Greetings readers! Thank you so much for reviewing, adding to favorites, and watch lists! Sorry I haven't updated quickly. It was a hard chapter BUT I had little time on it, too. So yeah...Here it is and I'm sorry if you had to wait! Don't hurt me!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Phantom, repeat, I do NOT own Phantom!

Thankfully Christine had business to take care of and Lark was soon set free to do as she pleased. Taking a spice bun from the kitchen for breakfast, she smelt them that morning, the child made her way out to the garden as easily as anyone with sight could. The house had become much simpler to move about in for her and she was glad that Christine could show her around and let her feel her way. Lark didn't hear anyone else but the birds chirping cheerfully and the slight wind rustling the rose bushes, sending their soft scent over her way. She inhaled deeply, enjoying the saddening scent as much as possible and settled herself down on the bench and nibbled on her spice bun. Why didn't they set a time yesterday? Lark sighed and took another bite of her treat and wondered if he was going to show up at all. She let her thoughts dwindle to vaguely wondering how she looked and to what Christine did to her hair. She knew she had put a ribbon in it, pulling only half of her hair up and leaving the rest to bath her shoulders, but a blind person would wonder what they looked like now and then. She then wiped her hands on her dress as she finished the last of her spice bun.

"Well now, here's a pretty face!" Lark smiled suddenly as she heard the gate open and the crunch of feet and a cane made their way over to her. She turned her face to the old gentleman and beamed in his direction. "You came!" she said happily. Erik, the gentleman, bowed and took her little hand, kissing it weirdly as his special mask was on before settling himself on the seat next to her. "Of course I came," he said gruffly, "wouldn't have missed it for the world." The child laughed a little, a sound he found that he missed dearly, and clapped her hands together. "I'm so happy!" she exclaimed, "I'm so very happy you did, thank you!" Erik stared at her and felt like crying but he held himself up and leaned back in his seat. "So," he said in a friendly voice, "what about this story you promised to tell me, mademoiselle?" A crease formed in her smooth forehead but she kept up her weak smile. "Oh yes, that's right," she said helplessly, "I wanted to tell you one as well, though…" She twisted her dress in her fingers nervously and stopped when the man laid a gentle gloved hand on hers, taking them up from their nervous twisting. "You do not have to tell me," he said softly, "if you do not wish to."

"No!" Lark shook her head determinedly, "No, I want to tell you, monsieur, let me tell you." Erik frowned, concerned but released her hand and waited patiently. The child bit her lip but grabbed his hand again, squeezing it once for some sort of reassurance before starting. "It's actually my story, my past really, monsieur." She said softly, "So it might be very strange to hear if you even want to listen." Erik placed another hand on top of hers and looked straight into her foggy eyes. "I want to know." He murmured his voice equally soft. She nodded and looked ahead and began very softly. "We had a…very large family. There were eight of us, Papa, Mama, four older brothers, and my little sister, and me. Papa died before my little sister was born. Mama said his name was Jonathan, and hers was Rebecca. He got sick one day, and he never got better, monsieur. Mama was already pregnant with my little sister but I remember her always worrying and never letting my brothers help her. I couldn't because I was too small."

"My brothers," here Lark smiled slightly, "were the best in the world. There was Charles, Peter, Luke, and Freiderich in that order. Charles was 20, Peter behind him in 19, Luke was 17, and Freiderich was only 15, same as me. They took care of everything when Papa died. Only my brothers understood how much Mama was hurting when Papa died."

"I barely understood, being so young and not even remembering him at all.But I remember us gathering around his grave, and Mama singing a little song. Later she taught us that song and told us to sing it whenever someone…went away. My brothers told me that it seemed like my Mama's soul died and was buried with my Papa and that she was somehow empty. I never noticed because I don't remember a time when he was alive and Mama was different. But then…" Lark frowned darkly. "The fire happened." Erik watched her as her fists began to clench tight on the folds of her dress. "No one knew how it was started, but it was at night and we were all asleep. We had a two story house with large windows but the fire happened we think downstairs. We all had rooms upstairs and my brothers didn't know until they heard the stair rail fall off because it was burned to charcoal and couldn't stay in place. My brothers said they couldn't get Mama because half the hallway floor had caved in. Mama and me were on the other side of the hole. My brothers said that she threw me to them and told them to get out. They refused of course, but she said to go and went inside her room."

"What else could they do? They hollared and yelled but she wouldn't come back, and they said the fire was growing. I only remember high flames and heat…" she shuddered. "Tremendous heat, and screams. My brothers and I got out alright, but the fire had gotten too big, and it crashed down! It began to rain a bit, thankfully, but we hadn't found Mama! We searched and searched, digging in huge piles of burned wood and ash. Our home was gone just like that, and now we couldn't even find our mother!" She paused here and a small drop of a tear fell from her eye onto her dress. "Finally, we spotted her, underneath the wreakage…she was crying and her skin was all red and burned. Her hands, all red and scorched, were kept over her face. My brothers ran to help her up and to hold her as she was very scared. None of us were exspecting to see anything like what we did when she removed her hands from her face." Erik remained silent, watching this small girl with horrified fasination. "What was there, mademoiselle?"

Lark's face tightened. "Nothing. Her face had been burned almost completely off. All you saw were the holes for her mouth, eyes and nose. Her eyelids were blackened, but they weren't burned off like….like the rest of her face. Mama had no nose, no eyebrows, not even ears. All was burnt off, and…and it was horrifying!" Lark's tears thickened, and streamed down her face. "Imagine my siblings horror, imagine my own! To see our sweet, beautiful, wonderful Mama turned into this blackened, burnt, ugly thing!" Erik twitched at that, and flinched back. "You don't like…ugly things?" he asked hesitantly. She turned on him, her fogged eyes peircing his. "I don't care!" she cried, "I don't care if her appearance was changed, if she was ugly. I don't care what someone looks like! Not when…not when she hid her face from us and shrank away screaming when we showed her a mirror. We tried to take her to the doctor, but she refused to be seen and she took care of herself somehow while locking my brothers and I out once we got new apartments after the fire was put out. Then everything was changed….because Mama came out one day….with a mask."

Now, I hope I can update before we leave on a camping trip, if not, you guys got a month to wait on me!

Erik: We apologize.