The moonlight shone brightly in Paris as Violet walked along the damp sidewalk, a small breeze chilling her skin.

Her final rehearsals at the Opera Populaire had finished only ten minutes prior, and she was on her way home to get a good night's rest.

But how could she sleep when Erik was on her mind?

His angelic voice continued to echo through Violet's head in a soft, loving melody that could only belong to her Angel of Music, and she excitedly awaited her next lesson with him.

Just as she turned a corner, a sudden hand aggressively wrapped around her mouth and pulled her back into a dark alleyway.

She screamed in response, but the stranger's dirty palm easily absorbed the sound, so she resorted to kicking her legs around instead.

"Stop squirming!" the man whispered-yelled through gritted teeth. "Or I'll break that pretty face of yours."

Violet didn't quit, however, and she continued to resist until he threw her onto the cold stone floor.

She couldn't see him very well due to how dark it was, but she could tell that he was a hulk of a man, towering over her with malicious intentions.

"Get away from me!" she exclaimed, trying to keep her voice strong. "What do you want?"

A devilish grin appeared on his lips as he replied, "You, my dear. How often is it that a beautiful woman such as yourself comes down the street and stops by to pay a visit?"

"I want nothing to do with you," Violet snarled. "Let me go before he arrives."

"He, you say?" the stranger raised his eyebrow. "Who is...he?"

"Your worst nightmare."

He barked out a laugh, which bounced off of the walls around them.

"You really expect me to believe that?" he scoffed. "You're a pathetic little bitch."

The stranger then grabbed a knife from his pocket and slashed it across her cheek before she had time to react.

Violet cried out in pain and instantly pressed her hand against the laceration, warm blood seeping through her fingers like a lake.

He smiled in sickened triumph, then raised it again, the blade shining in the moonlight.

"Behave, or you will suffer the-"

His statement was abruptly cut off when another dark figure moved in the shadows, and the stranger stood tall, gripping the knife tightly in his right hand.

"Who's there?!" he demanded. "Stop hiding like a coward and fight me!"

"As you wish."

Within seconds, the figure extended its arms out and grabbed the man by his suit vest, dragging him into the shadows effortlessly.

Violet quickly stood up and backed away from the ruckus, still cradling her injured cheek in her hand.

The stranger grunted loudly as he struggled against the unknown competitor, and she could only stare at the ever-moving shadows with a mix of horror and shock.

Then, another voice spoke up, and his threatening words chilled Violet to the bone.

"If you touch her again," he hissed. "I'll make sure you suffer for the rest of your days here. Do you understand?"

The stranger, who had been fierce only moments before, ran past Violet without glancing back once.

She slowly turned to look at the man in the shadows, and she breathed a sigh of relief when Erik's white mask revealed itself in the faint light.

"Oh, thank God," she breathed as she rushed over to him.

His arms protectively encircled Violet when she collided into his chest, and she knew she was safe in the dark wings of her Angel.

"My love," he whispered, his voice a mere whisper. "What did that bastard do to you?"

She didn't get to answer before he pulled back and examined the large cut on her soft cheek.

His eyes burned with hatred, but he quickly shook it off and placed a delicate kiss on her forehead.

"Come with me, my Angel," Erik said, caressing her uninjured cheek with his fingertips. "I'll take care of you."

Violet smiled to herself and clung onto him tightly as he led her back to his hidden home underneath the Opera Populaire.