This is the chapter where things change and, to make things simpler, I am doing this chapter from Penelope's POV. Enjoy :)

Chapter 7: Meeting Him

Penelope

This is the story I told Peter:

It had been three months that I had heard the ghost without seeing him. When I had first heard from him, it was very strange. I heard a voice and, though I could not see its source, I could hear him as if he were in the same room as I.

I knew my father had told me he would send me the Angel of Music to look after me after he had died, but I hardly thought it to be true until I asked him. The Voice replied he was the Angel of Music, he had been sent to me by my father, and he would teach me music unlike any I had ever learned before. We held private lessons in my dressing room, when that area of the opera was deserted, in the evenings. He seemed to know my level of skill and just how to teach me.

For some time, he taught me. I hardly recognized myself anymore. It felt as if my very soul sung, my heart wanting to leap from my chest, and… like nothing I had ever felt before. When I reached the pinnacle of my ability, the Voice told me I was ready. When I had my chance on the stage, my soul sung so strongly, it was as if it were leaving my body. What elation, what wonder! Then, on that night, I saw Peter in the audience and I remembered him from our childhood.

When I returned to my dressing room that night, the Voice wouldn't speak to me. He was jealous! I was more scared of not hearing from him again than anything else.

The next day, he spoke to me in my dressing room, his voice filled with sorrow. He told me that if I gave my heart to someone of Earth, he would have to return to Heaven. I begged him not to go, insisted that Peter was just like a brother to me. At that point, I didn't know what Peter's emotions toward me were, if he even remembered me.

When I found out Peter loved me, the Voice was enraged. "'You love him! Otherwise you wouldn't avoid him! If he were merely an old friend you wouldn't be afraid for him,'" he told me. I insisted I was only loyal to him… but I was afraid of what he would do to Peter. I had no idea how to tell Peter my true feelings. The Voice told me he would be with me when I went to visit my father's grave in Perros, that he would play a song for me on the violin.

On the night the chandelier fell, I feared for Peter and the Voice's safety. I knew Peter was all right since I had seen him with his brother in their box, but, since the Voice said he would be watching me that evening, I feared for him. It occurred to me that if he were all right, he would be in my dressing room, waiting for me. I ran there and called out to him to answer me.

After a few moments, I heard a plaintive moan. It was the Voice. He sang to me, beckoned me to follow him. I followed him past my mirror into a dark hall. I knew not how I got there nor how to get back. It was frightening.

It was not completely dark, so I had some comfort. Knowing that I could not go back the way I came, I decided to walk toward the light, which was a dull red glow. It was quiet, the Voice had stopped singing.

Suddenly, I was grabbed from behind, my beak was forced shut with a cold, bony hand that smelled of death. In one arm, he carried me down the hall, his other hand keeping my mouth closed. When we got further into the light, I saw him, a dark figure with a mask covering his whole face. I would have screamed if I could have, but my terror was so great, I couldn't make a sound nor could I bring myself to move. He waved to something to come forward. I heard the sound of a horse's hooves and I turned to see Cesar, the stolen horse.

It was then I realized I was in the presence of the Opera Ghost. "'Where is the Voice?'" I asked. He gave a sad sigh and extended a hand toward me. Not knowing what else to do, I took his hand, his cold death's hand, and he helped me onto the horse. He then boarded the horse and Cesar began walking, bringing us deeper and deeper underground, to places I had been too afraid to go to and beyond. I felt cold with fear, but still I did not protest or scream.

After a while, we reached a small lake. At its edge, a boat was tied to an iron ring near the shore. He got down from Cesar and extended a hand to help me off. I shakily took it and he lowered me, gently, and guided me to the boat. Cesar ran off while he untied the boat from the ring. I was free to run… but I didn't. I followed him into the boat and he rowed, his movements swift and sure.

We reached another shore that led into a room decorated in flowers and candles, a drawing room. He got off of the boat and offered his hand. "'It's all right, Penelope, you're safe here,'" he said. Immediately, I recognized it as being the Voice's voice. I jumped from the boat and tried to reach for his mask so that I could see his face, but he grabbed both of my wrists and said in a low, threatening tone, "'You are safe from me so long as you do not touch my mask.'" He then let me go and knelt before me to show he meant no harm.

I didn't think of the danger I might be in. I didn't think of how he had come to be here, what he wanted with me. All I thought, as I looked down at him, was that the Voice was a man… and I felt tears coming down my face.

"'I am sorry, Penelope, for having deceived you. As you can see, I am no spirit, ghost, or angel. My name is Perry,'" he told me. He was so mournful of what he had done. He cried with me, his sobs the saddest I had ever heard.

I knelt down and tried to comfort him. He tenderly grabbed my hands and said to me, "'You are not trapped here. I can take you back now, if you so wish it. I only brought you down here because… I love you, Penelope.'"

I felt sorry for him. So, I agreed I would stay, if only for a little while. I didn't want to leave him so sad. He guided me to a chair beside a beautiful harp. He played it and we sang until I fell asleep.

The following morning, I awoke in a small bedroom. The only door I found led into a small bathroom. I felt angry with myself for having fallen into this trap of which I might never escape. I discovered a note from him saying that he would be out for a while, but he would return soon. Fearing I was trapped with him, I fell to the bed and wept.

When he returned, he came into the room through a door I hadn't discovered. He dropped the boxes to the floor and rushed to my side, but I jumped from the bed before he could touch me. "'Keep away! If you are an honorable man, show me the face behind the mask!'" I cried.

"'You must never see my face,'" he said. "'Why don't you get yourself cleaned up and I'll prepare us lunch?'" He looked as if he wanted to say more, but merely left the room.

After I had cleaned myself, I joined him in the drawing room where he had a table prepared with food. I ate, but noticed he did not eat. I did not want to offend him though, so I asked him where he came from. He told me he had no name nor country that he belonged to and had acquired his name "by chance."

After I had finished eating, he extended a hand toward me. "'Come, let me show you around,'" he said. When I grabbed his hand though, it was cold and clammy and I withdrew with a small shriek. "'Oh! Forgive me. I…'" Whatever he was going to say, he withdrew it. He brought his hands away and said, "'Come, let me show you my room. It is rather curious.'"

His room's walls were covered in black curtains. On the left wall was a large organ that occupied the entirety of that side. On the right wall was a black coffin with red lining. "'I sleep in it sometimes. One has to get used to everything, even eternity,'" he said. I was disturbed by this, so I drew my attention back to the organ where there were music sheets written in red. "'That is my life's work. When I finish it, I shall take it with me to my grave and never wake up.'"

"'You should work on it as little as often then,'" I remarked.

"'Sometimes, I work on it for days with no rest or else I abandon it for years. It is my work and my work alone, not meant for anyone.'" He looked thoughtful. "'Come, I shall play something else for you, if you like, something from the opera.'" He said "the opera" as if he were disgusted and ill.

He brought me to a cello. He played and we sang a duet. I knew the song well and it seemed our souls were the souls of the characters from the play where the song originated. The composer, no doubt, would have wept. I was so enraptured by the moment, I… did something I regretted. It was quick, without nearly a thought, but I pulled off his mask.

He let out the most unearthly scream. It was anger and sorrow and I ran to the other side of the room and put my back to the wall. He held his face in his hands as he sat on the floor, sobbing.

"'P-Perry?'" my voice trembled. He looked at me, tears streaming from his empty eye sockets, around his shriveled beak, and past his nonexistent lips.

"'Why did you do that to me, Penelope? So long as you couldn't see my face, you would have come back, but now… Oh, Penelope,'" he sobbed.

I shakily approached him. "'Perry… how did you get to be this way?'" I asked, kneeling to his level. He smelled of death and there was no physical part of him that was attractive. He was a living corpse. Yet… he hadn't done anything to me. He had been kind to me. He had awoken something in me I never knew possible.

"'I have been this way since my birth. I thought… but it doesn't matter now. I… I will take you back. I just hoped that…'"

"'Perry?'" His tears continued and he would not look at me. "'Perry… look at me.'"

He looked at me with empty eye sockets, a shriveled death's face, and tufts of fur in various places. "'Penelope, long ago, my mother told me that our family had wronged someone, a witch. The witch cast a spell on my mother when she was pregnant with me. The witch told her that I would be born ugly and that I… I would have to do what they told me until I died. The only way I can be free… but there is no hope of that.'"

"'I understand, Perry. I will do what I can to help free you, I promise.'" I did not love him then. I stayed with him for two weeks and his love for me only grew. I… did not know what to think. I loved Peter, we had been friends for a long time. I had begun to realize, however, that I had feelings for Perry. I didn't know what those feelings were, precisely, but… I knew I had to tell Peter the truth.

I did not tell Peter of my feelings for Perry because even I wasn't sure of them. Perry was terrifying, but kind and… he awakened feelings in me, strong feelings I had never felt before. Peter had a good name and we had been friends forever. There is no doubt that either man would do whatever it took to make sure I was taken care of. I didn't tell Peter my feelings for either of them. I couldn't. I needed time, but that was something I was not going to get.

I had to make this chapter a little longer to put in everything. It suddenly puts a whole different spin on this story, huh? Who would you choose? Well, I hope you all enjoy it so far and I hope you will keep reading and reviewing, thanks :)