Daina
Daina woke a few hours later from the sound of groaning and someone moving about on the bed. She rubbed her eyes, not realizing where she was. After a few seconds, she noticed that Erik was having what seemed like a nightmare, thrashing from side to side, his arms and legs reaching to fight off unknown attackers. Not knowing what to do, she sat down next to his sleeping form, and did her best to calm him down. Daina stroked his face, and whispered comforting words, letting him know that he was safe, no one was trying to him. It took several minutes for him to calm down, at which time she moved to get off the bed and make her way back to the chair. However, as soon as she moved away from him, he began to toss and turn once again. Daina quickly settled back down next to Erik, once again giving him comfort. She felt awkward, as she barely knew the man, but knew that she had to do all that she could to help him, even if he had no idea who she was. Realizing that if she moved again, Erik would once again struggle, she laid down next to him, ready to comfort him again if the need arose. It was in this position that she fell asleep once again.
Erik
Erik awoke in a warm bed, with a slight pressure across his chest. After giving his eyes a few seconds to adjust, he realized that the pressure he felt was an arm, and that there was a woman lying next to him. He struggled to remember what had happened. There was no memory of him getting into a bed, no memory of any woman, let alone one with fiery, copper hair. In fact, the last thing Erik remembered was… someone screaming at him to get up, and helping him get away from a fire. Suddenly, Erik remembered the fire, the mob, everything. He had wanted to die. He still wanted to die. Why hadn't he? The figure next to him shifted, moving closer to him, and Erik realized that he still had no idea who this was. He stared dumbfounded at the woman, no idea what to do. Should he wake her? Should he let her sleep? Having never been in this situation before, or anything similar to it, Erik had no idea on what protocol was correct for finding a stranger in his bed. Ideas ran through his head, from yelling at the woman until she became terrified and ran away, solving the problem for him, to waiting until she woke up, hoping that she could answer his questions. Knowing that she may be the only one who could give him the answers he craved, Erik decided to let her sleep. He buried his face in his hands, struggling against his instinct to wake the woman up and throw her out. It was then he noticed that he was not wearing his mask. This irritated him further. Erik got out of bed, careful to not wake the woman, and noticed for the first time that he was not wearing his mask. Why would a woman be lying next to me in bed, and why am I not be wearing my mask? Had she seen my face? Erik shook his head at that thought. Of course she had not seen my face. If she had, she would not have been sleeping next to me, she would have ran away from the monster, no matter who she is. He got out of bed, careful to not wake the woman. Finding his mask, Erik turned and left the room, determined to find out where he was, and what had happened.
Erik walked out of the room, and noticed that he was in a large manor. The large manor he had bought for himself and Christine, more specifically. Looking around, he spotted the man he had hired to be his butler.
"M. Destler, it is so wonderful to see you up and about!" Exclaimed M. Alban. Suddenly he frowned. "Where is your associate? I assume that she found a room to stay in after she took care of you."
"My associate? I have no idea who that woman is. Who is she? Why is she here? How am I here? What exactly happened last night?" M. Alban blinked, not knowing what to say.
"You and your associate showed up last night in a cabby. The cabby and myself carried you into the master bedroom, where your associate discovered that you had a fever. She took it upon herself to cool you down, and I have not seen her since. I placed her things in the guest room on the second floor, a few doors down from the master room, and figured that once she had finished attending to you, she had moved down there. I am not entirely sure who she is, or what happened last night. You will have to take that up with her. In the meantime, would you like some breakfast? My wife, the chef, has prepared a meal for you and your … companion."
Erik had no idea what to say. Was she the figure who had gotten him out of the fire? How had she known he was there? How had she known to take him here? Why was she in his bed? His conversation with M. Alban had done nothing but leave him with more questions. Erik shook his head, realizing that M. Alban had been waiting for a response.
"I would love some breakfast, thank you. Please let me know once my… companion has woken up." With that, Erik followed M. Alban to the dining room, and, once receiving his food and waiting for the staff to leave, began to eat.
Daina
Daina woke up, and stared off into space for a few minutes. She attempted to get her thoughts together, and remember where she was. Shaking her head, she asked herself when she would wake up and remember exactly what happened. This was the second time since she arrived in Erik's world, but she was already getting tired of it. The first thing she noticed was that she was in Erik's bed. The second thing she noticed was that she was alone. Rubbing her eyes, Daina got out of bed and walked out of the room. Walking downstairs, she looked around for anybody to direct her to either Erik, a bathroom, or some food. She ran into a short, thin girl who looked to be around fourteen. The girl had long brown hair, brown eyes, and light skin. "Ooh!" Daina exclaimed. "I am so sorry, please forgive me. I have to start watching where I am going, especially when I just woke up."
The girl gave her a confused look. "Just woke up? It is after one in the afternoon. Why have you just woken up?"
"Um…" Daina responded "I had a… tough time falling asleep last night. Anyway, may I ask where the bathroom is? And where is Mr. Destler?"
"The bathroom is down the hall to the right," the girl responded. "And M. Destler is in the music room."
Daina sighed. Of course Erik would be in the music room. "Thanks!" Daina said enthusiastically. She turned around and made her way to the bathroom, not noticing the questioning gaze of the girl.
After using the bathroom, which she was relieved to see had indoor plumbing, Daina made her way out into the main area once again. She looked around, trying to find the music room, when the smell of freshly baked bread caught her interest. Daina followed her nose, and ended up in the kitchen. "Hello!" Daina called, seeing a plump, middle aged woman taking bread out of the oven. This woman looked like an older, rounder version of the girl she had talked to before. "My name is Daina. It's nice to meet you!"
The woman gave Daina the once over, noticing the girl's disheveled hair, unusual clothes, and use of the English language. "Oh, you must be the woman who brought M. Destler here!" the woman exclaimed. Still unsure of this woman, but willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, the woman asked Daina if she would like something to eat.
"Of course I would!" Daina replied. "The bread smells delicious. I've always wanted fresh baked French bread!"
"You've never had fresh baked French bread?" the woman inquired. "Where are you from?" With that Daina paused, her hand halfway to her mouth, said mouth already stuffed with bread. Chewing slowly, Daina thought about what she was going to say. I can't exactly say I'm from the future. Maybe just saying I'm from America is enough to explain my strange behavior. Daina suddenly looked down, realizing she was wearing her UW Madison sweat pants and a white camisole. And hopefully my attire.
Swallowing her bread, Daina explained that she was from America, and was visiting Paris. "I feel so unprepared," she continued, ducking her head and blushing. "I don't even know any French." The woman nodded, taking Daina's explanation without any questions.
"Well, I am Cecilia. Would you like anything else to eat?"
Daina shook her head, but grabbed another piece of bread. "I'm good with bread right now, thanks. Do you know where Er… I mean, M. Destler is?" Cecilia nodded, and pointed Daina in the direction of the music room.
Daina entered the music room, realizing why she couldn't find it before. She had been listening for music, rather than looking for the room itself, and Erik was not playing anything. Coughing slightly, Daina walked up behind Erik, who sitting at the piano, but staring off into space, apparently in deep thought. Jumping, Erik turned around, scowling. "Who are you?" he practically spat out at Daina. Unsure of what he said, as it had been in French, Daina stuck out her hand. "My name is Daina Cahill. It's nice to meet you" she added with a smile.
Erik
Erik stared at amazement at the woman in front of him. She seemed to not be afraid of him, and had even saved him. This woman… Daina… apparently had no idea who he was. He internally scoffed at the idea. Of course she didn't, she didn't even seem to speak French; there was no way she knew who the Phantom of the Opera was. He noticed she was still looking at him, apparently waiting for a response. Switching to English, Erik let out all the pent up questions that had building since he woke up.
"Who are you? What happened last night? How did we get here? Do you even know who I am? How did you know where I was?" These questions had been asked with force, volume. Not quite yelling, but louder than a normal conversation. Suddenly, Erik's voice became much quieter, practically shrinking, as if he didn't want her to hear the next questions. "Why were you in my bed? Why… why did you save me?"
Daina stared at Erik for a few minutes. Erik tried to be his usual, intimidating self, but found that in front of this woman, somehow he just couldn't. He felt himself shrinking back, almost afraid of the answers she would give.
"As I said, I am Daina Cahill. I saved you from the fire in the Opera House. We took a cabby here, I gave him the address that I found in your pocket. I know who you are, Mr. Phantom. I was in your bed because I fell asleep after you needed to be calmed down, because you were having nightmares. And..." Suddenly Daina looked away, unsure of how to respond to his previous questions. "I saved you because you needed and deserved to be saved, and I knew who you were because of the Angel of Music. She sent me here, to give you your happy ending."
I hope that you guys are enjoying the story (See? The chapters are getting longer, little by little!) I'd really like to thank everybody who reviews, follows, favorites, or even just reads the story, it means a lot to me. I now have a beta, nibblesfan, and I would really recommend checking out her stories, I certainly enjoyed. A big thank you to you!
I also realized yesterday that I had forgotten to put disclaimers in my previous chapters. I am planning on going back and fixing that, but I will start right now. I do not own any of the Phantom of the Opera, just my own OC.