Here is the next chapter…again, life got in the way and I was unable to post this morning like I wished to. Sorry.

My thanks to Kumon5 for her diligent corrections of my spelling and grammar…looks better right!?

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CHAPTER 7
PAINFUL MEMORIES

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The next day went much as the last, the two sharing a pleasant breakfast as they talked, laughed, and enjoyed each others company. They followed this with a singing lesson, and the surrounding stone walls to created wonderful acoustics, making the music all the more powerful. When they were done, Christine sat back on the sofa, an exhausted smile on her face.

"I almost didn't recognize my own voice," she said, looking around. "Every opera ever made should be sung down here. This place truly brings the music to life."

"It is not the place, Christine. It is you who gives life to the music…my music." Moving his hand quickly behind his back, he produced a single white rose, seemingly from out of nowhere.

Christine gave a gasp of delight and accepted the magical rose.

"How did you do that?" she asked, intrigued by his talent.

"Not by magic, I assure you," he laughed, not wishing her to revert back to the belief that he was some sort of Phantom. "Just a trick of the eyes, sleight of hand if you will." He reached out to her, pulling a coin from behind her ear, "Quite simple, actually," he said, enjoying the way she giggled at his trick.

"Well you have impressed me. What else can you do?" she asked, eager to see more.

Erik was more than happy to perform for her, dazzling her with each new illusion he demonstrated, and Christine was a wonderful audience, applauding each of his tricks, no matter how big or small. Erik completed his show with a low bow as Christine gave him a standing ovation.

"That was wonderful," she told him. "You could be a master magician."

"I don't know about that, but it is amusing, and it does come in handy when playing the part of the Opera Ghost." He laughed. "One never realizes when going through life what skills you may put to use in the future, including throwing one's voice."

"Can you do that as well?" she asked in amazement.

"Yes Christine, shall I demonstrate?" a voice seemed to say from behind her, causing her to spin around in search of the source. There was no one there. Turning back to Erik, she looked at him questioningly.

"I heard your voice behind me, but your lips didn't even move," she stated.

"That is the whole point of ventriloquism," his voice said again, but this time it seemed to have come from the left of her, by the fireplace.

Christine began to laugh, feeling quite foolish for expecting to see someone standing wherever Erik's voice would emanate. She then recalled Meg's story of her mother in Box 5.

"Is that how you were able to fool Madame Giry into believing an invisible ghost was occupying Box 5?" she asked.

"Yes." Erik laughed, his voice actually coming from him this time. "When people believe they have a ghost to blame for strange occurrences, it is quite easy to fool them. All thoughts of a reasonable explanation having completely left their minds. In fact, one time it came in handy in a small but quite effective comical prank I played on Carlotta."

"What did you do?" Christine asked, sitting back on the sofa, intent on hearing his story.

"Well, Carlotta always seemed to be picking on one person or another, throwing her weight around, so to speak. So I decided one day to teach her a lesson. She had been especially cruel to one of the dancers in rehearsal, calling her a little toad for accidentally bumping into her. During that evening's performance, I made her croak like a toad." Erik laughed, remembering the look of shock and horror on Carlotta's face when the croaking sound seemed to come from her own throat. "They had to cancel that night because she refused to return."

"Oh what I wouldn't have given to have seen that!" Christine laughed so hard her sides ached.

"But now that I have told you these things you must promise not to reveal my secrets when you return," he warned her. "My Phantom persona is the only thing keeping me from being discovered, and it is a role I have worked hard to perfect."

"I promise to tell no one, but it is quite a shame that I am the only one who knows the truth, who knows the real you." She wondered how she would be able to keep silent if someone were to speak disparagingly against her 'Phantom'.

"As long as you know, I am content," Erik told her.

"Where did you learn how to do all this?" she asked, sure that one didn't learn such things in school.

"The tricks, I acquired from a man in a traveling carnival. He was quite good, and in watching him carefully I learned his secrets. The art of throwing my voice I picked up from the ventriloquist that traveled with us," he explained, but a shadow seemed to cross his face and he looked away slightly. Christine didn't seem to notice, since she was so intent on learning more.

"You worked in a carnival?" she asked excitedly. "That sounds like such fun."

"No, Christine…it was not fun. It was anything but." Erik's voice grew cold, his eyes narrowed.

"Why?" she asked, puzzled by his change.

"Can't you guess?" he asked, his tone becoming harsh. When she continued to stare at him in bewilderment, his shoulders dropped. "No, your mind is too innocent. You are unable to perceive the cruelty of the world around you." He paused for another moment before he said in a very low and pained voice, "I was no employee of this traveling freak show… I was an exhibit."

Christine watched as his hands clenched into fists and his eyes filled with hate.

"I was nine years old and starving when I made the unfortunate mistake of trying to steal a loaf of bread from the wagon of a gypsy camp. I was young and foolish, and soon found myself their prisoner. In me, they saw great profit as a freak to shock the world. I was stripped of my mask as well as my dignity, then thrown into a cage and put on display for all the world gawk at...for a price." Erik turned away from Christine, placing both hands on the piano for support as he looked into the darkness, reliving his past in his mind. "For two years, they kept me either chained up or in a cage like some animal, and that was almost what I had become, a beast living only for the hope of revenge against those who dared treat me so. I listened, I watched, and I learned all I could as I planned my strategy carefully. Each night the voices of the taunting spectators echoed mercilessly in my ears, strengthening my resolve. When my chance came, I took the only option given to me…an escape provided by the point of a blade. I had wanted to kill them all, destroy the whole damn place, but when I was finally free of my bonds…I did nothing. I just left. I chose to show them the mercy they never gave me, and for the first time in years I felt the human side of me returning, something I had feared had been lost. I then roamed from place to place, country to country, searching in vain for somewhere I could belong. But everywhere I went, it was always the same. Fear and hatred seemed to greet me at every turn. So, I built this kingdom for myself and came down here, away from all other people. Here, no one could ever put me on display or lock me in a cage again, and I swore that I would die before I ever allowed that to happen again."

Christine could hear the pain etched in his words, and they seared her heart like a hot iron. Her hand covered her mouth as she closed her eyes, trying to block out the suffering and humiliation he had been put through. How could anyone have been so cruel? How could he have survived such a life? Opening her eyes,she saw that he was still facing the lake, but his head was lowered, his shoulders slumped in defeat. It had taken a lot out of him to tell her this, to expose such raw emotions that, evidently, were still terribly painful. Christine walked over to him and gently put her hand on his shoulder, compelling him to turn towards her. In his usually tender and affectionate eyes, she could see the traces of shame and helplessness staring back at her.

Feeling her own eyes cloud with tears, her heart went out to him. Moving closer, she tentatively reached her arms around him and embraced him tightly.

"Dear, dear Erik. What kind of life have you known? I can only imagine the atrocities you have suffered at the hands of the cruel people of this world...yet through it all, your heart has remained ever warm and gentle." She pulled away slightly to look at him, and seeing a tear slide down his cheek, she reached up and wiped it away. "You are no animal, no beast, for I could not care for you the way I do if you were. I only wish I knew of some way to purge your mind of this haunting pain that possesses you, to ease your suffering and convince you that you are not alone." With her words catching in her throat, she pulled him close once again, placing her cheek against his chest as her hands stroked his back comfortingly.

At first, Erik stood stock still. Such a compassionate gesture as this was completely alien to him. No one had ever held him so, never dared to come this close, but here was Christine, the woman he loved more intensely than words could describe, embracing him of her own free will. Erik was on an emotional roller coaster. He had relived his pain, expecting her to shun him, only to be rewarded with ecstasy. Her words had reached his dark and lonely soul, moving him to tears. As she took him in her arms the second time, he felt his own reach out shakily, daring to hold her as she held him. His touch was timid and unsure at first, but then, overcome by his longing for human contact, he embraced her fiercely. As they stood there, he, letting his long-denied emotions surface, Christine continued to hold him and whispered soothing words of comfort.

They remained this way for a long time, clinging to each other, daring the insensitive world to intrude on their tender scene. Then, slowly, Erik released her from his arms, pulling her back to stand before him. His now steady hand reached out to touch her velvet hair, to trace the lines of her cheek.

"You are indeed the kindest and gentlest of ladies, darling Christine. No one has ever graced me with such words of compassion as you just have. I now know that all I have endured has not been in vain. You are truly the angel here, an angel of mercy to a pitiful creature of darkness such as I," he said, his unbounded love for her welling up inside him.

"Do not mistake my actions for those given strictly out of pity. Though I deeply regret how you have been treated, my reaction was such as to be given to a dear and cherished friend who has been unjustly wronged," she told him.

Erik's eyes grew troubled as he turned and walked a few steps away from her.

"And what of your young suitor, your childhood friend...Raoul?" he asked, the name of that infernal boy coating his lips like arsenic. "Where does he fit into this picture? He will undoubtedly be waiting for you at your return, and I hardly think he will understand your entertaining such feelings of friendship for a Phantom."

"Raoul has no hold over me, nor does he have any power to tell me whom I choose to keep as a friend. We played as children and exchanged only a few words as adults. I am a grown woman now, able to make my own decisions. That is how it will be, with me doing the choosing. If I wish to keep you as my friend, Raoul can do nothing to stop me," she assured him, her face then breaking into a pleasant smile once again. Christine walked forward and straightened the lapels of his jacket, which had been messed up in their embrace. "Now enough of such foolish talk. Let's continue our day and concentrate on happier matters. What shall we do next?"

"Well," Erik began, always impressed at how Christine could turn his mood around with only a smile. "Other than an errand I must go on later this afternoon, I am completely at your disposal."

"What kind of errand?" she asked.

"I must go up to the Opera House. I am due to pick up my monthly salary, which our good managers Andre and Firmin quite grudgingly agreed to pay. I must also check on the situation with Carlotta, see if they have taken my advice and dealt with her accordingly." He looked over at the clock by the stairs, calculating as to when would be the best time to go. Just before a performance was when everyone was paying the least amount of attention to anything he might be doing, so he thought around 6:00pm would be the perfect time. "I would ask you to come with me, but there is not a lot of room in most of the secret passages around the Opera, and I need to go quickly," he explained.

"That is quite all right. I can find something to occupy my time here. Actually, I would love to browse your extensive library upstairs, and today would be a good time to do it," she told him.

When 6:00pm neared, Erik left in his boat, waving farewell to Christine as she started up the stairs to his library. The second he disappeared through the dark tunnels, Christine reversed her course and set to work on what she had been planning all day to surprise him.

While she worked, Christine pondered her feelings for Erik. The bond of friendship she had formed with him as her Angel was still there, stronger than ever, but she knew that there was now a new feeling making its presence known. Though he concealed his face from her with a mask, she knew the man behind it. His words and actions betrayed him far too well, revealing all she needed to know. Could she be possibly be developing true feelings for him? Or were her emotions just a result of pity, as Erik believed? Christine didn't think so, for when she'd held him in her arms earlier and he had touched her cheek, she had been overcome with a sense of wonderment she had never felt before. She was crossing into territory where she had never tread. Until now, music had been her life, but in essence…Erik was music. His voice and songs had become part of her forever, etched in her mind and heart. What if she did care for him…possibly even loved him? Then what? Erik had such a low opinion of himself that he might reject her for fear she only pity him. She would have to test her theory carefully, convince herself first so she could in turn assure him. This would be her her resolve for the evening, as she continued with her surprise, to determine exactly what her feelings were.

Erik had made his way to Box 5 and picked up the envelope that contained his pay from the ledge where it waited. He had then gone to the manager's office and listened to the goings on from behind the walls.

"I refuse to wait any longer! This ghost of your has gone too far!" Erik heard the voice of Raoul say, quite angrily.

"But Monsieur, what can be done? We can only wait," Andre told the unsettled Vicomte.

"Believe me, we are just as worried as you, for with Miss Daae missing and Carlotta gone, we have no diva for our Opera," Firmin added.

"To hell with your opera! What about Miss Daae? She could be in grave danger, her virtue…her very life. I do not buy for one second all this poppycock about a Phantom, a ghost. She has been abducted, and if you will do nothing to find her, I will! I will turn this Opera House upside down until she is found. And if she is harmed in the slightest way, this Phantom of yours shall feel my wrath, be he man or ghost!" Raoul's threatening words were followed by the sound of a door slamming, indicating to Erik that he had left.

Erik found that he had to admire Raoul…jut a little. Although he was destined to be an obstacle in his affections for Christine, the young pup had spirit. Still, no matter how much admiration he felt for him, he was not going to let him get in the way of his pursuit of her. Christine would be his and he would fight to keep her. His thoughts were interrupted as Andre and Firmin continued their conversation.

"This is damnable!" Andre shouted. "How are we expected to run a business with all these unending trials?"

"Andre, please don't shout, it will accomplish nothing but give you a hoarse voice and indigestion." Not to mention make me deaf, Firmin thought.

"Just look at these headlines!" Andre continued in an irate voice as he picked up a newspaper from his desk and waved it at Firmin. "'Mystery after gala night!' it says. 'Huge mystery surrounds the Paris Opera House as managers are baffled by one diva's flight and the other's disappearance,'" Andre read aloud before tearing up the paper in frustration. "It even has the gall to say that we suspect foul play." He gave a heavy sigh and sank down into his chair. "I only pray that they don't discover the truth. We wouldn't be able to give tickets away if they knew our resident ghost was abducting people at will now. Such a scandal would ruin us!"

"I do have to admit that this is quite inconvenient of him to put us on the spot like this," Firmin said thoughtfully.

"Damn inconsiderate of him if you ask me. He is quite abusing our position, and yet he still expects us to pay him. I have received two more resignations this morning from cast members who are too afraid to continue working here. If they all walk out there will be no proceeds from which to deduct his 'salary'." Andre rubbed his tired eyes with his hand, fighting off the headache that was threatening to make its presence known. "If things continue as they are, we shall be bankrupt within the month. If Miss Daae doesn't turn up soon to lure the crowds in, we will have to close the doors for good. We have done all that the Phantom asked. Carlotta is gone, and as soon as that villain in the hospital is strong enough he shall be carted off to jail. Why does he delay? What could his motive be?"

Erik knew they were right, he should return Christine to her old life tonight, but he couldn't bring himself to even think of it. Why? Quite plainly, his motivation was love for Christine and the hope that in time she could come to love him. He just needed more time…she needed more time.

"Maybe we should consider hiring a new singer," Firmin suggested.

"What? Where are we going to find someone who sings as divinely as Miss Daae?" Andre asked in a shocked voice.

"Not to replace her, for heaven's sake man, that would be insane!" Firmin corrected. "Just until she returns, otherwise we may not be open when she does come back."

"If she comes back," Andre said in a worried voice.

Erik had heard all he needed to. It was clear as to what had to be done. Though it pained him immensely, he resolved to return Christine the following day. Her career was in jeopardy, as well as Erik's life, for if the Opera House closed there would be no more music…and no more Christine. Erik could not deprive her of her new-found glory, for once one has touched heaven, as he had with Christine, it is hard to live without it.

So, after taking care of one last errand, Erik made his way back down the tunnels to his beloved Christine.

Raoul stormed down the hall of the Opera House, still furious at the two managers. How could they take such a helpless attitude where this Phantom was concerned? Maybe they had been scared into submission over the years, but not him. Raoul saw his duty clearly: he had to find some way to save Christine. Save her from the clutches of some madman masquerading as a ghost. He owed it to her dead father, he owed it to their childhood friendship, and he owed it to Christine. He was so intent on his thoughts that he almost didn't hear the quiet voice calling him from behind.

"Monsieur?" the voice said, causing Raoul to pause and turn.

"Oh, Meg. Forgive me, I was deep in thought." He came back to the petite dancer. "What may I do for you?"

"I was wondering if you have received any word from Christine?" Her sad eyes betrayed her worries.

"No, I have heard nothing," Raoul said, shaking his head as he leaned against the wall. "I am at my wit's end. If I had a name or a face to identify, I would have the entire police force on this villain's trail...but no one will take this Phantom seriously. I feel as though I am failing her, abandoning her to this madman who apparently has full reign over her destiny."

"Please do not berate yourself so," Meg said, putting her hand comfortingly on his shoulder. "You are doing all you can, and I know that Christine will appreciate you for it, but Mother says that she feels Christine is in no danger. She knows the most about the Phantom, and she says he is nothing if not honorable."

"Didn't you hear what he did to Carlotta's dressing room? Everything was destroyed, and there was a dagger thrust in the portrait of her, right between the eyes! As for the note he left, I can see why Carlotta did not remain long. This is not the work of someone completely stable. He is a time bomb set to explode, and I just pray that Christine is nowhere near when the fuse is lit." He ran his hand through his hair in desperation.

"Please, Monsieur, remember that it was Carlotta who tried to kill Christine. Wouldn't you have acted the same way given the chance?" Meg asked.

"Possibly, but I care very deeply for Christine," Raoul stated.

"Then who is to say that he doesn't?" she pointed out. "After all, if the Phantom is the one who has been teaching Christine under the guise of her Angel of Music, they may have even become close. Christine is very easy to like, and from the evidence of his note, the Phantom has taken on a particularly protective nature where she is concerned."

"This is possible," Raoul said, standing up straighter as he considered her words. "It is also very bad. For if he is enamored with her and she were to spurn his advances, who knows how he may act, what revenge he may take out on her." He grabbed Meg's hands and held them tightly. "You must help me, Meg. You must be brave and assist me in my search. Please Meg, do it for Christine," he pleaded.

"Of course, Monsieur, I will do all I can," She looked around quickly, then continued in a whisper. "Come here tomorrow and we can begin our search. Joseph Buquet may be of some help as well, he knows things others don't."

"Thank you, dear Meg!" Raoul said, kissing her on the cheek. "Christine will thank you for this, as do I." With that, he hurried off, his hopes renewed.

Meg just stood in the hall and watched him depart, reaching up to gently touch the cheek he had just a regretful sigh, she turned to go as well.

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Ohhh, the plot thickens….

What do you think about Raoul being on the hunt and Meg is helping him.

Erik's revealing his past like he did?

What do you think Erik's last errand was?

What do you think Christine's surprise is?

Do you think he will take her back tomorrow?