I'm baaaaaack!

Muhahaha!

I'm glad the last chapter went over well, although a few of you seem paranoid that I'm going to pair off Erik with Amarie.

Whoa! She's fourteen and he's thirty-something? I don't see it happening really, but he could grow to love her like... a daughter maybe?

But I'm not done writing the last couple of chapters... So don't give me any bad ideas, you guys!

However, do please review.

Here's the chapter... Enjoy!

XxXxX

A few weeks later, Madame Giry entered the auditorium of La Soleil Rouge, where her ears were greeted with the dancing, yet somewhat haunting, melody of Für Elise. She made her way over to the orchestra pit, where she found Erik sitting at the concert grand piano, his eyebrows furrowed in furious concentration.

His hands glided over the ivory keys, seemingly effortlessly… Then Erik stumbled over the trills… Backing up a few measures, he tried again. Still wrong. He tried several times, but Erik simply could not manoeuvre his hands the way he used to. With a frustrated cry, Erik slammed the cover of the piano shut.

"That was amazing, considering…" Madame Giry commented.

"Madame Giry? What brings you here, to the sphincter of the universe?"

"What? You said in your letter that you were pleased with your new position!"

"That was before we began rehearsals!"

"What's wrong?"

"Madame Giry! I have not seen such a blundering lot of hopeless fools! Honestly, they make me miss Carlotta! No wonder this theatre is failing!"

"Let me guess… he cast you in the smallest role…"

Erik turned away. "Supporting role, actually…"

"That's very good, Erik! That's nothing to sneeze at! What is the name of the play?"

Erik was silent for a moment. "Well, it seems this theatre buys its operas from… from the Opera Populaire… You know, old performances and… and flops… it's cheaper that way…"

"And?"

"And… it seems the newest opera is… Don Juan Triumphant."

"Your opera!"

"I have been cast as Passarino… Monsieur Lachappelle heard about the scandal that went down the night Don Juan opened at the Opera Populaire… he thinks it will make this opera more… sensational… Draw in larger audiences… including some patrons from Paris…"

"But Erik… if somebody recognizes you…"

"I know, Madame! I understand… this is my dilemma! I want to prove to Christine that I can do this, but… but if I am discovered, I fear I shall lose more than merely my sight this time…"

"Perhaps you shouldn't…"

Erik sighed. "This is my chance, Madame. This really is the point of no return. I can't run from that past. I'll never escape it. It's useless… Part of me will always be the Phantom of the Opera. It's a shadow that will always follow Erik O'Reilly Giry… I have done terrible things… More than you know… It appears that I will continue to pay for my crimes."

"Erik… I know you will succeed… Someday, if you put your mind to it… Things will get better. Believe in yourself. Christine does…"

"Christine… is she with you?"

"Erik… Christine left Paris… last week…"

"What!"

"She wishes to marry Raoul without delay. The wedding is this Saturday…"

Erik slumped. "I… I thought… I had hoped…"

"Erik…" Madame Giry said gently. "It's time for you to learn what it means to be a man… It's about learning how to love and learning how to lose… Christine has her whole life ahead of her… so do you…" She reached out and took his hand. "Come… Let's go to lunch…"

XxXxX

When Erik and Madame Giry had left, Amarie came out from her hiding place behind a large drum in the orchestra pit. She had heard the whole conversation between Erik and Madame Giry…

Erik… the Phantom of the Opera?

Everything he had told her was a lie. Amarie had heard about the masked maniac who terrorized the Opera Populaire in Paris… Gentle and kind Erik had ruled the stage with an iron fist as the feared Opera Ghost… Don Juan Triumphant was his creation…

Erik… the musical genius… the mighty and powerful Phantom… He controlled and commanded everything in the Opera House…

His mask… his initials… O.G… How stupid she was for not having seen it before! His hands… there was so much blood on his hands… so many innocent people had died at those hands… She had held those hands!

Erik… terrorist… lunatic… madman…

Murderer…

Amarie ran to her room in tears. How could someone like Erik be a killer? Oh, he liked to appear to others as a hard, serious man with a cold heart… But in quiet times alone with him, Amarie saw a dear, sweet man, so unsure of himself… But that was a lie! A mask all in itself! He was a killer!

Amarie flung herself onto her bed and sobbed. How cruel fate was, that the only person in the world who was really a friend at all to her would turn out to be a murderer!

Amarie's sobs subsided and she found herself faced with a choice now. Her first impulse was to run to her father and tell him what a terrible monster Erik was, and have him thrown in jail, executed, or worse…

But then… Amarie thought of that conversation they had had in the halls of the dormitory… "Amarie, have you ever felt alone? Have you ever felt that everyone was against you? That no one loved you? That no one even cared?"

Amarie wiped a tear away. Erik had done terrible things, she knew that. But did that make him a bad person? She knew that, deep down, Erik was just like her. Afraid and alone in this big world. He was the only one who understood her… the only one who knew exactly how she felt. And yet, anger built itself up in Amarie's heart. "Friends don't lie to each other… Friends don't pretend to be something they're not!"

"Very well, Monsieur Erik," Amarie whispered. "I shall keep your secret. But I will never trust you again!"

XxXxX

Amarie's not happy! I think you'll all find tomorrow's chapter very interesting. Just remember to review!