Music in the Dark

Chapter 11: A Step Back

Aveline had no clock to measure the time that ticked by in the underground lair. She felt as though she had been practicing for hours. After finishing her warm up, she had played with some melody lines that had been floating within her mind. She fiddled with the notes in her head, then returned to her room to retrieve the papers on which she had written short compositions.

Her stomach growled with hunger and still no Phantom. Although she couldn't be sure that he was late, her body's response made her suspect that he had, indeed, been delayed. He had never before missed a meal.

Bored of playing and too hungry to think of much else, she wandered the entirety of the cavernous maze. Her idea had been to stumble upon the hidden kitchen and scrounge around for something to eat. No kitchen had materialized, but she did happen upon a room that she swore to herself had been locked the last time she had checked.

Unlike most of the rooms she had seen, this particular area had no light source. No candles, no lanterns, nothing. She fetched a petite candelabra from the practice room and brought it back to explore what she had not yet seen. The room appeared to be full of junk strewn about. There was no order, if it was supposed to be a place of storage. Much of what she saw was quite dusty...and broken.

A mannequin dressed in a bridal gown was hunched over in the far corner. Librettos, programs, and posters of the operas Hannibal and Il Muto littered the floor. A voluminous red cloak and costume, complete with a large hat with an equally-large plume, were hung across the room from the mannequin. A skull mask glimpsed out from beneath the hat. Set pieces from various productions were destroyed either through negligence or rage, leaving their splintered ends exposed.

On the floor, only a few feet in front of her, sat another mask. Unlike the terrifying skull face, this one was simple and white. The candlelight illuminated it, making it shine and stand out amidst the debris of the room. Aveline cocked her head in curiosity and bent down to look at it more closely.

It was a half-mask, really. It shielded most of the wearer's cheeks from view, and the nose, eyes, and forehead would also be completely covered. The jawline, mouth, and the bottom of the nose would be visible. It was made of a porcelain, but quite light-weight. The inside was lined with a black material that cushioned the face. On either side, a black ribbon was fastened to the edge.

It looked worn, but not ruined. It obviously belonged to Erik, and he had taken very good care of it. She wondered why it was discarded in this haphazard room of forgotten memorabilia.

She looked once more around the room, searching for anything of interest, but she was not about to navigate through the trash to look for treasure. She did, however, take the mask with her. The door was once again closed and the room would stay shrouded in darkness. She took the mask back to her own room, placing it in the drawer that contained her undergarments. Better to not leave it out in plain sight. She was not yet ready to have a conversation about it. Or what it was meant to hide.

Aveline walked out toward the dock. There was a beautiful ivory shawl that went with the gown she was wearing, but she had left it in her room. She was about to go get it, when the Phantom's boat came into view, along with the man himself. She shivered and waited for him to come closer.

He saw her from afar, but he did not say anything or increase his pace. When the small boat was alongside the dock, he jumped out and tied it into place.

Erik turned to face her and lightly held her shoulders. Aveline knew she probably had a shocked expression, but the Phantom spoke before she could pull away or object.

"I am so, very sorry. I was detained much longer than I had originally anticipated." His eyes looked worried, and his tone, while muffled by the mask, seemed genuinely apologetic. "You must be famished. I am so sorry that I did not leave you something to eat, I truly thought I would be back before midday."