POTO Chappy 3
"Mm." Chocolate eyes fluttered open meeting the brown ceiling typical of the opera house rooms. Alicia lifter her hand to her forehead and felt a warm, wet substance, she pulled off a face cloth and looked at it for a moment before she remembered what had happened. Was it only last night? How long had she been out? Who had helped her? Her eyes suddenly swept over the room and near the door met with a figure cloaked in black. He was studying her as she studied him. She made to sit up but he was suddenly beside her pushing her shoulder back down. "You helped me, didn't you?" The Phantom merely looked away. "Thank you, for saving my life." She reached out and took his hand and grasped it. "Thank you so much." He looked at her then looked down. "I only did because your words had wisdom to them. Who spoke them?" He mumbled softly. "My mother. She was my idol! She was one of the smartest people I have ever met!" She let go of the gloved hand and rolled over, grabbing a picture next to her bed. She shoved the picture at him. "Her name was Elenna. She was a Spaniard." The Phantom took the framed, fading photo and looked at it intently. He turned away from Alicia as if to hide his interest. 'She looks like her mother. Her beauty is uncomparable.' He turned back and handed the photo back silently. Alicia hugged it to her chest when it hit her… she was no longer in the dress she had been in earlier! "Monsieur? Did you… change my clothes?" At this the Phantom looked away quickly. "I had no choice. I wouldn't have done it otherwise, but you were getting hypothermia. I had to remove your wet clothing. You had foolishly allowed yourself to wander into a freezing snow with nothing to protect yourself."
"Why did you follow me?"
"What are you talking about? I was already up there. You ran right past me. I was about to leave you to your fate when I heard you scream."
"Oh. So you heard what I said afterwards then, I assume."
"About me? Yes."
"I'm sorry. I just… wanted to… help. I guess." The pain in her words made the Phantom uncomfortable so her changed the subject. "Who was the boy you spoke about?" 'Great change in tact, fool!' He scolded himself. Alicia looked at him quizzicly then smiled softly. "A boy from the village I was born in. He was three years older than I. I thought it was love. He said we would marry, even bought an pre-engagement gift of sorts. My parents disapproved of course. But we didn't care. Or at least, I didn't. No, he met another woman, richer and more handsome. So I was left. Not before he beat me for- never mind. But he left me. My family perished shortly thereafter when some people from the neighboring village attacked in desperation for food. I was in the meadow by our home at the time. SO I alone escaped." Tears trickled down her face. "My first love left me, then my family. Then Christine. The only people who had ever cared for me. When I heard about you from her, I knew there was something great about you. SO I still had hope, hope that if she could find love, maybe I could too, and maybe even you. But all I receive is rejection. And the pain weighed down on me. That is why I was on the roof that night. Christine returned to see me, but all I could think about was you, how you would feel to see her again. Because I know that I could never bear to see Jac's face again and not die again." She sniffled and looked up at the Phantom. His face was set as stone, but his eyes held an emotion. The slightest, was it fear, or appreciation? But just as quickly, it was extinguished as he spoke. "What I feel is of no concern to you. What Christine did to me is none of your concern. I am the Angel of death. Nobody wishes for me to exist. So I do not."
"If I didn't wish for you to exist, would I really waste my time to talk to you?" The Phantom looked at her sharply but she continued. "The wisdom you heard me utter was indeed my mothers, but the words were all mine. Nobody should have to suffer. Even if they are dead. Because if they are suffering, then they are still alive. Ice always melts. And snow always becomes spring." The Phantom looked at her in wonder. Nobody had ever talked with him like this. Or understood how he felt. Now here he was with a child and she was telling him things he had denied for so long, and it was ok. A sudden knocking on the door startled them both. "Alicia?" Meg called through the door. "Just a moment please!" She called back. She looked at the Phantom. "Your secret is still safe with me." He took her hand and kissed the back of it and walked to the full length mirror. "Two things. I heard what you said to Christine and we have both been victims to false love. Second- next time I will not save you." The smirked at each other as he disappeared and Alicia jumped out of bed, the world tilting for a moment and walked to the door. She rested upon it for a moment and cast a glance at the mirror. "I believe a good excuse is in order." She said softly.