-yawn-

I slept until, like, ten. Therefore I am still in sleepy mode.

x0o0x

Seth closed his eyes as he leaned against the mirror. "Is she back yet?"

Kristen looked up from Mike's Nano and shook her head.

"I think she ditched us," Mike said, his gaze on the tiny screen.

Seth groaned. "She was probably the only one who knew where we needed to go."

Suddenly they heard rapid footsteps approaching, with the rustling sound not far behind. After a second they heard Amanda's shrill voice.

"Hey, you guys! Look what I found!"

"A dog?" Kristen asked, perking up.

"Nope! More like D-A-W-G. Meaning a person..."

Amanda turned a corner and stopped as she saw them, her eyebrows scrunched together in thought. "...like creature...thing..."

The rustling sound stopped, and the group could make out a much taller person behind Amanda, his eyes glowing like two embers.

A beautiful voice broke the silence. "These are the children that you were talking about?"

"CHILDREN!" Amanda yelled suddenly, causing the kids to jump.

The man ignored her and strode forward, toward the trio. In the light from the dressing room, they could make out a black mask entirely covering his face and a suit hanging loosely over his body.

"You did not tell me that there was another woman in your group, madamoiselle."

"Yes I did." Amanda looked warily from Kristen to the man.

"Kristen is a..."

"Girl's name, you drink."

"Pardon me, then," the man said bitterly, his gaze now shifting to Mike and Seth. "Which one of you is Michael, and which is Seth?"

Mike's mouth twitched. "Call me Mike..."

"Sir." The man looked to Seth, and his eyes flickered dangerously as he noticed his height, how he towered above even Amanda. "You must be Seth, then."

Seth nodded, giving Amanda an uncomfortable look.

Said girl went up to the man and gave him a hard smack on the back. "This be Erik, right here."

"Who, Barbie doll mask?" Kristen asked.

"Shh! Nobody knows that yet!"

Erik's eyes took them all in. "I am not sure I can accompany all of these people, Amanda." The name felt strange in his mouth; he had never heard it before, but he knew that it was a Latin word.

Turning to Amanda, he said, "Pardon me, but do you know what your name means?"

"Oh yah. Amanda means 'lovable' or 'worthy of love'."

Seth snorted. "You're kidding." Although Amanda had been on the list of Latin names that girls could choose from in his class, he hardly believed that she was being serious. (Hey, I'm a Frenchie, so I don't know for sure what the Latin names are. Dun bother correcting me. e.e)

"Nonono, it's true."

Erik let out a long sigh. "Follow me, then. We'll have a conversation somewhere more comfortable."

----------------

"Ohhh crap."

They had reached the lake after a very long (and, in Erik's case, very annoying) trip. There was only one gondola for two and there was five of them.

"I can swim," Amanda mumbled, bending down to test the temperature of the water. It was ice cold and she immediately withdrew her hand, taking in a sharp intake of breath between her teeth.

"Isn't there a way around?" Kristen asked, straining her eyes to see in the dim blue light.

"Of course. I'll have you know that I-"

"-designed and built this Opera House yourself," Amanda finished, smiling and bouncing on the balls of her feet.

His eyes flickered dangerously for the second time that day. "May I ask how you know that?"

"If you get me a chocolate bar, a DVD, and my LSB blankie, I'll tell you."

"DVD? LSB blanket?"

"Just get us across the lake."

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A/N: LSB stands for Lock, Shock, and Barrel, which are the three kids from the Nightmare Before Christmas. I just got an uber soft blanket today with them on it. ;D

CHILDREN!