Disclaimer: Yeah, I own POTO. I own the original cast recording CD, the OCR cassette disk, the POTO script (two, actually), the violin score, the Piano/Lyric score, The POTO by Gaston Leroux, and POTO by Susan Kay. I have the whole set! :)

A/N: I'll try to update quite regularly, but as school is starting tomorrow...[heaves a great sigh] It'll be harder. Please bear with me!!

Chapter 4 – Promise Me

Nadir

I walked down the street, my cloak wrapped around me, dodging the puddles. The hem of my cloak was already wet.

As I reached the main entrance of the Opera, I noticed a carriage going at such a fast rate, I was surprised that it didn't tip over as it came around the corner.

To my surprise, the carriage stopped right in front of the Opera. The horses' sides heaved, and I was debating whether or not to berate the driver for going so fast, when Raoul de Chagny exited the carriage.

I kept close behind him as he hurried through the hallways, and I assumed that he knew where Christine was.

I was careful not to let him see me, but as he reached an intersection, he looked around despairingly, obviously deciding he made a wrong turn. He wheeled around, and before I could react, he recognized me.

"You!" he shouted, "The Persian!"

"Yes?" I asked wearily.

"Christine has been kidnapped!" he flailed his arms in the air. He looked like a real idiot.

"I know."

"Oh, please, can you help me find her?"

I knew then what I had to do. The happiness of my friend (yes, my friend!) was much more important than this young viscount who would have no trouble in snaring another girl with his good looks and charm.

Raoul had his whole life in front of him. Erik had God knows how long.

"I'm afraid that can't be done," I sighed.

It was time to see how well my acting skills were.

His face dropped, "What do you mean?"

"Erik has long since gone," I heaved a dramatic sigh, "And he's taken Christine with him."

"Where?"

I shook my head sadly, "NO one knows. His house is completely blocked up, and it is apparent that he has left the country."

"I'll find him!" he vowed fiercely, "I'll find them both!"

And I felt faintly sorry when he started sobbing in the corridor, attracting curious stares.

I led him into Christine's old dressing room to afford him more privacy and less embarrassment.

Instead of calming him down as I hoped, he only cried harder.

I almost snorted with disgust. What a baby.

"Raoul!" I shouted, over his wails.

He stopped his mournful sniffling and looked up.

"What?"

"You must promise me that you will never go below the 1st cellar. God knows how many traps Erik has placed down there." I gave a shudder for good measure.

"I promise," he vowed solemnly.

I could hardly contain my smirk.

My domain:

BlackRoseGirl: Thank ye! Well, I wanted to have him guess a little more about Meg's name, but didn't know what other names were really close to Meg's without having him sound like a loser. Well, he is a loser, but you know what I mean.

Lady Willow: Ooh, this is nice to see I have reviewers who are really getting into my story. It's so refreshing. I'm sorry about the shortness, but I'll update soon!!!

Singing Moon: Amusing, huh? It is funny thinking of Raoul 'protecting' Christine from Erik. [snorts] Well, they didn't exactly leave, but about the 'hot love and babies' thing, that won't be too far away...[winks]

Jlauren1224: Thanks for all your reviews!! I'm glad you like my stories! Well, this is sort of a confrontation of sorts...

Laura Johnson: LOL. Sorry if I don't live up to your 'highness's' standards. I have many demands on my time. :P Luv ya too!!