Happy Saturday! Who's ready to pick up where we left off? Who wants drama and fluff? Well, I promise to do at least one of those things in this chapter. LOL

On with the show!

Meg was on Thompson's heels right as they left Squelch's tent and pulled him by the arm.

"Stop! Just what the hell did you think you were doing back there?"

He squinted his eyes. "I'm sure I have no idea what you are talking about. I was helping a member of your so called crew."

"But why? What are you trying to do? Look, these are good people and I won't have you hurt any of them."

"Meg, I don't wish to hurt anyone. I was merely here to do my job and because of his carelessness, I couldn't do that. Instead I brushed up on my nursing skills. I meant what I said in there, be sure to get him to a real doctor."

She was taken aback. "We will…. Thompson…."

"Are you free this evening?"

"What?!"

He chuckled. "I'd like to see you tonight and although I know you have no choice, I thought it might be nice to see if you actually wanted to come over."

"You know I would rather do anything else but come and see you." She didn't look away from his gaze.

Thompson hid his disappointment. "In that case, it's a good thing it isn't about what you want. Expect the carriage to pick you up outside at 7pm." He then pulled down on the lapels of his jacket and left without so much as waiting for a reply.

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Erik watched Christine as she sipped her tea. "What do you think, my dear?"

She made a face but then giggled. "It's a bit strong."

He sniffed. "Well, I suppose I took a few liberties. I am used to black, Russian tea and I can't quite bring myself to water it down." He then took a sip out of his cup. "Perhaps if we put some milk in it, eh?"

She nodded but stopped him from getting up. "Maybe for my next cup. I already am half way done."

"You are far too accommodating, angel."

She took his hand from across the table. "Maybe but I know you'll let me eat most of the biscotti now." She giggled and took one, dipping it into her tea.

Erik looked on longingly but nodded in agreement. "I shouldn't spoil my dinner, anyway." He then looked around the room, still shaken over what he learned about his mother. He then felt how everything was familiar and yet being there with Christine it felt different too. It felt warmer and more inviting. She had a way of making him feel that way, every time they were together. He wondered if she could even make Persia inviting. Persia…

"Precious, what are you thinking?"

He smiled. "I was thinking about you and how you make everything so much easier." He kissed her hand. "It's with that ease that I am ready to continue on with my life story, angel. Providing you are still willing to listen."

She inched closer to him and crossed her legs. "Speak, I listen."

He nodded and swallowed hard. "I suppose I should pick up where I left off from the other night. You remember how Annie saved me from my Master?"

Christine nodded but stayed silent, still finding it difficult to comprehend the cruelty bestowed on Erik at such a young age.

"She kept me hidden and would visit when she could but she was a few years older and had her own life. I hardly fit into her social world with rehearsals and studies, friends and her new suitor."

"Suitor?"

He nodded. "Yes, Annie was quite fetching in her day…. She still is. After all, she has managed to capture the heart of an Inspector." He laughed. "You know I told Nadir, I never thought of her as a woman but…. Well, I always considered her a friend and I suppose an older sister but those were the roles we chose up front. Even if I had a moment of admiration, her attentions and her heart were stolen by someone else. I was just grateful to spend time with someone who didn't want anything from me."

"Oh angel! I wish…" She began to tear up. "I wish I was there for you, the way you were there for me as a child. No one should be left behind like that."

"Angel, it's fine. I was safe and for the most part, I liked the solitude. Annie, came when she could but I knew that her suitor wanted more and more of her time and after all she did for me, I couldn't be in the way."

"Angel?"

"As soon as I was able to acquire enough resources, I left Annie a note and left for Italy. Actually, I had no idea where I was going but I only had enough money to take me to Italy, so there I went." He chuckled.

"But you just left without so much as talking to her? I'm sure she didn't want you to leave."

"She was going to marry him, Christine. Our visits were few enough as it was. I knew that after her wedding… Well, I was a secret, remember? A secret was fine but a complication? Never. That was the last thing I wanted to do. So, off I went. I was used to it."

She shook her head. "Erik…." She covered her mouth and shook her head.

"Don't feel so bad, angel. There are worse places to travel to. Italy was extraordinary. The architecture was…. I had always been very fascinated with architecture and I was quite crafty, growing up."

"Yes, I saw your work at Phantasma."

"And in other parts of France."

"What?"

"That's another story. Anyway, I fell in love with Italy's beauty. One day, I was memorizing the work of a particular building when a man approached me. Naturally, I was leery but he seemed to have the same wonder and gaze as I did for the work. We talked, we really talked about so many things. And not one question about my mask! Not one! Giovanni was like no other man I had ever met."

She smiled.

"We met there every afternoon for a week. At first, it was mere coincidence or an unspoken appointment. Then one day, he asked me to have supper with him at his home. I wanted to go but I was suspect. I knew who I was and the last time a man showed any sort of kindness to me, I ended up abused, beaten and locked in a cage."

Christine grasped his hand.

"You know at one point during the evening I thought he was going to…." He shook his head in embarrassment. "Needless to say, nothing like that happen. He took me in, he gave me a job at his company. He was a Master Mason. He was my friend…. A father. For the first time, I felt what it must have been like to have a home."

"Angel, I am sure he will be excited to see you again."

Erik didn't respond. "He accepted me and because of his trust and guidance, his workers did too. He showed faith in me and soon the others took my direction and advice. It wasn't the first time, I succumbed to the temptation of acceptance."

"Angel?"

"Any way, one day Giovanni and I were outside his terrace and we heard a knock on the door. Before either of us could answer, Luciana came through the house like a whirlwind. It wasn't until that moment that I discovered Giovanni even had a daughter. The moment I saw her, I instantly knew that everything was going to change."

"What... What was she like?"

Erik didn't pay any attention to the look in Christine's eyes when she asked her question. He chalked it up to her vigorous curiosity but there was trace of jealousy that she didn't even think of disguising.

"She was beautiful, demanding, spoiled, mean and frustrating as all hell. Giovanni was wrapped around her little finger and she never failed to use it to her advantage."

"So you and she weren't…. friends?"

"Friends? No, Luciana wasn't friends with boys or girls either from what I noticed during the time I lived there."

"So you two hated one another? Was she jealous of your friendship with her father?"

"I don't know." Erik got up and began to pace back and forth. "You have to understand; I was still a boy. Not even a man, really. I was new to… All the feelings she brought out of me."

"Oh, I see." She played with her skirt.

"Christine? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Erik. I just wondered if you were friends or… Foes. Did people know of your estrangement?" She avoided his eyes.

"People thought that once I took over Giovanni's business, I would probably marry her."

"Marry?!" She jumped up and spilled the remaining tea.

"Christine, are you hurt?"

"No, I… It was cold any way. I…. Oh dear. Look what I did!"

He came up to her and pulled her towards him. "Angel, are you? No, you couldn't be."

"What?"

"Are you jealous of Luciana?" He couldn't believe he was even asking such a question.

"Erik, come on now! I wasn't even born yet. I have no right or reason to be jealous. You are a man and you said she was beautiful. I am sure she frustrated you so because she tried to get you to acknowledge her. I can't blame her."

He looked at her and in spite of the situation he laughed in delight.

"Erik, what's so funny?"

"My God, could it be possible that I love you even more at this very moment?"

"Why is that?" She looked at him in surprise.

"Christine, I was a boy. I was acting like a boy. Yes, she was beautiful but she was mean and cold and calculating and I could never fall in love with someone like that."

"No?"

"No! Why do you think I didn't fall in love until we met? My heart was waiting for you."

She embraced him tightly and then found his lips in urgency. "I love you so much. I guess I was just being so ridiculous."

"To think that Luciana wanted me? Yes, ridiculous. To think she could hold a candle to you? Dim." He kissed her nose and laughed.

"Angel, what happened to her?"

He was a little nervous then, as he faced her. "There were adolescent feelings between us. Neither one of us ever said it or acted upon them but Giovanni knew it was driving us both mad. All this time, I never showed any of them my real face. It was never even a question. Although, I had heard that Luciana thought I was hiding a face of a God and knew that when she saw it, she would be in her glory." He laughed but it faded quickly. "It was shortly after that that Giovanni wanted it all to end. He must have seen how much she was pushing me and how it was affecting me. I think in his mind, he thought that if she could see my face, she would either stop her fantasy or maybe…"

"Accept you as you are?"

He nodded. "When he ordered me to take off my mask… I thought I misheard him. I knew that there would be no way possible that after all this time, he defined me by it."

Erik still had his flesh mask on and Christine had resisted the urge to tell him to remove it. For once, she was glad she did.

"What happened then, precious?"

Erik smiled weakly. "I said no. He ordered me to do it again, oh there was such contentment in his voice. I heard Luciana say, 'Yes, daddy, make him do it for me.' That's when he said it one more time. He said 'Remove that mask and show us your face, or get the hell out of my home.' I felt so betrayed by him in that moment. I tore it from my face in a rage. I wanted to shock them all."

Erik shut his eyes at the memory that reappeared in his mind. "I shocked them all, alright. Luciana saw my face and screamed so loudly, you thought she was being sawed in half. She ran from the room. She ran all the way up to the garden on the roof, so she could escape me. Giovanni was so concerned that he followed her up there and I went too. Only, I should have stayed behind because as I came towards her, she must have thought I was chasing her. She kept telling me to be to stay away and was standing closer and closer to the edge. She must have slipped because we saw her fall backwards." His voice faded.

"Dear God!"

"I did kill her."

Christine calmed herself but then his words resonated with her. "No, Erik! That wasn't your fault at all. That was a horrific tragedy."

"None of which would have happened if it wasn't for my face."

"That poor man. To see his own daughter die like that."

Erik nodded. "He ran down the stairs to find her body flat on the cold, ground. No one deserves that. He just pulled her lifeless body to his and rocked her over and over again, telling her he was sorry. I left that night and never saw him again."

Christine sat down. "Erik, I know that was horrible but even Giovanni must blame himself and not you."

"I guess we will soon find out, won't we?" He looked nervously around the room, as if he was trying to find something to do and escape her stare. "Christine, I'll clear the table, unless you would like more tea. I promise to add milk this time…."

"Erik, forget the tea. Please come here and let me comfort you. You feel awful but you are not to blame. I certainly don't blame you and everything that you say, can be proven. The law will be on your side."

Erik scoffed. "The law is on the Vicomte's side, Christine. I have had to pay dearly for my sins of coveting acceptance. It happened in Italy, it happened in Persia and it happened when I met the Vicomte. Why can't I just remember my place?"

"Your place?"

"I should have remained in the shadows and…."

"No, Erik! That is not what you should have done. You may have made mistakes in your life but who hasn't? Italy was not your fault and if Giovanni is half the man that you claim he is, he will see that and set this whole matter straight. Raoul will not be able to hold this against you anymore."

Erik looked at her oddly.

"Erik?"

"Why would you refer to the Vicomte as Raoul? You only met him one time with me. I know I call him Fop or worse but you? Why would you refer to him by his first name, as if you were speaking of a friend?"

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Annie was in her room when she heard a knock at her door.

"Who is it?"

"Annie, it's Fleck."

Annie opened the door quickly. "What is it? Is it Squelch?"

"No, it's Claude."

"Claude?! What happened?"

"He's downstairs asking to see you. Apparently Nadir came to his place last night and Claude can't get him off of his couch."

A/N: Nadir using the big guns to get back on Annie's good side and me thinks our Christine has some explaining to do! I hope she doesn't lie to Erik again…