Sing Once Again With Me

Cold. The freezing temperatures wrapped around her and an all too familiar stinging sensation was brought on her throat.

Light. Ella looked down to see she was sitting on the edge of a glass dome, and from within a warm light shone through.

A voice. It sang softly from right behind her but when she looked around she saw no one. It was small but wonderful and there was only one person she knew that could sing so beautifully. And there was only one song he could be singing. When he finished his portion of the duet, Ella sang only one word. Then suddenly a deep, booming voice's scream echoed throughout her mind, "No!!" and she saw a flash of blue eyes.

Ella suddenly sat up in bed with her hand grasping her throat, sticky tearstains down her face and gasping for breath from sobbing in her sleep. She frantically glanced around at her sleeping peers and let her hand slide down to her chest when she took a deep sigh. Ella massaged her temple, having developed a stress headache from the dream. She glanced out the window and could just barely note the outlines of neighboring buildings against the faintest hint of morning light. There was no way she could possibly get back to sleep in time. She took a last look around and grabbed her cloak before carefully making her way out of the room.

~~~Eric's POV.~~~

Eric as always had only slept a few hours, thus he was always up earlier and later than everyone else. Now he had been silently walking through one of his many passages when he passed a window of the ballet girl's sleeping room. He noted movement out the corner of his eye and he took a step back to see what the cause was. Ella quickly sat up in her bed, one hand around her throat and she seemed to be taking heavy breaths. Eric frowned in thought as she took her cloak and left.

He followed silently and unknown but she nonetheless had a strong feeling someone was there. He saw her pause at the door that led out to the roof and he thought she shivered just barely before she shakily reached for the knob and stepped outside. He had his own means of reaching the rooftop though...

~~~Ella's POV.~~~

Ella descended the small steps and quickly glanced around. She pulled her cloak around her more and went to take a seat by the edge of the building. The sky was a lighter shade now, a mix of blue and gray. She looked at all the building tops and looked down shaking her head.

'Am I going mad?...

Why do I keep having dreams of Eric.. and that man..

Why do I think about him so much?

Je ne peux pas croire I went with him last night... that was so stupid...

It's not that I don't appreciate the offer but I had no idea whether he did actually want to kill me or not..

at least now I know he doesn't want to kill me... hopefully...

Who is he?... His voice is amazing... why isn't he on stage?

Why is it he... reminds me of someone?...'

About fifteen minutes had passed and the sun was beginning to rise. Ella looked up and propped her head on her elbows to watch, sighing dreamily.

~~~Eric's POV.~~~

He had stepped into a position where he could see her. He watched her walk, studying her every move. She was very graceful, even in the simplest form of walking. She had a very light step and her hips swayed in a manner nothing else but lovely. She sat next to the edge of the building, watching the sunrise, and it was a perfect pose.

What was her reason for coming up here? At such an hour in the morning... There must have been a reason other than to merely watch the sun rise.

~~~Ella's POV.~~~

She sat there long enough to have the sun clear the horizon, it's warmth seeped through her cloak. 'It must be between six or seven now...' A smile spread over her lips and she kissed Eric's necklace before she stood, brushing herself off and going back indoors. It was much warmer inside the Opera House than outside on the rooftop but Ella couldn't take off her cloak; she was still wearing her nightgown underneath.

Eventually she arrived back at the ballet girls sleeping quarters and had just changed when Madame Giry came in and roughly spun her around. "Where have you been?" she demanded. Over the time Ella had come to be at the Opera House she and Madame Giry had grown rather close. Sharing in a few deep conversations, and some laughs and she had come to know her through Meg as well. Ella's eyes were slightly wider, "Wha- uh... I was just up on the roof watching the sunrise..." M. Giry had been glancing around as if someone were listening though. She looked back at Ella and put a hand on her shoulder, "Ella... you know you can tell me anything. Anything at all, I promise you can talk to me about it. Anything or anyone." emphasizing the 'anyone.' Ella looked into her eyes... she knew something... "Umm... yes..." The Madame lightly sighed through her nose and gave a small nod. "Meg has been worried about you all morning. As were the other ballet girls when they woke up and couldn't find you anywhere. And Marcus, oh ma bonte... he's been running around like a fou homme. They're getting breakfast, I told them I would look for you, and now you'd better go." She nodded and gave Madame Giry a quick hug before leaving.
Ella peeked in the door to see Meg, Marcus and a friend of his talking amongst themselves. She took a breath and silently made her way to their table, quietly seating herself. She took another breath, about to say 'hi' but Meg tackled her in a hug. "Oh mon Dieu Ella! Where in the world have you been!? The other girls and I were worried when we couldn't find you this morning, we didn't know what to make of it." Meg continued talking, otherwise known as screaming and Marcus wasn't waiting for her to finish. He'd grabbed her hand and was leaning forward "So where did you go? Don't scare me like that you idiot! I wake up to find my little sister's just disappeared into the night with no trace of what happened? Que est votre problme? Why would you do that? What were you doing?"

Normally Ella would have started yelling back at him for talking down to her like a child but she knew they were just worried and for that she loved them even more. She sighed, waiting for them to finish and when they did she began her explanation. "Look... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry anyone. Last night I had a bad dream, it was early so I wanted to watch the sunrise and clear my head a little bit. I planned on getting back at six thirty but it was actually seven and everyone had woken up." Marcus slapped his forehead, "The roof! I should've checked there first! You've got a thing for roofs..." Meg giggled, "I'm just glad you're back. But you're not allowed to scare us like that again!" Ella smiled and hugged both of them, "I'll try not to.."

Marcus' friend had been listening the whole time. He now cleared his throat and held out his hand,

"So... I'm Russell and you're Ella the missing girl I take it."
Ella laughed and shook his hand, "Yes, I hope that doesn't become a title. Nice to meet you."

"So, uh... how was the sunrise?" he asked.

"Well, the same... but beautiful nonetheless." Ella said with a smile.

The four of them finished breakfast and Ella and Meg went off to attend rehearsals while Marcus and Russell went to find another one of their friends.

Rehearsal's passed and Meg and Ella were changing out of their costumes when one of Meg's friend's Tayce walked by. "Oh, Ella! I heard you had been found this morning, I never found out why you were gone though. What happened?" Ella finished changing and stood up with a smile, "Hi Tayce. Yes, I was up on the roof watching the sunrise and I took a little longer than I had planned." Tayce nodded then said, "Well good thing your back." she and Meg glanced at each other when she finished speaking. "Sorry I need to go, I promised someone I would meet them. I'll see you two later." They shared their goodbyes and when Tayce had left Ella fell down on her bed. "Bonte gracieux, if I had known I would have caused such a problem... I appreciate the concern but why was everyone so scared?" Meg was finishing changing and she said, "Well Christine you-" she sharply inhaled and stood up straight though, sideways glancing to Ella. "Christine? Is there even a Christine here?..." Meg finished changing and clamped her hand over Ella's mouth shushing her harshly. She glanced around and softly said, "Whisper... And no, actually there isn't anymore..."
"Then why did you call me Chri-" but Meg quickly put her finger up to her mouth and Ella sighed tiredly, crossing her arms. Meg lightly sighed and put her hands in her lap staring down at them in thought. "Meg, what is it that no one is telling me?..." She glanced up at Ella and looked around again, "I guess someone would tell you sooner or later..."

She turned to sit facing her better and continued, "Ella... you resemble the singer Christine Daae. She became a star here at the Opera Populaire two years ago. She had an amazing voice as do you, but her voice would be described as... pretty... your voice is better described as 'elegant.' There was a man that lived here though; he actually lived below the Opera Populaire in the catacombs. He was called 'The Phantom' and he loved music; but the right side of his face was disfigured which left him a life of solitude. He eventually fell in love with Christine's voice and he tried to steal her away to live with him for the rest of her life, but Christine was in love with the Vicomte at the time, Raoul de Chagny. The two of them escaped and an angry mob found his home below ground but he had disappeared. He hasn't been seen since. A lot of people think he took his own life. I don't know what to think, but I do know that if he had come back at any time, It wouldn't surprise me that he has ways of staying unknown."

~~~Eric's POV.~~~

Eric found himself smiling at either how strangely familiar or how familiarly strange she was. It was amazing how today he'd found out she loved one of the many things he hated. Though it wasn't that he hated the sun, but he fed on darkness and shadows. He rarely left the Opera House, and when he did it was only to see the night sky.

Eric felt a strange, but all familiar pain inside him when he witnessed how missed Ella had been in just a short time. This agony constricted when he thought back to how he would never have someone to miss him... at all... Madame Giry's life would even be simpler if he just disappeared... He knew why she had been worried, the thought crossed his mind to pay her a visit and assure her the worries were unneeded. Her friend's, they also feared for her because she rather resembled Christine, but in the same way she was everything but Christine. It was her brother though, Marcus, that made him wonder. Was there another reason he had been worried?

~~~Ella's POV.~~~

The clock struck nine and Ella slowly sat up, looking around at all the other sleeping girls. She carefully stood from her bed and took her unlit candle. When she was out in the hall she finally lit it and silently traveled to the hallway with the painting door. When she turned the corner, the Phantom was waiting next to the painting at the end of the hallway. Her heart was beating faster with every step she took towards him. When she stood before him she opened her mouth to say something but he laid a finger over his mouth for silence, then in fear and without thinking Ella immediately held her tongue. "I know little Meg Giry explained the history of my opera house to you today, but a story isn't really understood unless you know both sides of it. We don't have to travel underground but - " Ella suddenly but softly spoke up, "We can go..." He stared into her eyes for a moment but he offered his arm and led her away.

After what seemed an eternity they reached his lair and he helped her out onto the steps. He left her to stand where she pleased and he continued up the steps, with a small sigh he finally turned around to look at her. "Well, where to begin... I didn't actually 'fall in love' with Christine or her voice. Granted, she did have a beautiful voice but she never sang with true emotion. I don't know what overcame me then, but I do know I was overjoyed by the progress she had made living here at the Opera House. I more saw her as a wonderful future for the world renowned Opera Populaire. I now fully respect and understand the love shared between her and her husband Raoul de Chagny."

Ella glanced down at her feet and then back up at the phantom before she softly questioned, "Might I ask why you insist on telling me all this Maitre?" He lightly sighed as he came to stand closer to her, "Because I want you to know that I mean you no harm. Yes, you resemble Christine and your voice even surpasses hers but I've changed my ways." Ella glanced around and looked down at her hands clasped together in front of her. "I understand.." she finally said. His shoulder's unnoticeably relaxed, "Well, would you like to wait until tomorrow night to continue your lessons?" She glanced around again, "I don't see why we should wait..." He nodded with the smallest smile and went to the stack of music sheets he had made before.