Ma Chérie - Phantom of the Opera (OC)

• Five •

♡ Beneath the Mask ♡

The crimson sheets she lay upon were soft, smooth against the supple flawlessness of her pale skin. She hummed contently, comfortable against the silken pillows beneath her head of chocolate locks. Her toes curled as she stretched out her limbs and turned her head to her right, studying the musical box beside her that had a monkey sat upon it, bringing together the cymbals it held in its hands.

She smiled, and with a soft sigh, she sat upright and reached out to stop the monkey and its music. The room - or rather the smaller cave off to the right of the larger cavern - was empty and lit only by a handful of candles. Curtains and thick, long fabric covered the walls while a black sheer canopy fell around the bed and was raised only by the pull of a single rope hung beside her.

When the curtain did lift and she eventually pulled herself out of the bed and into a stand, she frowned. There was no sign of Erik as she stood in what she assumed to be his bedroom. In fact, there was no sign of anyone but her.

She tilted her head a fraction, straining her ears and shuffling out into the more open space of the cavern as she picked up on the soft melodies played nearby - snippets of songs in progress from what she could tell.

She turned to her right upon entering the wide space, her eyes finding his dark figure at the organ within the dimly lit area. She paused and watched as his fingers moved with grace and precision, his body moving as though over come with passion for the music being brought to life. She could almost see his muscles contract beneath the fabric of his black suit when his head turned, catching her unsuspecting gaze.

She froze, holding his gaze in what could only be described as the most intense and captivating staring contest of the century. Even if she had wanted to look away - which she didn't - it felt impossible to do so. It was like her soul yearned to learn of the unspoken stories held within his deep golden yellow eyes.

But instead of pushing for a win in their little contest, Erik caved and turned back to his organ with a smile twitching up the corners of his lips. Again, he began to play, and the second he did, Coraline moved forward to be closer to him. It took all her strength not to hide behind her hair or shy away from being close to him out of pure concern for how he would think of her.

However, after much internal debate with herself and a firm determination to put the effort into getting to know the man she had spent so many years confiding in and learning from, she slid onto the stool beside him.

Her sudden appearance beside Erik caused his heart to beat rapidly and his body to tense discreetly, afraid to do or say the wrong thing. He glanced to her through his peripheral vision, curious to know what she would do next unprovoked.

For a short moment, she simply watched his hands work, admiring his delicate movements along the keys and the music that flowed through the instrument and into the silent air around them. She lifted a hand and brushed away a strand of hair from her face, giving her a better view of him from the corner of her eye.

Then, as her hand lowered slightly, the other lifted, and without a glance in his direction nor a word spoken, she placed her fingers on the keys beside his, joining him.

Together, they made perfect harmonised music that reached into their broken, lonely souls and shone light through them. For a single second, their hearts came together to create something beautiful and personal, something entwined out of their individual pain and neglect - shared and understood pain.