NOTE: I own nothing except Orva.

A solemn look on her face, she turned to the group of people surrounding her.

"Well, Giry?" Christine prompted. "Where did you see her?"

Giry pinched the bridge of her nose. Even though it was best that the situation was revealed right away, it felt awful to be put on the spot like that. "She is...The Opera Ghost took her," she finally confessed. There was a collective gasp.

"He did?" Raoul asked, trying to confirm what she just said.

"Yes." She shot a relatively harsh look at Raoul and Christine. "And she agreed to stay, if only so he wouldn't bother you and your fiancee anymore." With that she brushed her way through the crowd. Even if she hadn't known Orva well, she couldn't help but feel pity for her. That black eye had looked fresh, and it was so swelled that she was surprised Orva was able to open that eye at all. This really isn't right...

Oh but what are you going to do about it? Nothing, a cruel voice whispered in her head. You're a coward. Face it, you could never stand up against Erik, you were always too afraid, and you always will be. You couldn't stand up against him when he started acting out, and sure as hell won't have the strength to stop him from holding an innocent girl prisoner.

You don't know that... she argued, even though she felt her self esteem drop. I could do it this time. I could finally do what's right, and put a stop to him...

HA! That's rich! No...you're too soft and weak. Too compassionate. You feel for him too deeply, and that's why you let him get away with all he's been doing. So now, he's like a spoiled brat in the sense he's used to getting away with what he's done. You don't have the strength to stop him. Never have, never will. Like always, you'll end up just lying in the dirt like a welcome mat, while he continues to step all over you.

But Orva...

Is another victim. Just like all his other victims. If you couldn't fight back for his other victims, what makes her so special? Or is she somehow different from the others?

No, that's not it.

Then what? How could you possibly have the strength to save her from her fate, if you couldn't do the same for others.

The others were murdered. I only ever found out about it after the body had been dumped somewhere-

What kind of excuse is that? He's been murdering since he was a child. You could've said something to him then, convinced him to avoid doing it. That's how you could've prevented the other murders.

I was young then! I didn't know any better, I thought it was a one time thing-

And when he kept doing it?

...I kept hoping that he wouldn't do it again. That eventually he'd change.

And look where that hope has taken you.

I...

You're so worthless when it comes to things like this. Actually, you know what? It's best you just forget about Orva. Forget about her, and hope that Erik will someday see the error of his ways, and stop being such a horrible person. Hope for that, just like you did for all the others.

Giry couldn't think of a counter-argument to that. She sighed once again, leaning against the nearby wall. "I'm getting too old for this kind of thing..." she said softly, once again hating herself and the little voice.

-0-0-

With a yawn and a big stretch Orva sat up from the divan she'd slept on the night before. Even though she'd slept in his bed when he first brought her down, after dinner he'd made it quite clear that it was a one time thing. And then he'd given her a tour of his home, showing her where the divan was. She stood and walked down another hall to the bathroom to freshen up. Splashing water on her face from the sink, she studied her features. She winced when she lightly tapped the swollen eye. Did he really have to punch me so hard? she rued. Suddenly she heard a knock at the door.

"Are you in there?" came Erik's voice.

"I'll be out in a minute," she replied. So saying she quickly dried her face off with the nearby towel and stepped out. With him inside, she decided to go to the kitchen and try her hand at breakfast. At the very least she knew how to make scrambled eggs with toast.

0-0-0

Erik was walking down the kitchen, planning to make breakfast when halfway down the hall he smelled something cooking anyways. Peeking around the corner, he spotted Orva standing at the oven, staring intently at something in a pan. His head tilted in curiosity, he walked as quietly as possible until he was right behind her.

"So you can cook," he observed. She jumped a bit, but soon relaxed, turning her head to acknowledge him.

"Y-yeah. I-I'm not s-some spoiled rich g-girl ya'know," she told him.

"Oh no?" he asked, going over to the pantry and pulling out the necessary items for coffee.

She shook her head. "M-my...f-father," she said the word as though it was painful to her, "w-was j-just a s-simple business man. Wh-while he couldn't make e-enough for a home, he c-could at least afford a relatively f-fancy apartment. As a general rule we d-didn't have much for frivolities."

He stared, slowly pouring the coffee beans into the grinder. "You want some coffee?" he quickly asked before putting up the bag. She nodded. "What about that bit of jewelry in your ear?" he asked, switching back to the original subject.

"Hmm?" she said, looking up. "Y-you m-mean my e-ear cuff?"

He nodded. "Such a colorful and well-crafted looking piece of jewelry, surely it must cost a small fortune. Doesn't that count as a frivolity?"

She stared at him, then plucked the cuff right off. "D-dude, i-it's plastic," she told him.

Now it was his turn to stare again. "...Plastic? What is plastic?"

She sighed, but then her eyebrows shot up. She stepped closer to him, holding up the rainbow-colored piece. "T-take a-a good l-look at this," she instructed, so he did. She then grabbed his hand and placed it there, moving his fingers over it. "N-now f-feel the sm-smooth surface, really i-inspect it." Picking it up and turning it over in his fingers, he was amazed by the texture. It didn't feel like anything else he'd ever encountered before. Not like metal, not like jewels, not like rocks, not even like glass, despite the reflective surface. Holding it up, he studied how each individual color in it glittered in the light, smoothly melding from red to violet, just like a real rainbow.

He noticed her holding out her hand, and he gave the cuff back. "Like I said, it must be worth a small fortune."

She shook her head, rubbing her thumb up and down the length of it. "E-even th-though it l-looks this pretty a-and leads you to b-believing it's worth a lot o-of money, it's actually cheap." She looked up at him. "Wh-where I-I come f-from, plastic is a-a very common, very ch-cheap material that's used in v-very many things. I found this e-ear cuff in a gift shop at a-a museum, and it only cost about a b-buck." She slipped it back on her ear and turned back to her eggs, rescuing them from burning just in time. "S-sometimes, l-looks can b-be deceiving. Just b-because something looks worth i-its weight in gold, doesn't m-mean it is. It could very w-well end up being the thing that m-makes you miserable..."

Erik's eyes snapped wide as he swiftly understand what she was getting at. He grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around to face him. "Don't you dare talk about her like that," he growled.

Orva simply cast her eyes down. "P-please j-just face f-facts. The sooner y-you let her go, th-the sooner you can recover f-from your addiction." He slapped her. Shoving her roughly away from him, he turned back to the coffee. The rest of the morning was spent in silence. In that silence Erik stewed in his own thoughts. He decided then that he hated her ear cuff. He hated how it mocked him with it's false prettiness, when in reality it was worthless. He hated it...and the analogy Orva provided.