The next morning everyone was grouchy and irritable because their sleep had been disrupted. No one wandered the opera house alone anymore and many of the girls roamed in gigantic packs, clogging the corridors and screaming at anything in the shadows.

"Oh, this is ridiculous." Mia huffed one afternoon. "Why can't they all just grow up and get over themselves?"

"They've imagined some horrible monster….he's only a man." Cassandra's voice was distant.

"You sound as if you forgive him, Cass….."Ryan cut in.

"I don't know right now." Cassie forced her way through the girls and to Mr. Villefort's office to discuss her aria with him.

"I'm glad to see you feeling better, Cassandra." Mr. Villefort said. "I'm sorry about last night."

"It's alright, I'd probably be skeptical too if I hadn't seen it." Cassie stood at the piano and opened her music, she didn't really need it anymore, but only did it out of habit.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No….actually, I'm over it." Inwardly Cassie knew it was a lie, but for some reason she felt compelled to maintain a bold face in front of Mr. Villefort. The creepy vibe that everyone had experienced over him was finally hitting her like a brick wall. Where was he when she'd been in danger last night? He was supposed to be on patrol, but was one of the last to arrive. There were other things though….the way he appeared behind her in corridors, the way he acted around her……..his eyes.

His eyes were probably the thing that un-nerved her the most. Those deep green eyes that could send shivers through her. She could always feel when those eyes were on her, it sent chills radiating through her body…those chills were sliding up and down her spine now. She knew he was staring at her. Cassie tried to avoid his gaze throughout practice but found it impossible.

"Very good Cassandra…you may leave now." Cassie grabbed her music from the piano top and left the room. If she'd been moving any faster, she'd have been running. When she turned the corner she leaned heavily against the wall and sighed. Just a few more weeks and then Richard Villefort would be out of her life forever. She sighed again and continued down the hall to her room where she flopped listlessly onto her bed. The rose room now looked like a Rosie gypsy village…..afghans and blankets covered every mirror and painting in her room she was so paranoid about who could see in or what could happen. A slight knock at the wall alerted her to Ryan's presence and she ran to the wall to knock in return. It was their system now since Ryan had nearly walked through the wall one day when Mrs. Giles had been in Cassie's room.

"How are you Cassie?" Ryan asked as he entered.

"Tired still. Thanks for letting me stay over last night." Cassie said going back to the bed and lying down. Ryan sat on the bed beside her and gently rubbed her back.

"Not a problem…." Ryan looked over his shoulder at the covered mirror. "I wonder though……"

"What?" Cassie followed Ryan's gaze as he flopped onto his stomach and looked at the mirror harder.

"How did whoever it was do it?"

"I don't want to think about it…."

"No no no…..think about it….we've been back there….there's not enough space to hang someone in effigy back there."

"Ryan—"

"Come on…" Ryan pulled Cassie from the bed and went back through the wall making sure to close the door behind them. Ryan drug Cassie down the hall and around the corner, carefully pacing off the distance to where the mirror should be.

"OUCH!" Ryan stopped abruptly causing Cassie to crash into him.

"What is it?"

"There's a wall here…."

"What?" Ryan pulled his pocket light from his pocket and shined it on an angled box in the middle of the corridor. It took up the full size of the top of the corridor and angled down to the floor.

"Isn't that the exact size of your mirror?" Ryan asked shining it on the box.

"I guess."

"This would explain a lot…it would give a person a lot more space to work with up there."

"So you think that's a mirror…..that what I saw was a reflection of something happening above my room?"

"Yeah…..it would make some sense." Cassie gripped Ryan's arm and shivered.

"Don't worry Cass….there's no one that's gonna get you, OK? Not so long as I'm here." Ryan kissed her gently and held her close. "No one…."

As the night of the gala approached, Cassie's nerves began to heighten. There were strange things going on in the opera house. Most of them could be explained away by mischievous and love struck cast members getting a little too frisky, but props, music books and costumes missing could not.

"Whoever is stealing these things will be punished." Mr. Giles said on the day that they discovered the wedding dress used on the mannequin was gone. "I'm going to turn this place upside down to find out where that costume is." The costume was found the next day, lying in the middle of the stage in a ball. Parts of it were torn and others stained a dirty gray. It looked as if it had been carried through a dust-bin.

The costume department at the theater tried to clean it and repair it, but the damage was beyond anything they could help with. Cassie had to endure more fittings on a dress from a different production. The dress was exquisite and grand. Layers upon layers of white lace created the skirt which had heavy layering while the bodice was fitted and beaded with tiny bits of crystal and pearls. It was designed after a drawing from an early 1900 magazine and had been used in one of the last productions done at the newly refurbished opera house.

"Wow, Cassie. That's gonna be like, the best costume in the play." Mia said as the costumers finished pinning the gown around Cassie. She was sitting on the floor watching as they worked. "As usual, you look spectacular."

"It feels wrong." Cassie said as she turned in the mirror. "I can't explain it….it just feels wrong."

"That's because of the pins…and it's heavier. It's a real wedding dress you know." The costume keeper said.

"What?"

"Yes, it was purchased at a bridal shop and modified to match what we needed…very old this…so you won't be wearing it too much." Cassie caught Mia's gaze in the mirror and shook her head. It was more than the pins in the dress that made it wrong.

"I'm going to go down and visit Matt." Mia said getting up and brushing the seat of her pants off. "I'll see you at dinner Cass."

"Alright." Cassie answered as the last of the work on the dress was completed. The costumers helped her out of the costume and sent Cassie on her way. They had a lot of altering to do and not a lot of time to do it. They were set to open in a week and a half.

Cassie left the costume loft and shook her hair out of the bun she'd had it in while they were working on her gown. She walked to the edge of the catwalk at the end of the loft and looked down on the stage where Ryan was working with Mark on some of the lines. Cassie looked down and smiled as she caught Ryan's eye. He grinned and waved as he and Mark caught the right note. They stopped singing for a moment and looked up to where Cassie was staring down at them.

"Come down here and sing with us, Cassandra." Mark called out. "We need you to be the bridge."

"You sound fine to me…" Something stirred behind Cassandra and she turned, but saw nothing. "I'll be down in a minute." Cassie said turning back. A chill raced up her spine and she saw Villefort step onto the stage from the right. She looked down and suddenly saw Mark grip Ryan's arm, staring wide eyed at Cassandra.

"Cassandra! RUN!" Mark shouted. Everyone looked up to where Cassie was. She turned quickly and saw the dark figure of a man standing right behind her. It was the same man from the other night, the same man who had grabbed her in her sleep. She screamed and pushed the person away from her as hard as she could and sprinted down the catwalk. She could hear the man's heavy breaths and his footfalls as he chased her back through the opera house. She heard Villefort shout something to Ryan and Mark on the stage but paid it little heed. She had to keep distance between her and the man chasing her. She ran into a hall cluttered with mannequins and tall light stands. She pulled one down behind her and kept running, pulling several more down behind her blocking the man's path and effectively slowing him.

Cassie ran blindly towards the voices she heard coming to her aid. She could still hear the man behind her though she had put some space between them. Cassie felt disoriented and didn't know what to do. She shouted out and heard one thing in return.

"Get to the props room!"

Cassie sprinted up the stairs two at a time. She fell halfway up them and fell hard on the stairs. She lost her breath for a moment, but knew she had to keep running and managed to burst into the props room. She looked around frantically, everything seeming suddenly very frightening, though she'd been up here many times before. She found a stack of steamer trunks and dove into the gap behind them. She could look up and see the rest of the room between a space in the trunks and the pile of clutter to the left. She held her breath and waited. Suddenly the man in black came in the room. He walked slowly down the aisle in the middle of the room and paused several feet away from Cassie. Cassie still couldn't see the man's face for it was covered by the black scarf, he wore a long cloak and his hands were covered by black gloves. Cassie watched as the man continued to stroll slowly towards her hiding spot. Cassie ducked her head and winced as the man looked behind props on the other side of the aisle. She'd never been so terrified in her life. Suddenly there was a noise and someone shouted. Cassie looked up to see Mark sprinting after the mystery man, Ryan close behind. The man ran for the far side of the props room, grabbed a set of chairs and threw them in the way. The man disappeared out the door and Mark and Ryan continued after him. Mr. Villefort came into the room next and stopped beside where Cassie still sat cowering, unable to move even though the man was gone.

"Cassandra? You can come out now." Cassie took a few shaky breaths but couldn't get her body to function. "Cassandra? Are you here?"

"Yes…" Cassie squeaked out. "Yes…I'm here." She was finding it hard to catch her breath after she had held it for so long. Mr. Villefort looked over the pile of clutter and saw Cassie sitting on the floor. He pulled the trunks down and helped her up from the floor.

"It's alright, Cassandra. It's alright, I've got you. Shhh, child…." Mr. Villefort could feel Cassandra's body quivering. "Come here, I've got you…" Cassandra fell into Mr. Villefort's arms and let him comfort her. She heard Ryan and Mark return but didn't move from the protective embrace she know found herself in.

Cassandra held onto Mr. Villefort even as he gave instructions to Ryan and Mark to pick up some of the clutter off the floor of the props room. Villefort began to walk Cassie from the room.

"It was Him…" Cassie said suddenly. "The man from the other night."

"Are you sure?" Mr. Villefort looked down at the terrified girl standing in his embrace. Cassie slowly brought her gaze up to meet his haunting green eyes and nodded.

"It was Him."

Ryan and Mark followed behind Villefort and Cassie back down the stage area where many people had congregated after hearing the three men running and Cassandra's screams for help. Villefort had to half carry Cassandra down the stairs because she was still shaking so hard.

"Mr. Villefort, what in God's name is going on here!" Mr. Giles said seeing the state Cassandra was in.

"Call the police Horrace. It would seem they were right about an intruder."

"What?"

"I saw him myself today. He scared poor Cassandra half to death." Mia raced forward and came to take Cassandra from Mr. Villefort's arms.

"You're shaking like a leaf!" Mia said as she pulled Cassie aside. Ryan came and stood behind them still slightly out of breath from running up and down the stairs.

"Cassie?" He reached out and touched her shoulder gently. Cassie turned towards him and looked into his concerned eyes. "Are you OK?" Cassie nodded slightly. Her heart felt ready to burst from her chest.

"I want to call my dad."

"Alright, we'll get you to a phone."

It was at that exact moment that all the lights in the opera house went out.

A/N: You'll have to deal with a cliffie for the next few days as I'll be without internet access...muahahahahahaha...Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everybody!