Gah... I'm getting terrible at this. Sorry about no update last week, everyone. I blame summer holidays... all this free time and hot weather. It's just such a temptation to laze about and do nothing. But hopefully I'm going to get my act together now. So, once again... sorry for last week... and I hope you enjoy this new chapter.

Chapter 19

The Dancing Herald – Evening (A Few Days Later)

"Are you almost finished, Christine?"

"Yes, almost," she called back to Meg as she finished drying the last of the plates and put them away in the cupboard. Wiping her hands on her apron, she then hung it up on one of the hooks and rushed to the washroom. She splashed water on her face and made the mistake of looking in the mirror.

She couldn't help but wince. It was painfully obvious that the past few days had taken their toll. She looked pale and tired… she hadn't slept well since the night of her kidnapping, plagued by awful dreams that made her shudder to remember. She rubbed her cheeks to try and encourage some colour back into them… if Erik saw he like this he would know something was amiss…

When she realised that there was nothing else to be done, Christine ran upstairs to her room, where Meg and Mama Valerius were waiting.

"Alright… I'll be back later tonight," she said, her voice tinged with nervousness. She kissed Mama goodbye and then left, followed closely by Meg.

"Are you sure about this?" her friend asked worriedly.

Truth be told, Christine wasn't at all sure about any of it. Ever since coming back she had fought off her fears about tonight and for the most part she had been successful. But when she had finally been forced to explain to Meg about why she had disappeared… and also give Mama Valerius an abridged version of events, and now Meg would not leave her alone about it. It would have been impossible to avoid telling the young dancer every detail… especially after her own brief encounter with Erik… but Christine was beginning to regret telling her. She kept asking if Christine was alright…. Is she was sure she was doing the sensible thing…

Christine was nervous enough without that.

She had arranged to meet Erik outside in the alleyway, as they had originally planned. But circumstances were different now. After what happened, Christine couldn't quite approach the idea with the same excitement. Her stomach churned as she went through the kitchen and she bit her lip before exiting. The alleyway was apparently empty, but Christine was too on guard to believe this was actually the case. And besides, she was starting to anticipate Erik's entrances.

She addressed the darkest corner of the alley.

"Erik?"

He stepped forward, materialising from the darkness like some black spectre. Before what had happened this might have intrigued her, but now it only disturbed her. How easily would it be for him to kill some innocent person? They would never know he was there until he reached out from the shadows and…

She stopped herself. No… she must not think like that. It would only make her attitude more nervous, and she did not want to upset Erik. Not after seeing what he was capable of.

But he must have seen something in her expression, because immediately he asked: "Is there something wrong?"

She shook her head. "No, nothing," she said, trying to sound earnest. But the scrutinising look Erik gave her, and the cold atmosphere that suddenly descended told her that she had not convinced him. That shouldn't have surprised her… she wasn't even convincing herself.

"Well then…" he said, making a gesture for her to walk beside him. She did so, and they made their way towards the Lower City in relative silence.

Christine curses herself all the way, wanting desperately to say something that would lift the tension. But all that she heard in her head was the word "killer", and it reverberated throughout her body, sending chills up her spine. She shivered and rubbed her arms to try and fight off the inner cold.

"I would suggest purchasing a coat."

She glanced up at Erik, blushing when she realised he had been watching her. His gaze was intense, and for a moment she wondered if he knew the real reason for her shivering.

"I should," she agreed with a nervous laugh. "I just never had the money… because of…" she trailed off as she was reminded of Stefan and his men. Despite being a little relieved that he was no longer able to make her life a misery… that she was no longer required to steal for him… it still caused her some inner disturbance to think of how he, and the rest of his gang, had met their end.

The fact that she was walking beside the man who caused their deaths did not help to any degree.

Dear God… she hoped that the lessons would help distract her from these kinds of thoughts.

"It would not help for you to catch a cold."

Was that concern in his voice? She wished that she could read his expression to see if he was just being polite or not, but the mask prevented that, and his eyes were turned away from her now. She suddenly hated herself for being so inadvertently cruel. This might not be easy for her, but it must be just as difficult for Erik. She just had to remember what she had been telling herself over the last few days… her certainty that he was indeed a good person. She had seen enough evidence of that herself.

And Nadir Khan had faith in him… so why shouldn't she?

Finally they reached the Lower City, and Erik showed her the building that he had found where they could have their lessons. It was in a quiet area, for which she was grateful, and when they entered the building it seemed practically deserted. How much had Erik paid to ensure their privacy? Christine wasn't rude enough to ask, but it played on her mind just the same.

She soon found herself on the top floor, in a large living room that was part of a much bigger apartment. She saw little bedrooms through various open doors. It was not extravagantly furnished, but certainly comfortable. She would have loved to live in a place such as this, and said so.

"Do you own these rooms?" she asked.

"No… I've merely paid to use them for your lessons. It is only a temporary arrangement."

"It's very nice," she commented, desperate to keep some form of conversation going. Erik, who had already moved towards a sleek black piano in one corner, was acting in a way that worried her. "It's much cosier than where I have my lessons with Madame Carlotta."

There was a silence, one Christine didn't quite have the courage to fill as Erik turned to her. The look in his yellow eyes almost made her flinch away.

"Since you are to be my student for an indefinite amount of time," he said in a stern voice, "I think I should make one or two things perfectly clear."

Frowning in worry, Christine nodded.

"First… I want you to forget everything that woman taught you. And if you so much as mention her name I'll throw you in the gutter, is that understood?"

Christine had to stifle a nervous giggle. She wasn't quite certain whether Erik had meant that last part as a joke or not, but she made a note anyway never to take the risk of mentioning Carlotta. She nodded dutifully, and immediately tried to push aside the lessons she took with the diva.

"Second… I want you to put absolute faith in me where your voice is concerned. I will help you realise your full potential… but you must trust my judgement, and do not question it."

The tone in his voice was so serious that Christine suddenly wondered if she had not given him something far more important than she imagined. It was as though her voice was capable of things far beyond her comprehension. It was disturbing to imagine that she possessed something that she wasn't sure she could control.

She shook herself. It was her voice… not some weapon. She shouldn't be afraid of it.

"Now…" Erik went on purposefully, taking a seat at the piano. "We'll begin with a few warm up exercises."

It was only the very beginning of the lesson, but within minutes Christine was breath-taken. In fact, Erik was forced to snap her out of her trance when she didn't respond to the scales he played. But she couldn't help it. The movement of his hands had hypnotised her. She'd never imagined he would play so elegantly… with such pure finesse. And that had only been an exercise. Suddenly she wanted to watch, and hear, him playing one of the famous piano concertos. She couldn't stop looking at his hands. Without the black leather gloves they were painfully thin, but the reminder of his death-like appearance was quashed by the way they moved… with such fluid, effortless grace… over the piano keys.

"Christine?" Erik interrupted her reverie once more. She found herself blushing again and lowered her gaze.

"I'm sorry… it's just… the way you play…"

"The focus of these lessons is your talent, not mine," he told her, though she swore she could feel the humour in his tone.

She nodded, and they continued, slightly more at ease with each other than before. Erik's skill seemed to be infectious, because Christine swore that every note seemed to come more easily to her than before. By the time she was warmed up to Erik's satisfaction she felt as though she could have sung anything.

The piece Erik selected was, rather ironically, something that Carlotta had also had her sing, though Christine obviously did not mention this. It was one of the easier opera arias, sung by one of the lesser characters in an opera called "Lady Vanity". It was sung by a poor, unfortunate young man (who would always be played by a girl on stage).

When Carlotta had handed her this piece, the implication had been clear – an unimportant song and character for an unimportant singer. It had been very hard for Christine not to resent the piece because of this. But then… why was Erik giving her the same music? Surely he was not implying… not after what he had told her about her voice.

Something in her face must have given away her inner turmoil, because Erik next said:

"This piece may seem insignificant, but in light of your inexperience with opera… and lack of decent training, it will be suitable for now… until you are more familiar with this type of music."

Christine opened her mouth to speak, but was silenced by the look in Erik's yellow eyes, and she remembered his rule about not questioning his teaching. So instead she nodded obediently and allowed herself to be reassured by his words. At least there was reason behind his actions.

They began the piece, giving particular emphasis to breathing techniques and how to support the longer notes. But compared to other opera pieces she had heard, it was still relatively unimpressive and for a moment she panicked about what would become of her lessons when she heard Erik mention something.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Ornamentation, Christine," he repeated with weary patience. "It will lend the piece a little more flair. It is quite commonly used… with varying degrees of effectiveness."

She frowned at him, still not quite certain that she understood. With a sigh, Erik indicated to her a part in the music where the notes were relatively straight forward. He played the notes for her on the piano and she listened carefully.

"Now… I want you to sing it like this…"

And he played again, but this time more notes were added, though without forcing the music to fall out of the correct rhythm. She looked from Erik to the piano and then swallowed hard.

"I… I…"

Another sigh, and this time Erik raised a hand for her to be silent.

"Like this…"

And before Christine knew what was happening, a sound unlike anything she could have imagined emerged from behind Erik's mask.

And in sleepless nights,

I wish I could watch her,

Peaceful, gentle… sweeter than light

It was only one small part of the song… but it was more than enough to make Christine's eyes go wide and her mouth slack. She'd heard wonderful voices before… heard sounds that could be described as beautiful. But it was all noise compared to the exquisite notes that Erik produced. It was as if the very essence of music resided within him… within this remarkable man that she now regarded with a mixture of awe and admiration. It made her nearly forget who he was… the things she had seen him do.

The world had receded to the nothing… and all it contained was the two of them, and the perfection of sound that she had just heard.

There was nothing else that mattered. Absolutely nothing.

Apartment, The Lower City – Night

Erik watched the change in Christine's face as he opened his mouth to sing. He was aware of the effect that it would have on her and could not contain a smile. It would have been impossible for him to deny his secret delight in using this particular gift of his to make Christine forget, for a time at least, that he was a ruthless killer.

That was the extraordinary thing about his voice. It was as though he could change how others saw him. He had seen, and used, this 'ability' as a child and, for the briefest of moments, all who listened would forget everything else about him… even about themselves. It wasn't like composing and singing his own works… which were filled with the raw emotion of his reality, and lashed out at the surrounding world and all who dared listen like some wild, uncontrollable beast.

Other music, filled with soft, tender emotions he had never allowed himself to feel…

Watching Christine, with that look of wonder on her face, he could imagine the effect his voice had upon her… especially given her love of beautiful music. She continued to stare at him, unable to speak, and the silence dragged on before he was forced to end that precious moment in which he was no longer a monster to her.

"Christine?"

He saw her return to reality. She blinked once and shook her head, and he wondered exactly what thoughts she was attempting to dislodge… or what illusions perhaps. He asked her very quietly if she understood now, and she nodded before finally finding her own voice once more.

"Erik… your voice…"

He did not wish to discuss it now, and turned back to the piano, making an impatient gesture for her to continue, and was surprised when she completely ignored it.

"How did you learn to sing like that?"

"I didn't, since you ask," he replied.

She didn't ask what he meant by that and, when he risked glancing over towards her, he saw that she was still appeared enthralled by the memory of his voice, perhaps even a little afraid. Feeling restless in the silence that followed, he placed his hands on the pianos keys and played a chord.

"Do you want to continue?" he asked, his voice carrying a note of weariness. He fully expected her to say 'no'… that she would be too disturbed by the power of his voice to risk staying. So he was surprised when she replied:

"I'm sorry. Yes… I do want to continue. It's just… I didn't expect…. Your voice, it's so beautiful." He saw her blush furiously. "I wish I could sing like that."

He couldn't help but smile at her innocence… how she so grossly underestimated her own ability.

"With my help… you will," he assured her with a gentle nod. She blushed again, and he tilted his head at her, frowning slightly behind the mask. "Don't you believe I can do such a thing?"

"I sometimes imagine you're capable of anything."

The meaning behind that statement was unclear, but Erik felt himself tense up at what she might have been implying and the atmosphere thickened around them, turning cold. Christine must have felt it too, because she bit her lip, and her cheeks turned pale. His fists clenched on top of the piano and once again there was a twisting in his gut that he had never felt before… the feelings that he had never allowed himself to feel.

She was still afraid of him. Damnit… of course she was. Her demeanour ever since he had arrived to meet her in the alleyway was evidence enough of that. Even her appearance… her pretty features, now pallid from worry and lack of sleep, no doubt… it was all his doing. And why should he expect anything else? For all her good intentions, her attempts at being pleasant and friendly… she was sickened by him. Every word… every nervous gesture… even the way she stood so perfectly still beside him was proof.

"I'm sorry," she murmured. "I didn't mean…"

"Never mind," Erik replied coldly. "If you wish to go on, then let us do so…"

And they did. The rest of the lesson was infected by an underlying tension that wouldn't be dispelled completely, although it grew less and less potent as time wore on. Erik wondered if this was how their lessons would always be now… with Christine afraid to speak out of turn, and he always on the verge of losing his temper. It was probably only through some minor miracle that he had not already snapped… but somehow he knew he could not afford that… not at this stage… when their so-called friendship was already in such a fragile state.

By the end, there was already a marked improvement in Christine's voice. Her breathing had improved… and was able to support the notes better than before. There was still much improvement to be made, but for a beginning, this was very satisfactory.

As he walked her back towards the Dancing Herald, he gave her some instructions regarding practice… not to strain her voice, and especially not to tempt fate by wandering around in the cold. She nodded dutifully and that only made him feel all the worse for their situation. He wanted her to trust his ability to train her… not be too afraid to do something wrong in case he became angry.

As he watched her go back inside after an uncomfortable goodnight, he was bitterly aware that, wherever this chain of events he had chosen to set in motion might lead, it would cause him an unbelievable amount of pain… pain that he could have, and most likely should have, avoided.

He narrowed his yellow eyes. He was not afraid… if necessary he would see this through to the end. He had dealt with more than his fair share of suffering in his lifetime… what more could life possible offer him in the way of pain? No… he would not be turned away from this new calling… not for anything.

And God help any man who dared interfere.

A/N: Lots of E/C interaction here... first music lesson and finally we hear him sing! I hope I got the tension between them right... considering what happened, which Christine trying her best and Erik just being... Erik, hehe. We're going to be getting more into the relationships now... I won't say in what ways... you'll have to wait for the next update, hehe. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed... thanks for all your lovely reviews. See you next time!