Christine's POV

The opera house at night was completely different than during the day. When the patrons and staff were gone for the evening, they shut off the lights, making the halls and corridors pitch black. I walked down each stair with a candle in hand to light my way. It was really cold, making me shiver as I reached the final stair. The kitchen was pitch black as well, making it nearly impossible to see anything. After turning on the stove, I turned my back to fill up a kettle of water to heat over the burner.

Once Erik was feeling better, I hoped that he would accompany me down to the kitchen instead of sending me off alone. At least I would have somebody to make me feel a little better about walking around the opera house in the dark. When the water was finally boiling, I made up two cups of tea and did as Erik asked by pouring the powder into his.

"What took you so long?"

That was the first thing I heard when I was back inside his room. Oh, there was that horrible temper of his again. I had told him I would only be fifteen minutes, and I had actually been twenty.

"Sorry," I said, placing the tray down on the side table. "It was only an extra five minutes."

I handed him his cup and he stood to his feet with it in hand.

"I'm going to drink this in bed. In an hour if you're still awake, come and take it away without disturbing me."

"Yes, monsieur…"

When I heard his bedroom door close, I took a seat on the couch and began to drink my cup of tea. This man was certainly one that loved his privacy, for he never really spoke or wanted to be around other people. That night I tried to fall back asleep, but found it nearly impossible, even after fetching Erik's empty cup from his room. Whatever I had put into his tea had knocked the man out, for he was sound asleep beneath the blankets. What I didn't expect to see was him emerge from his room the following morning dressed in usual clothes. For the past few days he had been dressed in his loose night attire, but today, he was in a pair of black trousers and a crisp white shirt. It suited him well…

"Monsieur?"

I was dressed already and was working on sweeping the floor near his desk. The man was grasping onto the walls and furniture in his family room as he made his way to the couch.

"Monsieur, you're going to fall…"

I was about to help him, when he held up his hand in protest.

"Don't touch me… I can manage myself. I managed to change into a clean pair of clothes, did I not?"

"At least let me get you some breakfast so you can take your medicine…"

I was about to take his order, when Nadir walked in carrying a tray. On the tray, there were a few pieces of dry toast and a cup of tea.

"Erik, how nice to see you up and about today. You always did heal quickly."

He placed the tray down in front of Erik, and took a seat beside him.

"How do you feel?"

"Better, Persian."

Without Erik's permission, Nadir lifted the side of Erik's shirt up to reveal his bandaged abdomen.

"Persian, what are you doing!" he growled, attempting to grab his shirt back. "How dare you touch me without my consent?"

"Calm down, Erik, I'm inspecting your bandages is all. The last time you were hurt, you let your wounds fester in the same set of bandages for a week. You nearly caused yourself an infection. I'm taking no chances this time."

When I dared to look at Erik, he gave me a dirty look, causing me to turn the other way.

"Well, there are no blood stains seeping through your bandages. Therefore, I'd say your wound is healing like it should. You really should have Christine change them tonight before you go to bed though."

Erik grabbed his shirt and tucked it back into his trousers.

"For your information, I can change them myself. The only thing I need this girl for is to get me things I can't reach on my own right now and to clean the messes I can't clean."

"Well, in that case, I'm going to steal Christine away from you today. The costume maid called in sick and with a dress rehearsal this afternoon, I can't be without one."

"You wish to make this girl a costume maid?" Erik quarreled. "She has no experience with costumes."

"It's nothing I can't teach her in five minutes. All she really has to do is take the costumes that are given to her and hang them in the proper place."

Erik waved his hand at Nadir. "Go ahead, take her… I might have a few hours of peace."

Nadir then turned towards me and smiled. "Well, Christine, come along. You're going to work with me today."

Before leaving, I approached Erik and stood before him. "Monsieur, are you sure you're going to be all right on your own today?"

I would have thought Erik to be grateful, but instead, he slammed his cup of tea down on the tray and gave me a disgusted look.

"You don't know a thing about me, girl. I've managed my entire life, and I think I can manage without an annoying girl being around for a few hours. So, go…Go wrinkle up the costumes and mess up the wigs. No costume maid has ever amounted to anything anyway…"

I didn't even say bye to him, for I was still in shock over what he had said to me. Oh, what a brute he was!

"You do know that what Erik said to you was a compliment?"

Nadir broke the awkward silence once we were in the hall.

"What? I don't understand how anything coming from him could be a compliment. He is a horrible person."

"No, Erik is not a horrible person; he just doesn't know how to talk to people. But he's right, no costume maid has ever been good enough for him. What he was trying to say was that maybe you would fit in as a costume maid."

"I'm glad you can translate, otherwise, I would hear nothing but cruelty coming from his lips. Though, he was a little kind last night."

"Really? How so?"

"He made me promise that I wouldn't go to my father's grave alone ever again. And then, he went on to explain how he would escort me there himself once he was feeling up to it."

Nadir only chuckled and shook his head.

"What? What's so funny?"

"He likes you, Christine. I know it doesn't sound like much, but he's never offered to do anything like that for anyone… At least for as long as I've known him, and I've known Erik a long time."

"How could he possibly like someone when all he does is insult them? All right, he offered to escort me to my father's grave, but then he turns around and says that no costume maid has ever amounted to anything… He's completely mad."

"Well, Christine, if he didn't like your work or you, he would have fired you by now. Erik has a strange way of letting one know his feelings. You've been doing a wonderful job at putting up with his temper."

"Sometimes I think about quitting…"

"Then why don't you?"

I thought a few moments and then, I shrugged my shoulders.

"In a way, I feel sorry for him."

"No…" Nadir stopped us from walking and backed me into the nearest corner. "No, Christine. You must never feel sorry for Erik. Promise me… He does not take lightly to pity. It's his biggest pet peeve, and you must never let it be known. If he knew that you were sticking around because of that, he would do more than fire you."

I was a little frightened by this, but Nadir took me by the hand and continued to lead me towards the auditorium.

"Ah, so there is the manager. A little late, wouldn't you say?"

That voice was so annoying… It was coming from a large woman who was standing on stage. She was a middle aged woman with orange hair and a plump face.

"I had some business that needed to be taken care of. Here, this is our stand in costume maid for the day. Madame CeCe is ill…"

The large woman circled me and ran her hand through my curly chocolate locks.

"She is too young to be a costume maid."

"Her name is Christine," Nadir replied. "I'm sure she will do just fine today."

"Christine," the woman spat. "What a pitiful name."

"Come, Christine, I'm going to show you what to do…"

Nadir pulled me to the back of the stage where there were racks of costumes.

"Don't mind her, Christine. That's just our leading lady, Carlotta. She can be a handful at times."

"She and Erik would make a lovely couple. They sure know how to insult people."

"Oh no," Nadir replied. "Erik can't stand Carlotta. I wouldn't even bring up her name around him if I were you…"

I didn't ask another question… No, I simply followed Nadir as he instructed me on what to do. For the remainder of the afternoon, I stood at the side of the stage, waiting for Carlotta and the other ballerinas to hand me their current costumes so they could change into another. I had never seen an opera before, and even though it was just a rehearsal, I thought the ballerinas and staff were just amazing. I always wanted to dance on stage, but I never got the opportunity to do so.

"Did you hear? The Opera Ghost hasn't been seen in over a week."

When I heard a few of the young ballerinas talking, I couldn't help but listen in.

"Carlotta says that her guards shot and killed him on the opening night of Hannibal."

"They never found his body. Though, little Jenny told me that they found a lot of blood in the rafters."

"I would love to know what he really looks like. He's supposed to be a hideous man."

Before either of them could say another word, a woman dressed all in black flew by me and approached the girls. She slammed her large staff down on the floor, causing them to stand up straight and face her.

"Gossip will get a dancer nowhere in life!" she snapped. "Gossip is not the truth, it's just bits and pieces of it that travel down the lane and turn into fabrications and lies. What are you two?"

"We are dancers," they both replied at the same time.

"Then why aren't you two on that stage dancing?!"

The two immediately flew by me and onto the stage with the other dancers. I ignored what had just taken place and continued to hang up the costumes.

"I've never seen a young costume maid before," came the familiar, yet strict voice.

"I'm filling in for Madame CeCe. She is sick today…"

"I've been watching the way you move," I spun around to face the old woman. "The way your body turns to hang up the costumes shows a lot of potential."

Her staff lightly tapped at the sides of my feet.

"Your feet are shaped for dancing."

"How do you know?"

"Because I am the head mistress for the ballerinas, little one. I am Madame Giry…"

"Sorry," I replied. "I've never heard of you before."

The old woman folded her hands behind her back and nodded.

"Very well then. If you ever become interested in becoming a ballerina, search for me. I believe you would do very well on stage."

And with that, the woman walked away. Dancing? On stage? It seemed a little scary, but at the same time, I couldn't help but want to do it.

Ok, we're getting closer to having her sing... Let's see what Erik has to say about all this. I'm sure he has a mouthful to say about Christine wanting to dance in the ballet. Anyway, I know that I haven't been updating every few days like I usually do, and I'm sorry. I've been so exhausted from vacation. I was feeling a little rested up today, that being the reason why I uploaded. I will try to do so again in two or three days time. Until then, enjoy and please send me your thoughts. Thanks again, everyone!