Chapter 5
A Note
What was wrong with him? For the life of him, Erik couldn't figure out why, not only had he brought Meg down there with him, but had offered to be the girl's friend. In fact, he didn't even know what had possessed him to utter those words.
'Maybe it's because you see some of yourself in her. The loneliness, the despair, desperately wanting to fit in,' his inner voice taunted him.
"Shut up," Erik said as he began to pace around his bedroom.
He was perfectly content being alone, he always had been.
'Now you know that's not true,' the voice mocked. 'You wanted to spend the rest of your life with Christine, didn't you? And you were the one who asked her to save you from your solitude.'
Erik sat down heavily on his bed, knowing his own thoughts betrayed him. He really didn't want to be alone, but what choice did he have? He could never be a normal man, not with a face like his. Society would never accept him, why should they? Even his own mother had been disgusted by the son she bore.
But then there was Christine. For once he thought that maybe someone could see him for more than the monster he was thought to be. If only she hadn't removed his mask, maybe then things would be different, had she not seen his face. He couldn't blame her for not loving him, not when she had Raoul. The Vicomte could give her a normal life; she could be happy. He would have to be satisfied with that now. At least one of them could live the life they wanted.
"I can't be thinking of her now," he said to himself.
Meg had to be his first priority at the moment. He needed to get her well and then on her way. Who knew what could happen if she stayed for an indefinite amount of time? Not that she would ever want to stay with him. What kind of woman would actually choose this life? Forever in darkness, trapped with a creature most people feared.
Erik made up his mind then. If when the morning came Meg was able to travel he would take her back up to the opera house. Then he would be rid of her and the distraction the little blonde had already started.
But first thing's first. Erik gave a small smile as he fingered the sealed envelope in his right hand. Rising swiftly he left his room. He had a letter to deliver to a certain ballerina and he wanted to be sure that it would be there, waiting for her after the performance.
…
"Madame Giry, where is Meg? I thought she was to dance the lead tonight?" Christine asked as she met with her old ballet teacher.
"I'm afraid no one can find her. When she was late for rehearsal this morning I went to look for her, but she was gone. I know Meg wouldn't just disappear without giving me an explanation."
"You don't think…he got her, do you?" Raoul asked hesitantly, not wanting to upset the older woman.
"No, I don't, despite what Jammes says," she said simply.
"What has she been saying?" Christine asked curiously, though she knew that Jammes' word could not be trusted.
"She said she saw Meg get up in the middle of the night and head to the stage. And then the Phantom supposedly came from out of no where and took her with him."
"I don't believe it for a second," Christine said firmly.
"But Christine, he did it to you, maybe Jammes really did see him take Meg," Raoul said, remembering the performance of Don Juan Triumphant.
"No Raoul, if it had been anyone else saying that, then maybe, but Jammes is a liar and always has been. Plus, why would Erik take her? He has no reason to."
"He told you his name?" Madame Giry asked, clearly shocked. It had been years before he let her know his name, and she had been the one to rescue him from the gypsies.
"Yes, I asked him once, while he was giving me singing lessons. It was before I even knew he was the Phantom. I guess since I didn't know who he was, he figured a name wouldn't matter."
"If he doesn't have her, then what could have happened?" Raoul asked. He might not know Meg well, but he was concerned all the same. The few times he had spoken to her she seemed polite and kind, and definitely not the kind of girl to just run off.
"That's exactly what I'm wondering, Monsieur."
"If you'll let us, we'd like to help search for her. It's possible that she's not even in the opera house any longer," he said.
"Thank you, I would be grateful for your-"
Madame Giry was cut off as Little Jammes' shrill scream rang through the corridor. A few seconds later the terrified girl ran past the ballet mistress and Christine. She probably would have kept running had Raoul not caught her arm.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
She didn't say anything as her wide eyes stared into his, she was completely terrified. And Christine knew exactly why. The evidence was there in her hand. She had received a message from the Phantom.
Taking the letter from her loose fingers, Christine began to read aloud.
"Mademoiselle Jammes, I don't know how you found the switch to gain access to my room of mirrors, as I assure you it was well hidden and I don't believe you are smart enough to have discovered it on your own, but should you ever open the trap-door again you will regret it. I do not make idle threats so I suggest you heed my warning. On that note, should I ever find so much as a scratch on Meg that was not an accident in nature, know that I will hold you personally responsible. You are lucky that your little trick only caused minimal damage to my property and that Miss Giry was not seriously injured. When you find that you are able to compose yourself, let Madame Giry know that her daughter is safe and being taken care of. Tell her that as soon as she is well enough, I will bring her back. I remain your obedient servant, O.G."
"What did you do?" Madame Giry asked, her tone low and dangerous.
"I only meant for her to be out of the way, I swear I didn't try to hurt her. I swear it," she said as she turned to the Vicomte, hoping he would believe her. But one look and she knew he didn't trust her.
"What did you do to my daughter?" Madame Giry repeated.
"It was only a little joke. I led her to the ballroom and got her to stand on the trap-door. When the repairs were going on I saw one of the workers trip a button that opened the door. I felt around and I found it, I just thought it would be a harmless joke. She fell and I heard the glass shatter and I got scared. I was afraid of what you would do to me, that's why I made up the lie about the Phantom. I never thought he'd really take her! Oh that vile creature must be torturing her! I'm so sorry!" she cried as she fell to her knees, sobbing.
"I doubt he's hurting her, he wouldn't have written the note if that was the case."
Christine looked at Raoul in shock. Never would she have thought she'd live to see the day when he would defend Erik's actions.
"We'll wait until the morning, if he hasn't brought her back then Raoul and I will go look for her," Christine said.
"Thank you," Madame Giry said sincerely, grateful that they were willing to help her daughter. "And you Jammes, if you ever do anything like this again, I would fear my wrath more than the Phantom's."
…
A/N
Another chapter completed! Yay for me! Sorry it's taking so long to get these chapters out, but I have almost zero free time. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this even if it is a little on the short side.
CelestialGlowEquivalence: I'm afraid I don't know what 'Forbidden City' style is. Though if you would explain it to me, I'm sure I could work it in if Jammes is to meet an untimely death. Also, I'm so glad you like my story enough to check everyday for updates and I'm sorry I can't update everyday. I wish I could, I would absolutely love to do nothing but sit at the computer all day and write. But unfortunately there's this horrible thing called a job which I have, yuck! If only I could make my boss realize that writing phanfiction is far more important than answering the telephone.
dancing-by-moonlight: I'm glad you like my story. And I know exactly how you feel, Meg/Erik phics are hard to find, which is part of the reason I decided to write my own. I'm so happy that you like how I wrote Erik, I was always afraid that he would be a little out of character, but I figured Meg just happens to frustrate and intrigue him to the point that he drops his guard around her slightly. Don't worry, I haven't completely abandoned his brooding nature, I mean, what else is he supposed to do when Meg isn't around? And as far as Meg goes, I always figured she'd be stronger than Christine. Physically they might be equal, but Meg is definitely not the weaker one mentally. Besides, in the movie Meg seemed stronger anyway. I really think she would have used the mirror passage to go all the way down to Erik's home had her mother not stopped her. And then at the end of the movie she deliberately ignored her mother when she told her to stay behind. Somehow I just can't imagine Christine disobeying Madame Giry. And thank you for all your wonderful comments! You made my day.
Forensic Photographer711: Thank you so much for taking the time to read my phic. I know Erik sounded a little out of character at the end of the previous chapter, but I hope the beginning of this one shows why he did it. I really hope you enjoy this chapter!
Warriormaid 3000: I love Erik/Meg phics too! For some reason I just always thought that they belonged together. I'm glad you liked the "I'll be your friend" line. For a while I was debating whether or not to put it in since it is out of character for him. But then I figured after everything that Meg confessed to him that it would be a natural reaction to try and comfort her, so the line stayed in. I love PotC, but I completely forgot about that scene! So I went back and watched the movie, and there it was. I guess it was just somehow stuck in the back of my mind. I thought, even though Meg was a ballet girl, her mother always seemed to have good manners and would probably have taught her daughter to act the same way. And since Meg was made the Prima Ballerina she would need those manners more now because she'd likely, along with the Prima Donna Isabella and any other important cast members, be expected to entertain potential patrons.
TheatreAngel: Thank you so much for taking the time to review! I'm glad you like my story enough to keep coming back. I really hope you like this chapter even though there isn't any Erik/Meg interaction in it.
Mysweetphantom: I'm glad you like my reason for why Erik wants Meg. This is something I repeat on a regular basis to one of my friends who thinks Erik and Christine belong together. She always tells me about their true love and how she thinks that Erik really couldn't love someone else. So one day after we argued many different points back and forth I finally just told her "Why would Erik want a chorus girl when he could have a bendy ballerina?" And it managed to shut her up. I guess she figured Erik would, in the end, appreciate Meg's "skills" more than Christine's singing around the lair all the time. I mean, I think there's only so much "Think of me, think of me fondly…" that he could take before he finally would throw her in the lake. By the way, I don't dislike Christine, I just think that Raoul is her true love and that she could never feel anything more for Erik than friendship. Not that I don't like the occasional Erik/Christine phic, but I tend to stay away from them for the most part because Raoul always seems to end up either more obsessed than Erik at some point or violent towards Christine. And to me that completely goes against his character.
avid reader: Thank you for reading. I hope you like this chapter.
Wow! That was a long author's note. Once I start typing my individual responses I just can't seem to stop. Now that I'm all done, thanks for reading. I'll try to have the next chapter finished as soon as I can.
As a side note, has anyone read Susan Kay's Phantom? I heard it's good and I love Leroux's book. I think my library has a copy of it so if you all think I should read it, let me know.
