Disclaimer: No, I don't own the Phantom of the Opera.

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3rd Person pov

Anastasia was so caught up in the moment that she didn't hear the hidden door click open, nor did she hear the light footsteps that chased after Anthony. She couldn't believe it. She had made her move. She had to follow through now. Her heart pounded with excitement, hope, and fear. Her future now held a glimmer of hope. Staring down at her hands, she imagined them as they were before. She imagined herself free of the scars and tattoos that marred her once beautiful skin. She longed for her former life.

When she realized that she had been completely lost in thought, she quickly turned around and exited the room through the hidden door and head back down to the dark lair. She had avoided that place since the afternoon, choosing to wander aimlessly around the opera house instead of facing that frustrating Phantom of the Opera. She couldn't quite put a finger on how he managed to irritate her so much. She had barely known him for a day and he was constantly on her mind. She decided that he was just another problem to add to her already overflowing ocean of issues.

Instead of heading directly to the lair, she chose to stall a bit longer and search for her mother's necklace. She tried to remember where she had chosen to run to when she had gained control of the beast within her. Her memories were all a blur, like a slideshow of cut up pictures mixed into a bucket already filled with fragments of pictures. Never seeing the full picture. She knew she must've gone someplace, where she wouldn't be able to harm anything. There were quite a few dead end traps in this labyrinth of tunnels. Grabbing and igniting one of the torches off of the walls, she decided to scour the entire underground lair until she found the necklace.

After wandering through the maze of tunnels in futile efforts, Anastasia caught a whiff of blood. Her blood to be exact. She followed the scent like a bloodhound, never stopping till she found the source. For the moment, she had forgotten about her quest to find her necklace. As she got closer to the source, her pace slowed down. The thick smell of aged blood was driving her insane. She had to get a hold of herself and calm her adrenaline and blood down. The smell was coming from the dark room around the corner. She gradually walked toward the room, unsure of what to expect since the scent was so strong even for her heightened senses.

Her face paled and the blazing torch clattered to the cold stone floor. Her heart raced in her chest while she stood stock still, completely paralyze, unprepared for the sight before her. Dark dried velvet blood was smeared all over the walls. Claw marks tore through the stone walls. But most horrific was the puddle of red blood that hadn't completely evaporated yet for some reason. The puddle had made dried up dark red rivers and capillaries between the uneven stones of the floor. The sight itself wasn't what frightened her the most. It was the dark memories that it evoke within her that caused her to be terror-stricken.

Absentmindedly, she picked up the fallen torch and place it on a sconce. Then she collapsed onto the ground too weak to stand up again. Was this what the barn had look like after she escaped? Dead eyes of the two men continued to flash in her mind, always accusing her of murder. Blood may be washed away, but the crimes committed would forever taint her soul. She felt sick in her stomach and she would've up heaved its contents if it weren't already empty. She was a monster, despite her appearance. It only reflected what she truly was, a criminal, a murderer, a tainted soul. She shouldn't even be trying to break the curse. She didn't deserve happiness or love. This was her punishment for her sins that ran deeper than murder, the voices in her head whispered.

-o-

Erik's pov (The Phantom)

I strided back to the lair with my mind still plagued by questions about the mysterious singer. Reaching the lair, I realized that the girl, Anastasia, still hadn't returned from the afternoon. Nothing had been moved and Christine's door was still wide open. Searching in the library, there was no trace of the girl to be found. My pocket watch read 11:10 pm. She should've been back by now. There would be nothing to do at the opera house. Everyone was asleep or out drinking. I barely realized that the feeling of concern had settled in my heart.

I tried pushing those feelings aside. Why should I, the Phantom of the Opera, feel anything for that annoying, disrespectful girl that had nearly killed me? She was a beast, wasn't she? She could take care of herself. But that stubborn, persistent feeling just didn't go away, even after I had rationalized that she was surely safe. There was only one way to rid myself of this ridiculous feeling; find the girl.

I paced back and forth, thinking about where that girl would go. Was she still in the opera house? If she was, there were hundreds of rooms where she could be hidden in. Once again, frustration was eating at me. First that mysterious singer and now this missing beast. I had thought that returning to this place would've brought me some peace, but apparently the fates wouldn't even allow that. Suddenly, I remember that I had seen a very faint glimmer of light shining from one of the tunnels that I had past by on my way here. I probably should've checked it out, now that I was thinking about it.

Retracing my steps, I searched for that light again. Only after a while, did I realize that this was leading me to the place where I had found the bleeding beast. I increased my pace and nearly ran into the room when I saw the light. Sitting on the ground and leaning against the wall was the girl. She didn't even look up when I entered. Her face was buried in her arms as if she was crying. This sight caused my heart to race a bit.

"What are you doing here?", I asked loudly. The girl didn't stir an inch. I slowly walked towards her, as if she was a hurt animal. I gently nudged her shoulder, trying to wake her. Unsure of what I should do. She slowly looked up, staring straight into my eyes with a nearly blank look. "What are you doing here?", I repeated but more softly.

"I don't really know anymore.", she answered weakly.

"How long have you been here?", I asked. She just shrugged this time, now staring blankly at the bloody wall instead. "Come, you have to get out of here.", I said while offering her my hand.

"No. Please just leave me.", she said with a tired voice. "I deserve this fate."

"What did you do to deserve sitting in a room full of dried blood?", I asked with some mockery in my voice, trying to bring her back to reality. It seemed to work a bit because now she was looking around the bloody room as if she just noticed where she was.

"What? No. I didn't mean being stuck in this room.", she said with a look of agitation.

"Well what did you mean?"

"I meant… I meant being this hideous beast.", she answered.

"So you really weren't always this way?", I asked.

"No."

"How did you get burned so badly?"

"I didn't."

"That's not possible.", I stated.

"I've never been burned before.", she said. "Except for that one time… nevermind."

"Yes?"

"It's nothing. Just one of the many stupid things I did when I was younger.", she answered regretfully.

"Well now that you seem wide awake, are you going to leave this bloody room?"

"Don't feel like moving.", she answered.

"Fine. Then I'm staying.", I said, while moving to sit next to her. But I made sure to leave some distance between us. She didn't seem to care and she continued staring at the wall as if it was more interesting. We probably sat there silently for at least ten minutes.

"Ugh.. Are you seriously going to just sit there in order to annoy me?", she asked while turning to face me. So it worked. I just had to smirk at that.

"Well, it worked didn't it?", I asked, while staring back at her. Strange. I just noticed that she wasn't wearing her mask. I carefully observed her face, wondering what she would've looked like without those scars and tattoos.

"Haha… sadly it did.", she said while a small smile crept onto her face. For a moment, those golden eyes dimmed a little, turning her eye color into a light shade of brown. It must've been a trick of the light because it faded as soon as she turned away. "Don't tell me you're going to just sit there now.", she asked when she had finally replace her mask on her face. She had her hand extended out to me. When she pulled me up, I realized that her hands were freezing cold, colder than mine.

"Your hands are freezing and you're pretty pale. When did you last eat?", I asked. She looked a bit startled by the question.

"I'm fine. Come on. Let's go back before I fall asleep.", she replied.

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