The Phantom's Family

Chapter 7

Elizabeth awoke in a rather large bed. An unfamiliar, large bed. As she laid there, she became aware that an organ was being played just outside the room that she was in.

Eventually, Elizabeth rolled out of the bed and stood up. She was still wearing her dress from the previous day. As she became aware of this, memories flooded back to her.

The girl sorted herself out; smoothing down her dress, finger-combing her hair, and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Somehow, she managed to make herself look presentable.

Elizabeth stepped out of the room and into the general living area. "Good morning, Monsieur." she yawned sleepily.

At this, the Phantom looked up from his organ. "You're awake." he observed. Elizabeth merely nodded in an attempt to stifle another yawn.

For a few moments, time seemed to stretch into hours as an awkward silence enveloped the two. They simply stared at each other.

"Monsieur," Elizabeth began, breaking the silence. "out of curiosity, do you have a name? Or is Phantom your name?"

It took a few seconds for The Phantom to register what she was asking, and when he did, he had to conceal his surprise. No one had ever asked his name in many, many years, if ever.

"Erik" he replied, without thinking.

Elizabeth nodded, seemingly satisfied with his answer. She looked around the lair, taking in every unique detail. Erik noticed her eyes settle on each instrument and then flicker to another object in the room. her eyes lingered on one instrument in particular.

"Do you play?" he asked, gesturing to the violin. Elizabeth blushed a little at his sudden question, embarrassed that he had caught her staring at the beautiful wooden instrument.

"A little. I taught myself, but I've never really had an opportunity to practice more than a few times." she replied quietly. "Well here, you're welcome to practice whenever you would like." her father said. Elizabeth smiled and thanked him.

Not wanting to seem too eager, she didn't pick up the violin just yet. Instead, she kept looking around the room.

As The Phantom watched his newfound daughter, he couldn't help but think how strange it was to have company in his lair. It would be strange having someone who would always listen to his compositions. It would be strange not to have to mope around and be lonely. But the strangest thing was that he would have to learn to care for a daughter.

At the same time, Elizabeth began to think too. It would be strange not to spend every second wanting to run away from her family. It would be strange to live in a dark lair. It would be strange to be surrounded by music. It would be even more strange to get away from her old "family" and spend her time trying to get to know her real father, the elusive Opera Ghost.

Though there were many new strange aspects of their lives, they both knew that it was a good kind of strange.