Chapter 2-Insecure

Christine was trembling. She knew that she could never go back to the Opera House; she knew she could never go back to Raoul, yet this didn't bother her.

The passersby, thankfully, never took notice of the two. Escape was on the horizon and Christine knew then she had made the right choice to go back.

As the Phantom guided the horse down the street away from the opera, he dared not look back. He felt a twinge of apprehension about leaving the only place that was a home to him and being suddenly thrust up above ground to risk being discovered. But he had no other choice. Even if Christine hadn't have come back, he would still be in the same dilemma.

He could feel Christine trembling in front of him, and his arms tightened around her waist. He tilted his head forward and kept the right side of his head and face pressed to the side of her cowled head. He had to see where he was going - and he didn't want anyone to see his disfigurement.

As they turned a corner and headed down the next street - it was then that the Phantom discovered that he was shivering too - his damp clothing was giving him a chill. At least his cloak provided some warmth as well as the feminine warmth in front of him.

He tried not to think about the people milling about on the street around them. Truth be told, the crowds made him very nervous. His breath and heart rate had quickened with adrenaline, and his hands gripped the soft black hair of the horse's mane so tightly that his knuckles were white.

He couldn't see Christine's face, but he hoped she wouldn't be able to tell how scared he was - and so he did his best to keep the sense of power and aloofness at the forefront.

"Where are we going?" Christine asked, pulling her cloak around her.

At Christine's question, Erik was quiet as he thought of a possible response. Up until now he knew what he needed to do - which was get out of the Paris Opera before the mob found him. Now that Christine was in the picture - he had to do anything he could to keep her from harm.

He guided the horse down a quieter street, keeping his head tucked against Christine's. "Somewhere safe...where they can't find us…" he said softly, mind working on a solution. "Somewhere where you can rest..."

A cool wind blew and Erik shivered, looking up briefly at the night sky. He figured the best thing he could do was head for the outskirts of Paris and find a secluded inn to stay at. He was more concerned for Christine's well being than his own at the moment.

As a group of night revelers passed by them on the street from a nearby bar - quite noisily and drunk - Erik's grip tightened around Christine and he subconsciously shuddered, turning his head away from them. He longed to find a place for him to conceal himself. Maskless and wigless - he felt naked and exposed - even with a hooded cloak.

Christine looked back at Erik, who was deep in thought. She reached up and felt his deformity, her fingers brushing over the bumps and crevasses that made up part of the Phantom's face.

"How did it happen?" Christine asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Erik gasped slightly at the sudden touch on his skin with a flinch - not expecting Christine to reach up a hand to his face. Shivering - he reached up a hand to move her hood just enough to see her eyes - but didn't make any other movement to touch her himself. Touch was a luxury...a gift that had always been denied him. At times like this - he wasn't quite sure how to react. He stared at her silently for a moment before she spoke.

At her question, Erik's dark blue eyes averted and the eye contact was broken. He lowered his hand around Christine's waist once more to grasp the horse's mane. "I...was born this way," he said quietly but with an edge to it - as if by hardening his voice - he would be able to block the pain.

"Oh..." was Christine's reply. The sharp tone of Erik's voice let her know to leave the subject be. She couldn't even begin to understand the horrors of his life, but she hoped to help him heal the wounds in his soul.

Christine yawned and leaned back against the Phantom. Sleep came quickly.

After a while of silence between them, Erik felt Christine's body gradually relax against his. She must have been really exhausted to fall asleep on horseback. Erik noted his own exhaustion with a sigh -but sleep can come later. His mind was too busy to even consider sleep at the moment - plus being aboveground where there were people about caused him to be on edge. It started to rain then – starting as a soft mist to a steady downpour. It wasn't long before the both of them were thoroughly soaked and chilled. Erik desired to find a place for shelter and soon.

They had arrived at a quieter part of Paris now - closer to the edges of the city. Erik now kept an eye out for a place that they could stay for the night. If he had of been by himself - an old abandoned building would have been fine...but with Christine with him he dared not. He wouldn't have been able to have her sleeping on a dirty cold floor in a place where there could be rats and other vermin scurrying about. Christine, his beautiful angel - deserved no less than a warm soft bed.