Chapter 10

I found myself once again roaming the streets of Paris. I felt as if I was meant to be out again, as if I was expected to be somewhere. I was anxious, jittery even, though I could not imagine what I was expecting. Nothing spectacular has happened in these dark and dreary streets since I found that violinist and his daughter, and just because yesterday was my twenty-first birthday did not mean something good was going to happen to me.

I smirked, thinking of Gustave and his daughter. Monsieur Lefevere was surprised but not displeased at my discovery of Gustave, and Monsieur Baudin was only too happy to have Gustave sign with him. Christine and Gustave moved away within a month afterwards though, in which time I kept an eye on them, making sure nothing went amiss before they received their happy ending. I do miss them, but I hear they are doing very well; although the stage name Baudin chose for Gustave is utterly ridiculous. It has something to do with where he's from or his last name, but for the life of me I cannot remember. The Dynamic Dolson...no. The Dutch Duo...no that's not it either. I walked the streets frustrated, I decided to leave it be, sure that I would never remember.

A commotion pulled me away from my thoughts. Five men were arguing in an alley, and wondering what they were up to, I stepped forward. One man, the leader by the looks of him, was drawing something in the dirt and speaking of an attack. I looked at the other four, I had never seen any of them before, but there was something about the leader that I recognized.

As I thought that, every head suddenly turned to me, and I stood my ground as the man closest to me looked me up and down. After the analysis he turned to the leader saying, "Jo, this guy in on it too or what? The guy we're after ain't gonna have enough money on him to split it six ways, and I don't like the looks of him."

'Jo' looked up from his dirt design and glanced at me as if he was going to tell me to leave but suddenly stopped, a wicked gleam appearing in his eye as he said, "Cool it Jacque, we need an eye up on the roof to signal us when the target's in position, do you want your revenge or not?"

This piqued my interest, "Revenge?"

Jo nodded, "Ya see, Jacque here was begging for money awhile back and this noble ended up doin' that to his face."

I took another glance at Jacque, his nose was crooked with a scar across the top and he also had several small scars across his forehead. I nodded but questioned, "A noble did that to him?"

Jo waved it off, "Inadvertently, he had his guard dog attack him."

I nodded, feeling anger rising in me as I imagined the rich man ordering a lacky to beat the poor man asking for money. I crouched down with the guys saying, "I don't want any money; I'm in."

Jo looked at Jacque with a smirk saying, "I had a feelin' you would be." He kept the smirk on his face then addressed the group, "Now, this...Phantom here will be on the roof, and when he sees the noble step right in the center here he will signal us, just a wave or somethin', and then we will attack. Now, only kill if ya have to, we just wanna rob him and ruff him up a bit."

Everyone nodded and I headed for the rooftops when Jo suddenly grabbed my arm saying, "Now, this noble will be comin' through here any minute now. You'll know it's him because he'll have a, um...young lady with him."

The meaning sunk in and I sneered, "Disgusting."

Jo chuckled then patted me on the back, "Just leave him to us, all you have to do is wave."

I nodded and climbed to the rooftop to wait. It wasn't long before the man arrived, maybe ten minutes tops. The girl Jo mentioned earlier was on his arm laughing as they turned into the alley. Jo had his eyes trained on me and I gave a quick salute as a signal.

I saw Jo signal the other four, and with stunning accuracy they were able to get the man slightly cornered. Jo began talk to the man, but I could not hear what he was saying. I saw perfectly though, and everything happened so fast it was a wonder I was able to catch it all.

The girl who had been clutching onto the man's arm tightly was suddenly flung away from the man as he screamed, "Run!"

The girl ran and I lost track of her as my attention was drawn back to the four men that attacked, Jo simply stood and watched. The man was able to knock one of the four men out with a swift elbow to the left temple, push Jacque away from him, and produce a pistol which in turn caused the other man to run.

Jacque wouldn't relent though as he pulled out a knife and charged towards the man, that rash move inevitably cost him his life, as the man aimed and put a bullet right between Jacque's eyes.

His victory was short lived though as I noticed Jo coming towards him with a knife. Turning a little too late the man blocked the knife, but was not prepared for the force, which caused the pistol to clatter out of the man's hands.

Jo was the first to react, scrambling to the ground to grab the gun; the noble followed suit, which became his ultimate downfall. As the man lunged at Jo on the ground, Jo pulled the trigger, and the man released an almost inhuman cry of pain as he fell to his side on the ground.

Jo pulled the money pouch out of the man's pocket, and the man who had previously been unconscious chose that moment to come to, noticing Jo with the money they both ran out of the alley.

I followed them from the rooftops and when they stopped I jumped from my perch and landed beside the three, the coward who ran having returned.

Jo was passing out their 'earnings' and laughed, "Ten for you, ten for me, ten for the coward, and ten for our Phantom."

"What the Hell was that?" I snarled, "You said you weren't going to kill him!"

Jo shrugged with a toxic grin spreading across his face, "Desperate times, desperate me'sures, yada, yada, yada."

The man who had run hit Jo complaining, "Why do you get twenty when we only got ten?"

Jo rolled his eyes and sneered, "Cuz I'm the leader and I'm the one who shot the guy. Any you got a problem with that can take it up with my blade."

I regretted helping these men now and as Jo pulled out his knife I felt the rope up my sleeve slowly slide down to my hand, I glared and kept eye contact with everyone, not letting anybody see my sleight of hand. I was about to attack when I heard a blood curdling scream.

Everyone looked back towards the alley and Jo smirked, putting his knife away, "Oh yeah...almost forgot 'bout the dau- girl. Oh- the possibilities boys."

I advanced towards Jo, revealing my lasso as he struggled to brandish his knife once again. I growled, "You will not touch her."

The two men laughed but Jo stayed deathly still. He slapped on a cocky grin saying, "Well boys, I will admit he did his part in this lil' fiasco, so let's give him his 'play time.' Oh, one more thing though, if you bring the girl back here when you're done I will give ya my extra ten."

I kept a tight grip on my lasso and considered strangling him, but soon I heard a desperate cry of, "Somebody help! Please! Help me!"

Jo saw the look of concern on my face and mocked, "Your girl's callin' for ya lover boy, go'n get her. Dontcha forget though, an extra ten if you bring her back when you're done! I'll wait right here."

I glared at the man before placing my lasso securely back up my sleeve. I returned to the rooftops, as they were the fastest way to return to the alley without going through all the twists and turns. I looked down to see the girl kneeling next to the man, who by this time had lost copious amounts of blood.

The girl seemed frantic. She stood and looked as if she was about to run to get help, but suddenly changing her mind she turned, only to slip with a slight yelp and hit the ground with a loud thud.

I waited, but she did not get up, so I jumped and descended to the ground. I looked at the man, somehow he was still alive! His bleeding was slowed slightly by the makeshift tourniquet the girl had made using her scarf, but if I wanted him to live I needed to get both of them out of here and to a doctor. No, it needed to be someone I trusted, someone close. Wait; doesn't she live on this street? Yes, she does.

I hoisted the man up and carried him on my back, reluctantly leaving the girl where she lay, only able to carry one person. Like it or not the man was the one who needed the most medical attention, and time was running out.

I banged furiously on the wooden door and waited impatiently for her to open it. I heard scurrying feet and soon the door was open. Antoinette looked at me sleepily then smiled when she realized it was me, but her happiness turned to horror when she saw the man hanging on my back. Before she could say anything I grunted out as I shuffled in, "He's hurt...he needs medical attention...I didn't do it."

Antoinette squinted and observed me, "No, but you saw what happened and didn't help, did you? You're tense Erik, I know you. What happ- this is Monsieur Daae. He was my neighbor for over a decade, but moved away some time ago. Where's his daughter?"

Daae? Why does that name sound familiar? I shrugged it off as I placed the man on the couch asking, "Your husband is a doctor, no? I need his assistance, please wake him. The girl, who must be his daughter, is still outside. I will get her."

"Erik," Antoinette whispered. "My husband past away a few months ago, of a heat stroke. It is just Meg and I now."

I stopped in the middle of the doorway, head bowed as I whispered, "I am sorry for your loss."

She nodded and I continued, "Do you still have his equipment?"

"Yes," she answered confused. "Of course I do, why?"

"We have to help him," I said. "See what you can do about his wound, I will be right back."

I left without another word, quickly finding the girl back where I left her. Before I moved her I examined her head, making sure she was not bleeding before I placed a hand around her shoulders and under her knees, lifting her without faltering. She was very light but still maintained a healthy weight; and as I carried her I examined her, she was beautiful, even at such a young age.

Her nose was peppered with freckles, her jaw was strong, and she had delicate eyelashes that hid her eye color from me. A truly unique quality she possessed however was her hair. All of it was lusciously curled down to the small of her back, but the top of it was a dark chocolate brown while the last six inches of it looked as if she had dipped it in sunlight; it being a light brown almost blonde color. How strange.

What could have caused that? The only women I had seen who had light hair that was not their natural color were women who were constantly outside. Very strange indeed.

I returned to Antoinette's and asked to borrow a bed. The guest bed was now occupied by the father, who Antoinette had moved, so she ordered me to place the girl in her bed, seeing as she wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon.

I walked about the house and hearing deep breathing coming from one room, Meg's room more than likely, I opened the door next to it and walked in. I shifted the girl in my arms as I pulled the blankets back, setting her down and then covering her up. She muttered something and I leaned in closer, she whispered, "Thank you for protecting me...but I can't stay. Good-bye, Monsieur Black."

For a moment I thought that's what she said, but her mouth only formed one word. I realized what she had truly said when she repeated the word 'Papa' and started to toss and turn frantically. I felt my heart break for her, knowing I had a hand in causing her distress.

I started to hum to calm the girl, when she stilled I moved a stray curl away from her face and leaned in to whisper, "I promise I will do everything I can to help your father, rest for now and you can speak to him when you wake."

I left the girl and returned to the guest room, where Madame Giry was standing; cleaning the blood off of her hands after tending to the man's wound. She looked up at me and had tears in her eyes. I strode over and demanded, "What's wrong?"

She took a deep breath then answered with a slight quiver to her voice, "I was able to retrieve the bullet and wrap the wound, but Erik...he has lost so much blood. I honestly do not know how he is still breathing. He will die...before his daughter should wake, I'm sure. I give him but a few minutes more at best."

I glared at her booming, "No! I promised his daughter she would get to speak to him! He has to live, at least to speak to her one last time. He deserves at least that much doesn't he?"

Antoinette sighed and shook her head, "It isn't about what he deserves, it is about the facts; and the facts are that he has lost too much blood, he is weak, and there is nothing we can do about it. He will die."

I shook my head, "No, there has to be some way."

She slowly bowed her head, "There isn't."

I kicked the chest next to me and swore as I looked back to the man who was now lying on his death bed because of me. Antoinette had shut her eyes briefly at my outburst, but after looking back at the man she turned to me warily saying, "There is one way Erik..."

I jumped awake, panting as the memories assaulted me. I did not want to think about that, not now. I looked around at the damage I had done, I have done worse, but it looked pretty bad. I wondered how long I had been asleep when I noticed the boat was gone. Christine!

I ran to her room, but not seeing her there I ran back to the edge of the lake and dove in. I swam to the opposite side and saw the boat tied to the post there, and knowing she only knew one way out I took off in the direction of her dressing room.

Upon arriving there I saw a crack separating the mirror from the wall, proving that she had already went through it and escaped. I closed the gap then deftly turned on my heel and headed home. Still dripping wet I simply dragged the boat back, tying it to the post and falling on my back when I reached the shore.

I lay there in silence for the longest moment before I covered my face and began to weep. Christine hated me, my past devastated her and my face horrified her, and she has left me. Forever.

Awww! Poor Erik, but things can only get better from here right?...Maybe. I have to keep things interesting, so no promises. Thank you all for your reviews, they were amazing! A big welcome to 'Dkk5' and ' .948494' for being new reviewers! Well I am posting two chapters because next Friday I will be at Show Choir Camp, whoo! Please review BOTH chapters and tell me what you thought of,

1- Part One of what really happened?

2- Erik not recognizing Christine?

3- Erik neglecting to see the note on her bed in his haste to find her?

4- CHALLENGE: Make up a stage name for Gustave using either his last name or Sweden.