I sadly don't own the Phantom or any other characters created by G. Leroux, S. Kay and A. L. Webber, but they always have a place in my heart.

A NEW MASK

When Joséphine woke the next day, she rested in bed for a few minutes, thinking of how her life would change now that she was married. Apparently not that much in the beginning, she concluded. She would still have her room, as Erik preferred to have his own, and going to balls or any other social event with her husband wouldn't be possible until the gossip about the events in the opera had subsided somewhat and nobody would make the connection between her masked husband and the opera ghost.

But since she had spent the last year confined to this house because of Clara's interference, it wouldn't be that much of a difference. Clara would surely be viler than ever having lost the lot of the money, but she wouldn't back down anymore. She now had the upper hand and she sure would make use of it.

Finally, she got up from the bed and decided to check on Erik. Slipping on her dressing gown she strode towards the connecting door and knocked. When there was no sound coming from Erik's room, she knocked again, trying not to think about the possibility that Erik might not have come back after he had left last afternoon.

Deciding to ring for Mathilde, she turned and walked back to her bed, when she suddenly heard the connecting door opening. Whirling around, she came face to face with Erik, who was now impeccably dressed in a fashionable black suit and a green embroidered vest, making his tall form look less thin. He had also donned another bandage to hide the right side of his face.

"Forgive me for not answering your knock right away," he began, "but I was busy applying another layer to my mask, and it acquired my utmost attention."

Joséphine simply continued to stare at him, astounded how different he could look in the right clothes. He seemed to hold himself straighter, demanding respect. Gone was the caged animal look he had had in his worn clothes, when she had met him in the church.

At last, Joséphine thought to answer. "Good…good morning." Erik looked at her strangely, not knowing the source of her irritation.

"Did you sleep well?" he inquired.

"Yes, I did. I actually just rose," she replied hastily. "Can I…may I take a look at what you are doing?" she asked him timidly.

Erik thought about it for a moment, and then nodded in agreement. "If you wish it. Come," he said, striding back to his room.

The first thing Joséphine noticed was the rather big half emptied trunk next to the wardrobe. The bed seemed untouched, she wondered if Erik had slept at all or if he had made it himself. The desk was placed next to the window to have better light, upon it stood an old, tattered music box in the shape of a barrel-organ with the figure of a monkey playing the cymbals attached to it, and some jars of various contents, some of them opened.

Erik placed another chair next to the desk and motioned for her to sit down. With only his fingertips, he picked the unfinished mask up from the desk and handed it carefully to Joséphine, who stared at it in wonder.

It had a striking resemblance to a human face and was surprisingly heavy. Once finished it would cover the whole forehead, the right side of the face down to the chin and part of the nose. The eyehole was still missing though and it was of an odd grey-green colour.

Joséphine tentatively let her fingertips grace the surface, which had not yet totally dried. She looked at Erik. "You did all this in one night?" she asked him, overwhelmed by the talent that manifested itself in this piece of art.

"Well, it is not finished. I still need to find the right colour to fit it with my skin tone, cut out the eyehole and place a layer of gauze on the inside. It would chafe on my skin otherwise, since I will constantly be wearing it," Erik explained.

"This really is extraordinary. I would never have thought…"

"That something like this could be done by an abhorrent monster like me?" Erik interrupted her angrily, taking the mask back and placing it on the table.

Joséphine's eyes widened. "No! That is not what I was going to say, Erik! Stop making this constant conclusions, and stop calling yourself a monster, I will not have it!" Joséphine exclaimed.

"But this is what I am," Erik barked. "What did you want to say then?" he sneered, looking at her challenging.

"I never thought that all this could be done in only a few hours, that was what I was going to say before you jumped to conclusions."

When it became clear that Erik would not vocally acknowledge her explanation, she continued. "How long will it take you to finish it?"

"Still a few days, I suppose," Erik finally said. "Besides, I do not think it wise to change from the bandage to a mask that soon."

"Probably not," Joséphine admitted. "I hope wearing the bandage is not too uncomfortable."

"My sight is slightly reduced, but otherwise it doesn't bother me much."

Joséphine couldn't imagine being forced to always hide part of her face behind a mask or anything else, but she refrained from voicing her thoughts, not wanting to indulge further into the matter.

"I do hope that you will have dinner with me and Clara tonight," Joséphine said. "It would not look too good if my husband stayed in his room all the time.

"Very well," Erik conceded, grabbing a pencil, indicating that he considered the conversation over.

Shaking her head slightly, Joséphine got up and went to the door to her room. Before closing it, she turned once more.

"Really Erik, it is impressive what you are doing here. You really should take a well-meant compliment once in a while." Closing the door, she left Erik looking thoughtfully after her.