Part Six

LI

Christine blinked groggily and took in a deep breath, clinging to the last remnants of sleep as the sun slowly warmed the room. With a small yawn she shifted, freezing when she felt her elbow come in contact with something, then smiling to herself and rolling over to face Erik's back.

At some point during the night he had shed the thin white shirt and she could now see the many scars that crisscrossed his back. Some of them were larger than others, some barely noticeable. One traced from the middle of his back and around his side.

She didn't know how long he would sleep. She was used to waking early to go to the theatre, but for some reason he didn't seem like the sort to rise before noon. Actually, in all truth, he didn't seem like the type to sleep at all. With a small sigh she moved forwards a bit and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, feeling him stir and hearing him give a groggy groan.

"Hmm?" he breathed, frowning slightly before opening his eyes, "how long have you been awake?"

"Not long," she murmured, "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to wake you."

He shook his head and gave a heavy sigh, "No, its fine."

She gave a small laugh as she watched him trying to shake the final remnants of sleep, not too successfully she noted. He finally shifted, turning over to face her, he eyes still half lidded and his hair tousled from sleep.

"I didn't mean to wake you," she said a bit guiltily.

"It's fine," he reiterated, brushing a curl from her shoulder, "are you hungry?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "A little, I guess."

She smiled and sat up, rolling his neck to work out the kinks and yawning widely, "Then-mmm, then I'll make some breakfast."

She watched as he sat up completely, draping his legs over the side of the bed before picking his shirt up. He tossed it onto a wooden chair in the corner of the room and was about to get up when he paused and a quiet "oh" escaped his throat.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"No," he answered, rising from the bed and searching through the wardrobe. She didn't see exactly what he took, but could make an assumption. He left the room fairly quickly, grabbing a mask on the way out and pausing at the door, "You can dress in here, I'll start on breakfast."

"Alright," she said, waiting until he left to start gathering her clothes from the floor.


It was strange; all that he could think about as he changed was that Antoinette would surely kill him. With a small sigh he ran a hand through his hair and made his way to the kitchen. He was suddenly quite happy that his maid was not coming until later that day. It would avoid a whole slew of questions that he did not want to answer.

He only made a simple breakfast, bread with preserves and a bit of cheese, he never ate in the mornings, so he couldn't be entirely sure whether it would be enough, but figured he could make something else if it was needed. Christine entered the kitchen humming softly to herself, a smile gracing her features when she saw the breakfast.

"It isn't much," he said.

"Its fine," she said, "its what I'd have back at home."

"Would you like some tea?" he asked, taking the kettle off the stove, "or coffee?"

"Tea," she said, wrinkling her nose a bit, "coffee is too bitter."

"Hmm, I prefer it," he said, taking a tea cup out of the cupboard.

Christine smeared a small bit of jam on bread while he finished making the tea. When done he placed the cup on the table and sat down opposite her. She murmured a thank you before nibbling on her bread, waiting to see if he would take anything. He didn't though, just watched her while she ate, occasionally sipping a cup of coffee.

"Aren't you hungry?" she asked after a while.

"No," he answered simply, "are you finished?"

"Yes," she answered, "but are you sure? You should really eat something."

"I'll be fine," he said, cleaning up the plates, "besides, we should really be returning you to your house. I am sure that by now Madame Giry will be ready to skin me alive, don't you?"

Christine gasped as a blush crept across her cheeks, "Oh dear!"

Erik simply smiled, "Do not worry, the weather was bad last night, I am sure that we can use that to our advantage."

"But she will be angry," Christine murmured.

Erik just kissed her hand, "I will summon a cab. Wait here."

Christine nodded her head and waited as he went to find a cab, wandering into the parlour to sit on the sofa. While there, however, she was drawn to the desk in the corner, which was littered with papers, sketches and writing and drawing utensils. She smiled a bit, it hadn't changed much since the last time she had seen it. There were sketched of random objects; a skull here and a rose there, but there were also detailed floor plans and house designs. The one on top was particularly beautiful, and she shifted through the sketches of the different rooms, marvelling at them.

"Do you like it?" Erik asked, causing her to jump.

"Oh! I didn't hear you come in," she gasped, "and yes, it's gorgeous. Who is it for?"

"No one," he shrugged, "I suppose that I could sell the designs, or have it built and then sell it."

"It really is gorgeous," she murmured.

Erik simply smiled, taking the designs from her and placing them back on the desk, "Then perhaps I will build it some day...come, the cab is waiting."

The short drive to her house was quiet, and Christine found herself constantly worrying over what would happen when she returned. Antoinette would be angry, she expected that much, though how angry she did not know. She glanced over at Erik, who seemed perfectly calm despite the situation. Maybe that was a good thing.

The carriage jolted to a stop and Erik climbed out, offering Christine his hand, which she took gratefully. Once out she straightened her skirts and walked up to the door, Erik following closely behind her. With a quick intake of breath she opened it and stepped into the front hall.

"I-I'm home!" she called weakly, slipping her cloak off and hanging it up by the door, "Madame?"

She poked her head into the parlour and bit her lip nervously when she saw Antoinette sitting there, working on a piece of needlework. She could feel Erik come to stand behind her but didn't look away from her guardian.

"Christine," Antoinette said, "perhaps you could go and get changed, I wish to speak with Erik for a moment."

Christine nodded her head and slipped out of the doorway, allowing Erik to go and sit down. She went up to her room quickly, not bothering to try and catch the beginning of their conversation.

Erik sat down opposite Antoinette, leaning back easily in the chair while waiting for her to speak.

"I do not know where to begin," she said at length, putting her needlework aside, "perhaps I should start by having you tell me what happened last night, hmm?"

"Nothing," he stated calmly, maintaining eye contact, "we went out to dinner, the weather turned bad and could not return here. I am sure that you will agree that it would have been unsafe to travel in last nights conditions. We returned to my house, Antoinette."

"And that is all?" she asked.

"That is all," he reiterated.

Antoinette sighed and pressed her fingers to her temples firmly, "I will choose to believe you, Erik. I will choose to believe that you simply returned to your house because of bad weather, that when there you acted as the gentleman I know you can be and that you did nothing to harm her."

"I would never-" he bit back on the anger that rose inside him at those worlds and repeated it more calmly, "I would never do anything to harm her, Madame."

Antoinette watched as his anger flared and then was quashed, "You have certainly changed, Erik, I remember when that temper of your used to all but control you."

He leaned back in the chair slightly and gave a small laugh, "I suppose I have."

"It is a good thing."

"Yes, I suppose so."

"Now, tell me honestly, did anything happen last night?"

"Nothing that you need to be concerned over," he answered truthfully.

"I am glad to hear that. Would you care to stay for tea?"

"No, I should be going, Madame, but thank you for the offer," he said, getting up from the chair.

"Not even going to say goodbye?" Antoinette asked.

"I have every intention of it," Erik said, turning as Christine entered the room, "good bye, Christine."

"Oh, you're leaving?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered, taking her hand and kissing it.

"Oh…well, there's a performance in three days. Meg and I will be in it, so if you'd like to come then-"

"I would be delighted," he interrupted, "au revoir."

Christine watched as he slipped out of the room, and listened as the front door opened and closed. She then turned to Antoinette and smiled weakly before sitting down opposite her. Antoinette picked her needlework back up and gave a small chuckle, "So, my dear, what happened last night?"

"Oh…nothing," she murmured, giving a small shrug of her shoulders, "the weather was bad, that's all, so I stayed at his house."


A/N: Oooh, an update! What a strange and shocking thing to see...yeah, anyone remember when I used to do this often? No? Well I did! Hope you enjoyed the chapter and please leave me a review, for I do love them so.