SECRETELY DEVOTED


Disclaimer: all characters (except Alexia O'Hare, as she is my creation) mentioned in this story below, belong to Joel
Schumacher, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Gaston Leroux and everyone I forgot to mention (but does indeed own
something)

Summary: It has now been 3 years, after that one fatal night of Don Juan. The Opera got destroyed, but has now been
rebuild. They all try to start over, but when some weird and unexplainable things start happening, they realize it's
not that easy. Can it be possible that after 3 years, the Phantom of the Opera has returned?
Rated M for future plans I have with this story. So just in case…


Chapter 1 Crashed

She took in a deep breath, slowly making her way towards the end of the roof. Her eyes crying silent tears, her soul empty, her mind blank. Her dark hair blowing in the wind, her dress whirling around her. Her feet almost frozen, but she was careless. She had reached her goal. The edge of the roof was now right in front of her. Feeling around with her feet, she found a small stone, just big enough to stand on. She knew it wasn't save and yet decided to stand on it. Her toes just over the edge, one bad move would be all that it would take. She looked up to the sky, seeing the stars watch over her. Still crying tears. They would never dry. She was lost and unable to find her way back. There was no way back. She had to end it. End her life, her longing. She never heart the footsteps behind her.

She woke up, her mind clouded, her head aching. She tried to recapture what happened, but hell, she didn't even know where she was. Her eyes uncomfortably searched around her, feeling pillows and soft fabric. Ok, so she was in a bed. Next question? Who's bed was she in? She sat up, meanwhile kept her eyes shut. When she sat completely, her legs falling over the edge of the bed, she opened her eyes. She took a moment to get used to the darkness surrounding her,before stepping out of the bed. She found a robe and put it on. When she looked around a little more, she was shocked. She was sure she had never been here before and yet it seemed so familiar. When her ears picked up a soft sound, she walked towards the door. Now she was in what seemed liked a cave, but not just any cave. This cave had some furniture, a giant lake in the middle of it and thousands of candles, lighting up the place. She took a few steps, the sound getting a little louder. It was like someone played on a organ or something like that. She had reached a corner, quickly peeking around to see what was in front of her. Now she could see where the sound was coming from. There was a huge organ in the middle of the cave, right next to the lake. She saw the shadow of a man, playing it. Brave and curious as she was, she walked over to the organ, noticing the man wasn't facing her, hadn't noticed her either. He was too caught up in his work. Suddenly the man stopped playing and looked up to her. She couldn't see him clearly cause of the shadows, but he seemed so familiar and yet her mind did not seem to remember him. His eyes met hers and his gaze pulled her towards him. When she had reached the organ, their eyes were still locked. She now had a clear view of the man in front of her. She finally saw what she could not see before. The mask. The pure white mask, covering half of his face without stealing any of the definite beauty this man had. The mask that had shocked and terrified hundreds of people, did not seem to terrify her. She did not gasp, nor scream, but just stood there, her eyes filled with several emotions, but most of them being graditute and respect. Something he had never seen in a woman's face, in any face. Somehow she felt thankful, meeting him, being there. But the weird thing was, even when she felt so grateful, she had no idea why. While she stood there the man had stood up, slowly making his way towards her, stopping just inches before her. His hand reached up and pulled a string of hair away from her eyes, his soft touch making her body tremble as she shivered.

"You're awake", the man said softly as he pulled another string of hair away from her face. Causing her to tremble and shiver again.

The moment she heart his voice, all the events of the other evening occured to her. She recaptured everything. He was the reason, she was still alive. That's why he seemed so familiar to her. She had met him before. She had met him last night, the night that seemed to have disseapeared from her mind, but now had returned to her.

She was standing on the stone. Never heard the footsteps behind her. Suddenly a strong arm slid around her waist, pulling her away from the edge with some force. When they were a little further from the edge, he spun her around so she faced him, still not letting her go. His hand softly lifted up her chin, so he could see her face. Her eyes were soaking wet, her gaze was miles away. Her body was trembling in his arms. Without a word, he pulled her closer, letting her head rest on his shoulder, softly caressing her back. She never resisted, never pulled back. Instead she wrapped her arms around his waist tightly, allowing herself to break down. She cried till there were no tears left to cry, suddenly feeling overwhelmed by sleep. She shivered in his arms as he sofly lifted her of the ground into his arms. She looked at his face, her hand sofly caressing his cheek, the mask, his hair. When their eyes locked, he saw the deep well behind her eyes, the dark soul and yet, after all she had been through, there was a slight smile surrounding her lips as she looked at him, thankfully, blissfully, longingly. She snuggled a little closer to him, letting her head rest at his shoulder, allowing the sleep to risk her away, feeling saver than she had ever felt.

She took a final step towards him, passing the inches he had left between them. She reached forward, placing a soft, gentle kiss at his cheek, before whispering in his ear.

"Thank you".


TBC! Please R and R!