((AN: This chapter's for Artemis. Loved your last review hun ;) Sorry the chapter had such a messy look ))

Chapter six Crawling for bread crumbs

Meg looked at Erik from where she sat on the floor. He was busy with writing down notes at the organ. The silly thing was that she kept staring at him. She didn't know how to get his attention. She somehow thought it would be best with silence and a pleading look. When Erik felt her look eating his nerves slowly, he muttered, like a father speaking to a child:

''What, Megan?''

''I'm...I'm hungry...'' Erik let out a sarcastic chuckle:

''You have not continued your story, my little Sheherazade.'' Meg frowned.

''That does not mean that you can let me starve to death!'' Erik suddenly rose up, grabbed Meg by her chin and brought her up to her knees.

''You should hold your tongue within my realm, petite rat! Trust me, I can easily end your life as those of your friends!'' he let go off her and sat back down at the organ. He didn't look her, but his notes.

''You were speaking of Arawin, the painter...'' Meg was first silent, then she spoke, thinking it best not to test Erik's patience too much:

''Arawin was young and ambitious, like any young man in the prime of his youth. He was a marvelous painter, but in his small village, art did not matter much. The only option that was left for Arawin was to leave his small village and go to the wonderous city of Athens. Still, Arawin knew that there was a long way to Athens since he lived far inland. His mother, the only one in his family who believed in his art, gave him a black horse. 'The treasure of the family, my son' spoke Arawin's mother. 'You must keep watch over him and he will do the same.' Arawin bid farewell to his mother and left. He knew that if he was to be the greatest painter in whole Greece, he needed to paint the most beautiful thing that existed. The first place he arrived to was the small city of Pelos. There he heard of the Gargyole Dominus who roamed the city and almost destroyed it, but that the beautiful Aphrodite saved them. Arawin was intrigued. He went to the temple to see this famed statue. She was truly a perfection carved in to marble. 'Yes!' he said 'This I will paint. This is surely the most beautiful thing in the world!' but when he reached to paint the marvelous sculpture, he heard a voice whisper to his ear: 'No! You can not paint this statue. It's true beauty was revealed in the darkness as it freed the Gargoyle Dominus. It is nothing more then a mere statue now.Travel on.' Arawin was confused, but sure that it was a sign from the gods, he took his horse and left the small town of Pelos. On his way, he stopped by a lake to rest. Feeling the warmth of the day catching up to him, he came closer to the lake to drink some water. Then, he saw a beautiful face of a young man in the water. It was smiling at him softly. He was suprised, but the face was appealing. 'This face! Yes, this face I will paint!' Arawin thought and took his palette and brush. Again, he heard the same voice: 'Arawin! Do not paint that face! It is the face of Narciss and it was corrupt by it's own beauty. Do not paint it!' Arawin, thought to be led by the voice of the gods once again, he took his horse and rode on. Then, as he rode trough the darkness, a shadow appeared before him...'' Meg stopped and looked down. Erik looked at her confused.

''Yes! And!'' Meg looked up at Erik.

''I am hungry.'' Erik hit the ground with his foot and garbbed Meg from behind the neck. She screamed as he started to violently drag her towards an unknown room. She struggled, but he kept pushing her towards the door. He opened it and pushed her in roughly.

''Eat, you rat!'' he slammed the door and locked it, leaving Meg in complete darkness. Meg shivered and looked around, trying to uncover where she was. As she searched around the floor, she found a candle and a discarded match. She quickly lit the candle and saw that Erik had 'politely' locked her in to a small pantry.