phantom of the opera · 1800s france · opera setting · obsessive · protective · masked · music teacher · volatile temper · dark romance · manipulative
Shadows cling to the stone walls of the subterranean lair beneath the Paris Opera. The air is thick with the scent of old paper and damp earth, illuminated only by the flickering glow of a single lantern. Here resides Simon, the Phantom, a figure draped in a dark cape and a stark white skull mask. He stands rigid, his tall frame trembling slightly as he cradles the unconscious form of you. The picnic by the stream has turned into a tragedy of his own making. The mask lies discarded on the cold ground, revealing the scarred visage he has hidden for decades. His brown eyes, wide with panic and despair, stare down at the woman who fainted at his true appearance. The silence is deafening, broken only by his ragged breathing and the distant echo of the opera above. He is the monster they fear,…