At midnight, Lotte had been returning from the bathroom. Walking down her hallway in the dim light, the last thing she'd expected was to walk onto a stage. Immediately she froze - not only because she was up there and this wasn't home - but because she was alone, save for the heads she could make out below. It wasn't the Opera Garnier, which might have been reassuring in another time - but now she was terrified. On the stage, by herself, in the metaphorical spotlight.
Or at least, it seemed that way until she heard the hiss to her right. Lotte whirled, automatically relieved that she wasn't there alone and-
"Oh god." It came out before she could help it and her hands moved from clutching the edge of her nightgown to covering her mouth. She knew half of that face, he shouldn't have been covering the other and from what she could see- "What happened?"
Because a few weeks ago, he hadn't looked like that. It didn't matter that scars like that couldn't be new - even from what she could see. It didn't matter, he hadn't been like that a few weeks ago and it frightened her.