"Must you go so soon?" Meg asked with a pout.

"I'm afraid so," Christine replied with a sad smile. "You must come visit sometime soon!"

"I would love to!" she squealed. "If Raoul doesn't object of course."

"Now why would I do that?" he asked. "You are always welcome Miss Giry."

Christine pulled her friend aside. "Meg, your friend Ella, is she always like that?"

"Always like what?"

"She just ran off. Was it something I said?"

"It wasn't you." Meg shrugged. "I guess she is just like that. She's really shy, and some of the others have been taking advantage of that. Don't take it too personally. And she does run off quite a bit."

"Where does she go?"

"I'm not entirely sure. Like I said, she is unbelievably shy, so I think she just goes off to spend some time alone."

Christine was afraid of that answer. She thought she recognized that look in Ella's eyes, and if she wasn't careful, the girl could be in more danger than she realized. "Well take care of her. She's lucky to have a friend like you. Trust me, I'd know."

"I'm going to miss you Christine."

The two exchanged tearful goodbyes and Christine waved until the Opera Populaire was out of sight. As she sat back in the carriage, she realized that if her suspicions were right, then Ella was the newest student of the Angel of Music. Perhaps she was the one who could heal his hurting heart.

Erik still couldn't believe that he had chased away the only woman he would ever love. How stupid was he? Now his life was truly over. It felt like someone had shoved a knife into his chest and left it there.

He vanished from sight as he heard two sets of footsteps. The knife twisted itself as he saw who it was. So much for not being interested in him, Erik thought with a scowl as the patron walked Ella through the entryway of the opera. The patron (Archer, Erik believed his name was) kissed the back of her hand before bidding her good night and the two parted ways. Erik could feel the anger boiling inside him. Unlike Christine, he never told Ella anything was forbidden. He assumed that because she was so shy, suitors wouldn't be an issue. Apparently he was wrong.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to control this fresh surge of jealousy. It was just because Christine was here, he told himself. He was angry with her, not Ella. This pain was leftover from that betrayal. He hoped. Erik knew he couldn't take another heartbreak.

"So how'd it go?"

Ella could feel her cheeks flush as she saw Meg waiting for her. The blonde was lying on her stomach on her bed, her chin propped onto her elbows, waiting expectantly. "How'd what go?"

"Oh don't be bashful, I saw you with the patron. You finally went out with him! Where did you go? What's he like? Did he propose yet?"

"What?!" Ella cried. "Meg it was just dinner! Why would even think he would propose?"

"It was a joke," she replied, laughing at Ella's reaction. "Although he does strike me as rather forward so who knows? So tell me, how did it go?"

"It was okay," Ella said with a shrug.

"Okay?!" Meg asked in surprise. "Just okay? What happened? Was he mean to you? Is he missing a personality?"

"No he was incredibly kind to me and was wonderfully sweet."

"Then what went wrong?"

"Nothing went wrong," Ella insisted. "He's kind, sweet, sensitive..."

"Not to mention devastatingly handsome and wealthy," Meg added with a grin.

Ella ignored her. "Anyway there's nothing wrong with him and I felt like our dinner was out of a fairytale. There's every reason for me to swoon at the sight of him, and yet I'm just not interested in him like that. Don't get me wrong, he's wonderful, just not for me."

"Oh come on," Meg smiled. "You said yourself, he's wonderful and it was just dinner. Give him another chance. I'm almost certain he'll ask you to dinner again. And the masquerade is coming up in about a month, and he might ask you to that too!"

"Meg, honestly, it was just a one-time deal." Ella wondered if Erik knew that she went out with Archer. She wondered how he would react. Would he be angry with her or would he even care?

"A one-time thing? You've got that face again."

"What are you talking about?"

"Every so often you get a super-dreamy look like you're in another place. Whether or not you're willing to admit it, somebody's falling in love."

"I am not!" Ella protested.

"Deny it all you want, I'd recognize that love-sick look anywhere. Christine had it when she was with Raoul and you're starting to develop one."

"Nuh uh! I'm not in love with anyone!"

Meg smirked. "Right."

"Again," Erik ordered. Without question, she restarted the song. The echoes of Christine's voice still floated in the back of his mind, and he was desperate to get rid of it. Ella's voice was beautiful but it just wasn't enough. "Again!" he commanded even though she hadn't finished yet.

"But…"

"I said: do it again!"

"Erik, if you could just tell me what's wrong, I'll do my best to fix it," Ella pleaded. "Whatever it is, let me try."

"Do it again!" Erik snapped, losing his temper.

She flinched at his outburst. That slight instinctive movement screamed volumes for Erik. Suddenly it everything made sense. There was a reason this girl was terrified of people. How many times had he done the exact same thing himself when he was a young child locked in a cage? All thoughts of Christine vanished in that one moment. What he wanted to know was how on earth could anyone hurt such a sweet innocent girl?

Ella stared at Erik, utterly terrified. Then the anger she saw in his eyes vanished and was replaced with pain and understanding. In that instant, she realized he knew. "Ella," he said his voice gentle. "What happened?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she lied, unable to meet his eyes.

"Ella, tell me."

"There's nothing to tell."

Erik stepped in front of the door, cutting off her escape. "Don't make me ask again," he warned.

"It doesn't matter," she replied turning away.

He gripped her forearms firmly, his eyes pleading with her. "It matters to me." Her breath caught. She wondered if he cared about her more than he had been leading on.

"Erik…" she sighed.

"Ella, tell me who hurt you."

She could feel her eyes well up with tears. Erik looked at her expectantly, waiting for his answer, one he wasn't going to get, not today. Ella tugged herself out of his grasp, stared at him for a moment, before turning and running. "Ella!" she heard him call but she kept going and didn't stop until she found a deserted corner of the theater where she curled up and began to sob.