Hey guys! Oh my word! Thank you soooo much for the reviews and I am glad you all like my story. Please, please please, if you have any ideas for my story or anything at all, don't hesitate telling me! On to chapter 5!! Mwahahaha!

Chapter 5

He had hidden himself in the shadows close to where the young girls were sitting. He wanted to see if he could catch something that would make her fear him and trust only him with her secret, for he believed that it was the only way she would come to him willingly and do things for him. He listened to Ana's sad tale and felt no remorse.

'So my dear, you are a little trollop are you? Well, now someone else knows of your dirty little secret besides the Giry child. And wouldn't you be surprised if you only knew that your dear beloved husband had just reached France not that long ago. What a surprise he would have if he knew you were here, conducting yourself in a most trollop-like way and not at all the way a lady of your stature should.' he mused to himself. He hadn't felt sorry for her, no, it was more along the lines of being able to use something against her, and she had spilled it to the Giry child unaware of what might lurk in the shadows. He kept his eyes on the two as they packed up and as Meg headed towards the door. Focusing his attention on Ana, he watched as the wind whipped her hair away from her face and dried her tears that she had cried. Then, she turned around, her cheeks slightly flushed from the wind. He still had his attention on her as she made her way to the door, and finally deciding that he had heard enough, he let his eyes slide away from her, only to have them return when he heard the distinct sound of something cracking then he saw her crumple to the ground, unconscious.

He didn't know what drove him to come to her rescue. The only thing that was running through her mind was the fact that he couldn't let his plan slip through her hands. Appearing out of the shadows as quickly as he could, he bent down and picked her up, feeling the supple weight of her body. Turning around, he went back into the shadows and went through the secret entrance near the statue. Making his way down the dark shadows and paths of the secret tunnels of the opera house, he came upon the mirror that led to her room. He had just hit the spring when the girl in his arms uttered a low moan of pain. Quickly, he dumped her effortlessly onto her bed and went back into the mirror. As the panel made it's soft click, she sat up on her bed rubbing the bruise that was forming and looking around in shock.

Ana sat up on her bed and...wait, her bed? How did she get here? All she remembered was hitting her head on a statue on the roof. Who had brought her down? Then she remembered the strong arms of someone putting her down on the bed, the smell of spices, cinnamon, wood smoke, and another smell she couldn't quite place from that person. Maybe it was one of the stage crew that had found her while sweeping the roof. Either way she was in debt to whoever saved her. She would ask around in the morning about who was so kind to take her back to her room. She got up off the bed and steadied herself as the room spun around. She must have hit her head harder than she thought because her one eye was blurry. As slowly as she could, she made her way to the changing screen and slowly began to undress. Pulling her long night shift over her head, she felt a slight wave of nausea creep up and suppressed the urge to heave up the food in her stomach. Breathing deeply seemed to be helping her as she once again made her way slowly back to her bed. As she knelt down to say her prayers, she once again got the feeling of being watched. Goosebumps appeared on her arms and she turned her head to see if anyone was watching her.

'It's all in my imagination. There is no such thing as a ghost.' she silently told herself as she climbed into the bed and pulled the covers up over her. Before sleep overcame her, she swore she heard the silent whisper of a cloak against stone.

The next day found Ana with a splitting headache and her day off. She always enjoyed the day's that the managers would frequently give. Since it was a holy day and most people usually went to Church on a Sunday, there would hardly be anyone around in the morning. Meg usually was in bed until around lunch time and everyone else spent their day going into town for shopping or other unknown business. This was also a day that her aunt and uncle usually visited. They would bring her things that they had found at the clothing shops or sometimes some sweet chocolate. Ana had until after lunch to do whatever she pleased. She groaned as the pain in her head throbbed like one of the big drums that played in the orchestra. She sat up as carefully as she could and looked at the old wooden clock that stood in her room. It read a quarter till ten. She slid her feet out from under the covers and shivered as they touched the cold wooden floor. Then pushing herself up she made her way over to her vanity set. Sitting down, she picked up the wooden brush and brushed all the knots out. As she set her brush back down, her eyes caught site of a beautiful red rose with a black ribbon tied around it. Wondering how it got into her room, she came upon the conclusion that whoever brought her in last night had also given her the red rose and she merely overlooked it last night.

She hummed a merry little tune as she got dressed and headed out her door. The figure that was standing on the other side of the mirror gave a slight smile, knowing that he had just improved her day.

A half-an-hour passed and Ana was completely puzzled. She had asked all the stage crew hands if they had brought her in last night after she had hit her head. All of them said no, or they gave her lecherous looks and she quickly got away from them. Frowning and knitting her brow in puzzlement, she made her way to the dancer's dormitory and found Meg making her way down.

"What's the matter Ana? You seem upset." Meg said, tying her hair back.

"I hit my head last night on a statue after seeing a rat and somehow, when I woke up, I was back in my room. I don't remember walking there, but I vaguely remember some man carrying me there." she confided to her friend and watched as Meg's eyes grew round as saucers.

"Have you asked all the stage crew?" Ana nodded, "Then the only other reasonable explanation is the Opera Ghost! Oh what a dreadful thing to happen to you!"

Ana snorted, "Come Meg, there is no reason to blame it on a silly legend that isn't even true."

Meg gasped and clutched her friend's arm, "Don't say that! The Opera ghost will be highly offended and you might anger him."

"Please Meg, I really don't believe in ghosts and I am not afraid of them either nor of their anger, will you please stop this silly childish nonsense?" Ana asked her friend.

Meg only nodded, praying to the dear lord that the Opera Ghost had not heard what she had said, but for some odd reason she knew he had. The two of them headed down the stairs and to the kitchen while another person stood just above the stairs, hidden in the shadows.

'So my young Ana, you don't believe in me or my wrath? Well, we shall see about that, and quite soon.' he swept off to deliver a letter and he made sure that she would see him come that evening.

please also note- Ana doesn't believe in Erik until the next chapter, then something happens, but what? And yes, until Erik is introduced I shall be calling him "he".