AN: So here it is the first chapter in the new and improved Meant to Be. For those of you who are just tuning in I have another draft of this story, but I decided the chapter's needed to be longer and the grammer needed to be better. While the story and title will be the same it will just be a bit longer. I do not own Phantom of the Opera all rights go to Gaston Leroux, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Susan Kay. This story has elements of the Novel Phantom of the Opera, the musical, the 2004 movie, and Susan Kay's novel Phantom. The story starts minutes after the Phantom's escape in the movie.
Erik stumbled through the cold street's of Paris, there was snow on the ground of the alley way's and he was clearly improperly dressed for it. All he had on was his white dress shirt and black pants. Just minutes ago, after he had let go of his beloved Christine, he had managed to sneak out of the Opera House through one of his hidden tunnels. He reached an alley way and peered out and saw that a police search was clearly going on for him. He made a dash for the other side of the alley way. He made a dash for the other side of the alley way when he heard a shout.
"Its him!" yelled an officer.
"Drat" thought Erik "I didn't expect this!"
Before he could react,however, he heard a pistol go off and suddenly felt a sharp pain go through his side. He looked down find blood trickling down his shirt. Realizing he'd been shot he ran down a corner clutching his side. He looked down and saw that it had just grazed him, but still the wound was deep if he didn't do something soon he could die or worse pass out and give that mob a chance to capture him.
He made his way down the alley ways, he was becoming weak from blood loss. He turned a corner to rest for a moment, but he could hear voices not far behind him. Panicking he reached for the back door of the first building he saw. He shut it behind him and closed the padlock in case they checked to see if it was open. It was very bright inside and when he turned to look around he realized he was inside of a church, which appeared to be empty.
"How ironic." he thought "Well, a least this is the last place they will look for me."
He sat against one of the wooden benches trying to rest for a moment, he lifted his shirt to look at the wound and saw that while it had grazed him it was still deep enough to need stitches. But it was not like he could go to a hospital; that was the first place they would look for him. Even a doctor would recognize his half deformed face and be to scared to come near him.
He began to try and rest his eye's to think what his next movie would be, when suddenly he heard a loud gasp. His eye's popped open to see a young woman, wearing a black winter dress, was staring at him her hand clamped over her mouth.
Panic went over him and he tried to stand, but felt a rush of dizziness from blood loss run through his head and fell back down. He felt himself loosing consciousness as he saw the young woman flee from the church undoubtedly to fetch the police.
When Erik came too his eye's opened with a jolt. After a moment of disorientation, he realized he was laying in a bed, a blanket over him and his shirt had been removed. Was it a prison cot? Had he finally been captured?
When he sat and looked around he realized he was not a prison cell, but what appeared to be a room in an inn. He felt confusion rush over him and wondered for a moment if he was dreaming. Then remembering the wound he had received he lifted lifted up the blanket and saw that the wound had been stitched and dressed. He sat in even more confusion for a moment when suddenly he heard the door from the adjoining room open up. He felt his heart pace faster and panic go through if as he wondered who it might be.
Too his great surprise he saw the person who entered the room was none other then the young woman in the black dress who had spotted him in the church. She looked a surprised for a second as if she hadn't expected him to be conscious.
Oh, you awake." she said. "It's all right, no one else knows your here." she said after seeing the wary look on his face.
"Who did this?" he asked gesturing to his stitched up wound.
"A doctor; my cousin. Don't worry he takes his oath very seriously he wont tell anyone." she said assuring.
"So I take it you know who I am?" he asked expecting her to run from the room in fear.
"Yes; your the opera ghost." she said, but she somehow seemed unafraid.
"Then why do you not fear me? How do you know I will not kill you were you stand?" he asked defiantly.
"Oh, I don't. Truth be told the smart thing for me to do would be for me to hand you over to the police. But I'm not going to. Don't ask me why."
She approached him, Erik felt surprise she would do so as he was well aware he did not have his mask on, most woman would have screamed or fainted at the sight of his face.
" My name is Manon by the way; Manon Molyneux." She said "And you?"
"Erik." he said begrudgingly at this woman's apparent lack of fear of him.
She sat down in a chair next to him " So Erik, what will you do now."
He tried not to look at her, he could not stand his face being so exposed as it was. The room was dimly lit but he was unsure as to whether or not she could clearly see his face.
"I will go into hiding, somehow." he said.
"Where do you think you will go?" she asked him seeming honestly curious. "I'm not going to tell anyone I'm just curious."
"I don't know." he said begrudgingly. "I can't access my account right now, and I have nowhere to go and no one to go to."
When he said this Manon got the strangest look and touched her hand against her mouth as if she were planning something.
"So you have nowhere to go?" she said almost to herself; it was as if she was thinking about something very hard.
"That's what I just said!" he said annoyed.
"Would you say you are very desperate?" she asked still with that same tone in her voice. Erik got the feeling she was concocting something in her head.
"Yes I would say I am very desperate!" he said, he almost wondered if she where mocking him.
"Desperate enough to day do something drastic?" she asked.
"That depends on what it is." he said unsure of what she was getting at. He suddenly realized how dry his throat was, and he eyed the basin of water next to the bed. Seeing this Manon poured a glass of water, and handed it to him. As he drank Manon continued on.
"What if we got married?" she said quickly.
Erik choked on the water trying not to spit it up. He stared at her as if she were insane; maybe she was. "I beg your pardon?"
"Just here me out." she said. "In case your wondering I am not crazy. My father was a very wealthy merchant. He owned a great deal of shipping companies. My mother died when I was very young so I was his only child. My father knew that men found me to be to strong willed, he blamed himself saying he gave me to much freedom, he even consented to me going to school to learn to run his business should he need my help, but he was still afraid I would never marry."
"How old are you?" asked Erik.
"I'm 21." she said.
"That is still quite young surely you have more then enough time to find a suitable husband." said Erik.
"Well that's just it, my father became very sick and right before he died he changed his will stating that if I did not marry by the time the four month morning period after his death was over, my inheritance goes to the government. Time will be up in four days. So you see I came to Paris a few weeks ago in the hopes of finding someone, I've had no luck so far, that's why I was in that church, I was desperate enough to go there and pray for a miracle, and then I saw you come in through the side entrance and, well, here we are."
"You must be insane." Said Erik.
"Well think about it." she said pleadingly." You said you had no one and no where to go, and you have no one to go to. I live in the country side, if we marry you can start a new life and I can get my inheritance, and once people have forgotten about the phantom, if you like we can divorce. This is probably the best option for us both."
Erik just stared at her unbelieving.
"This is crazy" he thought " but on the other hand I need a place to go, a cover. Who would suspect this fine young woman was married to the phantom, and she claims to be wealthy, I could have funds to continue my work."
He looked over to her anxious face that was waiting for an answer and it was then that he realized she was quit pretty. She had long auburn hair that was cut in a fringe, large chestnut eye's, full lips and the fine porcelain skin of a french lady.
Realizing that she was right, this was the best option for him he held out his hand
"Fine." he said and they bother shook on it.
AN: PLEASE REVIEW. tell me what you guys think of the improved draft. And for those of you who are unsure Manon is pronounced Man-Oh.