A/N: Just to let you all know, anytime that I write this now, I intend to hold my hair back with my ribbons, my little ones, my little black ones, my little black ribbons that make me feel so freakin' in tune with Erik for no apparent reason. Hoo, okay, yes I am suffering from too much caffeine to the system, I don't care, and neither should you seeing as how I wrote a new bloody chapter (both literal and just an expression). Now get to reading and reviewing, the more reviews, the more you'll see of our fair lady and Fantome. Now on a SERIOUS A/N: I'm taking French lessons and we'll be using them sometimes in this to help me remember them better, based on what you read it shouldn't be too hard to know what is being talked about but if it does become too much I'll stick up translations for you. Also, I start school next week and will only be allowed on during weekends, so that will become the usual updating point for me. That's the reason for this chapter being so short as well, I didn't want to leave you guys with what I had.

P.T.O. Toile is a type of cloth that originated from France, just do a google image search to see it, it's a quite a beautiful piece of work. And I simply took the name Javert from Kay's book for the man that caged Erik, there might be a few other Kay references, but they won't be anything that affects your understanding of the story.

Erik sat at his organ pounding away, not caring that the tips of his fingers were beginning to turn red and bleed, anything to take his mind off of her. It had been a week since he had bid the young mademoiselle goodnight and every time he had tried to work on a new painting her eyes would flash in his mind, or if he attempted to read one of his books he'd see every woman having wild brown hair.

He ended his piece by slamming his fists on the chords, not caring at the moment the horrendous sound it created. "Damn." Why would this burdening thought not lift from his mind? She was a prostitute, a common whore that he should shouldn't be thinking of in the least. He had simply done his duty and stopped her from ending her life. "Damn!" Why HAD she been trying to end her life? Yes, being in that manner of work was not something all women enjoyed, but if she didn't want to live her life that way, surely someone like her could change it. She had looks, she could easily try to find work as a maid or even work as a seamstress, anything really.

What of her parents as well? What had happened to them to make her so fragile on the subject? She had said her father was French and her mother English, perhaps they had been ridiculed for being such an unlikely pair, or maybe they did not get along in the end for two many differences. Maybe that's why she wanted to cry, they didn't stay together and that's why she was in such a predicament now.

"DAMN!" He finally roared out, dropping his head into his hands. He was going to end up mad if he kept asking so many questions. He needed to get out of his home for a while, clear his head of any more thoughts about this Faye. He got up from his bench and went to his room, it was still fairly early in the day but he couldn't take it anymore, even if he was at the risk of being noticed he had to shake his mind from her. He secured his cloak and took a bit of money, in case he found anything worth buying while out, and made his way to his gondola.

He was making his way across the lake when thoughts of her came to him again. He tried to sort out just why she was there, in his books, his paints. It wasn't love, that he knew, he couldn't love another anyway, not after everything else he had done. Three months had passed since that horrible night, since he had tried to force love from a woman. A month in hiding and he found himself crawling back to the darkness of the opera house, not as if there was much danger returning anyway, everyone had given up the hunt and there were no plans to fix the ruined structure. He mourned the fact that it would never have it's previous beauty, but in it he now had the opportunity to refurnish his home with new things. No longer was the swan bed in his lair, instead there was a large goose feather bed with a black toile covering over it, not that Erik generally used it, he just felt it was wrong for such a fine piece of Carlotta's furniture to end up being reclaimed by her.

The gondola bumped gently at it's dock, stirring Erik from his thoughts. He jumped out and secured it in place, then began a slow walk up the rest of the lower levels. Though the opera house had quite a bit of damage on the outside, the deeper, more hidden levels still retained their beauty and structure. As he walked along, he couldn't help but stare at the grey block walls, thinking how he had once made them look magical, as if he truly had some special power over anything he wished to. He reached the end of his trek upwards, towards humanity, leaving behind his own world of darkness and faerie tales.

"No monsieur, that's all I need, merci." Faye said, handing a vintner a few bills to pay for the couple of wine bottles she was buying. She didn't have much taste for what she was getting, but Madame Bontecou was always pleased and would usually lessen punishment on her if she paid out of her own money for her favorite alcohols. Two days later after being locked in the black room, the Madame had let her out to go back to her job. Being weak from lack of nourishment she could do nothing but lie back and whimper small cries as she was raped. It may have been the job she was condemned to do, but she never took any personal pleasure in what happened nearly every night to her body.

Faye was walking through the street market, the sun shining down on her skinny frame, it was nearing lunchtime for her and she knew she would need her strength for whatever may come that night. Before she could turn though to head to her favorite café though, something caught her eye. A large figure all in black was hovering over a fruit stand, holding an apple up in the light. Faye looked around, it was summer and most were staying indoors to escape the heat, the few that were out wearing light clothing. Yet here he was, dressed fully in black with his cloak and gloves, but now he was even wearing a large fedora. She thought for a moment that maybe she should just let him be, but then, he was the only person she knew that had talked to her as if she was more than the trash of the world, even if it was prior to him knowing the truth behind her maiden veil.

She walked up behind him and lightly touched his shoulder. "Why, bonjour Monsieur Erik."

Next thing she knew he had dropped his apple and whipped around, grabbing her by the shoulders, a crazed stare in his eyes that looked like a cross of anger and fear. The moment though that he looked at her face, at her eyes, his expression eased and he released her. He backed up a few feet giving her room to breathe.

"I'm dreadfully sorry if I scared you Erik," She apologized even though her own heart was racing now. "It was not my intention to startle you like that." She shifted her feet nervously, maybe it was a bad idea to come and talk to him...

"No no mademoiselle, I just wasn't expecting you to grab me from behind like that," he said looking at her with sincere eyes. In truth, looking at the apple had made him remember all the rotten fruit that had been thrown at him while he was caged, and before he realized what he was doing, he was turning on Javert all over again. "I am at full blame, so no need to say sorry to me."

Faye smiled sweetly at him, but before she could respond a large growling came from her stomach. She laughed and looked to Erik, his one brow quirking at her, she couldn't help but think how funny he looked with such a smug face on. "J'ai faim," she said while still smiling with her hand over her stomach, "Tu as faim? I was about to head to a café not far from here."

Erik considered her offer for a moment, sitting out in the open was not what he was wanting, neither was running into her, but he was finding her company rather enjoyable. "How about I take us to someplace a bit better than a simple café?"

"Monsieur, I don't have that much on me, I'm not sure I can aff-" He raised his hand to silence her and shook his head. "Mademoiselle, I would prefer it no other way than if you would allow me to cover for you, the gentleman in me would not allow it anyway." Faye smiled again at him and nodded, he offered her his arm which she gladly took and off they set for lunch.

Next chapter, what things shall be discussed over their meals? Only I know, muhahaha. You shall all just have to leave me lovely reviews, and maybe, MAYBE I can talk my mom into letting me on, then you will all get and earlier post.