Disclaimer: I do not own "The Phantom of the Opera".
The Winter's Night
Chapter 1: Too Many Blankets, Not Enough Warmth
"Cold" was all she could think of as she woke up in the middle of the night in Erik's underground home. Her dreams had been filled with images of frozen objects. Among the random things that only dreams could possess was herself, encased in ice. Panic overcame her. She felt weighed down, trapped, and claustrophobic. She needed to get out of that ice which was not only numbing her body with cold, but also with fear. She tried to break free but she was paralyzed. Desperate now she screamed but no sound came out.
"Erik," her mind screamed, "I need Erik!"
Erik, she knew, would save her from anything, but where was he? He should have been here by now. This wasn't normal for him to abandon her like this, leaving her to the mercy of this freezing cold. Then logic came to her. Of course he wasn't here. This was only a dream. She could wake up if she only made herself.
"I want out! I want to wake up right now! This is just a nightmare and I am going to wake up right NOW!"
Christine's eyes flew open as she sat up, dragging the blankets off of her upper body. She was immediately attacked with the feeling of more immense cold. She quickly grabbed the blankets and pulled them up to her ears as she laid back down. She was shivering and could barely think of anything other than how cold she was.
It had hardly been this temperature when she had gone to bed earlier. She remembered as she had made her bed a month before that Erik had given her an extra blanket to use since it was now winter. It had taken her a few nights to get used to the two comforters and the extra weight they placed on her as she slept. Still she was very grateful for them. Erik's home could get very cold during the winter and tonight must have been extra chilly.
Now she noticed that the blankets were heavier than usual. Much more actually. She crept a hand our from underneath her cocoon, felt the cold prick her fingers, quickly counted that there were now four blankets on her bed, and retreated back inside. Erik must have come into her room while she was sleeping and placed two more blankets on her. Normally the thought that he had been in her room would have horrified her (especially while she was asleep) but this time she found to it be...sweet of him.
Before she could dwell on her change of opinion of him her thoughts were brought back to her present problem. Even thought she was covered in blankets she was still shivering. This would not do. She needed to get back to sleep. Her mind was foggy with exhaustion and her eyes were heavy. She faintly heard a clock outside her room sound two times. She sighed and allowed her eyes to close.
A huge shiver ran through her entire body and caused her to wake up. Her teeth were chattering and her face felt was cold to the touch. She thought of how Erik's hands were always cold when she touched, or rather, he held her hand. She wondered how he was handling this colder than usual night. She remembered him saying how he didn't mind how cold it was down here, below the opera house. He was probably at the moment sleeping easily, or, more likely, reading in the library before a blazing fire in the fireplace. She wondered if he might want some company.
She heard the clock signal that it was now 2:30 am. This was getting ridiculous. It was obvious that she wasn't going to get any more sleep tonight. Reluctantly she lifted the covers off of herself, hurriedly made her bed, grabbed her housecoat, put on her slippers and went to go find Erik and hopefully more warmer accommodations.