Hello readers!

Last night of school tonight before the weekend and this weekend I'll have my birthday party! :D Family will come over and it's stressing me quite a bit... I only hope they won't talk about illnesses and the kinds of it... I want people to enjoy themselves and I want to enjoy myself. So... yeah, it might be a weird party...

Have fun during the weekend, I will try to have some too. lol

Oh and here's your chapter for today! :D

Enjoy,

Kaya

Chapter 4

It was Catherine's first night under her aunt's roof…and she was cold, even in her sleep, not to say freezing. It was usually warmer in the middle of April… The fire in the hearth had died a few hours ago, but alas the loss of warmth was not enough to wake the young woman from her nightmares.

Erik woke up with a start when he heard whimpers and sobs coming from somewhere in the house, probably from the floor under the attic. Shivering, he found himself frozen to the bones and he quickly put on his thick velvet robe. Since he could still hear the sounds that woke him up, the Phantom decided to go take a look.

Making his way down to the second floor, Erik frowned. He did not hear anything wrong. Walking down the corridor, he stopped at each door to listen. There was nothing out of the usual, until he reached Catherine's bedroom. He could hear her cry on the other side of the door. Sobs turned into crying, what had sounded like whimpers from the attic, were actually groans of pain. He could recognize those sounds anywhere…and it broke his heart. Such a young woman should not have to go through so much fear, sadness and pain…

Deciding upon what to do, Erik slowly opened the door, only to make sure she was alright. Already adjusted to the darkness, his eyes caught sight of Catherine's writhing form. She was obviously in a great deal of pain. The bed sheets were on the floor, it was too cold to leave Madame Giry's niece uncovered. And so, as silently as the ghost he thought he still was, he approached the bed, picking up the blankets from the floor.

As he covered her, Erik unintentionally touched her arm. She was ice cold and shivering violently. Turning towards the fireplace, he was annoyed to find nothing but ashes. Lighting fires had no secrets for him and he almost laughed at the irony of it… Before he left, he went to Catherine's side. He had taken great care not to look at her when he covered her, he did not really know why though.

Calmer now, she had turned her head towards once the fire was roaming, but her hair was hiding her face. All of it was hidden, besides her mouth and a small smile was slowly appearing as the room warmed up. He secretly returned the gesture and left silent, glad he had woken up at the right moment and able to help.

Closing the door behind him, Erik lazily made his way back to the attic. He was surprised to find Madame Giry in the corridor, holding a candlestick in one hand, the other firmly planted on her hop. She opened the attic door and unceremoniously pushed him inside. He climbed the stairs and she followed close behind.

-"What did you do?" She asked in a hiss once they were arrived in the Phantom's new quarters

-"I did nothing wrong and she did not see me."

-"But she could have!" She sighed. "Grand Dieu, I do not want to have to comfort a frightened girl because she saw a stranger in her bedroom."

-"If I had not gone to her, you would have found her as an ice cube in the morning." He frowned, angry now. "It was freezing in there, the fire must have died down hours ago."

-"She could have called for help."

-"Oh come on, Liz. Is this how you plan to make her talk? She is traumatized and has a broken leg. There are certain things Christine can't do by herself at the moment."

-"Christine?" Madame Giry accused. "You probably wanted to say Catherine, right?"

Erik blushed with embarrassment, dropping his gaze to the floor as he realized Elizabeth was right, he just called this broken young woman by his angel's name. How could he have mistaken?

-"Leave me." He ordered bitterly, turning his back to Madame Giry, who quickly left the attic

A few days passed since the altercation between the Phantom and the old ballet mistress. They did not say a word to each other since. On May 1st, Catherine came out of her bedroom for the first time since she arrived. Her aunt helped her take a real bath and not only a sponged one. Once she was clean and dressed, Madame Giry led her to the garden, thinking some fresh air would do her niece some good.

-"I will leave you for an hour or two." Elizabeth said as she helped Catherine into a chair. "I finally found some work and my new boss wants to meet me to talk about my salary. Do you need anything before I go?"

Catherine shook her head no. She was still not speaking, but at least now she was acknowledging Madame Giry's questions by a sign of the head. There was some improvement… She knew Erik was right when he said her niece would take time to accept. Erik… she frowned, still angry at him for not talking to her, but he did call Catherine Christine and she was not comfortable with that at all.

Once her aunt had left, the young woman slowly rose from the garden chair and clumsily began walking. After only a few steps though, Catherine had to sit back down, her leg hurting more than ever. Sighing, she figured it would take longer to heal than what she had hoped for.

Erik watched his friend's niece from the attic window. He saw how painful and difficult it was for her to walk. It was not hard to notice that her cane was far from appropriate for her. It seemed that no one was intelligent enough to provide her with one that would not deteriorate her state…

From his hiding place, he could not quite see her features. Though he could have taken the opportunity to see her when he found her deadly cold in her room almost two weeks ago, he never really saw her. He found himself curious to know how she looked like and so he made his way down the kitchen before he could help it.

Through the small kitchen windows, he saw her make another attempt at walking. She was struggling, that much was obvious. Until now, she had her back towards him, but after a moment she turned and he finally was able to take a good look at Elizabeth's niece.

-"Christine…" He whispered to himself

Both women had features in common. Catherine, like Christine, had curly brown hair, though much darker and a pale complexion with pink full lips. Miss Daaé was taller than Miss Le François. Yes, they were alike, yet much different. Erik could tell Catherine had grace in her, though now because of her leg, she could not quite show it. While Christine could be compared to a bright, joyful day, Catherine was comparable to a dark, mysterious night. She had a dark beauty in her he could not quite explain.

When Catherine approached the back door, the Phantom came back to reality and he quickly made his way back to the attic. There was a place in his new quarters that was positioned exactly over Catherine's bedroom. He listened to make sure she was alright, when he heard her close the door to her chamber.

Catherine was panting, she obviously had problems get back up to the second floor. He wished he could tell the girl that she was not alone, release her from the sorrow strangling her into silence. But he could not do as he had with Christine as she prayed to her dead father. He could not bring back the angel of music, Catherine was traumatized enough.

After long minutes, he heard her calm down and lie on her bed. Getting up from the floor, Erik took a moment to think about what he could do for her. Scratching his head, he had an epiphany. He would make her a new walking stick, one that would actually help her and not deteriorate her condition. Finding his idea absolutely brilliant, he began making a plan. Catherine really needed this. It would not make her heal faster, but it would not slow the hard work her body was doing more than what she already had.