Erik stealthily made his way up to Box 5, and took his seat. It was a full house tonight, which meant they were all coming to see his protégé. This pleased him immensely, as he had worked very hard training her.

There was an envelope on the seat next to Erik's, addressed Monsieur/Mademoiselle O.G. He opened it with his thumb. Inside were 20,000 francs, bound with a strip of paper. There was no note, but Erik had not expected there to be. He quietly pocketed most of the money, but left a few thousand francs on the seat for Madame Giry to collect later.

The lights darkened as the opera began. Erik leaned back in his chair, as the orchestra began to play. He was pleasantly surprised to see that for once, the orchestra could all play in tune. The cello was especially gorgeous, and he made a mental note to tell the new managers to give the man a raise. The dancers were decent, but he noticed significant, glaring flaws in their performance. No doubt Madame Giry would chew them out later about that.

The chorus was sub-par without Christine, he noted. This would not do at all. They would all have to be fired.

Then came Elissa's big aria. Erik leaned forward as Christine took the stage. She was gorgeous in her gown of white silk and lace, and without thinking he took in a sharp intake of breath.

What's wrong with you? You've seen her before, he thought angrily.

These thoughts dissipated as soon as she began to sing. It was perfect, to say the very least. Clearly, he had not wasted his time on this promising…beautiful…young woman. He could not keep his eyes off her. It was as if he was in a trance.

He was broken from his trance by some fool shouting "Bravo!". Erik resisted the powerful urge to go up to the box the man was sitting in and strangle him. How dare he interrupt such a beautiful performance? But then, he settled back down, resisting the urge to kill.

You need to set a good example for Eris. And Christine, too…you wouldn't want to ruin her big night with a murder…

Christine resumed the song. She was reaching the end now…this was the part La Carlotta had mutilated so horribly before in rehearsals…

It was absolutely perfect. But Erik expected no less of Christine. She was after all the image of perfection.

"Christine…"

>

Eris had snuck out of the lair long ago, with only one idea in her head: causing mayhem. She was supremely bored, having grown tired of trying to plink out a song on Erik's organ.

She followed the path Erik had taken to the boxes in the Opera, and selected one at random. She opened the trapdoor that led to the box, and saw someone sitting there. It was a man with a rather foolish ponytail, cheering for the young woman currently on stage. Eris supposed it was Erik's student.

She hid herself in the shadows like Erik had taught her, and threw her voice so it was at the man's ear.

"Enjoying the opera, Monsieur?" she said mockingly. The man looked behind him, startled, but saw no one.

"Who is there? Show yourself!" he cried. Eris made her voice appear at his other ear, and giggled.

"I remember you. You're the little nobleman who decided to chase me."

The man's voice was uncertain. "You lured me there. And I have a name."

"Do you? What, pray tell, is this name of which you speak?"

"Raoul," he said, rather nervously. Eris laughed again, making him shiver. She took a step out of the shadows and stepped behind him.

"Are you not going to turn around and look at me?" Eris said scathingly. Raoul stood, facing her. She was very pretty with her long black hair falling in her face, but she wore such strange clothing. She wore a bright red linen dress with no sleeves, no petticoats, and no corset. Raoul was utterly shocked. Eris only laughed.

"That is the general reaction, yes. Perhaps the noblemen don't like red."

"Red is…red is…." Raoul spluttered.

"Red. Yes. We have established that it is red." Eris twirled around, showcasing the shocking dress. "Are you going to come with me this time?"

"Come with you where, you annoying girl?" Raoul asked irritably.

"To my home. My brother chased you off last time because he thought I might kill you." Eris said in a singsong voice.

"And would that be something you are likely to do?" Raoul asked.

"You'll just have to find out." Eris said, grinning. She took Raoul by the hand, and pulled him out of the box.