Okay, I'd like to make an announcement for new readers.
We did not state this before, because we did not think it would happen, but, if you do not like our Fan Fiction, please do not put it on the page. We get deeply upset with it and cannot help but do nothing. Recently we've had some thrashing and we've come to an understanding with that person, but it doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt. So, like I said before, Oriana and I would appreciate only good things to be said.
Thank you, and sorry for that interruption, Ori and I would like you to enjoy the next chapter, as we've worked VERY hard on it. Thank you.
-ForbiddenWords.

So now it's Ori's turn! :P I think FW already explained it pretty well but I'll say my part. If anyone has constructive criticism, we would love to hear it. But as for flames and put-downs…they don't do anything to help the story. And they really hurt. I don't know about FW but I literally cry when someone is truly mean like that and says that the story is a piece of crap. I guess that's just cuz I'm a big sissy, tho.

-Oriana

Lying there just felt so natural, so pure, Bella thought. Alright, so lying in my bed, unmarried, with a man I wasn't sure to be real wasn't so pure, but it was heaven. I couldn't help it. His eyes were glazed over, the perfect butterscotch orbs showing emotion, perhaps pain. I didn't want to interrupt, but I had to, I needed to ask this question. He hadn't answered me before. He kept very quiet, gravely quiet.

After Edward had found her in the burial section that was deep within the Opera House, he had quickly taken her back to her room. After all, it was dangerous for her to be there.

"Edward?" Bella asked as she snuggled closer.

He looked down, instantly snapped out of his thoughts. He looked down at her as if a magnetic pull what forced upon him. "Yes?" he asked. She breathed deeply.

"Can I stay with you? Please?" Bella asked. The last time she had asked this question, he hadn't answered her.

Edward's eyes flickered to hers; they were surprised. Bella prayed inside that she hadn't sounded like a harlot, or anything of the sort. She liked Edward, surely she wasn't to be condemned for it.

"I..." Edward stuttered upon his words. He didn't want to deny Bella anything, nothing at all. But she had to be with other people; their relationship wasn't healthy, for either one of them.

"I'm sorry, I just feel so comfortable with you, Edward. I love you." Bella declared. Edward had wished that she would say that, he had wished it for years. And here she was, finally saying it. Lying in her bed and snuggled to his chest, she was holding him, warming his dead, monstrous body.

"Bella, as much as I'd like you to stay with me, forever, you can't." Edward paused, "you have to sing at the Opera House, to grace people with your beautiful voice. I cannot deprive people of your glorious voice, Bella." Edward said. He looked down into her beautiful doe-like eyes. Brown showing a little amber – the color of passion, at least to Edward it was.

"Is that a no?" Bella asked, her blush showing slightly. She was embarrassed. How could she ask such an asinine thing? She was being ridiculous; he'd never really want her.

"I'm sorry, sweet, yes." Edward said. Then he shook his head, contradicting himself. "I mean, yes, it's a no." Edward sighed. He wanted to lock her up and never share her.

"Do you love me?" Bella asked, her eyes nervous, her body quivering in a crimson blush and her voice shaking.

"Yes, with every fiber of my being. Bella, I adore you, cherish you, worship you, love you," Edward said. He looked down at his chest where Bella's head lay, her eyes smiling with approval of his answer. Her face, though, showed dismay at his first answer about her staying with him.

"Don't you see, Bella? I am in love with you, but I am a monster. I can't grow old, I can't die... I am in love with the most delicate creature known to me, and I can't keep her. I am naturally selfish, Bella. I always keep what I want, get what I want, demand what I want. I must punish myself with you because I want to take you, I want to keep you... But it's not fair to you." He spoke fast, but slowly enough for Bella to comprehend what he was saying. She sat up and shook her head furiously from side to side.

"It is fair. I'll have you, Edward, please! Keep me. Never let me go…love me!" Bella said, raising her voice dramatically. Edward soothed her, made her place her head back on his chest. He couldn't explain it to her - how dangerous it was - without telling her what he really was.

"I do love you. I want to keep you. But I cannot, Bella. You do not understand!" Edward said, his voice ripping out of the velvet into a coarse leather.

"Then help me to, Edward. Tell me why I cannot keep you," Bella said. Her eyes shut closed. Did she just ask if she could keep him? Why had she asked him that? Did she truly love him; was she sure? She had only felt the feelings for Jake, and they were fading with in getting reacquainted with him.

"Keep me? Bella, I'd be keeping you. You would not be happy, if I were to keep you..." Edward said. He knew deep down inside she'd grow old – she was already a year older than him. Did it matter much? Not at all, not to him. To her, possibly, if she ever found out. Edward didn't want to hurt Bella, didn't want to do a lot of things to Bella, but the thought of being without her made him mad, insanely mad. He would turn her, if things came down to it, he'd make her his own.

"I want to..." Edward said, mumbling something to himself that Bella couldn't decipher. He knew she couldn't. His voice was only just audible to her ears, yet completely clear to his. "I love you, Bella. Do not think I don't, because I do. Just, let me think, I just know that you cannot stay with me, you cannot," Edward said. "Not yet." Edward finished. He sighed deeply, taking in a breath he did not need, filling his lungs to the fullest of Bella's sweet, innocent, beautiful scent.

"I love you, Edward. I know I do, forever, for always. For you are the sun in this dark and dismal place. You are my entire world now, is that okay?" Bella asked permission for her own affections. He felt utterly surprised. Never would he have thought of Bella asking if it was okay for her feelings. Never. If anything, he thought that he should ask.

"Of course it is okay, Bella. As do I, and I feel a thousand times more." Edward said. With in his years of life, including the two decades in which he didn't age for, he knew what love was. It was Bella. He knew the definition of Heaven, he'd seen it – it was Bella. He had seen a real angel, a real work of art, a Goddess – Bella. His universe was now Bella. She was everything.

Too long had he gone without seeing the light, knowing the warm caress of the sun on his face. But with Bella with him, admitting her feelings, telling him that she wanted him just as much as he wanted her, it was pure, it was wonderful, it was life. With the decades that flew by never did he think that he'd love like this, never, in a million years. Never.

Bella lay, wondering what Edward was thinking about. But it was more complicated to her, more confusing. Did she love Jacob? And if she did, was it a fraction of what she felt for her Angel of Music, her Edward, her Phantom of the Opera? He was her's, she was his. There was no way out of it. She had felt like she signed a contract in blood, her own body's chemicals pulling her toward the agreement, making her oblige by it's rules. Making her do everything but bow to it.

She was irrevocably in love with Edward, and she didn't know his last name. She didn't know anything about him. Only that he was a musical genius, he was cold, he was caring, and he had sang to her, taught her many things of the ways of music. He was hers…he was hers.

"At least take off that mask?" Bella requested. Edward looked at her. He was surprised, though, he shouldn't have been. He knew that she had wanted to see his face completely for so long. He could not condemn Bella to seeing his true face. One look at his face would make her fall in love instantly, just like Tanya had.

"I cannot."

"Why?" Bella asked, she reached for the mask, but Edward caught her wrists and held on to it very roughly, almost rough enough to break the fragile bones beneath the skin.

"NO, Bella." Edward demanded. He never yelled at Bella. He never dreamed to, but she was being difficult. "You must never see my whole face."

"But why, Edward?" Bella asked once more.

"Because one look at my face will condemn you to following me helplessly; you'll never question, you'll never leave my side. It will take away all of your free will, Bella, and I will not be responsible for it. I won't." Edward said, putting Bella's hands back to her side. She still didn't understand.

"I'm already that way, Edward. Please?" Bella asked. He couldn't stand not letting her have her way but he had to – to protect her from himself. Everything was to protect her.

"No. Now I must go. Mr. Black is on his way up." Edward got up, moving away from Bella's warm body. She didn't want him to leave and she whimpered at the thought.

"Don't." Bella pleaded. He sighed once more, that was a request he would have to refuse.

"I can't remain here, Bella. Stay and talk to him," Edward said. He walked through to the other side of the two way mirror, disappearing from her sight. He heard Jacob's knock on Bella's door and Bella's blankets pulling away for her to answer the door.

"Hello, Jake," Bella greeted. She sounded upset.

"Hello, I was wondering if you'd like to come to a banquet with me. It's for the new bank that is opening this weekend. The banquet's tonight, and you're welcome to borrow something from the Opera House. It's to be cold tonight so.." Jake sounded nervous... Was he ever nervous around ladies? No.

Jacob found that around Bella he was always wrong, always wrong about her character. Or what he thought to be her character. He found Bella quite different, more rebellious than girls her age. She was more daring, as if she were older than she was. Jake was a little bit intimidated by her but he didn't say anything of course.

He wanted Bella, in more ways then he did any other woman. It was odd, for him to like somebody so much. He couldn't help it. The way he remembered his and Bella's relationship when they were younger was very complicated. She had proclaimed her love for him, and right after her father died…and Jacob never returned. He didn't remember all that much. It was strange, because he should have recalled something, considering how old he had been at the time. But he didn't; he couldn't remember a thing.

"I'd love too, Jake," Bella said, smiling. "Is it a black tie affair?" She was still dazed from her earlier conversation with Edward. And the Phantom was still listening in.

"Yes, black tie. So I think the black dress from the set of Oklahoma is good." Jacob said. He tried hard not to look at what Bella was wearing, but that was difficult. What she was wearing was so simple, so unladylike. She wore a small dress – very small – that was mid-thigh, and her breasts were almost all the way out of her dress top. She was wearing a corset, possibly too tight.

"All right, thank you. I'd love to attend."

"It will make a good practice for the Opera House Ball, the Spring Ball," Jacob clarified. The Opera House always had a Spring Ball. It was half way through the season, and they were very busy that time of year, and well off. The Spring Ball became a tradition since the first owner of the Opera House. Bella and Alice were just old enough to attend last year. It was still January though; they had a long time until March.

"Yes, but the Spring Ball is the 20th of March, is it not?" Bella asked. Jacob shook his head smiling.

"But of course, I was hoping you'd accompany me there too, I mean, if you'd like. It's only about a month a way. After all, its the 30th of January." Jacob said. Bella nodded her head; she couldn't understand why he had brought it up now.

"Of course, I'd be honored to go with you." Bella assured him. Jacob nodded his head, giving her his best smile, a smile that Bella hadn't seen for years. A smile that could only be described as Bella's Smile. It was made just for her, enough to make her heart melt. Just enough.

"Well, until later then," he said finally, turning to leave. "I look forward to tonight, Bella."

"Tonight," she agreed, smiling. Jacob Black flashed her that heart-melting smile once again before turning to leave. She slowly closed the door and glanced at the large grandmother clock that stood in the corner of her bedroom. It was only seven in the afternoon; that left plenty of time for her to get dressed. She'd heard of the banquet that was being held in one of the most elite housing districts in the city.

The new bank was owned by a very wealthy man known simply as Aro. His wife had passed away the year before, and he had slowly recovered from the trauma. He had two children, twins, named Jane and Alec. They were only fifteen now but when they came of age, they were going to be the most eligible bachelor and bachelorette in a two hundred mile radius. Aro was hosting the banquet in his house, more suitably called a mansion.

Bella donned the black dress that Jacob had requested and slipped on a pair of black heels. Alice was nowhere to be found and Bella assumed that she was with Jasper, already at the party. Sweeping her hair up into a simple twist, Bella used a clip to hold it in place. She didn't do much in the way of makeup, Alice was the one who was knowledgeable in that area. Placing a black shawl over her shoulders, she took a deep breath.

Every time she was around Edward it seemed as if she had stepped into a dream; a hazy, dreamy fog that filled her with a slow-burning happiness. It was always too good to be true, this perfect bliss. It didn't matter that she couldn't be with him forever; it was enough to simply be near him. Her mind drifted towards the future, towards the inevitability that her days with Edward were coming to an end. But why? There was something he wasn't telling her – she could sense it. He was hiding something crucial from her, something he was afraid of her knowing.

A knock sounded from her door. Her heart leapt unexpectedly. Against all rationality, she hoped it was Edward on the other side taking her with him forever. But it was Jacob. Her mind was confused as to how she could like both men. She still had feelings for Jake, as was expected since he had been her first love, but she also needed Edward like she needed oxygen.

As Jacob's warm eyes stared into hers, she pushed all thoughts of Edward and her current predicament out of her mind, focusing on taking Jake's outstretched arm. He led her to a stagecoach that was parked just outside the front steps of the Opera House. Two glistening, ebony horses were hitched to it, silver-lined halters and harnesses on their majestic bodies.

Jacob lifted her easily into the coach before pulling himself up behind her. Then the driver cracked the whip and they set off towards Aro's mansion, to the banquet.

Meanwhile, the Phantom, Edward, sat before his piano, his fingers motionless over the keys. Painful memories kept swimming to the front of his mind, demanding to be acknowledged. Suddenly he couldn't stand for the mask to be on his face; it felt too much like he was being suffocated.

In one swift motion, he grabbed the ivory-colored mask and tossed it onto the closed lid of the piano. It bounced once before sitting face up in the middle of the dark, liquored surface. Staring at the familiar half-mask, a strong, vivid memory commanded Edward, immersing him in the past.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Flash Back - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Edward was hidden behind a stage curtain, cautiously watching the evening's practice. He had only been at the Opera House for a few years. Tanya was the current operatic star, a strawberry blonde beauty who had every male in the Opera House wrapped around her little finger. She was now singing a duet with a dark-skinned man. Her voice had potential – that much Edward could see. Stepping closer, Edward left his hiding place. Suddenly her eyes glanced towards him…and locked on his face. She stopped singing abruptly, leaving the man's tenor voice the only one on the stage.

Edward knew at once that he had made a foolish mistake. He had let this girl see his bare face. Her eyes widened and she stepped towards him.

Immediately, he disappeared back into the shadows but not quickly enough.

In the brief second that Tanya stepped towards him, the Phantom saw the man that Tanya had been singing with look directly at him. Edward remembered his name then. Laurent. The man stared hard into Edward's eyes with a look that spoke of centuries of knowledge.

Edward heard Tanya gasp and she began to walk towards him, gathering speed until she was nearly running. He raced up the flight of stairs, cursing himself for his mistake. Until that moment, he hadn't realized how the sight of his face would affect people. But now he knew…and he wouldn't let it happen again. He glanced back just in time to see Tanya run up the stairs and trip on the last step. Her body swayed dangerously before falling heavily on the rickety railing. Then her foot slipped on the step and she fell backwards down the flight of stairs, her body twisting sickeningly as it collided harshly with each step. A ragged scream tore from her throat, splitting the quiet air.

At the bottom, Tanya remained motionless. Dead.

Then a familiar male voice spoke in Edward's ear. "I knew you were here," it hissed. Edward whirled to find Laurent behind him. Edward looked into Laurent's crimson eyes and knew that there were two vampires in the Opera House. How could he have not seen that Laurent was a vampire?

The ruby-eyed vampire glanced down at Tanya's prostrate form far below them. "Such a shame," he muttered. "You killed my intended meal. I'm afraid that means I'm going to have to teach you a lesson about spoiling other people's food." His lips turned up into a malicious smirk. "This should be interesting, pretty boy."

Then he lunged at Edward.

It was a long fight. Both opponents were equally matched and they had to keep quiet lest any humans should hear them. Edward finally took the last bite. With a furious growl, he ripped Laurent to shreds.

Remembering how Tanya had followed him to her death, Edward glanced at the dead vampire's bones and knew what he had to do. He had to make sure that no one saw his face again, to keep that from happening again. In one moment, he knew what his first mask was to be made of.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - End Flash Back - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Now as Edward looked at that flawless white mask, he couldn't help but be disgusted. That seemingly innocent mask was made from polished vampire bone.

"I'm a monster," he muttered to himself.

His voice was full of ancient regret, the past continuing to torment him.

Bella had been at the banquet for well over an hour now. The actual banquet part of it had only lasted around forty-five minutes. The food was excellent and Aro's mansion was beyond anything she'd ever dreamed about. Gold leaf lined the walls and ceilings, mahogany furniture was everywhere, and ornate paintings and sculptures were in every room. After Aro got acquainted with every guest and introduced his two children, dinner was served. Thankfully Bella sat beside Jacob. She breathed a sigh of relief that she wouldn't be beside someone she didn't know. After the banquet was the ballroom.

"Please don't make me dance," Bella pleaded to Jacob when everyone made their way to the legendary ballroom. It was rumored that the walls were solid gold and so were the chairs.

"It'll be fun, you'll see," he said, leaning down to her.

"But, Jake, you don't understand. I can't dance!"

"Then tonight's a wonderful time to learn, isn't it? And aren't you a ballet dancer?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I can waltz," she insisted. Ballet was one thing, waltzing was another. Ballroom dancing had the same elements as ballet, but was simultaneously totally different. She groaned in horror.

During the banquet she had noticed Alice and Jasper across the table. Alice had smiled and winked at her while Jasper simply stared at the pixie-like girl beside him as if she was the only thing worth seeing. Now, as he led her to the ballroom, Bella glanced at Jacob. Never once had he looked at her the way Jasper was watching Alice. Not once. But Edward had. Simply thinking about her Angel sent flutters through her stomach and her pulse racing.

Of course, Jacob tried to get Bella to dance. But she vehemently refused, saying that if she did, she would injure innocent bystanders. After the disastrous first attempt, Bella convinced him to simply let her sit in one of the golden chairs with the sapphire-blue cushions. After fifteen minutes, he strode off to ask one blonde girl to dance.

"Bella!" Alice rushed to Bella's side and sat in the chair next to her. "So you're here with Mr Jacob Black?" She raised one eyebrow questioningly, grinning.

Bella smiled, but only because she was finally able to talk to her best friend again. Alice would never understand about her Angel of Music, Edward. Alice only knew about Jacob; Edward was still a mystery to her.

"Yes, I am," Bella replied. "But he's changed, Alice. He's not who I thought he was." The smile fell from her face, quickly replaced with a frown.

"It's been many years, Bella. Time changes people. I'm not surprised that Jacob's different from how you remembered him." Alice patted her friends back comfortingly, then grinned wickedly. "But he's still as handsome as ever!"

Bella smirked. "He is," she allowed. "Maybe I'm just being silly. Everyone changes over the course of years."

"May I have this dance?" Jasper asked Alice, leaning down, holding a hand out for her to take. Alice shot her best friend a grin before placing her hand in his to answer his question. Bella watched them dance gracefully through the ballroom, feeling suddenly very alone.

Two hours later it was time to leave. Jacob drifted back to her, grinning and holding an empty glass in his hand that Bella assumed had once held some kind of alcohol. He looked slightly tipsy but was still his charming self.

"Beautiful Bella," he began smoothly, "care to accompany me back to the Opera House? I shall be sure to walk you to your door so nothing happens to you."

She smiled amusedly at him. "Of course." Thankfully, the stagecoach was still waiting for them. Jake gave the driver entirely too much money for the ride back but she didn't say anything, knowing it would be a waste – the driver wouldn't give it back anyway. Jake wasn't nearly so drunk that he couldn't walk straight and Bella found that he was very entertaining when buzzed.

Suddenly he stopped when they were only just inside the front doors. "I'm sorry, Bella, but I've forgotten my pocket watch in the coach. I have to go get it; it was a gift." Then he rushed off, trying to catch the stagecoach that was rapidly disappearing through the city, leaving Bella alone.

She sighed and began walking to her bedroom. Taking a shortcut that Alice had showed her, Bella cut through the long hallway that had dressing rooms on either side. Then she noticed something strange.

There was one door that was thrown wide open – pale light spilling into the long hall. She stopped abruptly, her eyes zeroing in on that shaft of light. Then the light disappeared for a second, casting the hallway in darkness. The next second the light was back. Her heart quickened and sweat suddenly formed on her back. Something was wrong. Badly wrong.

She walked forward. What if someone was hurt and couldn't speak? Then they would need help and she was the only one around. But what if it was something else? She didn't want to think about what that "something else" might be so she pushed that worry to the back of her mind. Creeping closer to that vanishing and reappearing light, Bella stopped just before the open door.

Taking a deep breath, she looked into the doorway.

There, before her, was a swinging object. It hung from the ceiling of Victoria's old dressing room, the lamp was behind it and the vanishing light was from the object swinging in front of it, blocking the light from the hallway before moving away. Horror crept through Bella as she slowly noticed one detail after the other.

There was a chair, knocked onto its back, a few feet from the hanging object. Then she saw the feet. At the bottom of it was a pair of feet. She gasped and staggered back.

The object wasn't a thing at all – it was a person.

Someone had hung themselves from the rafters in Victoria's dressing room. The rope was tight around the neck, the back to Bella so she couldn't see who it was. She realized that in order for the body to be swinging by the rope, they had to have hanged themselves right before Bella came into the hallway. Then the body turned, and Bella finally saw who it was that had committed suicide.

The wide vacant eyes stared at her, somehow still filled with all the pain and agony of his grief. He had loved her so much; more than anyone had ever known, even himself. His mouth hung slack. Drool, mixed with blood, slowly trickled down his chin.

James.

~ForbiddenWords & Ori~