Come To Me
By: Child of Dreams

Disclaimer: The Authoress does not now, and most likely never will own the legal rights to The Phantom of the Opera or The Haunted Mansion.
Those belong to Andrew Lloyd Webber and Walt Disney, respectively.
(sulking slightly)
Ah well, a girl can dream, can't she?
Anyway, a thousand thank-yous go out to my awesome beta PeachMuffin, without whose help, I wouldn't be able to make this phic half as interesting as I want it...
(tosses PeachMuffin a bouquet of dark red roses, tied together with a black silk ribbon)
I think I may end up keeping her...
Now, on with the story!

Prologue: The Beginning

Palais Garnier
New Orleans, Louisiana
October 31, 1881

The ballroom echoed with the sounds of joyful laughter as a group of musicians played a lively tune on their violins, dozens of masked guests mingling about, laughing and drinking.
Paper faces on parade, the guests swirled around in a never-ending carousel of colors.
Flashes of mauve and puce, greens and blacks created a fascinating spectacle to the faces hidden beneath the masks.

Among the assembled was 21-year-old Erik Garnier, the sole heir to the mansion and last of his family name.
There were whispers among the social elite that he had fallen in love with a servant girl and that this particular ball was meant to officially introduce his future bride to society, but others disagreed.

"After all, why would the son of the richest man in Louisiana lower himself to marry a mere commoner?" the woman holding herself as regally as a queen sniffed haughtily.
"It simply doesn't make sense," the ghoul whispered to the pirate, taking a sip of the bubbling golden champagne.
"Complete nonsense!" the king chuckled merrily, spinning the queen around as the music spiraled around them.

The night crawled on, the excitement and mystery never ceasing.
Guests laughed and danced, whispered and gossiped.
As the clock began to strike the hour, the music changed to a slow, elegant waltz.
The dancers slowed their paces and found their partners, not noticing as a servant appeared and silently handed a sealed envelope to his master.
Opening the letter and reading quickly, the young aristocrat's face lost all color as he immediately rushed up the grand staircase, vanishing around a corner.

The crowd murmured in confusion and concern at his abrupt departure, but before anyone could go after him to see what the problem was, the clock struck midnight and a most horrible sound was heard, a cry of pure, unimaginable grief such as nobody there had ever experienced — or ever wished to experience.
"CHRISSSSSS-TIIIIIIIIIIINE!"

The music and dancing came to a sudden halt as the guests shuddered collectively at the pure anguish and despair in that voice.
The servants paled and rushed off in the direction of the library, followed by several of the guests, all fearing the worst.
But nobody was prepared for the sight that greeted them when Erik finally emerged.

A girl — an enchantingly beautiful girl with soft chocolate curls and creamy porcelain skin — lay limply in his arms, her head slumped lifelessly against his shoulder.
It was clear from the tearstains on the young man's cheeks and the soul-crushing despair in his eyes that the girl was dead.
But how?

[Three Days Later...]

It had only been three days since the Master's love had died, but the young blonde was worried.
As she headed to her room, her mind was plagued with worries for the Master.
He had completely shut himself away, not letting a soul in.

He had always been a solitary man, all of the household servants knew that, but there was something different about it this time.
She could sense it.
He had shut himself away once or twice in the past, but it was never like this.
No, something was definitely not right.

As she turned the corner, she heard a slight creak from above.
Frowning uncertainly, she looked up and a scream lodged in her throat as the world went blurry around her.
Dangling from the chandelier, his neck clearly broken, was the Master.

"Although no one knows for certain exactly what happened, it was around this time that the rumors about the Palais Garnier first began to surface.
Residents reported seeing an old gypsy woman at the mansion from time to time, but for the most part, the house was silent.
It soon became the subject of gossip and speculation.

Workers in the home claimed that the house had a spirit of its own and could transform itself at will.
Some said that daytime would suddenly turn to night and that lightning would strike on a sunny day.
Others claimed that brass knobs transformed into bats, wall sconces became gargoyles and family portraits changed into images of the dead.
Some even reported seeing ghostly dancers in the ballroom, who appeared and disappeared at will.

Today, the Palais Garnier remains a commanding landmark, an embodiment of the grandeur, romance, legends and mysteries of another time." - Excerpt from Haunted Bayous: A Ghostly History of Southern Louisiana

A/N: Please review to unlock Chapter 1...