Only Time Will Tell

Chapter 3: Secrets Unlocked

Sakura: Hi people! I'm so very sorry that this chapter took such a long time to post. Second semester had just started and I am very busy with school and such. So. I have found the time to squeeze out another chapter!

Erik: I'd say it's quite well written.

Sakura: Only because it's about you!

Erik: …

Sakura: 'Thought so. Now, I would like to thank Arcelia and Ablus Severus Potter for reviewing my phanfiction! And with that over and done with, I present out newest chapter – Secrets Unlocked!

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Antoinette Giry woke up just as the sun was peeking above the horizon. She slept right next to the window – not of her own choice, as she would have rather slept near the door – and watched as the first glimmering rays of dawn showed themselves to the world. This was one of her favorite times of the day. All was silent but for the breathing of the girls around her. The world was peaceful and everything held its breath, waiting for the sun to show its face. Annie had this time to herself and she cherished it greatly, it being the only time she really had to herself those days. On this morning, though, she was restless and had a hard time keeping still and quiet for the ten or so minutes she had before the others awoke. Her thoughts were running almost too fast to follow. Her mind was filled with thoughts of Erik.

Erik, at the same time, was thinking of Annie as he started his day. Standing up, he stretched and walked out into the hallway. "Which way should I go today?" he wondered softly to himself. The light in the hallway was dim – almost dark – but there was enough for him to see by as he turned left and headed down a flight of stone steps that led to another storage room. This one held props that he immediately started sorting through. The room was full of little treasures that could come in handy. By the time he decided to move on, the air was full of dust and things were scattered across the floor. He left with his new belongings and quickly ran back to his own room, storing them in a corner. He would come back to them later. For now, he continued exploring, again taking the hallway to the left but passing the first room. He opened door after door, each room containing more interesting things. He found a big cloth bag in one and started putting his interesting finds in it to stash away at the end of the day.

As Erik journeyed through the opera house, he made a mental map in his head of where things were. He had a very good memory and stored almost every detail he could, adding it to his growing image of the Opera Populare. Erik soon came to a dead end, though, and turned back. He quickly stopped at his room to dump out the sack of props he had before heading out again, this time taking the right hallway. This was the one Annie always came and went by and it lead to many more places than the left one did. Erik had already mapped quite a bit of the huge building from the day before but he went back to places he had already been, making small adjustments in his mind. When he came to a new place, he added that, too. Before long, he came upon the ballerinas again. They had just finished lunch and were going off to practice some more. Erik followed the group, keeping a close eye on Annie, as they padded to the stage.

Annie took her position at the beginning of the ballet, calm and confident, while the other girls were weary and nervous. The event with the rope yesterday had spooked many of them. Annie paused, glanced up for a moment at the exact spot where Erik was currently watching, smiled shyly, and then looked back at Mme Chaffe. She waited for the ballet mistress to count them in and then began to dance. Annie danced as she had never danced before. She became so caught up in the movements that she didn't even notice when the others stopped dancing, each one of them watching her as she twirled and pranced across the stage. She danced to the music only she could hear. Erik, too, was awestruck by the sight. He couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from her beautiful form. All to soon, though, she ended her dance in a graceful drop to the floor. A moment of silence passed before the ballet mistress spoke.

"Antoinette Giry," she said sharply. Annie only then seemed to realize where she was. Her eyes widened as she came back into herself.

"Oh, Mme. Chaffe! I am so very sorry… I got carried away and I… I just…" Annie trailed off, not knowing how to explain what had happened.

"I never thought you capable of dancing in such a manner. Where did you learn those steps? Certainly not from me, my dear."

"I… don't know."

And she didn't. Nobody had shown her how to move the way she had. Seeing that they weren't the ones in trouble, the other girls began to chatter again, most of them talking about the sight they had just seen. Suddenly there was a gasp followed by a thump and a small yelp from above them on the rigging. Annie looked up, frowning slightly. She seemed to be the only one who had heard as Mme. Chafe was still speaking to her about how wonderful she was. "Annie, are you listening to me?" the mistress snapped impatiently. "Uh… what?" Annie said, snapping her attention back to the woman standing in front of her. She sighed and shook her head. "I'm sorry. I must just be a bit tired. I haven't been sleeping so well lately," she explained, telling a half-truth. "If it's alright with you, Madame, may I quickly get a drink?" Annie asked softly. "I suppose so… but be back quickly. We must continue with the ballet."

"Yes, ma'am," she replied before hurrying off. She walked quickly but not towards the dining hall. Instead, she went back stage and up to the catwalk, looking frantically for Erik, whom she knew had made the noise earlier.

After a few minutes of looking about, she spied him sitting near a pile of sandbags, hunched over and clutching his right ankle. She hurried to him as fast as she could and crouched down next to the boy. "What in the world happened, Erik?" she asked worriedly.

"I fell," was his short reply, spoken through gritted teeth.

"How?"

"I was watching you and I leaned over the railing too far and I fell down to here. I hurt my foot."

"Can I see it?" Annie asked, trying not to smile at his comment about watching her, and reached for his leg. He hissed softly and she pulled back before changing his mind.

"Fine! Just be gentle. It hurts a lot."

"I'll be gentle. I promise."

She sat in front of him and put his foot in her lap, watching him for signs of pain. His ankle was inflamed but not badly.

"It's sprained but you'll be alright in a week or so. Just be careful. And don't lean over so far next time! I might not be here. Speaking of which… is there a fast way to get down from here? We need to bandage your ankle," Annie explained, placing his leg gentle on the floor before standing and giving him a hand up. Erik gasped sharply as he put weight on his sprained ankle and then spoke to Annie. "Help me walk and I'll show you." Annie nodded, putting one arm around his back. She may not have looked it, but she was quite strong, as many ballerinas are.

Erik began to explain how to get back to his room, his mind focused on the map he had made in his head. "We have to go to the end of this catwalk and through that door over there. Then turn left and you'll see some stairs. Go down them and-"

"Wait. You're going too fast – I can't remember all that at once," Annie complained cutting him off. He made a face and rolled his eyes, looking at Annie. She laughed softly before clapping a hand over her mouth. "Sorry… go on," she whispered as they reached the door. "As I was saying before a certain somebody interrupted me, we go through this door and turn left. Then you'll see a flight of wooden steps." They walked through the door, Annie closing it silently behind them. She then eyed the stairs, biting her lip. "Are you absolutely sure they're safe, Erik?" she asked nervously. "I promise. They just look rotten. They're actually quite sturdy. I checked before I walked up them," he assured her. They started forward, taking each step together with Erik flinching as he stepped down on his right foot.

"How can you remember all of this so clearly? I'm never going to be able to find my way around!" Annie said to Erik once they got back to his 'room'. "I just have a good memory, I guess," he told her uncomfortably. He wasn't used to being better than other people. "Do you think you could draw me a map sometime?" she asked sweetly. He went over to sit on his pile of costumes. "I would gladly make one for you but… don't have anything to write it on. And nothing to write with, either," Erik said with a sigh.

"I could get you some paper. And I could find you a pen and some ink…"

"Really? You wouldn't get caught?"

"No, I certainly would not! I've been here for quite a while now. I know my way around."

"… Ok. Annie?"

"Yes?"

"How old are you, anyway?"

"I'm almost 13. How old are you?" Annie asked him, confused with this sudden change of conversation.

"I'm 12…"

"Then do you know how to write?"

"Yes! Of course I do!" He glared at her from behind his mask.

"You don't have to be so defensive about it! I was just wondering… because of where you came from."

"The bearded lady, Marguerite, taught me how to write and read… she was really the only person there who was kind to me."

He looked down at his hands, sadly.

"She was a mother of sorts to me, I guess."

Annie watched him, pain in her heart at the thought of being torn away from her mother. Her father had died when he was very young and she didn't remember him much but she did have fond memories. Her mother had then wasted away from grief, leaving Annie on her own. She wandered the streets until the ballet mistress found her and brought her to the opera house where she began to train as a ballerina. That then brought her thoughts back to the present. People would be wondering where she was by now. "Erik… I have to go for now. I'll be back again, though. Like always," Annie whispered to him softly, starting to get up. "No," Erik said fiercely and pulled her back down next to him. "But I'm in so much trouble already! If I don't leave now, they'll kick me out of the chorus!" she protested

"You can't leave me. I won't let you!" He said this with such anguish and pain that she knew she wouldn't go back. Not that night. "Fine. I'll stay – but only for tonight!" Annie told him, giving in at last. Erik nodded. "… Can I go get some things first?" she asked. "Yes – but come right back or I'll go looking for you!" he threatened as she headed out into the hall, turning right.

Soon enough, she was back with a satchel in her hands. She dumped it out at Erik's feet. "I got us some food, cloth to bind your foot with, matches and candles. And I found you a real blanket, not a ripped old curtain. I also managed to track down some paper and…" she opened a box that was among the other things scattered on the floor, "A pen with some ink!" Annie grinned at him happily and Erik couldn't help but smile back.

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Sakura: There's chapter 3! I finally finished it.

Meg: I love my mother. And she really is an amazing dancer…

Annie: Meg, hush. I'm not all that great.

Erik and Sakura: We disagree.

Sakura: You definitely dance better than I do! And I've taken dance lessons for a while… Anyhow, here's the link for this chapter!

h t t p : / / w w w . y o u tube . c o m /watch?v=KcLL8PMaNoQ