Hello people of the internet! I am back, please don't kill me! I went on an unexpected vacation, and there was no internet connection :( During that time, I did write the next few chapters and they will be up soon after this one. I just want to thank you if you have still stuck with this story until now and I would like to warn you that school has started up again for me and I have all of these AP classes, so I don't know how often I will be able to update. I will do my best to update quickly, but...

Anyway, here is the next chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter Four

"Ah, Christine! There you are," Christine's father said as she walked into the dining room, "I was beginning to think you wouldn't be joining me," he laughed lightly as Christine watched the worry fade from his eyes, "No matter. Come on; tell me all about last night and today. I want to hear everything. Did you meet anyone?"

Christine walked over to where her father was now sitting and took a seat directly across from him. "I met quite a few people today, actually. I ran into Madame Giry and she introduced me to her daughter, Diana. She's very nice; she took me around and introduced me to all of the girls in the ballet. Everybody is so nice here, Madame Giry seems a little strict, but she is nice all the same."

"Wonderful! We are going to have a very 'nice' life here," he mocked Christine's word choice, "Did you run into anyone else?"

Christine knew that it was only a matter of time before her dad brought up the Phantom. With a sigh, she said, "No, Dad, I did not run into him."

"That's a shame. That Philippe seemed like such a pleasant man. Perhaps you two can get acquainted some other time." Her father's statement took her by surprise, Christine had completely forgotten about Philippe.

"Philippe? Oh, I met him this morning. We talked for a little while; he seems nice…" Christine trailed off.

"Well, I'm glad. He seemed very keen to meet you," he said, then something else popped into his mind, "On a side-thought, who is it that you didn't run into?" As he waited for an answer, a large grin filled his face.

Christine noticed and tried to discourage what he was thinking, "Dad, please don't say it. I just misunderstood you. Please just leave it alone, you know I hate it when you tease me." Her pleas fell on deaf ears.

Her father couldn't resist himself, "You thought I was asking about your Phantom!" He laughed while Christine glared at him, trying to hide the smirk that was growing on her face, "Now I understand why you are in such a sour mood tonight."

"Hey!" Christine couldn't help but laugh at her father's jest. She could never stay mad at him for long periods of time.

"Alright, alright! I'm done, for now," he poked, earning him a smile, "Ah, and here comes our food, and not a moment too soon. Why, thank you," he said as the maid set down their plates.

The rest of the meal was uneventful. Christine listened to her father ramble on about his first full day as owner. He had met with quite a few of the more important performers, such as the Prima Donna, Carlotta. Christine soon retired for the night. Before she could reach her room, she heard a voice softly call out her name.


Erik had made the decision soon after reaching his lair that he would train Christine's voice. As perfect as her voice already was, he could tell that it had never been properly trained, oh, and how he yearned to be the one to help her rise to her full potential, like he had done only one time before.

Erik headed back up through the secret passages that he had memorized long ago until he was standing behind a portrait that hung on the long wall of a corridor. He could see and hear everything that took place in that long corridor from where he stood.

Erik waited in silence for Christine to appear, knowing that this was the only way to her room. Several times, he almost left to search for her, almost. After a few hours of waiting, anticipating, he finally heard soft footsteps making their way, uncertainly, down the corridor.

He saw that it was, in fact, Christine heading to her room. He was silent, just watching, suddenly becoming nervous at the sight of her. He was able to find his voice again before Christine got too far away.

Using his expert skills as a ventriloquist, he called out to her, "Christine." It came through as a soft whisper, but it still echoed throughout the hall.

He saw her stop and a look of surprise and curiosity pass over her face. "Hello," he heard her call out, "Who's there? Show yourself." Erik's hand flew up to his face to make sure that his mask was firmly in place before stepping out from behind the portrait.


"Hello. Who's there? Show yourself." Christine stood absolutely still as she waited for an answer. She couldn't hear or see anything. As far as she could tell, she was alone.

'Maybe it's just my mind playing tricks on me,' she thought to herself. But then something dawned on her, 'What if it was Erik?'

As Christine came to this conclusion she felt a hand on her shoulder. She was about to scream when another hand covered her mouth.

"Shhh, Christine. There is no need to be afraid, it is only Erik." The hand flew from her mouth and she found herself facing the masked man.

"Erik?" she whispered, trying to focus on his face in the dimly lit corridor, but was only able to see the ever constant glow of light reflecting off of his mask. Every fiber of her being was telling her that she should be terrified, but she just couldn't bring herself to be afraid of this man.

"Yes, Christine. It is Erik. I apologize if I startled you, but now there is another matter that I would like to discuss with you and I'm afraid it's going to have to be a short conversation," he told her, "I would like to propose an offer to you. It would bring me great joy if you would allow me to train your voice. All I ask in return is that I remain anonymous, you must tell no one of who is training you," Christine went to say something, but Erik put a finger to her lips. "I do not require your answer now. I will allow you some time to think over my offer. If you are in agreement, I will expect you to be present in the star's dressing room at 8 in the morning in two days' time. Farewell, Christine."

With that, Erik faded into the darkness, leaving Christine alone with her thoughts. She reached out for Erik, searching in the darkness that he had disappeared into, but found nothing.

Christine than ran down the hallway to her room. Her heart was racing in her chest with the excitement that enveloped her at Erik's offer.

This was what she had always dreamed of, ever since she had first heard the story of the Phantom of the Opera. She had dreamed of a masked musical genius teaching her how to sing, and now it seemed that her dream was finally coming true.

Christine pinched her arm to convince herself that she had not fallen asleep and was in fact awake. When she didn't wake up, she squealed with pure joy. She knew that the next day would only slowly squeak by.

Christine found herself already impatient for time to pass so that she could see Erik again and begin learning how to truly sing. This idea that she would be spending large amounts of time with Erik caused a large smile to creep onto her face.

She had always had a crush on the Phantom when she had thought him to be only a fictional character. She wondered if her feelings would grow now that he was a real living, breathing man.

These thoughts and thoughts of what would happen during the awaiting lessons filled her mind as she readied herself for bed.

Christine lay down and was afraid that sleep would not come due to her excited state. However, as soon as her head hit her pillow, she fell into sleep's warm embrace.


Erik let himself slip back through the portrait and watched Christine until she disappeared into her room. He then head back through the tunnels, wondering what she was thinking.

He hadn't been able to tell if she would say 'yes or no' and he could not bear to hear her say the word 'no' out loud, he knew it would be easier if she just didn't show up when the time came.

Erik reached his lair and sat down at his piano. He let his hands glide over the keys before he began playing the melody swirling around inside his head. He would stop every once in awhile to write it down so that he wouldn't forget.

He began adding words to the music, each word inspired by Christine. One day he would share this song with her, but that day was in the distant future. He would first perfect everything about it; it would be perfect for his Christine.

Thank you all for reviewing, I love hearing from you!