Chapter Four: Let me stay!

Disclaimer: OK. I saw THE ILLUSIONIST and figured I'd do a fic with a person like that in it. That and I like Magic and it's different than my normal stuff.

Diane didn't know how to tell Mia that they would have to pack up and move again. She loved their new home; and while she was being tucked in that night of the performance, Diane asked if she had fun.

"I did." Mia answered smiling, but then she saw something in her mother that made her worry. "What?" Diane just smiled at Mia softly and kissed her forehead.

"You know I love you more than anything, right?" Mia nodded; Diane nodded along with her and kept talking. "Then know that what I do- I do to protect you. I want you to have a good life Mia. I'm sorry I keep shuffling you around like this." Mia sat up in her bed and asked Diane what was going on. She shook her head and kissed her forehead again.

"Nothing baby, get some sleep OK?" Mia slowly nodded. "Do you want Alex?" Mia nodded again as her mother got off the bed and handed her a porcline doll with golden locks of hair, and put it beside her daughter. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight momma." As her mother closed the door; Mia turned over and hugged onto her doll, something was happening around her, and she didn't know what.

But Diane knew that sooner or later she'd have to tell Mia that they would have to pack up and move once more. It was hard to ask that of her daughter; even if Diane had broken off her marriage with Siegfried, he was still ruining their lives. Both of them liked the opera populaire; and loved helping them make money to rebuild it; but they had to leave for their safety, for Mia's safety.

"Diane?" Diane finished pinning her hair up before she went to sleep as well when she looked at the door and saw William standing in the door of her room.

"William? Come in." So he did, he closed the door behind him and sat on her bed, watching her as she finished her nightly routine and talked to her.

"Are you sure this is best? Mia likes it here; uprooting her won't help." Diane looked into her mirror as if she was unsure herself.

"You don't know him like I do." Diane had pain in her eyes as she remembered being hit; she remembered all the horrible things that happened to her because of Siegfried. "If he doesn't get what he wants, he'll keep fighting to get it. He won't stop hunting us until we're dead. All we can do for now is try to keep one step ahead." Before their conversation could go any further; they saw Mia standing in the doorway holding onto Alex by the wrist. "Mia-"

"I don't want to leave." Mia started, clutching onto her doll. But as Diane and William stood up; Mia took off running down the halls and away from them.

William chased after her; but lost her.

She hid in Christine's dressing room without knowing whose it was. She held onto Alex and cried. She didn't want to leave, she for once; had a friend instead of her mother.

"Mia?" Her head shot up and saw Erik looking at her from the shadows. "What are you doing out this late? Why are you crying? Where is your mother?" Mia couldn't even talk; she just held onto Alex and kept crying.

"Momma..." she hiccupped, wiping her eyes with her hand. "Momma wants to take me away. My daddy is comin' back and I think he wants to hurt us again."

"Again?" Erik said quietly. Mia nodded and clung to Alex even tighter.

"Daddy used to hit us. He didn't like us, so Momma took me away. She said that she is trying to keep me safe-but-" she couldn't even keep talking after that. It hurt so bad to be leaving again. She never stayed in one place for long, just long enough for Siegfried to show up; scare Diane, and force them out once again. "I want to stay here. Let me live with you OK? I'll be real good- and quiet-"

"You know you can't do that." Erik told her, but Mia was stubborn.

"At least let me stay tonight. I don't want to go back with momma so we could leave again, I'll try to figure it all out later- right now I just need a place to sleep." Erik wanted to tell her she had to go back to her mother, that running away from problems won't make them go away. But it was late; Mia was tired, and she was upset. Erik nodded and she stood and walked with him behind the mirror and into his world.

About halfway there, she got tired of walking- but didn't say anything. Erik saw she was tired, and lifted her up. She rested her head on his shoulder as he walked her down to his home, she didn't even see the entire way there, because she fell asleep before the boat.

"Mia!" William called. "Mia please, come out!" But there was no answer from her, there couldn't have been; she was miles below the surface, sleeping soundly in a silk swan bed while the phantom stalked the rafters searching for her mother or someone to give a note to-saying that Mia was safe and sleeping.

He saw William searching near the dressing room; so that was who he gave the letter with the red skull insignia to. It fluttered down and right into William's grasp, He then opened the letter and read it.

"Diane, here." When he got back to Diane's dressing room, he gave her the note and she began reading it.

Mademoiselle Dane,

Your Daughter, Mia, is safely sleeping at my home. I assure you no harm shall come to her while in my protection. I'll try and talk her into returning in the morning- but for now she's safe and sound.

She spoke to me about you're wanting to move her away. Though it is none of my business to question you're decisions concerning your daughter; I have to say that she would rather stay in the opera populaire. I'm aware that leaving her behind is out of the question, but perhaps there are alternative ways to keep her safe and at the opera house.

But again, it is not my place to question your motives. All I ask is that you try and keep Mia happy; she's what is important, am I right?

Again; Mia is safe and sound while in my care, I'm sending her back in the morning.

.O.G.

"Diane? What do you think of this?" Diane threw the letter down and pouted. She was not happy one bit about what was happening.

"See? Even when he isn't around, Siegfried is ruining my life! He made me need to uproot my daughter- sending her to a stranger's house where he could do god knows what to her and-and-and-" She started crying. William put his arms around her and assured her that he would help her find Mia. "Where did you find this?"

"Somewhere by the dressing rooms I think." William tried to recall where he found it, but Diane was already asking him to leave the room so she could get dressed.

She had William take her to where he found the note; it was pretty dark, with six or seven dressing rooms. There would be no way of finding which one Mia was in, except to look through them all.

William took the first, and Diane took the second. The first was La Carlotta's dressing room; it had big flowers, her portrait from Hannibal, a big mirror and a changing screen, but no Mia.

The second was Christine's. It was almost exactly like La Carlotta's dressing room, except it didn't have any flowers, or any portraits of her. All it had was a vanity, changing screen, and a lone mirror.

But when she looked at the mirror with curiosity; she saw it wasn't entirely closed. She put her fingers in the opening and slid the glass open as if it was a Japanese paper door she saw when they were doing a show in Japan.

She walked down the long hall with single-minded determination. She had a feeling her baby was down there; she could feel it.

Due to wanting more reviews, I've decided to put ch 4 up :D and I hope it was up to your standards. I thank my reviewers once more:D