Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Phantom characters, only my own. I do not own the lyric's of Erik's song "A Monster In Paris". Copyright to the movie "A Monster In Paris (Un Monstre A Paris)"

Chapter 9: A Monster In Paris

Erik's breath caught in his throat. The mask slipped away from his now limp fingers. The girl in front of him now looked into his eyes with defiance. Three long scars started from her brow, over her eye and back to her ear. They looked so raw that they could have been applied yesterday.

Annabelle's tears slowly rolled down her cheeks. The figure of her mentor began to blur more. She untied the silk ribbon from around her neck.

He looked down further to see clear chunks of flesh missing from her slender neck. He instantly recognized the canine marks of a dog.

"I…" Erik's voice choked slightly. He felt just as he had when he was on the stage with Christine. Shock, with a hidden betrayal underneath. This is what she was hiding from him all this time? Now he knew why she wouldn't speak. But she didn't trust him enough with this secret.

Annabelle pulled further away from his loose grip. Her eyes never left his. There, he saw the reflection of her emotions. Hurt, anger, fear.

Erik stood to his full height, now unsure of what to do or say. "I…" The words would not come out.

She sniffled again and turned, rushing out of the room and into the bath area conjoined to it. The large door slammed and echoed into the silent room.

Still in shock, the Phantom quietly drifted away into the darkness of the shadows. He had to escape from this place, even if it was for a night. Raw emotions flooded through him. Perhaps a ride would soothe his nerves. Then he would figure out a way to apologize to his student.

Annabelle stayed on the floor of the room, trying to get her breathing under control. She had retied the ribbon around her throat. She waited a bit to ensure he was gone before opening the door. He was gone.

As relieved as she felt, she knew he would be back. The look on his face told her that he had not expected to see what he did. A small flame of hope lit up in her chest. Maybe he wasn't disgusted of her, and would come back. Until he did, she had to leave the opera house. Who knew when the Vicomtess would start knocking on her door and asking questions.

Placing her normal eyepatch into its proper place and securing a cloak around her shoulders, she creaked the door to her bedroom open. The echoing voices of the ball went through the hallways, but she knew she wouldn't be caught. She had snuck out of her old home so often that she had became one with the shadows.

WIthin minutes, Annabelle had managed to slide out from the kitchen quarters and out to the stables. Many of the guests' horses were being tended to. She saw that the beautiful white horse was gone, but she thought nothing of it. She clicked her tongue and a black stallion raised his head in his pen. She patted Cathal's nose affectionately. Her father had sent him to her from the family stables since he trusted no other.

She swung up onto his back and nudged his flanks. The air was cool and crisp, being the promise of rain. Annabelle didn't know how far she had ridden until she pulled back lightly on the reins. She looked over to see the the Seine glittering in the moonlight. She slid off his back and walked alongside him.

Annabelle closed her eyes, wishing that she hadn't come to this place. Perhaps it was better to have stayed home and learned to be a proper lady with no future. Cathal snorted and nudged her shoulder. All was peaceful for the time being.

The rain started to come down in a light drizzle. She smiled when she could hear a tune from the raindrops hitting the roofs and empty bottles littering the streets. She leaned back on a tree to avoid most of the water.

"I hide my light inside a cloud of night,

beneath a red scarf and chapeau.."

Annabelle heard a soft male voice singing. She pressed closer against her steed's body to hide.

"The pearl of my heart, locked within a shell.

To afraid to let it go, to let it show

when all the headlines read for the whole world to see:

A monster in Paris."

Erik had his eyes closed, sitting on the wet grass. A large-brimmed hat concealed his face in shadow. He looked up into the rain, letting it mingle with the tear that managed to fall down his cheek.

"I fall apart, I fall apart

Apparently I did appear beneath the light

Yes it was me

A monster in Paris…"

Images of the last night he while playing in Don Juan rushed through his mind's eye. They flew to Annabelle's smiling face after her tutoring sessions, her seeing her flee and slam the door in his face.

"I hide my pain, inside a melody

As if the notes I sing will set me free.

I keep all my dreams under a lock and key

So afraid that they will fly away.. away from me

A monster in paris…"

Quietly, his voice gave way to the hard downpour of rain. Annabelle felt more tears of the night begin to fall. He sounded so hurt, and even more sad than before. She went back behind her tree and got back into her saddle. She smiled genuinely for the first time that night. She would write a song for him to let him know she still loved him-

She nudged her horse to start galloping to clear her head. Love? Where had that word come from?

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I was watching A Monster In Paris and -M-'s voice kind of reminded me of the Phantom's. Here is the Youtube link: watch?v=8UBWczAK-2A It's not the original, but it still sounds beautiful. And if it so pleases, I would love the help of my readers to figure out what song that Annabelle plays for herself and then the Phantom. Live Long and Prosper ~SilverJackel