11

Bruises take little under a week to fully disappear back into the flesh, every trace of blood fading into its natural blend. This is the amount of time it has taken for the young Vicomte to decide he is no longer a prisoner as much as he is an unwanted guest. Erik trusts the boy cannot hope to escape, so during these long days he leaves him to his self in the empty cavern. Raoul stretches his legs and lets his arms dangle healthily at his sides, for he does not know when next he will be unable to use them.

Now he sits beside Erik, and together they listen to the chorus of voices floors away on the stage. Business, after almost a month, has not quite continued as normal, but the managers must keep the Opera House funded. Erik's eyes are closed, and his head is back as he enjoys the sound of music. He breathes it in and out, and Raoul can only watch, half in boredom, as the vulnerable throat calls to be slit.

Erik is too strong, physically, but Raoul has discovered one thing for certain. He knows, now, why he has been kept here. There is no ransom for his head, there is no promise of his death or return. Erik only feeds him, lets him drink, and keeps him alive. Occasionally, when he says something to the dislike of the Phantom, Erik strikes him. He does not mind. Raoul has been beaten before.

"You aren't going to kill me," Raoul murmurs, and this draws sharp blue eyes to him. "Perhaps at first you were, but not now."

Erik's brow contorts, and his mouth becomes a half smile. He closes his eyes, and leans his head back against the chair. "Don't speak now, boy, your silence is golden."

"I know why you will not kill me," Raoul persists, though Erik ignores him. "You are all alone, and you realize it. You know it more than ever before that you are alone. You know she is not coming back. You don't even want that anymore, it is so unreachable. You want a companion."

Raoul flinches, because the back of Erik's hand has poised to strike him again, hard. Raoul does not feel a blow, and so his head snaps back, and he stares the other man straight in the eyes, challenging. Erik lets his hand drop, and Raoul wants to shrink beneath that stare. It is chilling, it penetrates. There is something beneath it that tells Raoul he has again spoken when he should have remained silent, for too many truths are revealed in his half second assumptions.

"You are waiting for her, still," is all Erik says. He approaches Raoul, and his dark presence towers over Raoul, over powering, commanding, and causing the younger man to take a timid step back once risen from his chair. "Do you know how long I have been waiting?" he asks, and Raoul averts his eyes, searching for an answer that will not come. "No matter how long I wait here, Vicomte... no one is coming to save me. You say that you know why I mean to keep you here." Erik nods. "It is true... that I would have you suffer my fate." He pauses, and the twisted shape of his mouth smiles, wryly. "And even so, you will never truly be alone."