Chapter 38.

The group hurried into the lobby of the building exiting the front and heading to the Rue Scribe side. As they passed, some of the rehearsing cast noticed the unusual sight of the Phantom of the Opera, some men in Persian robes, a Persian woman, the Comte, a military officer and a tall lithe well -dressed woman rushing by. Erik was wearing his usual black garb, fedora and flowing cape and several of the younger girls gasped in fear as the older ones had regaled them with fearsome tales of the Opera Ghost. The only reason that they were not panicked was because the purported Phantom actually looked quite handsome, despite his fearful reputation, and he did not wear his trademark mask.

Erik found his old key right where he always left it. The lock was a little rusted from disuse. Erik seldom had the chance to enter his old realm any longer. He was no longer a creature of the night but could move about in the day. He wished that he could have shown his group his kingdom at a different time. It was not a day where he could go around reminiscing about the good things that had taken place there in the past. Most of his time there he had felt only the emotions of loneliness and loathing but he had also first met Christine there and had many happy memories of teaching her to sing and feeling his dead heart come alive. He prayed that his heart would last this ominous day.

Erik went in front of the group to make sure that none of his disabled traps remained. As they started down the labyrinth he addressed the girl and her father. "May I have permission to speak to your daughter, agha? I mean no disrespect. I simply have some questions for her about this man."

The older Persian answered "You may do so. You are not at all what I expected given your reputation in Persia?"

"What did you expect from me?" Erik asked.

"Someone more dark, and angry; I was not in Persia when you were but your reputation went far beyond the boundaries of our country. Yousef was not the only one to mistake you for Asto Vidatu."

Erik looked at the older man "I could see why they would believe that of me. At first I did not mind having such a dubious reputation. It suited me to have others believe that I was formidable. I preferred their fear to their scorn and so I cultivated that image. To this day I developed an affinity towards wearing black clothing."

"It did not bother you to be hated?" The Persian asked.

Erik smirked "I was hated from birth. It was humanity's most consistent approach to me. I cannot say that I truly enjoyed having such emotions directed at me, but they were comfortable to me. Other emotions were much more complicated and required some degree of trusting on my part. I was not about to trust anyone, save the Daroga here. He was different."

Nadir interrupted "And yet I brought you there. I never should have done that, bring a troubled teenaged magician to the court of the Shah. I should have left you where you were in the wilds of Russia. Perhaps you would have found happiness sooner."

Erik smiled at his old friend "Doubtful Daroga, my life was not taking a very promising path even then. Besides I was destined to find you and have you as both my conscience and my friend."

He turned to Yasmine "Tell me of this man who seeks to destroy me, is there good inside of him, or did I drive it away completely? I would like to know a little about whom I am facing."

Yasmine reminisced "He is very handsome, and could be quite charming when he was not so absorbed in getting his so called justice. At first I just thought that he was bitter about what had happened to him as a child. He did seem to be a very good and gentle boy. He would sit there and read me Persian poetry and we would discuss our homeland. Neither of us had spent much time there since we were young children but we both remembered the sights and smells of it. He hid his anger well from me. I fell madly in love with him, so much so that I was willing to defy my family for him. Then before I was to return to Persia to be married he convinced me to run away with him. It was then that we were having breakfast and he read a copy of L'Epoque. There was an article in there about you, and how there were many mysterious sinister happenings that were attributed to you. It mentioned that you wore all black, had a cape and sometimes a hood, and always a mask. His face grew pale and white and he became very agitated.

I asked him what was wrong, and he told me about you and how you killed his father right in front of him. I told him to let the past die and that it was none of his business what you would do at the Opera House. That only made him angry at me and he struck me in the face and told me that I was a foolish mindless girl. He then apologized for letting his emotions go out of control. I thought that it was the end of it, but it was not. The next day I found him trying on wigs and powder and all kinds of things designed to make him look older and more European in appearance. When I asked him what he was doing he smiled at me and told me that he had a new name Richard Firmin, that Yousef was dead. In an instant the boy that I loved did seem to die. He told me that I had to return to my family, that he was not meant to have love or happiness only justice against you and the Shah. I told him that he was ruining both of our lives with his crazy ideas, but he only grew angry again so I stopped trying to get through to him. The next morning I returned to my home and never saw him again but I was considered ruined by my family and friends. I was lucky that my father would even take me back but he loves me. I will die unmarried though."

Erik looked at her sympathetically "I am sorry that it happened to you that you lost your one true love. I almost lost mine because of my own obsessive actions, and was devastated when I thought that my Christine would be gone forever. It turned me into an even greater monster than I had been before. You see these scars on my face and they are better than they once were but nonetheless they are still there. The scars inside of me are even greater and deeper still. I will try to maintain my calm in front of Yousef, so perhaps we might all survive this day. I do not ask that he forgive me for what I did on behalf of the Shah, but I would hope that we could get him to drop this thirst for my blood."

The girl's father looked at Erik "You may wish to save him, but I do not. He has defiled my daughter and ruined my family's prospects for a good alliance with Yasmine's former fiancé. I cannot and will not forgive and forget what he has done. He will pay for it."

Yasmine looked at her father and pleaded "What is the point father? It was I that ran off to be with him and destroyed everything. It was my misjudgment not his I would hope that you would show him some compassion. He is all alone in the world with no one but enemies. It is not our job to judge him it is Allah's. That is what I told him long ago, when he told me about his quest for vengeance against you Monsieur Muhlheim but he did not want to listen. Will you listen to me father?"

He looked at his daughter "I raised you to be a good and kind girl but you are just a woman and you look at the world too simplistically. This boy disgraced our family and therefore his life is forfeit to me. It is my right. If I do not kill him the Daroga will; he is responsible for the death of his nephew who was barely a man."

Erik looked at Yasmine sympathetically "Do you still love Yousef?"

"What does it matter? If you do not kill him my father will or one of the other men here." She replied mournfully.

"It matters a great deal to me. It effects how I will pursue this matter." Erik told her.

"Why? If you do not kill him, he will kill you. She averred.

Erik looked at her. "Reality might be more complicated than that equation. Despite what Yousef might have told you, I no longer possess the desire to kill. I will do so if I must, but I would now prefer a different outcome if I can engineer one. I understand Yousef's reasons for hating me. I was once exactly the person that he spoke of, but I was young and had never had the taste of any emotions save fear and loathing. For a time, I did not mind following the Shah and his mother's wishes. They made me feel that I was accepted somewhere. But as I started to know Nadir and his son Reza, I realized that the men that I was killing for the Shah also had wives and children and I lost my taste for doing it. When the Shah asked me to kill Yousef and his mother, I could not do it. His father was my last victim and then I fled Persia because I disobeyed the Shah's directive. I never again killed except in either self -defense or to come to the aid of someone else in peril. If you still love this man, and we can get him to release Christine, I would propose that you marry him at once to restore your honor. He is a Prince and therefore of sufficient stature to advance your family. If the current Shah dies when you are still young, you would be likely to be able to return to Persia. If not you can live out your days somewhere else. I am sure that the boy still has assets to support you. If you do not, then it is not an option."

Her father interrupted "He is still a criminal. He helped others commit crimes here in France. I would want not such a man as a son in law."

"He would only be regarded as a criminal if we reveal to the authorities what we know about him. Most of his actions revolve around his quest for so called justice against me. If we can persuade him to abandon his plan then I am confident that he would no longer engage in criminal activities."

Nadir interrupted "He is responsible for my nephew's death. I do not think that I can let him go free for that."

"Yet you would allow this innocent woman to suffer the consequences? You know that she will never find a husband because she is considered to be impure. If he marries her then this stain on her would be lifted. She could hold her head up high again. You cannot bring back your nephew but you can help this girl." Erik told him.

"You would want me to hold off on my revenge against this monster? What about you? You almost killed Andre just a few minutes ago." Nadir reminded him.

Erik smiled "It was my cursed temper again. It was before I knew this girl's story. I know of another man who was once thought by many to be beyond saving and he is standing here now. If we can get the boy to be reasonable let's give him and Yasmine a chance to find the happiness that we have found. Perhaps her love can redeem Yousef just as Christine's did me. What do you say Daroga?"

Nadir replied "You have become a romantic these days, what has become of my angry young friend?"

"Perhaps I have finally grown a conscience Daroga. Didn't you tell me that you would serve as mine since I apparently seemed to lack one? It has taken me almost twenty years to do so, but I am ready to take responsibility for my own actions now." Erik told him.

"Well it is about time, Erik. It is why I saved you back there in Persia. I always knew that you had one inside of you. It was just too scared to emerge. But why now when I would really like to harm this man?" Nadir asked him.

"I don't know the answer to that doostam, maybe it is that slip of a girl who is down here somewhere, or perhaps I have spent too much time around the fop and imbibed some of his idiotic notions of honor. Whatever is the case, I think that we should try to give the boy a chance." Erik told them.

"I will think about it." Nadir growled "We may be arguing over a moot point. Yousef shows no inclination to give up his quest for vengeance against you."

"We are almost to my former lair." Erik told them. "I have a plan, one which may or may not succeed. I will ask that you all remain calm and follow my lead."

They all agreed.

At the same time that Erik attacked Andre, Christine and Yousef arrived at Erik's former lair. Their trip was slow and tedious. Fortunately the gondola was still serviceable and they were able to navigate the lake. Yousef forced Christine to sit down and he tied her hands together with some rope that he had found. Christine recognized it as the remains of the Punjab lasso that Erik had once used to secure Raoul, on that day years ago in the same place. She hoped that someone would recognize that she was missing and rescue her. The parallels to the time after Don Juan were uncanny. Yousef had not given her any way of escape although she had kept looking for the right time. She wondered what he was looking for in the end. There could be no escape without consequences once Erik was involved.

She turned to Yousef and asked him "What are your intentions here? Are you planning on remaining down here until we starve?"

Yousef smiled at her "You left him enough clues as to where we have gone. I have no doubt that he will find us here and then the final game will play out."

"May I ask what that game would be? Do you think that you will live after this day?" She asked him.

"No one cares if I live or die, including me. My death is irrelevant and indeed most welcome. In my religion we are not taught to fear death but to welcome it, if we are martyred for a good cause." He told her. "You Christians are too concerned about sparing your own lives." He sneered.

"How sad that no one would care; if it is true, then I pity you. You know, you and Erik are very similar. You claim to despise him and yet you emulate him. If you took the time to speak to him he could probably help you to change for the better as he did." Christine continued, "It is not too late to end this and walk away, find your Yasmine and if she still loves you go away with her, far from Paris and Persia."

He hit her again in the face blood trickled from the side of her mouth. "I told you before that I would kill you if you spoke of this again. Do you want to provoke me?"

"Well then go ahead and do it if you must. I will not be afraid of you. When I was younger I once feared a man, until I survived an ordeal that he put me through." She hissed.

"Don't tempt me to do it." He warned her. "If you think that I am not capable of killing you then you have sorely misjudged me."

"I know that you are capable of killing me but for the moment to do so is not in your best interest. Surely you would want to wait for Erik to see you do it." She told him.

In her own mind Christine was not so confident. When Erik had taken her years ago, she knew down deep that he would never really harm her. Erik was not in his right mind but he truly loved her and could not have hurt her no matter what. She had certainly given him reason to do so on multiple occasions if he had wanted to. Firmin had no such scruples he was not in love with her. She did not really know who he was down deep since she had thought that she had known him for years. Apparently she knew nothing about this man. She hoped that she would not provoke him too much but she wanted him to think about what he was doing and the low probability of a satisfactory outcome should he continue down his current path.

She looked around the lair, which had grown musty and even darker in the past years. It had the aura of a place whose time had come and gone. She smiled to think how elegant and beautiful it looked in Erik's day. His candles once illuminated the darkness. She thought back to their singing lessons and how he would play his organ and they would sing together until their two voices would merge into one. As he used to say, his spirit and her voice in one combined. That final night on stage during Don Juan had been the culmination of that time. His voice and words were so beautiful on that night and yet she betrayed him. She betrayed him again earlier when she ignored his warnings and in her arrogance, she thought that she could reason with the man, Erik had been so right she was still that naïve child in so many ways. If she got out of there she vowed never to ignore his feelings and warnings again.