You don't remember me, but I remember you
I lie awake and try so hard not to think of you
But who can decide what they dream?
And dream I do…
I believe in you
I'll give up everything just to find you
I have to be with you
To live, to breathe
You're taking over me

"taking over me" evanescence

II DON JUAN/THE CATALYST

A week after Jenay began her magnificent opera plans she and Adrienne took a carriage down to Paris, which was just a few miles from Adrienne's home in the country. Between the two of them Jenay was the most excited. It was apparent she was a big opera fan. She continued harping the whole trip about the last diva, Carlotta, and how awful she had become. "And really…" Jenay was saying, "I don't know what happened that night, but Carlotta sounded terrible. She called Miss Daae a toad, but it seemed that the mysterious voice was right when he said that perhaps Carlotta was one instead."

"Mysterious voice?" Adrienne looked around to her. She had been watching the scenery pass by outside and had completely lost track of what Jenay had been saying.

"Weren't you listening to a word I said?" Jenay tsked her. "No? Well, what I said was, during the performance of 'Ill Muto' this man's voice came through the opera house… Oh, my God, Adrienne, you should have heard it. It was… It was indescribable. Anyway, he was pretty mad about something. That's not the worst though, a man was hung!"

"Hanged."

"That's what I said." Jenay looked confused.

"I meant…" Adrienne started, but said, "forget it. Continue. A man… hung?"

"It was one of the stagehands," Jenay leaned forward, in full gossip mode, "he just fell from above. I tell you, Adrienne, it was frightening." Adrienne had thought Jenay was finished when suddenly she began again. "Now, let me tell you about what I heard happened at the Masquerade!"

Adrienne smiled tolerantly. "Okay." What have I gotten myself into?

Jenay proceeded to inform her of everything that happened at the Masquerade Ball. Everything, even the kind of crackers the masqueraders ate. It was amazing how much detail was coming from someone who had missed the event. "…and then he appeared."

"He?" Adrienne came back into the conversation, only mildly interested in the affaires of the city.

"The Ghost! At least that's who they claim he was. He was wearing blood-red, and carried a sword! He ended up fighting with the Viscomte de Chagny!"

"Very fascinating." Adrienne said. She thought all this was terrible, but she wasn't one for sword-fighting stories, or for Paris gossip. "I'm sorry, Jenay, but I'm getting a horrible headache." Adrienne placed one hand on her forehead. "Can we continue this discussion when we get to the hotel?"

"Yes, of course. You should have said something earlier." Jenay said. "I'm sorry if I'm talking your ear off. I'm very anxious. New productions always excite me."

Yes, Adrienne thought, I see that.

, Adrienne thought,

XXX

As soon as Adrienne and Jenay arrived at their hotel they checked into their rooms to relax. "I'm going to take a little nap before the show, Jenay," Adrienne said, "come wake me when its time to get ready." Jenay agreed and they split off. Adrienne was happy to finally be alone after that long carriage ride at least it seemed long. Spending a lot of time with others had become a chore. Being alone was the only time Adrienne felt at peace. Although…

She sighed as she sprawled out on the bed, taking in its comfortable mattress and its warm sheets. Soon she was asleep, and dreaming:

Adrienne was eleven and her brother, Courtney, had come home from a small trip. After their father had died, shortly before Adrienne was born, Court had taken care of the family's finance's. When he was away she missed him terribly, but when he came back they always spent some time together. After this particular trip Adrienne wanted to go riding with him. It took some convincing with their mother, but Court was persuasive and she agreed.

They had been out for hours before it started to get dark. That's when Court turned to her and said, "I think it's time to go home, little girl." He flashed his smile, the one he was infamous for. It always made Adrienne smile. "Mother is going to be worried about us."

"Oui," Adrienne agreed reluctantly. "you're right. Can we come back out tomorrow?"

"Bright and early." Court said.

"You promise?"

"You bet. We'll stay out all day if you like. I just got home and I deserve a break don't you think?" He asked. Adrienne, of course, nodded.

They were traveling over one of the areas small bridges when something spooked Adrienne's horse. In desperation she tried to hold on, but she wasn't strong enough. In one violent motion she was thrown from the saddle, her scream echoing through the quiet woods around them. She fell and her hands grasped the side of the bridge; the wood bit into her hand and she cried out.

Court rode over, reaching out one hand to try to grab onto the one Adrienne had free. "Grab onto me, Rienne!" He yelled. "Hurry. I won't let you fall." Their fingers connected and he began to haul her up. "Hold on!" As he pulled her towards him his own horse reared and Court went flying.

He wasn't as lucky as Adrienne and smashed his head against the wooden rail before dropping like a stone into the cold, rushing water below, Adrienne in tow. "Court!" She gurgled. "Courtney! Are you all right?" He didn't answer her, and his grasp began to loosen. His eyes slid shut and his arms went slack. The river ripped them apart.

Adrienne was pulled away into the current, her frantic voice screaming for help. She felt herself sinking and the water pushing in on her. Just when she thought it was the end she felt strong hands yanking her upward. Then air! Someone dragged her onto land; she could feel the hard dirt beneath her as her rescuer set her down. Then darkness…

"Time to go!" Jenay cried, shoving Adrienne awake. "Rise and shine." She grinned. "I thought I'd let you sleep a little longer, but hurry up, or we'll be late!" She clapped her hands. "Move, come on!" She pulled Adrienne from bed. The brunette was still a little groggy and confused from the dream.

"Okay." She said, "Okay, okay." She shrugged Jenay off. "I'll be downstairs in a few minutes. Go grab a drink or talk to someone."

Jenay huffed, pretending to be hurt, then she smiled. "Okay. See you in a few. Wear that dress I picked out, all right?"

"All right." Adrienne sighed. She knew if she didn't she would be hearing about it for years in advance. She knew that from experience. The first time it had been a pin! She closed the door behind Jenay as she left and turned around to lean against it.

That dream… She hadn't thought of Court in a long time. That dream had been about the last time she saw her brother alive…

XXX

Meanwhile…

Those idiots thought they were going to fool him. Ha! Erik would be ready for them and whatever they were planning. Christine would be his by the end of the night and the Viscomte de Chagny would wish he had never been born! His hands were shaking as he prepared, but not because he was nervous. He couldn't peg a reason why they were acting so strangely.

He finished getting ready and turned to look in the mirror. The sight that greeted his eyes shocked him. There was actually another vision within the glass, one of a woman. She was small, but not frail. There was nothing extraordinary about her. Nothing to note, except

There was a pendant around her neck. It was a brilliant blue stone encircled in a silver band with an engraving around it. It was placed on a delicate silver chain. He had only seen a necklace like that once before in his life. It had been a long time ago. Of all times, why was he seeing it now, and on this woman he had never seen?

He reached out his hand to touch the glass, touch the image of the young woman. The reflection rippled as his fingers grazed across the surface. As if sensing the disturbance the woman turned her head to look. To his surprise her eyes widened. She had seen him! He pulled his hand away and the image faded.

He was thoroughly shook up. Visions in mirrors were a rare occasion and sometimes he wondered if it was all in his head. Yet somehow he knew this was not in his head. Why would he be seeing this vision? This girl? There was no logical reason. None!

Was he going insane? Well, others thought he already was, but this wasn't the time to start a debate with himself. "Enough of this." He said to himself, shaking the image free from his mind. "I don't have time for strangers in mirrors. It's time to go."

And so he went.

XXX

"Adrienne? Are you okay?" Jenay asked as her best friend came down the stairway toward her. She had immediately known something was wrong by the quick strides she was taking. "My God! You're white as a sheet, Rienne! What happened?"

"Nothing, nothing." Adrienne shook her head. "I just um, I slipped a minute ago. Quite embarrassed actually. Scared me a bit. Fine now." She stumbled over her words. She knew Jenay probably wouldn't buy it, but at least it would send the message that Adrienne didn't want to talk about it.

It had been the strangest thing. She was finishing getting ready when she felt like someone was watching her. It was a sudden, strong feeling. When she turned to look behind her she saw him. He was standing in the mirror. Their eyes locked and she gasped. It couldn't be! She was imagining things.

Then he vanished.

Was she going crazy? Was she finally have another break down, the big one everyone had been talking about behind her back? Had they all been right to say she was losing it? Madness, this was all madness!

XXX

"This is so exciting!" Jenay cried, but Adrienne didn't think it was so exciting. It was obvious something was about to happen here. There were police around the opera house with guns. "I just talked to a friend of mine that works here," Jenay said, "and she told me that they're trying to trap a maniac. The maniac that wrote this opera!"

While Jenay was getting all wound up over this, Adrienne was starting to feel sick. She felt something horribly wrong was about to happen. "Maybe we just need to come back another night." She suggested. "It sounds dangerous, this trapping a criminal business. Don't they think people are going to get hurt?"

"No." Jenay shook her head. "I don't think they do. They wouldn't have a show if they believed their patrons would be hurt. That would be silly, now wouldn't it?"

Adrienne nodded, but thought, that never stopped people from doing things before. Maybe it wasn't Adrienne that was going crazy, maybe it was the rest of the world. Or perhaps she was just in one big nuthouse and this was all an illusion. Who knew, Chandler might be alive somewhere.

She pinched herself. Nope, not a dream. She cursed to herself. This was going to be a long night. "I'm going to be nervous the whole time." She mumbled to Jenay as they took their seats. "This is ridiculous I'm telling you."

"Ridiculous or not," Jenay commented, with that big grin of hers, "the show must go on!"

Must it?

XXX

The opera began and Adrienne was immediately entrapped in the music, the dancing, the fiery passion of the production! It was breathtaking. Whoever thought this up was nothing short of a genius if the word genius even began to cover it. "This is amazing." Adrienne whispered. Jenay looked at her a moment before understanding what she said, then nodded vigorously.

"I've never seen something like this here before." Jenay said, her eyebrow raised slightly and she gave Adrienne a mischievous smile, "they need to do it more often."

Adrienne rolled her eyes. Great. She thought, but leaned back to enjoy the rest.

After a while a beautiful young woman appeared on stage. Jenay leaned over and said, "that's Christine Daae. Remember the girl I told you about." Adrienne did, and Jenay was right. She did have a wondrous voice.

However, Adrienne's attention was quickly drawn to a new figure, one that seemed too familiar. Her hands suddenly felt cold, and they began to shake so she grasped the seat. No. A new man was taking the place of the pervious Don Juan. He was incredibly handsome, and what Adrienne had coined as 'darkly beautiful.' She saved that comment for one man, and one man alone.

Erik. No, it can't be.

"Adrienne, are you all right?" Jenay asked. She was asking that question too much lately.

"I, uh, I think I'm losing my mind. Who is that man?"

"That one, the gorgeous one?" Jenay indicated the dark haired man. The one Adrienne believed was Erik. "I don't know. I've never seen him before. I'm sure he's new."

Adrienne tried to convince herself that perhaps she was seeing things, but then she heard his voice and all doubt was erased from her mind. The passion, that oozing sensuality. Even as a youth she had sensed it in him, heard it clear in his voice. It was a one of a kind voice. It had to be him. Oh, Erik. Her heart felt like it had made a sudden stop, and she couldn't get enough air in her lungs. "18 years." She whispered.

"What?" Jenay was confused and worried about Adrienne's sudden appearance. She was growing pale and her eyes looked bewitched.

"Shut up, Jenay." Adrienne snapped. For once she had no patience for listening to Jenay. She loved her dearly, but this… this was the man she had searched for since she was old enough to feel desire. "I'll tell you all about it later." Jenay nodded dumbly. Even she knew when to keep her mouth shut.

Adrienne watched on, each moment confirming all her thoughts. He moved with that perfect grace she remembered, his voice was a clear match, though more mature than she recalled. She felt so strange seeing this, seeing him. Yet, that wasn't the only queer feeling she was receiving. That sense that something was wrong was slamming into her now. It was so strong she felt her head was going to explode, the pounding in her skull kept increasing.

Something was going to happen, something bad. Erik, she had to warn him! Without thinking she stood and shouted as loud as she could. "ERIK! ERIK, IT'S A TRAP!" A trap? Why did she say that? It didn't matter. It was too late.

Calmly the girl, Christine, removed the mask from Erik's face. The audience, save Adrienne, gasped and screamed in horror. Tears fled down Adrienne's cheeks as she saw Erik's own terror, the betrayal. The police stepped forward. Adrienne cried out once more, pulling her arm from Jenay's frightened grasp. "ERIK!" Somehow he heard her through the confusion and once more their eyes met. He didn't remember her, it was obvious, but there was no time for screamed explanations. The police were drawing closer. "ERIK, RUN!"

She was surprised when he acknowledged her with a nod. He grasped Miss Daae around the waist and pulled out a sword, slashing a length of rope running along the top of the set. The extravagant chandelier hanging from the ceiling suddenly pitched and swung violently. It was going to fall!

TBC...

Chapter Three: The Voice That Calls to Me

Adrienne and Jenay escape the destruction and make it into the night air, and Adrienne must explain her odd behavior concerning Erik. Meanwhile, a wounded Erik is trying to escape the Opera House and his pursuers, and finds his way into Adrienne's protective company.