slowly and cautiously peered into his office, only moving inside when she found it was empty; She quietly closed the office door behind her and looked around the office, wondering where to start looking for an entrance to floor 13... The Princess soon frowned when she noticed blueprints laid out out on the ornate, oak desk... The blueprints clearly showed that she was right and that there was indeed a 13th floor,

"... This is too easy... It's as if someone..." she tried,

"It's as if someone made it far to easy for you to get your answer" someone finished for her causing her to whirl around to find a masked man, smirking at her and offered a sarcastic round of applause,

"Bravo, Mademoiselle... I must admit I am impressed. Quite the little actress" The man whom wore a white porcelain half mask on the left side of his face praised,

"What do you mean?" Isabelle demanded,

"I am a man of routine myself and what I have seen of your routine these past three weeks told me that it was not a routine at all... Merely waiting. You new you were under observation and so showed myself and Nadir exactly what we wanted to see so that we would let our guards down and then you could finally have the perfect opportunity to find floor 13" Erik concluded, moving past her and sat down behind his desk with an amused smirk,

"At first I thought... Why is this princess so determined to find an impossible floor?... I told myself, 'she must be looking for wealth to steal so that she can escape having to marry someone she doesn't love' but then I realised there was no point for your doing that as you're already wealthy enough to do that... But then I realised... An impossible floor with no entrance and no clear evidence that it actually exists... At least to the untrained eye... You weren't trying to find floor 13 because of curiosity or even to steal something... You're looking for the perfect place to hide" Erik concluded with a knowing expression as a long silence fell between the princess and the former phantom,

"... It was never my desire to marry Alexander" Isabelle admitted after a long moment as Erik watched her with a curious expression behind his mask,

"We've been betrothed since we were very young and yet we cannot stand each other... I was able to convince Alexander of this location as a pre wedding holiday so that we could have an opportunity to get to know each other but really I knew this place was filled with illusion, mystery and puzzles... I love challenges, Mister Y and that's why I wanted to come here. I wanted a giant challenge to take my mind off the fact that I am being forced into marrying someone I don't love..." Isabelle admitted sadly and for the first time; Erik was able to see the exhaustion in her eyes that this burden was causing her,

"... When I discovered that there was possibly an impossible floor here within the concert hall... A place that is not so easily entered unless you know the way... I knew it was my chance to disappear. My chance to start a life of my own" Isabelle told him and watched him look down at his joined hands as they rested against his chin whilst he thought... The silence soon became too much for Isabelle,

"Mister Y?... I am not extraordinary or special like the other residents you allow to stay here in Phantasma but I am begging you... Please help me escape this life I am burdened with... I don't want to be Princess Isabelle anymore... I just want to be me... I just want to be Isabelle" she begged, watching him hopelessly as he stood from his chair and turned away from her... Isabelle sighed defeated and turned to leave,

"... 15 minutes" The masked man murmured after a moment of silence causing Isabelle to look back at him confused,

"I'm sorry?" she pressed, watching as he turned back to look at her with an impressed smirk,

"You had only been on this island 15 minutes and that's all it took you to conclude that my concert hall has a secret floor... You disabled and enabled the abilities of the concert hall elevator in only 5 minuets and then took only a total of..." he checked the watch upon his wrist,

"... 20 minuets to scale the maintenance shaft to my private floor, your highness... If that is not extraordinary then I do not know what is" he told her before moving over to the fireplace that stood on the left side of the room,

"... It would be my honour to help you hide as I myself know what it is like to desperately need as well as yearn for a safe place to do so" he told her and reached up for a book that stood up on the mantelpiece, he pulled it forward and Isabelle watched in amazement as the fireplace lifted, revealing a hidden staircase and Erik smiled smugly,

"Shall we?" he gestured to the staircase and Isabelle smiled brightly, nodding as she followed him,

"... There's one thing I don't understand, Mister Y... Why build a floor that no one else knows about?" Isabelle asked as they climbed the staircase,

"I shall be honest, your highness... Floor 13 did not exist until only a year ago. The size of the building was due to the fact that I wanted my office to have perfect acoustics for when I am composing... Floor 13 was created when I found myself in need of a hiding place" the masked man told her but Isabelle frowned,

"But... You have your own private floor that can only be accessed with a key... Is this not a good enough hiding place?" The curious princess asked,

"... The hiding place I built was not for myself" Erik told her as they reached the top of the staircase and stood before closed double doors,

"Then who is the hiding place for?" Isabelle asked curious and watched Mister Y smirk knowingly before opening the door and gestured inside with a teasing bow; Isabelle made her way inside and Erik followed... Isabelle's eyes widened in shock as she discovered the reason why floor 13 had been built as well as the reason Mister Y had made it the perfect hiding place.


AHHHHHHHHH CLIFFHANGER! I'M SO EVIL :D LOL haha!

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TheAuthor1996