A/N: I know it's been about a month since I've updated, but I truthfully haven't been in the mood to write. If I force myself to write then it becomes work, not fun... and probably all the characters would die for no reason at all. I've actually started writing the next chapter all ready, I do know that by the end of the story at least one main character is dying. I'm not saying who though.

This chapter is pretty boring,dull, and short, but otherwise I hope you like it!

Chapter 4. Remember Me Waking

Meg and I sat on a splintered bench backstage, talking quietly to one another. We were awaiting our turn to practice for the next stage production of Hannibal, but Meg seemed to have something else on her mind.

"How could you have been so life threateningly stupid?" Her glare seemed to be piercing a hole in my own eyes. "You don't just walk into an open mirror that seems to be a secret passageway! Only someone who is completely insane would do that!" She only stopped for a breath. "And after I told you not too! I told you that he's a mass murderer and could easily snap that slender neck of yours!". A chorus girl, who had been eating over in the far corner, choked and hacked up a piece of apple with the mention of a murderer.

"Meg, how many times to I have to explain myself?" Meg stuck up her nose and looked anywhere but at me, like an immature two year old.

"Until you simply apologize." She stated.

"I'm not going to apologize for being curious. I'm not going to apologize for falling in love... if this is love."

"He's a terrible man! Who in their right mind would fall in love with that kind of guy!?".

Several heads were turning and staring at us, and seemed to be eavesdropping on our conversation.

"Meg, would you please calm down, I don't want the whole opera house to know about my love affair. I don't think I could take anymore lecturing." I half sighed.

A woman wearing all black interrupted our conversation by approaching me.

"Madame Arya, they're ready for you to rehearse" The woman said coarsely.

I stood up, gladly taking the chance to get away from Meg. Since when was she in charge of taking care of me in the first place?

Mousier Bouquet greeted me with a warm and welcoming smile as I stepped out onto the brightly lit stage. He was standing with a group of other young business men in center stage, when he saw me running towards him he broke away from the group and gave me an awkward hug.

"Now Arya, are you ready to rehearse? I should hope so?"

"Of course! I couldn't sleep at all last night" Which was a half lie, there was no need to go into details as to why I couldn't sleep.

"Well then, before you begin I would like to introduce to you the producer of our upcoming opera, Christian Aglionby, one of my best friends."

A young man, around the age of twenty five, stepped out of the group of men and came up to Bouquet's side. He had dark chocolate colored hair that was wind swept to one side of his face. His eyes were the color of the sea, that contrasted perfectly with his pale skin tone.

The room spun around me wildly, making my stomach churn, but I didn't seem to mind. Christian and I were the only human beings in the room, or possibly the world right now.

I thought this only happened in books, falling in love at first sight.

Christian spoke, my heart melted as he did so. "You must be Arya, I must say I've wanted to meet you so badly, Bouquet here won't shut up about you." I blushed a violent shade of red as he looked at me with his beautiful eyes.

"I-I-I'm happy to have met you." That was all I was able to mutter out unless he wanted me to violently throw up on him, which I myself didn't want to happen.

Christian half smiled while staring at me.

"Well I sort of feel like a third wheel here, so I'll leave you two love birds to get to know each other." Mousier Bouquet said awkwardly.

Christian turned his head to the floor, as if it had quickly become interesting, then asked "Have you ever done anything like this before? Perform I mean."

I looked at my hands and began to fidget my fingers, looking at each one for a long period of time, this is what I do when I'm nervous.

"Uh, no. I sort of... lost my parents when I was young. I then was raised by my aunt until she passed away a few months ago. By then I was old enough to live on my own, and I had always been told I could sing, so I sought out a job in Paris. They were having auditions for the leading role, and Bouquet apparently liked my voice enough."

Mousier Bouquet stepped forward as Christian and I paused and took the liberty of saying "Dear Arya, I do think we best continue our rehearsal, the other cast members are getting restless." .

As Bouquet ushered away the other business men, I stepped in center stage.

"Are you ready Mademoiselle?" Bouquet asked.

My legs were shaking, but it was simple. All I had to do was merely sing two verses, and the chorus twice. It would be over in a matter of minutes, and then I could attempt to flirt with Christian.

"Yes, I believe so." I answered.

Bouquet queued the Mastero to begin.

The melody for Think Of Me began, and my voice was ready.

"Think of me, think of me fondly as we say goodbye. Remember me, once in a while, please promise me you'll try. We never said our love was ever green, or as unchanging as the sea, but please promise me that sometimes you will think of me."

When the song ended, no one was clapping. The buzz of my own questions was in my ear. What if I was terrible? What if my voice wasn't ready since I had been up all night? I would be thrown out on the streets immediately, and no one would care about me, but of course I was wrong.

There was a low clap that grew into a loud thunderous one, and there was no audience. Only the crew and cast members were there to applaud for me, but it sounded like there was a full house.

I blushed, then ran off the stage in embarrassment into Meg's arms.

"Good night! You sure can sing!" She whispered into my ear.

I smiled and turned my head, glaring at her, as to warn her that I didn't want any compliments right now.

Christian ran across the stage, and picked me up in a gigantic squeeze. I was flattered that he had approved of my performance, but he soon set me down, getting heavy glances from Meg.

"You can sing like an angel!" He shouted joyfully.

"Shh! I don't want any compliments." I now felt comfortable around Christian, almost like we were brother and sister, and I had known him for years. Something about the song I had just sung had given me the ability to be myself around him.

Christian looked me in the eyes and smiled a smile that spread across his face until Mousier Bouquet came and asked for his assistance.

I stood away from time, completely stolen away from the world, that was until Meg grabbed my arm with an iron grip and ripped me out of my fantasy.

She took me back to our bench and put her hand on my face, like a loving mother.

"What are you doing? You're completely head over heels for him, you do know what this means?" Now that she was getting on my nerves, I didn't want her to be my loving mother.

"No. I don't know what this means, and I'm not head over heels for him." I breathed.

Meg furrowed her eyebrows and crossed her arms. I glanced around. "Ok! Maybe I am slightly in love with him, I just..I don't know him very well. We just met! What is it with me and falling in love so quickly...." I paused. "Oh crap." I silently fell to pieces.

"Yeah, What about your other lover? That murderer that lives somewhere in the catacombs of the opera house?" Meg asked.

I was going to have a panic attack, I remembered more of Meg's story, or the Opera house's story is more like it.

Erik had gone into a mad fit when he had heard that Christine had another lover. He hadn't taken it very well the first time, and if he thought I was Christine, betraying him a second time would be even worse.

Meg looked at my sweating self, she seemed to be getting worried "Maybe we should go upstairs..." she said warily. Upstairs was wear Erik's passageway was, he could possibly hear our conversation... and that would be horrendous.

"No! No! We're not going upstairs. That's the last place I need to go."

"Ok, then. Well we need to go somewhere, because we're starting to draw attention." Meg said, glancing at the numerous people listening in.

"You're right. Help me up." I said, holding out my arms for her to help pull me up.

We stepped out onto the stage once more.

"You know, this is really starting to sound more and more like Christine's past... Arya? Are you listening to me?"

I wasn't paying attention to Meg, I was looking at the cloaked figure that was standing practically invisible near the Chandelier's dome. He shifted sides and turned the other way, revealing a white porcelain mask that was etched over his face.

I screamed a blood curdling scream, my arms fell limp, and almost passed out in Meg's arms. The thing was I was still conscious.

Meg shifted my body back and forth, asking me questions "Arya! What in the name of all that is holy is wrong?" .

As many people surrounded me, I couldn't respond to any of their frantic questions, all I could focus on was Erik. It wasn't really Erik I was focusing on, but the sharp dagger that he was holding steadily in his gloved hands.