Disclaimer: I don't own The Phantom of the Opera.

Enjoy!

Anastasia's Pov

The smell of warm, fresh cinnamon and coffee slowly woke me from my deep slumber. I must be home, I thought as I snuggled against my soft pillow once again, waiting for one of my servants to wake me. But none came. No one opened my curtains that would've caused bright warm sunlight to stream into my room, waking me. It was all a wonderful dream.

However, that sweet smell, that I couldn't resist, still remained. I quickly pushed aside my thick blankets, jumped out of bed, and landed face down on the ground with a loud thump as I was rushing towards my wardrobe. I silently cursed my badly placed pants as I rubbed my pink knees. So much for being an invincible beast. I hobbled to my wardrobe in shame and tossed on a pair of dark trousers, a matching shirt, and my mask. Then I unsuccessfully combed my tangled dark brown hair. The day was shaping out to be a long one.

"Good morning. It sounds like you got into a fight in there.", the Phantom said with a straight emotionless face.

"Morning. Yeah, that.. I was just wrestling with my pants. It's part of my morning routine, don't worry 'bout it.", I replied sarcastically.

"Would you like some toast, you must be starving?", he asked politely, without acknowledging my sarcasm.

"It smells wonderful, but I must decline.", I said, wishing that I didn't make my mask cover my full face, but I always ate alone so it was never a problem before.

"You know I don't mind your face. Besides I've already seen it.", he said while walking towards me. From behind my mask, I watched as he walked closer to me until we were only inches apart. Staring up into his eyes, I noticed for the first time that his eyes were a unique golden amber color. They were so calming to stare into that I didn't notice his hand slowly glide up and snatch my mask away.

"Hey! Give it back!", I commanded as I immediately tried to cover my face, but stopped since I knew he already seen it.

"I'll give it back once you finish your breakfast.", he stated once he resumed his seat.

"Ugh, why must you be so frustrating?", I said as I slowly sat down on chair opposite to him while eyeing the food suspiciously. I wasn't in the mood to tackle him for it.

"See, it's not poisonous.", he said while he took a bite out of a toast and poured some of the coffee for himself. I grudgingly ate the food in silence. I had to give it to him, it tasted pretty good and refreshing.

"The kitchen's pretty bare and the ice box is empty.", he said, breaking the silence.

"I don't eat meat.", I lied.

"A beast that doesn't eat meat?", he questioned. I responded with a single glare. "That reminds me, I also couldn't find any flour."

"You know you could've just said that all you found was vegetables, herbs and salad dressing, right?", I said.

"Strange. There's a full kitchen, yet there's barely anything in it.", he pondered out loud.

"Fine, you win. I don't know how to cook. Happy?", I said while finishing the last of my cinnamon toast. "Now, may I please have my mask back?"

"You don't know how to cook?", he said, ignoring my question.

"No.", I said and glanced at him expectantly, waiting for my mask to be returned.

"How do you not know how to cook?", he asked with a look of disbelief.

"It's not that surprising. And it's not like I didn't ever try to cook.", I said the last part more to myself. "But anyways, I was banned from the kitchen when I was younger."

"How did you get banned from the kitchen?", he asked with curiosity. This was a strange turn of conversation.

"I may have started a fire in it. Accidentally of course.", I responded a bit guiltily. I got up from my chair, intent on getting my mask back by force if needed now. "Alright, enough story time. Mask." Thankfully, he handed it back to me.

"That was barely a story. It left too many questions.", he complained.

"I accidentally set the chicken on fire and ended up burning myself in the process. Satisfied?", I asked. In a lighter tone I said, "Thanks for the breakfast. And I never properly thanked you for saving my life."

"Well, I did try to kill you.", he said. He looked as if he wasn't expecting that.

"We tried to kill each other.", I said and left the lair.

Erik's pov (The Phantom)

Anastasia was a curious creature. I sat there and watched her quickly leave the lair. I didn't expect her to have a sense of humor or thank me. Nobles rarely had those traits, least of all the women. They usually seemed stuck up and arrogant, as if they owned the world.

I walked over towards my organ and closely inspected it. It was dust free and magnificent as the day I left. Hitting a few notes, I was surprised that they were crisp and on tune. I expected it to be at least off tune by a bit due to the years that it had been left unattended. I was furious that she had touched my precious instrument, yet it seemed as if it was untouched. Tuning it wasn't an easy task, so I decided to play a few scales to check the rest of the keys. Everything was on pitch. Curious.

I sat there and continued playing songs after songs, contemplating on what to make of this new discovery. The girl was definitely musically talented, since she was able to tune an organ. However, what was the extent of her talent? Enraptured in my music, the hours seemed to fly by.

"It sounds lovely. Where did you learn to play like that?", a voice said from behind me once I had finished my song. Turning around I saw that Anastasia was sitting on a chair, eating a small loaf of bread. She now wore a simple masquerade mask that covered much of her upper face. She lightly tapped her mask and said, "I think this will do for now. Now you don't have to steal my mask." She had on a friendly smile that was nearly contagious.

"To answer your question. I taught myself.", I replied.

"Not really an easy thing to learn on your own."

"Where did you learn how to tune an organ?", I asked.

"So you noticed?", she said. "Self taught."

"You messed with my organ, without knowing how to use it?!", I shouted.

"Whao, whao. Calm down. I had years of practice on the piano.", she smirked as if she was amused by my sudden rage. This only enraged me even more. "But quite clearly, they're two different instruments. So I decided to borrow and read your instruction books on the organ. It nearly bored me to death though. You have like an entire shelf dedicated to it." I realized now that I was towering over her, only a few centimeters away. Yet, she sat calmly, unmoving and unflinching with that smirk still across her face.

"Do NOT ever touch it, again!", I commanded while staring down angrily at her.

"It seems someone's a bit touchy about their organ.", she teased.

"You could have broken it. It's a delicate instrument."

"And so it is. Yet, it's not broken is it?", she asked. I remained angry at her. The smirk slowly faded from her face and a look of concern replaced it. "If it makes you feel any better. I barely played it. Didn't have time to learn how to play another instrument." She seemed to ignore my presence as she got up and left the chair, towards the kitchen. "I brought you some lunch." She came back with two dishes and she set them on the table. She came and went till the table was completely set. "So do you like wine or cider?" She had a bottle of expensive looking champagne in one hand and on the other she had a bottle of apple cider. Once again, I wasn't sure what to make of this turn of events. So I sat down on the chair opposite of her.

"I'll try the champagne.", I said. She smoothly uncorked the champagne as if she's done it many times before. Then she poured it into two cups.

"This comes from the House of Clicquot. A favorite among nobility currently.", she said as she stared at the bottle while taking a sip from her cup.

Now that I knew it wasn't poisoned, I took a light sip. Surprisingly, it was very good and I savored the taste for a while. She really didn't spare any expense on getting it. "It's very good.", I commented.

"I'm glad you like it. Right. I got two dishes because I wasn't sure which you prefer. The left is Fettuccine Alfredo and the right is Spaghetti and meatballs. And that there is just some bread as appetizers.", she said while pointing to each dish. "Well, help yourself."

"So who's the chef?", I asked, while helping myself to some of each dish.

"Jacques La Chapelle, relative of the famous Vincent La Chapelle. My father used to hire him for almost all of our balls and celebrations. He owns a restaurant quite close to here.", she replied. We ate in a calming silence, each enjoying the meal.

"Your family must be rich then.", I said.

"You could say that.", she said and finished her drink. "Rich in money, but nothing else anymore. It seems."

"What do you mean by that?", I asked.

"Nothing important, really.", she replied, shrugging off what she said before.

"You know champagne is mostly only drunk on special occasions.", I said.

"I know. But it tastes good.", she said. "Anyways, everyday should be special."

"Really?", I asked, surprised by her outlook on life.

"Well... based on life experience, you only truly know what you've got when it's gone. So, I guess it'll seem special one day.", she replied.

"Based on life experience, huh?", I asked after a while.

"Pretty much.", she replied. "Hmm… It seems like we're done." She stared down at the empty plates, except for the bread. "Well, I'll clean this up now."

"Thank you.", I said.

"Debt repaid.", she said with a smirk.

"Do you need some help?", I offered.

"No, I got it covered. Thanks though.", she said and walked into the kitchen with the plates.

Read and Review!