"Clara how could you even-"

"He's after me!" Clara said firmly, "And he won't cease until he's killed or he's killed me. We'll be parted forever and-"

Eli watched in a confused trance as paranoia spread across Clara's face.

"He's everywhere I go Eli. Every hotel every dining room. Watching, waiting and I didn't know where to go."

"Clara."

"The police say I'm only seeing things but Eli I swear he's after me he's-"

"Clara!"

"Eli I'm frightened. Life has put through this ordeal by fire and I've come out with my nerves far the worse for wear-"

"Clariece!" He exclaimed seizing her shoulders. "Enough."

She bit her lip in quiet submission, her knees trembling.

"I don't want to die," She choked, her lip quivering on the verge of tears.

Eli paced back and forth steadily, his fingers twisting and twisting around the gold watch chain that ran across his waist.

"Why me?" he said suddenly confronting her, "Why not Giry or Gustave?"

"They wouldn't trust me," she sighed. "Was I foolish to think you would?"

"And because for some reason," she thought, "You were the first in my mind."

"I do, believe me, I do just." he outreached a hand to slip into her own but she drew away ever so slightly.

He gave a scoff of exasperation, "You still fear me?"

"I fear you not," She said staring back cooly at not, "I fear the oceans of destruction that lie at bay within you."

He raised a finger telling her she had no need to speak further. "Poetry will not soften a fact."

"Eli." She said firmly with some frustration, "I've nowhere else to go."

In a heated rage, Eli removed his mask. He thrust it out in one hand to her, his eyes burning. "Do you fear this?!"

"Yes!" She exclaimed stumblint backward in horror tears stinging her eyes, "It scares me to death Eli. But watch me stare at it and watch it chill me to the bone."

She stepped closer until she could almost feel his breath on her face.

Her demeanor was calm, frigid and emotionless.

"You watch me stare."

Eli looked down into her two relentless eyes. Her brow was furrowed, teeth clenched tightly against each other. He frowned menacingly as to test her resilience.

Her eyes did not leave him, nor her countenance change in the least.

He was the one to break away, in a disheveled shame, he turned around quickly and placed his mask back on.

Clara closed her eyes and gave a heavy sigh, or relief or of exhaustion she knew neither of which.

Before we go forward I have a question to purpose.

Can a man change?

Change more than his thoughts and actions, can he change what lays in his deepest inner heart, change his workings.

Or is he destined to fall once again into a pit of darkness no man can truly escape?

Or rather can a woman stare in more than fear?

Before we move forward, we must look into Erik's past.

And maybe, we will find some truth in the answers that lay there.

----------

A young man, about the age of ten and eight, walked briskly across the catwalk, checking ropes and tugging them gently to make sure they were secure.

His green eyes sparkled like emeralds.

He looked out over the auditorium, nodding approvingly as a young ballerina's eyes focused on him.

She put a finger to her mouth.

Stay silent.

The headmistress was in a hawks mood today.

"Giry," The old woman snapped, "Are you a dancer?!"

"Yes, Ma'am." The small girl nodded, looking down in shame.

"Then get your head out of the clouds and back into your mind, please. Your feet," Here she took a large brass cane and tapped her shoes forcefully, "Are down here."

The girl held back tears, how she hated disappointing anyone.

Her eyes floated back to the figure on the catwalk and he gave her a small smile.

Her chin remained upwards and she proceeded with her routine.

Erik made his way back up to the attics, the drafts tossing the tangled black hair that he had neatly combed back.

His mask was diffrent from his older years, in that his face was more shallow and thinner making no need for it to be wide or curved.

He slipped easily with great agility down the staircases that led back to the catacombs.

He was low on funds, a good haunting should bring back his salary for the month.

He changed into his suit from his regular dayware, quickly making his way back up to the small room behind the ticket office.

"Boy?!" A small voice called out, "Are you there? boy?!"

Erik emerged from behind the shelving and the girl jumped backward.

"You scared me monsieur."

"Apologies."

She smiled softly, "Tonight is Swan Lake. Would you like a box?"

"Five."

She gave a small laugh, "You've never wanted a box before sir."

He gave her a cold glance, adjusting his black gloves.

She cowered in fear and reached into her back pocket. "I have the information you asked for."

He outreached his hand as she watched with inquisitive eyes.

"She isn't the richest," Giry added, "But she is awfully pretty. Everyone likes that sort of-"

Erik shot her a deathly bitter glance and she bowed and hurried out of the room.

He identified his victim just as soon as guests started entering.

She wore a blue frock, beautiful gems sparkled in her brown hair. he could tell no lie, the girl was exceedingly handsome in appearance, well rounded in shape and had a flattering glow of smile from every angle.

Every place she stepped, wherever the dress trailed behind her, people followed, groveling in delight.

Where she touched there was light.

She was the sun.

He almost regretted what he was destined in his mind to do. But his survival came above all hesitation, he had yet gifts to bestow as a debt to the world. He would let them feel the pain they inflicted.

She laughed and chattered all the way to her seat, a handsome young child sitting down beside her, only about the age of ten or so.

"Brother dear you mock me too much," He heard her chide with a voice like a melody.

"How can you say you'll love anyone but Tom?!" The little boy said with fury, "You loved Tom."

"I loved Tom," She nodded gravely, "But I will move on Raoul, life does not halt for us to heal."

"Not me," the child Raoul stated with firm conviction. "When I fall in love it will be forever."

Erik gave a scoff before continuing up to his box. "Fool."

The performance went as scheduled, and even Erik had to admit that the dancing and music were up to sub-par standards. He would gladly have a conversation with the third bassoonist but that could come later.

He clapped politely as the intermission curtain closed on the dancers.

He had decided to scream the young girl's name in a blood-curdling yell that would echo from every angle. Then he would follow her home, walking and whispering her name behind her until she lost all her senses and reported the ghost to the Opera manager.

He had executed this plan several times before, in his much younger days of eight or nine.

It had been many years now, however, he had full confidence in his skills.

"Silence," He shouted bouncing his voice of the furthermost left wall.

Head swiveled quickly to the wall, a shudder passing over the crowd.

Erik looked down.

Two emerald eyes peered back up him.

The girl smiled in wonder.

Erik was taken aback, how had she devised his position with such great ease? Such precision?

The crowd began to move in on an old woman who had fainted as the last of the echos bounced around the hall.

The woman claimed she had seen a ghost behind her and was telling her story to all who would listen.

Even Raoul was drawn in by the commotion, leaving his sister and running heroically to the old woman's aid.

The girl picked up her skirt and drew closer to Erik, her head turned upwards to face him.

Hesitantly, after dropping her skirt she gave a small wave.

She noticed him be a gentleman, for he had a white button up with a grey waistcoat and dark black overcoat that he had draped over his one arm. And as he turned to look at her, revealing his mask, he displayed a rare sort of half smile on his behalf.

A gift in which where just the very edge of his right lip turned upward like a secret was locked up inside that nobody else could really reach.

This wasn't working, he needed her to be afraid, needed her to inform all that the ghost had returned.

He watched with pleasure as he removed his mask and the young girl stumbled backward in surprise.

"Scream," He laughed to himself, "Run and cry."

The girl stared back at him, face pale but with no signs of diminishing strength of courage.

Try as hard as she might have, she could not take her eyes away from the monster.

She frowned, trying to figure his reason in singling her out.

"Chloe!" Raoul called out to her. "Chloe where have you gone?!"

She stared and the masked man once again hid his face gesturing for her to attend to her brother.

"Just a moment!" Chloe Clarice Dechangy shouted back.

She would not let her eyes depart from the monsters.

Erik gave frustrated snarl of his lip and disappeared in a plume of smoke.

Chloe caught her breath, giving a gasp for air. Had she held her breath that whole time?

Raoul ran to her, a grin across his face. "Was a rat sister. The woman thought the rat was a ghost!"

"A ghost," Chloe murmured collapsing into her chair.

"Clara?"

"I'm not ever to come here again," Chloe said firmly to Raoul, "And when I've recovered my sense you remind me no matter what not to come back to this place."

Raoul took her hand, "What's wrong."

She pressed her eyes closed tightly before opening them again, "And you must come here, neither you nor any of our children. This is to be a sacred place, we musn't disturb the poor man."

"What man?!" Raoul laughed, "Clara what wonderful nonsense you speak. I have missed you."

He hugged her tightly and she gave a shaky laugh embracing him. "Let us go. I won't be able to stand it a moment longer."

Erik watched as the girl and her brother exited the main hall and out the door.

She gave one last glance as she departed, he thought she had seen him, the way she looked so intently at his position, but that was impossible- Wasn't it?

"Please," A man shouted coming into the lobby, a violin tucked under his arm, though it seemed to be of little importance at the moment.

"Please my wife, she needs a doctor, my child please." The man laughed gleefully.

Even Erik couldn't help smile a little inside. A new story beginning within perhaps hours.

Perhaps a girl who would stare at him the way that strange specimen of a young lady had.

He quickly found out a diffrent victim to hunt, but for weeks the girl stayed faintly in his mind.

Staring.