Author's Note: Sorry about the hr's and i 's and such at the beginning of the chapters. They are there because the site I originally posted this story on didn't have basic HTML and they were for line breaks and italics and such. No worries though, the newer chapters won't have any now that I know they aren't needed.

Chapter Ten- "A visit from The Phantom"

Christine stood in the hallway for a moment, her eyes following Pierre as he walked away. She waited for him to round the corner so she knew there was no chance of him turning around and seeing her, and then she ran as fast as her young legs could take her, straight to the chapel.

She knew her angel had seen all the events that had transpired, and she knew he was furious. How many times now had he warned her to stay away from the boy? Had he not made it perfectly clear how he did not approve? What if he left? Christine could feel the tears welling up in her eyes as she ran down the corridors, praying for forgiveness the whole time.

By the time Christine had slammed the heavy door behind her she was out of breath and tears were falling onto her cheeks. She hastily lit a candle and offered up a quick prayer to God and her father.

"Angel? Angel! Are you here? I'm sorry! I know you're mad and I'm sorry!" She frantically called out, but she received no answer. She tried again and again, so long that her candle flame was beginning to sputter and the light was dimming fast.

He was gone. She knew it. She had disobeyed him directly and he had gone back to heaven, disgusted in her. Christine curled up in the corner of the room and cried until the candle finally died out completely.

A new sense of terror started to fill Christine now. She was alone, in the dark, without the protection of her angel. He had promised her that The Phantom would not harm her, but she had sent him away with her own stupidity. How would she get back to her room? Christine felt her small body begin to shake as she stood up slowly and walked silently towards the door. She turned the handle and pushed…but it wouldn't open.

Pierre paced nervously around the corridor he told Christine to meet him in. They had only departed two hours ago, but she seemed to have disappeared. They were supposed to meet up here thirty minutes ago and after ten had passed and there was no sign of her, Pierre had gone searching for her. Her little friend Meg hadn't seen her and she hadn't shown up for dinner. Pierre was worried, but after looking all over the opera house he decided to go back to their meeting spot, hoping that maybe she would show up.

He ran a nervous hand through his hair and then paused. There was no one around in the corridor, but he was certain he had just heard the sound of someone else's footsteps. Hope swelled up inside him. "Christine?"

"I'm afraid not." The ethereal voice came from the shadows and Pierre's eyes couldn't see the man who had spoke them.

"Whose there?" Pierre tried to control the fear in his voice and he swallowed the hard lump in his throat.

"You know exactly who I am, Pierre." The figure of a man took a small step out of the shadows.

Pierre took one look at the intimidating figure and turned to run, a scream forming on his lips, but never leaving, thanks to the thick rope that suddenly wrapped around his neck.

Christine, in her state of panic, continued to bang frantically on the door, screaming and crying, hoping that someone would notice she was gone and go looking for her. Suddenly Christine felt her chest tighten and her head lighten. She had to place her hand against the wall to steady her shaky body, and with one last gasp she crashed to the floor, unconscious.

Erik unlocked the door to the chapel silently, expecting to hear Christine begging for forgiveness and pledging her undying loyalty with promises to never disobey again coming through the wood, or at least her banging on it to get out. But he heard nothing. Carefully he opened the door and saw nothing but inky darkness.

The man felt an icy grip of fear clench his heart. He knew Christine was in the chapel when he locked her in, he had watched her fly in. There was no way for her to get out, unless she had found one of his secret tunnels. He tried to push the door open but it encountered an obstacle. Erik turned back down the corridor to grab a candle and started down one of his many tunnels.

Once he emerged from the tunnel inside the chapel he walked towards the door, curious as to what was blocking his entrance. He nearly dropped the candle when he saw the seemingly lifeless form of Christine face down on the stone, her wild curls splayed about.

Erik rushed over to her and turned her over, panic pumping through his bloodstream when he saw the small trickle of blood coming from a deep gash in her head. He grabbed her and held her close to his body, cursing under his breath. He removed one of his black leather gloves and located her pulse. It was beating frantically under his fingers and realization dawned on him. She had come to the chapel, and her angel was gone, something blew her candle out and she was alone in a haunted opera house, and then she encountered a locked door, she must have blacked out from the fear.

"Christine I'm sorry…" Erik whispered as he wiped off some of the blood on her young face. He continued to hold her as her pulse slowly returned to a normal rate and he took her back to her room by one of his corridors. After he was sure she was safely in bed he ran to fetch Madame Giry.

"What is it you need now, Erik?" Madame Giry looked up from the book she had been enjoying as Erik entered her room, unannounced and unapologetic.

"Christine fell and hit her head, I think it would be wise for you to call the doctor." Erik announced.

Madame Giry stood up, her eyes wide and her blasé attitude gone. "Is she ok? What happened to her?"

"I believe she had a panic attack." Erik said and started to turn out to leave. "Oh, and perhaps you should look into getting another prop master."

Madame Giry felt her hair stand on end. "What do you mean…"

"I told you I would take care of the problem, Madame." He locked eyes with the woman and then left without another word.