France 1885

As the opera house workers had arrived for the day a young girl snuck around the security and climbed to the exposed rafters. Looking down at the singers Carlotta was among them and began to sing to start the day.

As Carlotta was busy warming her vocals most of the people in the audience covered their ears as she hit a high note.

In the shadows of the opera house, a man formally dressed in all black stood near the little girl with a mask covering the upper half of his face. The two of them looked from the shadows above as more scenes were rehearsed for the showing tonight to announce Carlotta's retirement.

"We must leave, guards will make their rounds soon."

The man reached his gloved hand to the girl who took his hand following him avoiding the guards patrolling the opera house. Making many turns and climbing up a few ladders the two ended up at one of the hundreds of entrances to the sewers they called home.

"Father, could we possibly see the show tonight?"

"We shall see, it might be a full house tonight."

In the sewers, the two of them remained silent as the man began to read the Phantom of the Opera that had taken the whole country by storm. The girl sat at the ledge waiting for the bell to ring,

"How accurate is the book?"

The man didn't look up from the book," Not even close to accurate, they exaggerate everything and leave many details out."

"Like what?" The girl turned to the man staring at him intensely.

"They left Madame Giry out completely, you remember her right?"

The girl nodded yes.

"They made Raoul out to be the hero early, he did nothing until Don Juan showed. So far that would be all and I know it's not the last."

The girl joined the man on one of the few pieces of furniture their home had," Why did the author make Raoul the hero?"

"No one would read a real story. Changing Raoul to the hero early on and Me to a vicious monster, in the beginning, would make the author more money since now people would read it."

The bell rang as the two went to the small boat in their home and went down the small river the opera house had underneath it with few people even knowing of it.

After a few long minutes, the two of them saw one of Eriks' many friends in the distance.

"Ah, Erik and little Clarisse, nice to see you two."

Clarisse smiled at the man," Nice to see you, mossier."

"Several boxes are open and take route c-13 that has the least guards and one of the highest views so it's unlikely anyone's going to see you two."

Leaving the boat the two began to leave the sewers as they could hear people entering the Opera house and their rather loud conversations.

"My, my It's been a while since I've heard Carlotta."

"I remember the other opera house and the phantom."

Clarisse stopped and looked at the ceiling that others above her thought was the ground with hate in her eyes at where they were for making her father sound more monstrous.

"Clarisse, we must be leaving. People will say anything thinking I am dead."

Clarisse followed her father," But why dead or not, no one should speak of someone like that."

"The human mind is ever-changing, some make me a monster, some sympathize with my actions."

Approaching the ladder that was hidden in the wall of the opera house the two began to climb up it hearing the guests all conversing loudly and the guards passing by that were all oblivious to the two of them.

"Here we are, remember don't lean too far on the ledge."

Clarisse smiled up at Erik and nodded, earning a smile back from him, in the box the two heard the faint jingle from the guards' keys and hid in the curtains almost becoming like statues in the curtain as the guard checked the box and locked it behind him.

Sitting down the lights dimmed down and focused on the red curtains on the strange. As the orchestra began the opening number the curtains began to rise as younger actors and actresses began to sing. Most looked familiar to Clarisse except one,

"Do you know the young blond boy on the far left climbing the tower of boxes, Father?"

"It may just be a random boy from the streets trying to start his career in opera."

Clarisse went silent watching the opening number as Carlotta made a grand opening and all the children gathered around her looking like a flower and were outshined by her.

Paying attention to the outfit it was fairly flexible and light on decorations, as a whole the outfit made her look like someone in very high power in the showing.

After a few more songs the boy Clarisse pointed out earlier looked right at her and stood still like a statue. Instantly Clarisse touched where her mask was to find it still on as the boy smiled and waved slightly at her causing her eyes to widen.

"Father, I think the boy from earlier is staring right at me."

Erik stood up and instantly went to the door unlocking it as the two went back down the ladder into the sewers.

On stage, the young boy waited backstage before he would have to go back on stage with Christine Daaé in her first time back on stage in nearly 15 years since the incident with the Phantom of the Opera.

"What are you looking at?" Christine's voice broke his concentration on the top box the girl and what he thought was her father were in but were gone now.

"Someone was up in that box but they're gone now."

"Well, get ready, we're up."

The boy nodded as the two of them walked on stage and the girl slowly faded out of the young boy's mind.

Long after the showing had ended and most of the cast had gone home the young boy remained in the opera house. Up in the top-level, all box entrances were locked, as they should be and nothing looked off beside the minimal decorations that Opera House regulations had enforced.

"Boy, guards will be coming here soon and you'll be arrested for being here."

The owner Mosier Florent was there and watched the boy run off and also disappear as guards began to search the top floor for anyone remaining.