Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Diaries or POTO. Lyrics belong to the amazing Andrew Lloyd Weber.

Chapter 8: Interlude

'for those who speak of what they know

find too late that prudent silence is wise'

"Tell us a story about the Phantom!"

The other ballet girls murmured their excited agreement and Slater smiled, his eyes glinting with mischief. One of his favorite past times at the Opera House was amusing the Corp during their rehearsal breaks. It was an easy thing to do; the girls, no matter their age, were always open to hearing one of his stories even if it was a bit embellished and contrived as it was whenever he spoke to them of the Opera Populaire's resident evil. None of the girls, not even Elena knew of his and Isobel's suspicions concerning the Phantom.

"Well," Slater said, rolling his neck as a few of the girls smiled and went back to adjusting their makeup or tutus, slipping point shoes on and off to readjust laces, and whatnot. "He didn't always used to be such a horrid monster."

"He didn't?" one of the younger ballerinas asked, looking up at him with curious green eyes, red curls hanging in her face.

"No," Slater explained. "You have to know that people aren't born evil, not even our Ghost. You see, his mother had an affair with another man and the Phantom was the result. The Phantom's true father was much different than most men. He was a monster, much like the Phantom himself. A slave to nature with large yellow eyes and nasty fangs, cursed to haunt the woods as nothing less than a rabid animal every month when the moon reached it's peak. The Phantom was different from the rest and it was apparent when he was very young and no one knew. His mother resented him and the fact he was proof of her sins against her husband so she turned a blind eye to the way his stepfather mistreated him in regards to his half-brothers and sister. He accepted his punishments without question but his true nature made it hard for him to reign in his temper and aggression and, one day, it got him in to serious trouble.

"A terrible accident forced his mother, a very powerful witch, to place a curse on not only the Phantom, but all her children and it turned them in to monsters; immortal and unyielding. But, it affected the one worse than the rest."

"The Phantom."

Slater only nodded at his captivated audience. "You see, to complete the spell, each of the children had to drink blood from a human," the girls looked at each other and made disgusted faces, "and when the Phantom did, he killed the girl he drank from on accident and his true nature came to light. His eyes turned bright yellow with ugly black veins protruding from his skin. Four large fangs ripped through his gums and he transformed into the monster that his father was. His mother plead for the Phantom's life but she was still embarrassed and ashamed so she placed another spell on him, one that bound his animalistic nature, keeping the beast in chains in hopes that his stepfather would be forgiving. And he was…for a time. Until the Phantom caught on to his mother's shame and murdered her for what she had done and then he ran with the blonde on his hands and descended into madness with his stepfather on his heels.

"Eventually, the Phantom broke the Sun and Moon Curse- the spell placed on him by his mother- but by then he was alone in the world, the only one of his kind, wandering on and on by himself, unable to resurrect the man who had once been from deep inside his blackened heart. He's been running from his father, you see, the man has been hunting him down, ready to put the bastard into the ground for once and for all. But he's found a temporary solace in our Opera House. He moves in the shadows, unseen and undetected by us and those who hunt him. But he's still a monster. He watches us from the shadows, waiting for the opportune moment to pounce. Beware because you won't see his yellow eyes…they say that the only sign he's coming will be the feel of his hot, labored breath on your neck before his fangs tickle the skin on you neck. It's your only warning before he grabs you!" Slater yelled, jumping into action and grabbing Elena Flemming by the waist, pulling her back up against him.

Not having been paying attention, the brunette screamed, the other girls joining as they hadn't been expecting such an action. After a moment, Elena elbowed Slater in the gut and he let her go, laughing as she marched away with an indignant huff.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Madame Flemming asked, marching into the ballet dressing room.

"Slater's telling stories again, mother! About the Phantom!" Elena whined.

Isobel rounded on him in a moment, sending her infamous, stern gaze his way. "It would do you well to hold. Your. Tongue, Slater Monahan. Especially on such serious matters," she hissed.

He gulped, thinking over his story for a moment, suddenly horrified at how truthful it was. His gaze bent underneath Isobel's stern one, looking down at his shuffling feet. "Yes, Madame. Je vous demande Pardon," he said.

Isobel let her gaze linger on the doorman for a moment longer before turning back to her ballet girls. She stared at them for a moment as they tried to hold in the laughter fighting to escape their lips at Slater's expense. "Off you go!" she said, shooing them off with a wave of her hands. "You have a ballet that is not going to rehearse itself!"

They all jumped up in a wave of pink tutus and various hues of hair. "Oui, Madame!"

A/N: well hello there, friends:) Please, please, please forgive me for another unintentional hiatus. pretty please with a Joseph on top? or whoever you'd like? I'm very upset with myself for leaving this one unattended for so long- it wasn't my intention and I don't really have an excuse. This is not an actual chapter...I honestly wasn't planning on doing something to reflect the 'Magical Lasso' scene but when I watched the movie the other night, I figured it would be a good way to get back into the groove of writing this. The good news is I have the next several chapters mapped out (for the most part, have a couple snags/plot points to iron out...we're going a bit dark in upcoming chappies!) so updates should be regular:) I'll try to get the next big chapter out over the weekend for you guys!

thanks for reading if you're still out there. I appreciate you being patient with me. If you have a moment, please drop me a review...I'd really appreciate it:D