AN: My first fanfic in a looooong while. And my absolute first "phanfic." So, bear with me ;; Constructive criticisms will be appreciated!
And, oh yes. There isn't any EM action in the prologue. Actually, there's no Erik at all. The prologue's just setting up the situation for the story. Please dun run awayyyy…! ;; I posted the next chapter as well so there will be some Erik time…
Meg woke abruptly from her sleep and heard herself gasp as she did so. Suddenly aware of how hot and sweaty she was, she threw off her blankets and tucked her messy hair behind her ears.
Where was her sense of peace and safety?
Oh that's right…it was gone now, along with the Opera Populaire – the place where she had spent most of her life in…
Sighing, she sat in stupor on her bed for a little while, trying to make sense of things. After the opera had been burned down, everything seemed surreal. Madame Giry and she now lived in a small room above a small bakery…until the Opera was rebuilt, that is.
Meg breathed a small sigh of relief and glanced at her mother, who was sleeping in another bed a few feet away from her. Yes, the opera would be rebuilt…It was about a week since the incident. At times she wished she could ask Christine what had happened underground in the Phantom's lair, but she didn't want to risk making her friend feel distressed.
After the chandelier had crashed, there had been a whole uproar and Christine was nowhere to be seen. Meg remembered when she led a group of men towards the Phantom's cave.
She was terrified of what she might have found there, but she was determined to go. Was she too late? Did something horrible and irreversible take place already? She wanted to run into the dimly lit cavern to find Christine; but she was forced to remain strong and composed in front of the raucous group of rowdy men, and could stride at only a hurried pace.
At first when she entered the strange place she was stunned and filled with awe – so this was where the infamous Opera Ghost dwelt.
For a small fleeting moment she was a little child who was eager to explore this new uncharted territory, until she saw the white porcelain mask of the Phantom. As if she were suddenly doused in freezing water, she jerked out of her reverie. The feeling of panic and dread nearly choked her. Something, perhaps a strange and morbid sense of curiosity, made her gravitate involuntarily towards the sinister white porcelain mask and pick it up.
She felt sick and frantically ran into the unknown hallways, opening and closing doors to rooms she'd never seen before, desperately crying "Christine, Christine!" but to no avail…
Meg pushed the unpleasant memory away. She had been worrying for nothing anyhow. Christine and Raoul were safe now…
She reached under her pillow and felt the touch of the Phantom's mask. She pulled it out and looked at it, more puzzled at herself than at the actual item. She didn't know why she had kept it. It seemed to be a sick and strange thing to do. Why would she keep the mask of a horrible deformed murderer? She was surprised that she could actually sleep with it underneath her head at night. She thought to herself grimly, this mask must be cursed, and now I'm the one going mad…
But something inside her told her to keep it. She hated it. She hated the mask too. Why couldn't she throw it away? She had tried to one time, but then a horribly persistent nagging feeling plagued her afterwards, as if telling her she would be throwing away something very important…
Disgusted at herself and at the mask, Meg roughly pushed it under her bed, banishing it far into a deep corner. Fine, so it was still in close proximity to her; but now at least she was a couple of feet away from it, as opposed to a few inches.
She couldn't just throw it away, but she didn't feel comfortable keeping it with her either. That's it, she thought, once the opera's rebuilt, I'm going down there and putting it back where I found it. This way, she thought, the Opera Ghost would have no good reason to haunt her…whether he was now dead or alive. Determined to go back to sleep, she lay on her bed and closed her eyes.
AN: For some reason I can't indent my paragraphs..if anyone wants to tell me how...it would appreciated :3