Sara woke with a start. Her dream had been filled with the sounds and smells of the previous night. The thing that disturbed her most of all was that she could hear guns firing in her dream, and she knew that it hadn't happened. She felt herself relax as Erik's arm tightened around her waist and his warm, even breath tickled her neck.
She rolled over in his arms and cautiously moved her hand up to touch the side of his face. She heard his breath catch, but she was determined to see what his deformity felt like. Every other time that she had touched it, she wasn't concentrating on the feel of the skin against hers.
She found it warm to touch and there were many bumps and scars in his cheek. The skin was smooth since no hair could grow on it. She knew that she should feel repulsed at the feel of the scars, especially the large one that flattened his right nostril. The skin felt exotic and new to her. She imagined that this was what exotic animals like snakes must feel like.
Her fingers slid over to his ear, which was virtually non existent and touched the puckered flesh gently. This felt odd to her, but still she couldn't bring herself to be sickened by it. Her hand was moving from his ear to the top of his head where there was a patch of very fine hair, when he sat up and moved away from her.
"Enough." He said, bitterly.
"Erik, it's not that big of a deal." Sara told him.
"I'm not some exotic exhibit for you to touch." He muttered to her.
"It's not that." She said, her voice pleading for understanding. "This is how I see Erik; I'm trying to figure out why people are so afraid of your face."
"And did you manage to figure it out?" He asked.
Sara shook her head. "No, I can't. It's no different from the poor beggar who's scarred from fights in his youth, or a young girl who had hot embers thrown into her face." Erik turned to face her when he realized what she was saying. "You and I both have scars Erik. People don't fear mine because they have no reason to. It's how you treat the world that makes the world scared of you. Remember that."
He watched her bend down and feel around for her dress before she pulled it on. He followed suit and pulled on his own clothing, cringing at the smell and stiffness of them. He grabbed Sara's arm and looped it through his, and after making sure his face was hidden led her out of the room.
He paused only to give the barkeep the key and they made their way back to the Opera Populaire. "Hang on." Sara said, pulling him to a stop. "Why don't we get a room at a Hotel for tonight, they won't ask for money right away."
Erik nodded and led her to where the most prestigious hotel in all of Paris was located. He waited outside while a man led Sara inside so that she could get a room. It didn't take long for her to return, and she handed him the key.
"Did everything go as planned?" He asked as they resumed walking.
"Yes, our room is on the fourth floor, we don't even have to go through the lobby to access the stairwell, there is a side door that we can use." She told him. "I told the clerk that we were employees of the Opera Populaire and that we didn't know how long we would be staying for."
Erik was amazed at the brilliance this woman had. They arrived at the Opera House and he stopped in an alley when he saw people leaving the building, all ready a shell of its former glory.
"Only take things that you absolutely need, we can buy new things for you later." He told her. "When you're done, come to the back of the Opera House and I will meet you there." Sara nodded and walked off. Erik watched her enter the building, an officer standing at the door, tipping his hat to her.
Sara walked cautiously into the Opera House, she didn't want to trip on anything that might be out of place. "Sara!"
Sara stopped at the sound of Meg's voice. "Meg?"
"Where have you been? I've been so worried about you!" Meg said, throwing her arms around her friend.
"I'm fine, your mother told me to get out so I went to a hotel for the night. I overheard someone saying that we were being allowed to come back to collect our things." Sara said.
"Yes, and there are officers every where!" Meg exclaimed. "The Phantom escaped last night and they are hoping that he might reappear to collect some of his belongings."
Sara's eyes widened. "Are there officers every where in the Opera House?"
"Yes, but there is only one down in the tunnels that we found last night." Meg told her.
Sara breathed a sigh of relief; Erik would be able to handle one officer. She allowed Meg to take her up the stairs to the dormitories, which had escaped any damage. She retrieved a small suitcase from under her bed and tossed a few changes of clothes and all her money into it.
"That's all that you're taking with you?" One of the dancers asked.
"Yes." Sara told her. "I have enough money to buy anything else that I may need. And if I run out, I just have to contact my Uncle and he'll take care of it."
Sara sat on her bed and waited for Meg to finish packing. When her friend was finished, Sara had Meg lead her out of the building and around the back. "Why are you waiting back here?" Meg asked her.
"I was dropped off here and I told the driver to retrieve me here. There are too many carriages out front already apparently." Sara told her. "Don't worry, I'll be fine here."
Meg left reluctantly and walked back around to the front of the building. She saw a young officer walking up the steps and ran to catch up with him. "Pardon me, but there is a young girl standing behind the building, waiting for a carriage, do you think you could go and watch over her until it arrives?" She asked the man, flashing him her most charming smile.
"Mademoiselle, I have other matters that need looking after." The officer said.
"Oh, I understand that, but she is blind, and I just don't want her to get in the way of the carriage when it comes." Meg told him.
The officer took a deep breath and nodded. He walked around to the back of the building and saw the young woman standing off to the side. He felt that there was no way for her to get run over by anything, even if the cart were to veer off the road. He was about to turn when movement caught his eye.
He moved closer to the building to hide his presence and saw a man climb out of a storm drain under the Opera Populaire. His eyes widened when he noticed a white mask covering the right side of the mans face as he turned back to shut the grate. He had his orders and raised his gun, aiming at the man. He was to shoot to injure, only do enough damage to be able to capture him, no more unless necessary. His finger squeezed the trigger, but even before the bullet left the chamber the girls head turned in his direction.
Sara had heard the bullet click in the chamber of the gun and turned in the direction of where the officer was standing, straining to hear something else. She stepped to the other side of Erik as a loud bang sounded and she was knocked backward, a pain that she had never experienced before tearing through her shoulder.
Erik's eyes widened in anger and fear as he caught Sara as she slumped back against him. He looked up at the young officer, who was searching his pockets for his whistle. The commotion out front would have caused the sound of the guns discharge to become lost. But the man could run back to the front and blow on his whistle at the same time.
Erik let Sara slump to the ground before jumping over her body with a swoosh of the cape he had put on. He grabbed under the mans jaw and the back of his head, turning it with all his strength. He was greeted with a satisfying snap, and turned back to where Sara was laying.
"Sara?" He asked desperation in his voice. "Sara open, your eyes."
Sara groaned and reached up to touch the side of his face. "I'm sorry." She gasped, tears spilling from her eyes as unconsciousness pulled her away from him.
"No!" He screamed in agony, grasping her small frame to his tightly. He picked her up in his arms and ran all the way back to the hotel, praying that he would get there in time to save her.