Carlotta

A/N: Not a short chappie I admit, but it will lighten the blow of the next one since Lucy meets...you guessed it! The Phantom :3 lmao Enjoy!

Kiri raced through the tunnels towards the light at the end, her excitement all most too much for her small body to handle. Her chocolate curls danced in the air after falling from the tight ponytail Beatrice had made for her. She looked back occasionally to see Monica and the Phantom following her a few feet behind.

Bright lights engulfed her as she stepped out of the tunnel, red, yellow, blue, any color she could think of seemed to swallow her as her eyes gazed at the large tarp in front of her. The man standing near the entrance cast her a weary look before the Phantom stepped out of the tunnel as well and walked over to the small child before she got herself into trouble.

"Master! What brings you here?" the man asked taking his eyes off of the child in front of him poking her head over his side to get a better view of what lay inside. The Phantom glanced at her briefly before his eyes glazed over as he looked at the man in front of him.

"I come occasionally, that should not strike you as odd," the Phantom replied as Monica stood next to him with Kiri now in her arms looking around nervously. The man at the entrance cast her a look as well before the Phantom retaliated with one of his own once he caught the man in the act.

"Pardon me, master," the man mumbled stepping aside as the Phantom nodded towards Kiri who bounded into the tarp in a fit of giggles. Monica looked after her worriedly and started to follow before the Phantom stopped her with a movement of his hand.

"She will be looked after, you do not need to worry," he told her calmly as she bit her lip and looked after Kiri's small form before looking around once more once she caught a sight of the people entering the circus.

She instantly panicked.

A woman passed by with a fan in her hand dressed in what Monica could only guess was the most expensive coat and dress she had ever seen. Her hair was bound with diamonds, while the man accompanying her wore a tuxedo that was probably worth hundreds.

The couple looked at Monica from head to toe and snickered as the woman whispered something to her companion before walking towards the entrance of the tarp.

A blush crept up to Monica's cheeks as she noticed more upper class people arrive and pass by her giving her looks of disapproval. She found herself stepping closer to the Phantom and using his shoulder as cover before he looked back at her with disapproval.

"What do you think you are doing?" he asked her moving away from her blowing her cover as she sighed uncomfortably and dropped her face in her hands upon sensing more people criticizing her look.

"I don't belong here, what made you think I would fit in!" she whispered angrily as the man at the entrance whistled at someone when the Phantom nodded at him. Monica exchanged glances between the Phantom and the man before she felt herself being picked up by a pair of strong arms.

She squeaked slightly calling more attention than she really wanted to as she looked towards the man carrying her. She could tell he worked at the circus by the outfit that he wore but what she couldn't comprehend was his reason for picking her up.

"Take her to my seat," the Phantom told the man who in turn nodded and proceeded to carry Monica inside much to her predicament as her cheeks turned into a darker shade of crimson than before. The Phantom disappeared from her sight as the man started to carry her inside passing through the main entrance.

The walls were decorated with elegant designs and paintings that went throughout the circus. The seats were all similar to the ones at the Opera House if not better. The curtains were all a deep shade of red tied back by gold ropes, the workers all dressed in equally matching outfits.

As the man carried her in she observed the same people from before sneer at her and stare her down as she was carried over to the section reserved for the highest paying customers. The man walked past many seats until he reached the one directly in the middle with a grand view of the center stage.

He set her down carefully and started to leave before she caught his arm by the sleeve and gave it a gentle tug.

"Don't leave me here with these people," she begged looking around sensing some of them wanted to kill her for having such a seat despite the fact that she seemed poor compared to them. The man stared at her for a brief moment before nodding and sitting in a seat next to her nervously.

The Master had never told him to stay with the woman, he had only instructed him to take her to his seat, and as he observed her he understood why. Her left foot had a bandage wrapped around her ankle, which explained why he had to carry her instead of making her walk.

"I don't belong here," she whispered catching his attention as he too looked around. The women were all giving her dirty looks while the men merely stared down at her in a disgusted fashion. That only seemed to further embarrass the girl next to him as she buried her face in her hands once more and sighed.

"Don't let them get to you, they pride themselves in proving they are richer than others," the man told her calmly, "they pay a large sum for the regular seats, seeing you here only enrages them…it is nothing to be worried about," he added sympathizing with her knowing how it felt to be looked down upon.

Monica looked up at him and nodded but shuddered once she looked back to see more people pointing at her and snickering.

"I don't believe we've met properly," Monica told him as she turned to face him, "I'm Monica," she murmured stretching out her hand. The man looked at it curiously before stretching out his own and taking hers. He didn't know whether he should shake it our be more gentlemanly about the situation, knowing his Master he went with the latter.

"You may call me Fleur," he told her bringing her hand up to his lips and kissing it. She blushed slightly before he released her hand and sat back in his seat knowing it would take a while for the show to start. Until then they would have to put up with the ridicule of the richer people sitting behind them.

"I know what it's like when they make fun of you, just ignore them," he whispered to her as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat feeling rather inferior compared to the upper class women that sat behind her in luxurious gowns and coats.

She looked down at her own outfit in dismay, she was wearing black jeans and what she considered a dressy shirt. But as she looked around she realized that her definition of dressy was way off mark. Women with large pearl and diamond necklaces stared back at her with spite in their eyes as some moved their purse closer to them and others avoided going near her all together.

"What kind of circus is this? I've never heard of it before," Monica asked curiously as Fleur looked at her with a blank face. It didn't shock him that she had never even heard of the circus, how could she when it was only available for the city's richest inhabitants?

"It is one of the finest in the world, if not the best…a single ticket can cost you your life's savings," Fleur replied causing Monica to shift in her seat once more. She didn't even deserve to be there; much less take the Phantom's front row seat. She had a feeling it was worth more than all of the other seats combined, it only stressed her more.

She sighed once more and frowned, she didn't deserve any of this, she was too inferior to even be in the Phantom's presence. The fact that he still kept her around amazed her, what was he thinking? He deserved one of the women sitting around her, someone rich and elegant. The fact seemed to sink in as she groaned and sat back in her chair to wait for the show to start knowing she wasn't going to enjoy any of it.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Kiri found herself running around the grounds of the circus, her big eyes darted from place to place each time discovering something new. She ran over to the place where all of the animals were held and stared at them from her place near the iron bars as her small face pressed up in between the bars gazing at the animals. The tigers paced around in their large cages, their graceful movements seemed to entrance her as she remained there for what seemed centuries.

"Would you like to touch one?" someone asked from behind her as her small frame spun to see who had caught her staring. Her eyes landed on the Phantom who stood looking at her and at the tigers with a calculative gaze before he looked down at her once more.

Her unbelieving eyes widened upon hearing his question, she had never touched a tiger before. Till now that was as close as she had ever gotten to the large felines.

"Of course, monsieur!" she replied eagerly as the Phantom nodded and stepped around her to open the gate that blocked off the area as she waited for him to enter before following. They both walked next to each other, Kiri having to make up for his large steps with three of her own as he strode towards the cage.

She gazed up at the animals in wonder amazed that she was this close and her Fraulein wasn't screaming at her to get away because they were too dangerous. She looked into the large grey eyes of the tiger in front of her and froze in her spot mesmerized with the fact that she was this close to the animal.

She heard the Phantom whisper something to the animal as it stopped pacing and walked over towards the bars were Kiri stood looking at it. The large cat pressed itself against its iron prison as Kiri found herself being pushed forward gently by a hand. She looked back to see the Phantom urging her forward as her small hand reached out carefully towards the coat of the animal that remained still.

Her hand shook nervously as she paused slightly while looking back at the Phantom for reassurance. He merely nodded back as she finally brushed the feline's fur and let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.

Her hand danced across the cat's fur with ease as she tiger remained still, it moved when the Phantom said something else to the animal as it turned and pressed its large face up against the bars. Kiri's hand reached towards it carefully and slowly. Her hand finally settled on the nose of the big cat as she ran it across its whiskers and head.

The Phantom stood back watching calmly, he had complete control of the animal or else he wouldn't have offered for her to get so close. He had tamed the cat she was petting himself; he knew it wouldn't disobey his orders.

Kiri continued to pet the large animal until she got a sight of the horses that were nearby, her hand fell slowly from the tiger and she turned towards the Phantom with a pleading face.

"Monsieur, can we see the horses too?" she asked looking up at him expectantly. Despite the bitter cold the Phantom found himself being lead towards the stables by the small child who was immediately dwarfed by his pair of Arabian horses.

Both of them were jet black in color, with amber eyes that only added to the beast's natural beauty. One of the horses bent its neck upon hearing a command from the Phantom as Kiri reached up and ran a hand through the horse's mane and caressed its face.

The Phantom observed as the horse snorted and sneezed causing Kiri to jump and sneeze ten seconds after the horse had done so. He also took note of the shade of pink that her cheeks had turned to due to the harsh cold; he guessed the show should be starting any moment now so he decided to end her exploring for the day.

"Come along, we must return you to your…mother," he told her finding it difficult to refer to Monica as a mother, "the show should be starting," he added as she nodded and followed him as he headed back towards the entrance of the circus.

"Mother I want to touch the tigers too!" a boy whined as Kiri passed by, he had watched her near the cage and touch the animals so why couldn't he? He turned to his mother expectantly as he pouted before the woman asked the man at the entrance about it.

The Phantom gave the man a warning glace from under the hood he used to conceal his mask before entering after Kiri to take her back to Monica.

"Sorry Madame, that is something I cannot allow," he told her as she scoffed and turned to her child in outrage.

"If that brat can do it, why can't he?" She yelled pointing to Kiri as the Phantom stopped walking and turned towards the woman knowing full well she couldn't see his face, his presence and voice however was enough to frighten the woman's courage away.

"The child will not go anywhere near my animals, that is final," he told her in a monotone voice that sent chills down the woman's spine.

"But I do not see why he cannot go, I am willing to pay," she started before the Phantom turned his back on her not paying attention to her ranting. It was always money with people now a days, it was all they cared for.

"I shall not repeat myself woman," he finalized walking through the entrance urging Kiri forward with a push to her back with his gloved hand. She smiled up at him before walking along with him as they entered the large tarp.

Monica sighed in relief when she saw the Phantom walk through the entrance into the main stage, and welcomed Kiri with open arms when the child launched herself into her arms.

"Fraulein I touched a tiger!" she giggled as Monica rose her accusing eyes towards the Phantom who didn't say anything. She managed to catch his lips lift into a small smirk under his dark hood before he disappeared once more leaving her under Fleur's supervision.

Monica decided to remain silent upon seeing Kiri so happy, the child deserved this after all she had been through. She needed a moment of happiness to forget her dark past, hell even she needed something to lighten up her mood.

She sat throughout the whole performance amazed at the acts, each better than the one before. The animals were superb, the acrobats perfectly trained, the magicians were indescribable. She was left speechless by the time the whole thing was over. She had to give it to the Phantom, his circus was like none other, it was probably the best in the world.

She took notice that the circus had no clowns; she made a mental note to ask the Phantom about it later as people started to get up and leave.

Kiri was sound asleep in her arms by the time most of the people were gone, only a few remained as Fleur stood from his seat and stretched.

"Look at that harlot, she probably got in by doing the ringmaster a favor or two," a woman commented as Monica looked down in embarrassment, she was in no position to argue with a woman of the upper class.

"Madame, I will have to ask you to leave," Fleur warned as he stepped in front of Monica to shield her form the harsh comments as the woman straightened herself up and left with a huff. Several other comments were thrown at Monica each as hurtful as the last by the time the last person left.

She felt like she was on the brim of breaking down, she knew she wasn't any of the things they had called her nevertheless it still got to her. She felt a tear roll down her cheek before a shadow settled over her form alerting her of the Phantom's presence.

Her hand shot up and wiped the tears away embarrassed by the fact that she was crying in the first place as the Phantom dismissed Fleur with a nod of his head.

He walked around Monica and observed her expression, her eyes were red and her cheeks were still damp, she had done a pitiful job in trying to hide the fact that she had been crying from him.

"Can…can we leave?" she asked quietly fearing to wake Kiri and make matters worse as the Phantom nodded and pulled down his hood revealing the black mask he had worn during Don Juan. He took Kiri from Monica's arms despite her protest and waited for her to stand allowing her to lead the way out.

Monica stopped when she felt her phone vibrate; she took it out of her pocket and read the message, her face paled considerably and instantly her mood dropped:

The renovations have been completed,

Feel free to start using the Opera House once more,

-Viktor.

It seemed her time with the Phantom of the Opera was up, why else would he want her there when the Opera Populair was back to its former glory…?

Review! Leave your opinion...should she leave or stay? Hehehehe ;D