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CHAPTER ONE
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Paris, 1864
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"Erik?"
He turned around. The mask still covered his face. I smiled. it was good to see him, even if he did not recognize me.
"How do you know me?" Erik asked harshly.
"I was one of the attendants of the the khanum. In Persia?" I asked tentatively.
"Yes, I remember you. You more than any of the others. Mainly because of your overly persistent persistence." Erik said, a little more sarcastically than before. He turned back around, and began to walk away. I couldn't let him get away.
"More than Nadir?" I asked, cautiously approaching him. He stopped dead in his tracks.
"Do not speak of Nadir ever again." He said. His voice somehow overpowered me, and I said no more. Erik turned around to face me.
"You are very easy to shut up, mademoiselle." Erik fired at me.
"Not easy enough, sometimes." I snapped back. He smirked.
"It seems that someone has developed a taste for sarcasm while I was in Persia."
"And Italy," I said.
Oops.
"How did you know I was in Italy?!"
"I lived there, Erik. Long before I came to Persia to serve the khanum."
"Lia..." Erik said my name like it was a fragile object, treating each sound with care. To say the least, I melted.
"You...remember my name."
"Of course. How could I forget you, Lia? You showed me compassion when everyone else showed hatred. I am grateful to you for that," Erik said.
"Erik..." I reached out for him. He approached me again. I touched his mask, and he flinched. I grasped the bottom of the mask, and slowly began to remove it. He stopped me, and took me to an alleyway close by.
"Now you may remove the mask that contains such horror and despair. Just know that your fate awaits you once the mask has been removed."
"Erik, please. I only want to see what beauty this mask hides."
"Beauty, ha! You will never know beauty when with me, my dear."
I said no more, and simply grabbed the mask again. He closed his eyes and awaited my reaction. I pulled the mask off. He looked up, and what I saw was not horror, but shame, fear, despair.
I touched his cheek, and his hand fled to mine on his face.
"What do you see, Lia?"
"Erik, I see a man who has known much sorrow, fear, and shame. Erik, I see you, and not the monster they believe you to be."
Erik sunk to his knees.
"I never..." He couldn't continue. I knelt to meet his eyes. They had a glowing appearance, and were sunken. I kissed his forehead carefully, as if he were a priceless figure about to shatter.
"Lia..."
It seemed that all he could say was my name. I smiled.
"Erik, I could never accept you for anything other than yourself. You are truly beautiful, Erik. Maybe not on the outside, but your intentions are good."
He stood.
"Lia, you do not know me. I am not 'truly beautiful'. I am a monster, a terrible fiend! You say there is more than what meets the eye? That is false, Lia. People no longer look for true character of a person. They look for beauty, for perfection. That is why I am outcasted by so many. They hate me before they even look deeper, at what I could be."
"Oh, Erik...I-" I stood up.
"I do not need your pity, Lia. I have enough hatred as it is. Your pity is not something I want stacked on top of the hatred, the torture, the loathing!"
I couldn't take it anymore. I approached Erik, and wiped a tear off his face. I embraced him, as tightly as I could without crushing his bones. I could tell that he was surprised. He wrapped his arms around me, cautiously. I finally pulled away after I felt that I frightened him too much.
"Erik, this is not pity that I am showing you. It is love. Love for your unfortunate soul and your life of sorrow."
"Even love of my face?"
"Especially love of your face."
Erik looked shocked. Eventually, he bent down to kiss me upon the cheek, and he began to walk in the direction of the Paris Opera House.
"What are you doing?"
"Showing my pity for your confused mind, Lia. How could you love a monster such as me?" He walked down the alleyway and placed the mask back on his face.
I let him get away. Far enough away until I could safely follow him. I had to know where Erik was hiding these days. He walked through the alleys, twisting and turning until he finally reached the Rue Scribe. I kept close behind. He pulled out a bronze key and opened the gate to the lake. When it opened, I ran to catch up. Once Erik went in, I followed the lion to his den right as the gate began to close.
