Chapter 13 is here! Yay! this chapter is sort've short, cuz I had a writer's block and didn't know what to put... But hopefully it will still be all right. Oh, and in my next chapter I will be skipping ahead another 5 years, because Emma needs to be fifteen in order for the following events to occur, and for Raoul and Erik to have their confrontation : ) which I know everyone is looking forwards to. But after that, do not fret, for the story is not almost over, because dun dunna dun! New character! yay!

well, enough of me rambling on, and giving away my story... sohere is the next chapter!

Chapter 13

For the rest of the day, Erik and I did not do too much, but at least it was all pleasant. Even though he did not give me a present or anything, he was still nice to me and I to him. When I was about to go into bed, Erik, surprisingly, called me into his room. Hesitantly, I walked over to the doorway.

"Yes?" I called in.

"Come in here please," he said, almost happily.

When I was a good way into his room, he walked over to me and said, "Hold out your hand."

After I had done so, I felt something hard and cold drop into my hand. I opened my eyes, expecting something spectacular to be sitting in my hand, but all I saw was that ring that Erik had given me before, but I had returned. Looking up and glaring at Erik I said, "I told you that I did not want anything of yours."

"I know," Erik replied hesitantly, "but I would like it if you would hold on to it, until you are willing to wear it."

"But I will never be ready to wear it," I said coldly. "If it was not good enough for my mother to wear, then I will certainly not wear it either." Putting the ring between my thumb and forefinger, I held out the ring for Erik to take, but he never did. Instead he gave me the most hurt, cold look that I had ever seen on his face.

"You will accept this ring again. I advise you to do this for your own well-being," Erik said through clenched teeth.

"Are you threatening me?" I scoffed at him.

"I guess you could say that."

"What right do you have to threaten me? There is no reason for threatening!"

"Oh, isn't there? Being the rejected by the same blood, the same ring, (A/N: this little phrase I got from Emily, thanks! Hope you don't mind!) I'd say that I have perfect reasoning to threaten you. But you would not understand the parallels of my life, and so you do not know."

"Then explain them to me," I said simply.

"I have told you a million times that you will not understand! That you are still too young!"

"I am not! I believe that I am perfectly old enough to understand your life! There cannot be much to it, can there? All you've ever done is self pity yourself and live down here in this… cave!"

"I have, young lady, done much more during my life time than just live down here in this God forsaken cave, as you call it. I have traveled the world, seen things that you have only dreamed about, but will never get the chance to do! I have gone through things that neither you nor any other person could ever comprehend! And then your mother, oh yes, your mother, came along and for a brief moment, I thought that there was some good in this world, but she soon threw that theory back in my face. She destroyed all the dreams that I had ever had, and left me here to self-pity myself, as you said before. Now you are perhaps wondering what all I have done with my life, and of course, your biggest, most persistent question, what happened between your mother and I." Then Erik gave a slight chuckle. The wretched man actually chuckled! "But these things, my dear Emma, that I have done, are not for your young ears!" He leaned over down to my level and looked me straight in the eyes and would not let me look away. "But… I have long turned from my murdering ways."

He accented the word murdering like it was another one of his little threats, but I took no heed to it. But still, his words struck in me like a knife. I knew that he was a little a mad, but I had never imagined him to have traveled the world, or even, murdered anyone. Slowly, I began to back away from him, but he quickly grabbed my arm and made me stay where I was.

"Why do you want to leave so soon Emma?" He said mockingly. "I thought that you wanted to know about my life?" He sneered. "Or is too much for you to handle?" I tore myself away from his murdering grasp. "Now do you see, Emma? My life is too complicated for someone as young as you to understand." He stood up from his hunched position. "You may now run along and go on to bed. And, Emma, no more questions about my life. As I have said many times before, I shall tell you when I think it is the right time."

I hung my head in defeat and trailed off to bed. Even though his words had shocked and frightened me, I felt like I understood him a little bit better than I had before. After I had gotten to my room, and into my bed, I snuggled my head into my pillows.

Surprisingly, I was not nearly as mad at Erik as one might think that I was. Knowing even the little bit that Erik had told me about his past, made me wonder even more what he had been through. He may have thought that he frightened off all of my pestering questions, but he inflated them. I wanted to know, even more than before, what happened between him and my mother. Was it love? Murder? Music? So many questions burned inside my mind, but I tried to put them aside so that I could sleep. Also, I would not ask Erik these questions that I had, at least not yet. As he had said, he will wait for the right time to come along. And when he finally decides on that time, I will be ready. I shall know exactly what to say, what to ask, and find out all that I need and possibly more.