Chapter 7: I am Jesabelle

Erik's point of view

My latest instructions had been delivered to the managers. I watched them closely as they wandered through the hallways, wanting to make sure that they followed my orders. A deep frown crossed my face. Andre was willing as always, but Richard was as stubborn as a mule. He argued with Andre, throwing my note to the floor.

To my surprise, that girl had been following them the whole time. I watched curiously as she took the note in her small hands. The managers turned simultaneously as she crept away. A scene unfolded rather quickly: the girl made up a horrible excuse, was assigned work, and stomped off to do her duty.

For some unknown reason I followed her. No other maid would talk back, in a sense, to the managers like she had. The shadows concealed me as I entered the auditorium, only to find her sitting on the ground. Her hands wrapped around her knees, she sighed and hunched her shoulders.

"I bet they're laughing at me…do they really want me to fail? I will show them that I can complete this mission." Her body shook for a moment, and then her mood changed drastically. She hopped to her feet, dusting off her dirty dress. "Silly me, talking to myself again…"

Her voice droned on, but I left before I could hear any more. Though her insecurity seemed sincere, her words seemed to confirm my theory. She was sent here to find me, I thought. I had to get the note away from her before she could hand the evidence over to her superiors.

I traveled back to my lair, waiting until she would be finished with her work. My eyes kept wandering to the organ, where I had once played. The music I had produced was for Christine and Christine alone. Christine…her name still brought me both sorrow and love. Shaking my head, I was determined to rid myself of the chains that remembering brought me.

Needing a distraction, I quickly returned to the main floor of the opera house. Silently I unlocked her room, stealing the note. A mischievous part of me wanted to see her reaction the next morning. After all, her plan was sure to be thwarted because of my sly actions. Without evidence, where was the case against me?

The morning came quickly, and I was listening as she moved around. I could hear her speaking to herself. "Richard and Andre would have keys to every room, I'm sure. I doubt that they would want the note back, though. After all, didn't they think that I threw it away? That leaves one shadow of a man. The one I am looking for, of course. Why would the Phantom try to steal a note from little old me? I'm not a threat to him. Hey, ghost! Give me a chance, will you?"

Well, it was not the way I thought she'd react. Though she thought she was alone, she still had no right to refer to me the way she did. Her 'hey, ghost!' was quite rude. However, I did give her other words some thought. She was practically asking me to meet her, to barge into her room because she supposedly was not a threat. I doubted that highly, but I decided to consider. It would be interesting, actually meeting face-to-face with the girl who stuck out like a rotten music note.

I felt that she needed lessons on respect, though. Staying hidden, I watched as she followed her friend. She stiffened, peeking over her shoulder. Dark violet eyes stared questioningly at me for a moment. By the time she blinked, though, I was long gone.

It had been the first time I'd gotten a good look at her face. The sight wasn't that bad, but her eyes puzzled me. Never before had I seen anyone with purple eyes. Emotions that had reflected in them also puzzled me. There was no fear, just confusion mixed with innocent hope.

After that encounter, I definitely was leaning toward giving the strange girl a chance. Fate decided that our meeting would come quite sooner, though. As soon as she left the hall, she came back. "I forgot a broom in one of the closets, Charlotte!"

She was racing directly toward my hiding spot. In an odd panic, I tried to duck into one of my trap doors. This one had a small flight of stairs that led toward the ceiling, where another trap door lay. Though the ceiling door was bigger, it was only used for a noose when needed.

I ended up near the ceiling trap…perhaps too near. Somehow I lost my footing, plummeting toward the ground. Luckily it wasn't that far of a fall, but I still ached. All of the pain disappeared when I realized that she was still standing there. How in the hell could I have fallen, of all people?

Her head tilted to the side, violet eyes sparkling with happiness. What exactly was she so ecstatic about? Of course…she was probably going to turn me in. However, she did the opposite. Bending down, she offered me one pale hand. Hesitantly I took it, secretly marveling in the soft texture of her skin. No, no! I will not think like that! The thought rang through my head.

Surprisingly, she gave me a grin that flashed her teeth. It was not the time to notice, but her teeth were not pearly white. "Bonjour. Monsieur Phantom, I presume?" I then realized that my mask had fallen off in the fall. I scrambled to hide the deformed side of my face, but I knew she had already seen.

I felt something hard prodding me in the arm. I opened one eye, to see that she was poking me with my half-mask. "You dropped this, Monsieur."

With a shaky hand I took the mask, covering my face. "M-miss…did you not see? Are you not afraid?"

She again tilted her head, looking much like a curious baby bird. "See? I'm sorry, Monsieur…I did not see your face."

I blinked in surprise. "You did not? That is a good thing." Relief flooded over me.

"Now, Monsieur Phantom, I have been looking for you for awhile." She smiled, holding out her hand in a businesslike manner. "Let me properly introduce myself. I am Jesabelle."


Author's Note: So ends Erik's point of view again. (: He and Jesabelle have finally met!

As for his face, Jesabelle really didn't see it. She has a habit of losing herself in her thoughts, even for brief moments. If you noticed the businesslike manner, kudos. After all, Jesabelle sees him as an unofficial client. x)

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Important: I do not own Phantom of the Opera or any of its characters. I still own just the characters of Jesabelle and Charlotte.

Next chapter in 12 unique views. The plot will be getting interesting, with the introduction of the new characters…

xoxo,

Jezebel Denver