It was a difficult night for the woman. She kept tossing and turning in her bed, and finally, early in the morning, she decided to get up, unable to fall asleep at all. She had a bad feeling, but in fact, she did not know what it was about. Maybe it had something to do with that poor girl, Arlette, who had been gone for a few months already...

Yes, she knew she should have already tried to get to know what had happened to her, but there was no way of finding out without alarming anyone. And even if she knew how to do it, he would certainly get furious. After all, she had already given her word that she would not get involved into anything that time... and she had been protecting the girl as much as she could, but she could not force her to stay.

Maybe she should have attempted to stop the poor girl... as her guardian, she knew what would be best for her... but she could only lead Arlette – she could not make her follow her. Although Meg's friend was still a child to her, to the rest of the world, she was already a grown-up woman. She was allowed to make her own choices. Besides, the woman knew that one day she would need to let her free, anyways...

The woman got up and put on her clothes, gathering her hair into a tight bun on the top of her head soon after. This story might not have a good ending, she thought. It could be a tragedy... but I have already allowed it to happen. If I try to stop it, it would turn out to be even worse. That is why Meg cannot get involved, either.

With a sigh, she left her room to check on her daughter, still lost in her thoughts. And those were pretty grim thoughts.

Nothing good could have met Arlette in that kingdom of music and night. For although the man who called himself the Opera Ghost knew how to be charming and how to cast a spell upon the ones who loved music, he was not the one who should get in touch with people as fragile as Arlette. He would be a good teacher for her, yes, she believed that, but at the same time, she knew it was not about teaching her, at least not only.

The girl deserved someone young and full of energy, so unlike the one who had decided to make her his bride. Not to mention, he was uncapable of loving anyone the way a young girl should be loved.

He was possessive and obsessive. His love would rather harm her than give her the happiness she deserved. And there was nothing and no-one that he would ever love more than music. Even the one he had chosen... the one he had brought to his kingdom, to the hell she would never be able to return from.

"Meg," she said quietly, knocking on the door leading to her daughter's room. Meg would be still sleeping, as she thought, so she was pretty surprised not to see her there as she walked in. "Meg?" she repeated, this time with nervousness in her voice.

Having not received any response, the woman began looking for the younger everywhere. She even went to check if her daughter had not gone to practice; she often did that when she could not sleep or was worried... so maybe this time it would be like this, too... but Meg was not excercising, either. She was not even in Arlette's room.

But what caught her eye was the fact that the curtain that usually hid the majority of the wall was now moved aside, revealing a hole large enough to let a grown-up man in. And that was certainly a very bad sign.

"Oh Meg," Madame sighed quietly, hiding her face in her hands. "I have told you not to look for her... what have you gotten yourself into..."

And having taken a deep breath, she stepped in to disappear in the darkness.