"Slow down, breathe deeply, and take your time," Erik ordered. "If you want to be able to hit those high notes, you need to focus. You're trying to rush the phrase and as a result, you're flat."

Ella nodded. "Anything else?"

"You just need time. Time to adjust still, time to perfect your technique," he replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "You're just noticeably new to the stage, and there isn't a whole lot that can be done about that but continuing to perform."

"Are you sure?"

"You were born to sing, mon Ange."

She smiled. "Well I wouldn't say that, but I have been visited an Angel of Music."

Erik chuckled. "See? Very few people can claim to have that happen to them. Only the best of the best with nothing but pure talent have met the Angel of Music."

"I must be very lucky then." Ella closed the gap between them, placing her hands on his chest. Erik put his arms around her waist and hesitantly pulled her closer. She laughed softly. "So much for having a lesson."

He dropped his hands down to his side and took a step back. "You're right. We can't have you ruin your career because your tutor can't focus. How's being onstage? Getting easier?"

"Yes," Ella replied with a nod. "I just pretend there's nobody there. It helps until they all start clapping. Then it gets scary again."

"But once you get to that point, the hard part is over."

"Maybe, but I still don't like it."

"You are one strange girl," he said softly. "Most actresses thrive on attention, but you run from it as fast as you can."

Ella smiled. "I'm not most actresses."

"No Cheri, you most certainly are not," Erik murmured. "But that's what makes you you. I wouldn't have you any other way." He wasn't sure he would have fallen in love with her if she didn't have her alluring shyness.

A touch of pink lit up her cheeks. "Oh Erik. I…I…"

"Ella!" a voice called. "Where are you? You promised me you'd go shopping with me!"

"It's Meg!" she cried. "I forgot I told her I'd go with her! I have to go!"

Erik nodded. "Very well. Don't stay out late. Prima Donnas need to sleep too."

"I won't," she replied, before calling, "Hang on a second Meg, I'm coming!" Ella turned back to him. "Thank you Erik. See you tomorrow before the show?"

"If you wish," he answered.

"So I'll see you tomorrow before the show."

He smiled. "It would appear that way. Now you better go before your friend throws a tantrum."

She hugged him before leaving to go out with her friend before Erik could even return her embrace. "Ella, I love you," he murmured softly, even though she was gone. For a moment he wondered what she was going to say before Meg interrupted. Was she going to say those same three words? "No of course she wasn't," Erik told himself.

"What's up with you today?" Meg asked.

"Huh?"

Her friend laughed. "My point exactly. You've spent the entire afternoon in your head. It's like everything I say goes in one ear and out the other without you realizing I was talking it at all."

"Oh Meg, I'm sorry. It's not you. My head's just been in the clouds I guess." She hadn't been able to stop thinking about Erik. Before Meg had come looking for her, Ella had been trying to say 'I love you' to Erik, but obviously that didn't happen. She wondered what he would have said in response. Would he have said it back?

"Someone's definitely dreaming today. What's on your mind?"

Ella shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just kind of scatterbrained today. Everything's still kind of sinking in, you know?"

"You've certainly been busy, that's true. I mean with your engagement ending, becoming prima donna, and your first week on stage, it's a miracle you've held together so well under that stress. What's your secret?"

"I don't know," she lied. Erik was her secret, but she couldn't exactly tell her friend that. "I guess I'm just good at handling stress." She looked up and saw a sleazy looking man that appeared to be following them. Ella didn't know why, but he made her uncomfortable, and she wanted out of the open now. "I'm hungry, how about we stop at this café for an early dinner?"

"That's a good idea!" Meg agreed. "I'm starving!" As they disappeared into the café, Ella was glad to be off the street. She had an inexplicable bad feeling about him.

A while later they were enjoying dinner. "So tell me," Meg said through a mouthful of food. "What's it like being adored by hundreds of people every night?"

"If I could do it without all the people, I'd do it in a heartbeat," Ella replied. "I hate people watching me. Even after all that time at the opera, I don't like it."

"Really? But you're the best singer we've had in a long time. You still haven't gotten over your stage fright? I mean, you hide it so well."

"I guess," Ella sighed. "That doesn't mean I like it. I mean, you perform for everyone too. You have the same audience I do."

"That's different. I'm just there to pass the time till they get back to you," Meg protested.

"Oh come on Meg. You are the best dancer we have by far. You deserve just as much, if not more, recognition as me," Ella insisted. "Between your dancing and your mother's training, it's a wonder people bother to listen to the singing when you're on stage."

Meg's eyes suddenly grew wide. "Oh no, I forgot to run an errand for my mother! It'll only take a few minutes. Go ahead and head back, I'll meet you there in a bit! I'll see you later!"

After Meg left, Ella decided she better get back to the opera. Darkness was falling, and being alone on the streets of Paris at night wasn't something she wanted to go through.

She had only made it a few blocks when she heard footsteps behind her. Ella glanced back and saw the man from before. Determined not to panic over nothing, she started walking slightly faster, but not enough to be noticeable. As she turned onto another street, out of the corner of her eye, she saw him quickly closing the gap between them. Realizing he was after her, Ella took off at a sprint.

Footsteps pounded behind her, and the next thing Ella knew, an arm wrapped tightly around her waist and she was dragged into an alleyway. She opened her mouth to scream, but a handkerchief smelling of a harsh chemical was clamped over her mouth and nose. Automatically knowing that he was trying to drug her, Ella held her breath and fought his tight grip with every ounce of strength she had. "If you just breathe, it'll be over much quicker," he hissed in her ear. Desperately, she tried to twist her head away long enough to get a gulp of air, but she was no match for him. After a few moments, her lungs burning, she instinctively took a breath against her better judgment. Almost instantly, everything began to go fuzzy. "Now was that so hard?" the man purred.

"Stop!" a new, familiar voice cried. "You're going to kill her!"

The cloth was pulled away from her face, but it was too late. Even though Ella was fighting its effects as best she could, she felt sick and everything around her was spinning. "She's simply falling asleep," the man holding her replied. "No harm to her just like you said. Now pay up."

The new arrival handed something to her captor, and a dizzy Ella was shoved into his arms in return. She was carefully picked up, in an almost loving embrace. "I'm sorry love," Archer murmured. "But it was the only way I could get you away from there." Ella tried to respond, but she finally succumbed to the drug, her eyes slowly drifting shut.

Her eyes slowly fluttered open as her body jolted again. It felt like she was in a carriage. She was lying down on something cushioned, but her head was in someone's lap. Looking up, she saw him staring out the carriage window, as he absentmindedly stroked her hair. "Arch…Archer?" she croaked, her mouth dry as cotton, her mind still in a drug-induced cloud. "Wh…Where are we going?"

"Go back to sleep," he replied softly. "We still have a while to go."

"Are…are we going back to the opera?"

Archer's gaze returned to the window as she fell victim to the chloroform's lingering effects. "Not quite, love. Not quite."